Ravished Armenia And The Story Of Aurora Mardiganian

A reminder of the pivotal role one woman played in our early apprehension of the Armenian genocide

“Ravished Armenia” and the Story of Aurora Mardiganian is the real-life tale of a teenage Armenian girl who was caught up in the 1915 Armenian genocide, the first genocide in modern history. Mardiganian (1901–1994) witnessed the murder of her family and the suffering of her people at the hands of the Ottoman Empire. Forced to march over fourteen hundred miles, she was sold into slavery. When she escaped to the United States, Mardiganian was then exploited by the very individuals whom she believed might help. Her story was published in book form and then used as the basis for a 1918 feature film, in which she herself starred. The film Ravished Armenia, also known as Auction of Souls, is a graphic retelling of Aurora Mardiganian’s story, with the teenager in the central role, supported by Anna Q. Nilsson and Irving Cummings and directed by Oscar Apfel. Only twenty minutes of the film—the first to deal with the Armenian genocide—is known to survive, but it proves to be a stunning production, presenting its story in newsreel style. This revised edition of Anthony Slide’s “Ravished Armenia” and the Story of Aurora Mardiganian also contains an annotated reprint of Mardiganian’s original narrative and, for the first time, the full screenplay. In his introduction, Slide recounts the making of the film and Mardiganian’s life in the United States, involving a cast of characters including Henry Morgenthau, Mrs. George W. Vanderbilt, Mrs. Oliver Harriman, and film pioneer William Selig. The introduction also includes original comments by Aurora Mardiganian, whom Slide interviewed before her death. Acclaimed Armenian Canadian filmmaker Atom Egoyan, who created a video art installation about Mardiganian in 2007, provides a foreword.

What the girl replied was so well remembered by the Turks who heard her that they told of it afterward ward among themselves until it was known through all the district. She looked quietly into the face of the Turkish officer and said: "My father is not dead. My mother is not dead. My brother and sisters, and my uncle and aunt and grandfather are not dead. It may be true you have killed them, but they live in Heaven. I shall live with them. I would not be worthy of them if I proved untrue to their God and mine. Nor could I live in Heaven with them if I should marry a man I do not love. God would not like that. Do with me what you wish." --------------- AN EMBLEMATIC account of the Armenian genocide, the international bestseller Ravished Armenia tells the incredible story of the 14-year-old Armenian girl Aurora Mardiganian in the chaos that gripped the Ottoman Empire in 1915. At the price of four heroic escapes, Aurora managed to escape the columns of death: once by throwing herself off a cliff in the Euphrates, another by stabbing a soldier who attacked here... In a war empire wreaked with chaos, where women were the target of all the abuses, the young Aurora managed to survive nearly two years. Then, commissioned by General Andranik, she joined New York to send relief and raise funds. Aurora has been nicknamed the St. Joane of Armenia. Aurora Mardiganian is both "the innocence of Anne Frank and the realism of Primo Levi", carried by a significant force out of the ordinary. Aurora Mardiganian is one of the great witnesses of the history of humanity and Ravished Armenia belongs to the global collective unconscious. In 2015, the Republic of Armenia chose to make Aurora the face of the Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity. All profits from the sale of the book are donated to actions in benefit of Armenia and its diaspora.

Ravished Armenia tells the tragic and horrific story of Aurora Mardiganian, a young Armenian woman fleeing genocide as a refugee. This edition includes the five original illustrations. The Armenian population living in the Ottoman Empire at the beginning of the 20th century were largely Christian. Although the ethnic Turks were mostly Muslim, the two groups had long co-existed. At the outbreak of World War I, many Armenians signed up to fight for the Ottoman cause - this show of loyalty led to an assumption that existing persecutions of the Armenian minority would stop, or at least decline. The author of this book was also desired by a local Turkish sultan to be his harem. Although she doesn't want this fate, Aurora realizes that in principle it would at least ensure the safety and well-being of her family. However, nothing could prepare the Armenian for the sudden and sustained horrors that soon followed.

Ravished Armenia tells the tragic and horrific story of Aurora Mardiganian, a young Armenian woman fleeing genocide as a refugee. This edition includes the five original illustrations. The Armenian population living in the Ottoman Empire at the beginning of the 20th century were largely Christian. Although the ethnic Turks were mostly Muslim, the two groups had long co-existed. At the outbreak of World War I, many Armenians signed up to fight for the Ottoman cause - this show of loyalty led to an assumption that existing persecutions of the Armenian minority would stop, or at least decline. The author of this book was also desired by a local Turkish sultan to be his harem. Although she doesn't want this fate, Aurora realizes that in principle it would at least ensure the safety and well-being of her family. However, nothing could prepare the Armenian for the sudden and sustained horrors that soon followed. The author describes how the situation rapidly escalated: news of massacres in the Armenian city of Van was swiftly followed by a Turkish official confronting the author's family, handing them a note ordering that they stay at home until further notice. Many of the men of Tchemesh-Gedzak, the author's hometown, were rounded up and jailed. The author's father tells the family of how confessions of treason were obtained by force, and many men executed. More rounding up ensues, as news of indiscriminate murder and incarceration spread. Although Aurora and her family remain in their hometown for a time, the deteriorating situation comes to a head with a notice for forced deportation. With no form of transport, thousands are made to walk the barren roads of Turkey with little food or water - as they make the terrible journey, they encounter town after town where grisly scenes have ensued. Published in 1918, not long after the author escaped from Turkey, we benefit from the rawness of Aurora's memories. Although the book is not pleasant reading, it opens the reader's eyes to the horrors of genocide and how quickly the worst tendencies of man can erupt and cause abysmal suffering.

Ravished Armenia tells the tragic and horrific story of Aurora Mardiganian, a young Armenian woman fleeing genocide as a refugee. This edition includes the five original illustrations. The Armenian population living in the Ottoman Empire at the beginning of the 20th century were largely Christian. Although the ethnic Turks were mostly Muslim, the two groups had long co-existed. At the outbreak of World War I, many Armenians signed up to fight for the Ottoman cause - this show of loyalty led to an assumption that existing persecutions of the Armenian minority would stop, or at least decline. The author of this book was also desired by a local Turkish sultan to be his harem. Although she doesn't want this fate, Aurora realizes that in principle it would at least ensure the safety and well-being of her family. However, nothing could prepare the Armenian for the sudden and sustained horrors that soon followed.