Born in th e village of Barsoum, in Gandzak (present day Gyanje, in Azerbaijan), Karabagh, Yeprem took part in the Koukounian (Gougounian) Expedition in 1890 and was subsequently exiled by Russian authorities to Sakhalin Island. He eventually escaped, reaching Atrpatakan (Iranian Azerbaijan). There, he joined the ARF and became an active fieldworker. He also took part in the Khanasor Expedition of 1897.

In 1899 he assassinated the informer Zakeh, who had been responsible for the massacre of nine ARF fedayis in the village of Mahlam. He was a member of the ARF Central Committee of Atrpatakan for several terms of office.

Yeprem earned fame especially in the days of the Iranian Constitutional Revolution, when with a small band of men he took the northern Iranian towns of Rasht, Enzeli, Kharzan, and Ghazvin.

Later, at the head of an ever-growing number of Armenian and Iranian revolutionaries, he entered Tehran in triumph against the anti-constitutional Iranian forces and was appointed chief of police there.

With a group of ARF fedayis under the command of Keri and Dashnaktsakan Khecho, Yeprem continued fighting against the anti-constitutional forces of Iran. He was later granted the rank of “Sardar” (military commander) and awarded a gem-studded sword and a pension.

He was killed on April 25, 1912, along with Nikol of Karabagh, during the battle of Sourjieh, near Hamadan (ancient Ecbatana), while attempting to recover the body of a fallen comrade during fighting against counter-revolutionary forces. He was buried in the yard of Tehran’s Haykazian School (at present, Davtian School). He was 44 years old.

Yeprem is considered a national hero of the Iranian liberation movement.

A Decision of the Fourth World Congress of the ARF

Noting that the present Persian movement may become a great social phenomenon of popular awakening both for Persia and the East, and finding it desirable, from the viewpoint of both Armenians and all mankind, that the movement spread and expand…

The World Congress prescribes that the Dashnaktsakan organizational bodies and individuals in Persia aid, through all means, the development of that movement, inserting in the Persian awakening the liberal, democratic, and working class spirit reflected in the Constitution of the ARF.

1907, Vienna