Yerukhan
| Erukhan | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
Yervant Srmakeshkhanlian 1870 Constantinople, |
| Died | 1915 (aged 44–45) Outside the city of Kharberd |
| Cause of death | Victim of Armenian Genocide |
| Nationality | Armenian |
| Occupation | writer |
| Spouse(s) | Married (Were killed with her two children in the death marches leading to Deir ez-Zor) |
Erukhan (Armenian: Երուխան) (1870-1915) was the pen name for Yervant Srmakeshkhanlian (Armenian: Երուանդ Սրմաքէշխանլեան), was an Armenian writer of the late 19th and early 20th century. He was arrested, tortured, and killed by the Turkish authorities during the Armenian Genocide.
Erukhan was born in 1870 in the city of Constantinople. He received his childhood education from the Nersesian institution, an old and shabby building serving as a school. Erukhan based one of his humorous characters in the novel “The Lord’s Daughter” (Armenian: Ամիրային Աղջիկը) on the school’s principal: Constantine Abantarian. As a student, Erukhan was said to be a lazy and weak student. He had a particular distaste for mathematics, saying that the first individuals that he detested in his life were his mathematics teachers.
In 1886, his father pushed him to pursue a career in medicine but a family friend persuaded him to enroll his son in the newly opened Central College (Armenian: Կեդրոնական Վարժարան). Erukhan enrolled in the school, but he was unable to be a first-rate student. Ironically, he was even mediocre in Armenian literature. He fell ill during the end of year exam session and was unable to write his exams. His appeal for make up examinations was refused and he dropped out of the institution.
Being from a poor family, he was forced to quickly find work. He worked for a week alongside a trader before being fired supposedly because he “wasn’t the man for the job”. During the next two years, Erukhan devoted himself to reading a multitude of novels from various European and Armenian writers, he also became fluent in the French language. He then joined the editing team of the newspaper East (Armenian: Արեւելք) as translator. He eventually started writing his own material, and his talent was spotted by the great Armenian writers of the time Zohrab and Arpiarian. He was encouraged to continue writing and his works were continually published in the newspapers East (Armenian: Արեւելք) and Masis (Armenian: Մասիս).
In 1896, during the Hamidian massacres, he fled the country, alongside many other Armenian intellectuals. He settled in Bulgaria, where he wrote for the newspaper Shavigh (Armenian: Շաւիղ) and worked as a teacher as well. In 1904, he moved to Egypt where he took charge of the editing of Light Bringer (Armenian: Լուսաբեր) newspaper. He got married to one of his former students in 1905.
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Wikipedia