Nikoghayos Ter Hovhannisian - Nikol Douman
12 January , 1867 -
23 September , 1914
Born in Ghshlagh, in Karabagh, Douman received his education at the diocesan school of Shoushi.
From 1891 to 1894, he pursued organizational activities and taught in the Armenian schools of Tabriz and Salmast.
From 1894 onward, he moved between Salmast and Vaspourakan, engaging Turkish troops and Kurdish armed bands in battles that have remained famous, including those of Derik, Sara, and Boghaz-Kyasan, after which the Kurds conferred upon him the nickname “Douman” (storm).
Both a fighter and a strategist, Nikol Douman was one of the principal organizers of the Expedition of Khanasor in 1897.
He then settled in Baku, where he was mainly involved in training young Dashnaktsakans in underground and military activities.
In 1904 he tried in vain to reach the insurgents of Sasoun to reinforce their ranks, but his armed band was dispersed after violent border clashes.
During the fighting between Armenians and Tatars (Azeris) in 1905, Nikol Douman was appointed commander-in-chief of operations in Yerevan province and the Ararat Plain.
In 1907, he wrote the manual Nakhagitz Zhoghovrdakan Inknapashtpanoutian (Outline for Popular Self-Defense).
Then, as the commanding officer of a group of 100 men, he successfully secured the defense of Tabriz during the Persian Constitutional Revolution. In 1910, he took part in the International Socialist Congress held in Copenhagen.
In September 1914, his health hopelessly deteriorating, and unable to join his comrades in battle, Nikol Douman took his own life. He was 47 years old.