Sarkis Mehrabian - Vartan of Khanasor
02 January , 1943
Born in Karabagh, Khanasora Vardan (Vardan of Khanasor) gained military experience by serving in the Russian Army. He was the first revolutionary organizer of the Armenians in the Taurus region, south of Lake Van.
From 1890 onward he was in Iran (in Iranian Azerbaijan), in Tabriz, Salmast, and the Derik Monastery, participating in the battles at Derik.
At the head of small groups of fedayis, he often crossed the Iranian-Turkish border toward Vaspourakan (Van) to transport arms, often engaging in skirmishes with Turkish border guards and Kurdish tribes.
In the spring of 1896, he organized and led the defense of Shatakh, a mountainous region of Vaspourakan. Then, in September of the same year, he took part in the Bsdik Tebk (small battles) of Van.
In July 1897 he served as commander-in-chief of the Khanasor punitive expedition against the Mazrik Kurdish tribe, which had earlier massacred hundreds of unarmed Armenian fighters who were evacuating Van, after self-defense battles there, as part of an agreement with the authorities.
Later, he worked alongside Simon Zavarian to assess and organize the Cilician region, as well as Izmir.
During Armeno-Tatar (Azeri) fighting in the Caucasus in 1905–1906, Vardan was placed in charge of the self-defense of Karabagh.
In 1915, he was appointed commander-in-chief of the Araratian Regiment of the Armenian Volunteers, and hastened to assist the Armenian self-defense of Van.