Armenian fedayi
Fedayi (Eastern Armenian: Ֆիդայի, romanized: Fidayi; Western Armenian: Ֆէտայի, Fedayi), also known as the Armenian irregular units or Armenian militia, were Armenian civilians who voluntarily left their families to form self-defense units and irregular armed bands in reaction to the mass murder of Armenians and the pillage of Armenian villages by criminals, Turkish and Kurdish gangs, Ottoman forces, and Hamidian guards during the reign of Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II in late 19th and early 20th centuries, known as the Hamidian massacres. Their ultimate goal was always to gain Armenian autonomy (Armenakans) or independence (Dashnaks, Hunchaks) depending on their ideology and the degree of oppression visited on Armenians.
| Armenian fedayi | |
|---|---|
A fedayi group fighting under the ARF banner. The banner reads Liberty or Death. | |
| Active | 1880s–1920s |
| Country | Ottoman Empire Russian Empire Qajar Iran |
| Allegiance | Armenians |
| Type | Militia |
| Size | 40,000 during the Genocide |
| Engagements | Armenian National Liberation Movement Iranian Constitutional Revolution Armenian Genocide Resistance |
| Commanders | |
| Before 1893 | Arabo |
| 1893–1899 | Aghbiur Serob |
| 1899–1904 | Andranik |
| 1904–1907 | Kevork Chavush |
Some of the key Fedayi figures also participated in the Iranian Constitutional Revolution that commenced during the same period, upon agreement of the ARF leaders.
The Armenian term fedayi is ultimately derived from Arabic fedayeen: فدائيون fidā'īyūn, literally meaning "those who sacrifice".