Jangir Agha – Hero of the Yezidi People

Jangir Agha (1874-1943) is a national hero of the Yezidi people. He was born in the Van province of the Ottoman Empire.

During WWI, the Yezidi regiment led by Jangir Agha tried to stay away from the Russian military operations. However, after the occupation of Van by the Russian army in 1915, his regiment along with the other four Yezidi regiments sided with Russia.

In 1909, Jangir Agha met the outstanding leader of the Armenian national liberation movement Andranik Ozanyan, which marked the beginning of their combat friendship.

Jangir Agha supported the Armenian rebels, providing them with military and material assistance. After the collapse of the Caucasian Front in 1918, the cavalrymen of Jangir Agha operated as a part of the Armenian Volunteer Corps.

On May 16-18, 1918, in the Battle of Bash Abaran against Turkish divisions that had invaded Armenia, most of the cavalry of the Armenian troops comprised of the Yezidi formations of Jangir Agha.

In 2016, the City Council of Yerevan decided to name one of the streets of the capital after the national hero of the Yezidi people Jangir Agha. According to the decision, the 4th lane of Shahinyan Street of the Avan administrative district was renamed in his honor.