Arshavir Shirakian

Arshavir Shirakian
Arshavir Shiragian's passport photo in 1919
Born	1900 Constantinople, Ottoman Empire
Died	April 12, 1973 (aged 72–73) Hackensack, New Jersey
Resting place	Hackensack Cemetery Coordinates: 40°54′31″N 74°02′00″W / 40.90872°N 74.033301°W / 40.90872; -74.033301
Known for	Assassinating Cemal Azmi, Said Halim Pasha, Behaeddin Shakir, and Vahe Ihsan
Political party	Armenian Revolutionary Federation

Arshavir Shirakian (also Shiragian, Armenian: Արշաւիր Շիրակեան; 1900 – April 12, 1973) was an Armenian writer who was noted for his assassination of Said Halim Pasha and Cemal Azmi as an act of vengeance for their roles in the Armenian Genocide. He is also noted for writing his memoirs The Will of the Martyrs (Կտակն էր Նահատակներուն) which provide an accurate description of his life during the Armenian Genocide and the Operation Nemesis.

Arshavir Shirakian was born in Constantinople, Ottoman Empire in 1900. Shirakian grew up around many members of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation. During the Armenian Genocide, Shirakian was entrusted the job of smuggling weapons and delivering secret messages amongst party members. Shirakian would describe in his memoirs that during those days, there were many hate rallies against Armenians and that many Armenian establishments were vandalized such as the Tokatlian Hotel.

Arshavir Shirakian's first target was assassinating Armenian traitor Vahe Ishan (Yesayan). According to his memoirs, Vahe Ishan was "a traitor who was despised by his countrymen, his relatives, and eventually by his own children" and "helped to draw up the list of prominent Armenians who were arrested and deported in 1915." Shirakian assassinated Ihsan on March 27, 1920 in Constantinople.

Shirakian was given the task to assassinate Sait Halim Pasha while he was in exile in Rome, Italy. Shirakian took up residence in a house on 28 Via Cola di Rienzo in Rome. On December 5, 1921, Shirakian assassinated Sait Halim Pasha while he was in a taxi on the home on Via Eustacchio street.