Introduction
The Poochigians
are Armenians, one of the oldest races of history, and our Poochigian family originates
from historical Armenia situated on the crossroads of Europe and Asia. The members of the Poochigian family
are descendants from Mikael (Kazanjian) Poochigian, who changed his surname from Kazanjian
to Poochigian after Mikael relocated his family in Perri. Based on family legend, it
is believed that Mikael Kazanjian moved his family from an Armenian town north of Perri,
possibly Erzinjan, to the village of Perri in the late 1700's to early 1800's.
Before immigrating to America in the late 1800's and early
1900's, our Poochigian ancestors lived in the village, or nahiye, of Perri (also
called Charsandjak) on the Armenian Plateau in historical Armenia. The village, or nahiye,
of Perri was located in the larger kaza (region) of Charsandjak, the sanjak
(district) of Dersim, and vilayet (province) of Kharpert, which was a
territory under the rule of the Ottoman Turks.
Today, the village of Perri still exists in eastern Turkey and
is called "Akpazar." The municipality of Akpazar is located in the larger
modern-day province of Tunceli.
Geography undoubtedly played
a key role in the history and culture of Armenia and the Poochigian family. The purpose of this article is to provide a/an:
1. Geographical overview of the homeland of the
Poochigians, and other Armenians who originated
from the area surrounding Perri, Charsandjak, Dersim,
Kharpert, Armenia, and
2. Description of the land and the people of Armenia.
This report is a compilation of information, maps and
photographs from a variety of sources, which are shown in the References section.
Go to:
Part 2 - The
Armenian Village
& Perri, Charsanjak, Dersim
Last Updated 07/09/99 |
Armenian Homeland
