Kevork Chavush

Who was Kevork Chavush?

Kevork Aroyi Ghazarian commonly known as Kevork Chavush or Gevorg Chaush, was an Armenian fedayee in the Ottoman Empire.

Kevork Chavoush was a legendary fedayee whose main goal was to ameliorate the plight of the Armenian peasantry in the face of harassment by marauding Turks and Kurds. To this end, he advocated armed resistance. Chavoush's extraordinary daring and valor inspired his men as he led the resistance in the region of Daron-Sasun from 1904 until 1907, when he was killed in battle. Kevork Chavush was known to have good relations with some Kurdish leaders of the region. He would openly meet and dine with them and at the same time, try to persuade them to not obey orders by the Sultan, who had hired the Kurds as part of his Hamidieh guards. This was in vain as the Kurds ended up not joining the Armenian revolutionaries. Kevork Chavush, is called "the man with the dagger who was always ready to punish those who molested the defenseless people."