Saint Siamanto

Adom Yarjanian (Armenian: Ատոմ Եարճանեան), better known by his pen name Siamanto (Սիամանթօ; 15 August 1878 – August 1915), was an influential Armenian writer, poet and national figure from the late 19th century and early 20th century. He was killed by the Ottoman authorities during the Armenian genocide. Adom Yarjanian was born in 1878 in Agn (modern-day Kemaliye, Turkey), a town on the shores of the river Euphrates. He lived in his native town until the age of 14. He studied at the Nersesian School as a youth, where he developed an interest in poetry. The school's director encouraged him to continue developing his poetic talents. The director, Garegin Srvandztiants, the noted folklorist and ethnographer, gave him the name Siamanto, after the hero of one of his stories. Yarjanian would use this name for the remainder of his life. Siamanto came from an upper-middle-class family. They moved to Constantinople (Istanbul) in 1891, where he continued his studies at the Berberian School, graduating in 1896, during the Hamidian massacres. Like many other Armenian intellectuals, he fled the country for fear of persecution. He ended up in Egypt where he became depressed because of the butchery that his fellow Armenians had to endure. In 1897, Siamanto moved to Paris and enrolled in literature at the Sorbonne. He was captivated by philosophy and Middle Eastern literature. He had to work various jobs while pursuing his studies because of his difficult financial situation. He developed many ties with well-known Armenian personalities in and outside Paris. He enjoyed reading in French and in Armenian and read many of the best works of his time. From Paris he moved to Geneva, and contributed to the newspaper Droshak, the organ of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF). His first poetic works were published in this newspaper under such headlines as Dyutsaznoren (Heroically) and Aspetin yerkë (The knight’s song).