David Bek

Davit Bek
A monument to Davit Bek in Kapan.
Born	unknown date in the 17th century Chavndour, district of Kovsakan, province of Syunik, Safavid Armenia
Died	1728
Allegiance	Armenian national movement
Years of service	1722-1728
Rank	Supreme commander

Davit Bek (Armenian: Դավիթ Բեկ; died 1728) was an Armenian military commander and one of the most prominent military figures of the Armenian liberation movement of the 18th century directed against the forces of Ottoman Empire and Safavid Iran. In 1722-25, with direct support from Mkhitar Sparapet in Syunik and Avan Yuzbashi in Karabakh, Davit Bek headed the armed struggle of Syunik and Artsakh Armenians against Safavid Iran, during the Russo-Persian War (1722-1723). In 1726-28 Armenians under the leadership of Davit Bek went to war with Turkish armies at Halidsor and had showed great military competence and valor by defeating them easily.

Little is known about Bek's early life. He was of noble lineage, stemming from princes of Chavndour (district of Kovsakan in southeastern Syunik), and prior to the period of armed struggle against the Persians and Turks, Bek served in the royal court of Georgian king Vakhtang VI of Kartli. Peter the Great's steady advance south towards the Caucasus during the Russo-Persian War (1722-1723) with a massive 30,000 man army had revived hope among the Armenians and Georgians that Russian arms could help clear the region from Muslim dominion. Muslim misrule in the regions of Kapan and Artsakh (Karabakh) had provoked the Armenian meliks in 1722 to request military aid from Vakhtang. Vakhtang sent a small force under the command of Bek to Syunik and Bek was successful in dislodging the Turkic nomadic tribes there.