Military History of Armenia - Ottoman Rule - Armenian Militia

Armenian Militia

The Armenian militia were irregular units who voluntarily left their families in order to fight and defend Armenian villages and city quarters from Ottoman aggression and massacres. There were often only a handful of "fedayees" during their battles against the Ottoman troops and Kurdish irregulars. Their distant goal was to gain Armenian autonomy (Armenakan) or independence (Dashnaks, Hunchaks) depending on their ideology and degree of oppression received by Armenians. Some of them also helped the Iranian revolutionaries during their revolution.

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