Sebastatsi Murad – One of the Heroes of the Armenian National Liberation Movement

Sebastatsi Murad (Murad Khrimian; Murad Hagopian; 1874 — 4 August 1918) was a prominent participant of the Armenian national liberation movement in the Ottoman Empire. In the 1890s, he was a member of the Hnchakian and then Dashnaktsutyun Armenian political parties. In 1903, he along with the group “Mrrik” under the command of Torgom arrived in Sasun.

In 1904, he was one of the leaders of the Sasun uprising. After the fall of Gelieguzan on April 22, 1904, he broke through the Turkish blockade and reached Van. In 1905, he participated in the organization of the defense of the local Armenian population against Tatar offensives.

After the 1908 Young Turk coup in the Ottoman Empire, Murad returned to Western Armenia to lead the Armenian national liberation forces in Taron and then in Sebastia, his homeland. In 1915, with the commencement of the Armenian Genocide, Murad along with his group sheltered in the mountains. They then managed to move to Samsun and then to Batum.

In 1916, Murad established a relief fund to support Armenian refugees and orphans in Yerznka. In 1918, after the fall of the Russian front in the Caucasus, Murad commanded the Yerznka defense and also organized the evacuation of the local Armenian population. He then departed to participate in the defensive battles in Baku, during which he would be killed.

Մեր մեծերը – Սեբաստացի Մուրադ