Shahamir Shahamirian

[3][1] One of the first works published by the Madras printing press was Nor tetrak vor kochi hordorak ("New Booklet called Exhortation") by Hakob Shahamirian (or Movses Baghramian, according to some scholars), which preaches the new and revolutionary ideals of constitutional democracy.

[6][7] Article three of the proposed constitution reads: Every human being, whether Armenian or of some other race, born in Armenia or having migrated there from another country, whether man or woman, shall live in equality and shall be free in all their affairs, and nobody shall have the right to rule over another person, and people's labor shall be paid for in accordance with the type of work performed, as laid down in Armenian legislation.

[9] The issue of the authorship of Nor tetrak vor kochi hordorak is more controversial, with scholars disagreeing on whether it was written by Movses Baghramian or Hakob Shahamirian.

[6] Shahamirian and his collaborators saw Heraclius II of Georgia and, later, the Russian Empire as potential vehicles for the liberation of Armenia from Muslim rule.

[1] He welcomed the Treaty of Georgievsk which made Georgia a protectorate of Russia, and drafted a proposal according to which an Armenian republic would be established following a Russian campaign in the South Caucasus.

He left his heirs 52 million gold francs and numerous properties, including factories and tobacco plantations in Malacca.