1904 Sasun uprising The Sasun uprising or Sasun rebellion of 1904 ( , " Sasuni yerkrord apstambut ' yunĕ " , literally Second Sassoun resistance ) was an uprising by Armenian militia against the Ottoman Empire in Turkey ' s Sason region in 1904 . The empire wanted to prevent the formation of another semi - autonomous Armenian region in the eastern vilayet s after its defeat in the First Zeitun Resistance . In Sason , the Armenian national liberation movement recruited young Armenians . Background . The Social Democrat Hunchakian Party and the Armenian Revolutionary Federation were two elements of the Armenian national movement which were active in the region . The first Sasun resistance was led by the Armenian national movement ' s militia , which belonged to Hunchak . According to Cyrus Hamlin , the Armenians triggered hostilities . Conflicts continued between the Armenian fedayeen ( Armenian irregular forces ) and the Muslim Ottomans in Armenian villages . Many Armenians were compelled to accept Islam or Orthodoxy ; the latter was protected by the Russian consulate . In spring 1902 a representative of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation , Vahan Manvelyan , was sent to Sason to negotiate a ceasefire with the Turks , to occupy the area and concentrate forces for a larger revolt to be led by Manvelyan and local activist Hrayr Tjokhk . This consolidation continued during 1902 and 1903 . In May 1903 , a militia led by Gorgos " Marrik " arrived in Sasun . Vahan and Hrayr considered it too small , and sent a party east with a request for more troops . In September a group of 150 fedayeen , led by Khan and Onik , was sent . At the Persian - Turkish border , it was surrounded by Turkish artillery troops and almost completely destroyed . In February 1903 in Sofia , the Armenian Revolutionary Federation ( ARF ) agreed to send troops to Sason . By this time , approaches to Sasun had been blocked by a division of the 4th Corps of the Ottoman army ( eight battalion s , later increased to fourteen ) . The total force comprised as many as 10 , 000 soldiers and policemen , in addition to 6 , 000 – 7 , 000 irregular Kurdish cavalry . Armenian forces consisted of 200 guerrilla s under the command of Vahan , Hrayr and Andranik , along with Kevork Chavoush , Murad of Sebastia , Keri and others . Untrained peasants in 21 villages also took up arms , swelling the insurgency to 1 , 000 . Andranik suggested inciting a general revolt in Armenia which would disperse the Turkish forces ; Hrayr objected that an Armenian revolt , unsupported by other factions of the Ottoman Empire , would be doomed and suggested concentrating on the defense of Sasun . Armed conflicts . The first military action was undertaken by Kevork Chavush against local Kurds ( Kor Slo ) to prevent an attack on five Armenian villages in Kurdish - occupied territory . On January 17 , with groups of Murad Sebastatsi and Seyto he attacked the Kurds , who ( with Turkish troops ) retreated to Pasur . The western ARF and the Catholicos ) tried to organize diplomatic pressure on Turkey . The Catholicos appealed to the great powers ; English and French ambassadors in Constantinople had audiences with the sultan , but the Russian ambassador stood aside . The sultan agreed to send armies for the maintenance of law and order to Sasun . The ambassadors offered to negotiate on the sultan ' s behalf with the insurgents in Sasun . However , the Russian ambassador delayed ; by the time they arrived in Sasun , military action was at fever pitch . By March 20 the Turks had finished preparations for addressing the uprising , and armies had plundered a number of boundary villages ( which , by order from Hrayr , did not resist ) . Local residents were imprisoned and tortured , but the Ottomans were unable to learn about the insurgents ' plans . The Armenians plan of action was : Hrayr would defend Aliank and Shenik ; Andranik , in Tapyk , would impede the Turks advance on Gelieguzan ; Kevork Chavush would defend Ishkhanadzor , and Murad of Senastia , Akop Kotoian and Makar Spagantsi would defend Chaji Glukh . On April 2 the Turks began an unsuccessful attack with mountain gun s . On April 10 , the Wāli of Bitlis arrived with troops and the Armenian bishops of Bitlis and Muş . On April 11 , the second battle began . About 7 , 000 Turkish horsemen rode into the village of Shenik ; the Armenians closed in on them at the rear , trapping the Turks between Armenian positions in front and on the right and snow - capped mountains at the left . After a four - hour fight the Turks abandoned their horses and weapons and retreated into the mountains , pursued by the Armenians . On April 12 , Surb Arakelots monastery prior Arakel presented a decree from the Catholicos recommending that the Armenians surrender in exchange for amnesty . The Armenian leaders , requesting a delay in responding , evacuated and burned several villages in Gelieguzan overnight . At dawn on April 13 , the Turks began a new approach . The defense was split into two groups : one ( under Sepukh and Murad of Sebastia ) moved towards Brlik , and another ( under Hrayr ) moved into the mountains . Eight companies of Turks and 4 , 000 Kurdish horsemen attacked Gelieguzan , and Hrayr was killed at the beginning of the battle . Fierce hand - to - hand fighting began ; from the eastern side of the village , Andranik and his troops struck in the Turkish rear . The Turks retreated , sustaining ( according to press reports ) as many as 136 deaths ; the Armenians had seven killed and eight wounded . On April 14 , the Turks unsuccessfully attacked again with reinforcements ; by April 16 , the residents of Ishkhanadzor had retreated to Talvorik . The Turks tried to cut off their path , but with the help of local troops they broke through . On April 17 , a new attack ( which also repulsed ) was begun . On April 20 , the Turks surrounded Gelieduzan with a mass artillery bombardment and fedayeen ( led by Andranik ) retreated to Talvorik by night . Up to 20 , 000 people ( the population of five evacuated villages ) fled — some to the mountains and others to the Mush plain — and were slaughtered . Talvorik held out until May 6 , falling to Turkish reinforcements . Two hundred fedayeen between Таlvorik and Gelieguzan resisted until May 14 before retreating . The Turkish victory was accompanied by brutality : Women have been stolen , their breasts cut off , their stomachs ripped , children impaled , old men dismembered . Young girls withdrew in uncountable set . . . since May 5th , Turkish armies have wiped out one village after another in Berdakh , Mkragom , Alikrpo , Avazakhiubr and Arnist . According to estimates , from 3 , 000 to 8 , 000 people were killed and 45 villages destroyed . To hide traces of genocide from European observers , the Wāli of Bitlis gave orders to cut corpses into pieces and throw them into the Tigris . Aftermath . The sultan decreed that Armenians were forbidden to return to Sasun ; after diplomatic protests he relented , and 6 , 000 Armenians returned to the region .