Boyadjian was born in 1856, in
Hadjin in the region of
Cilicia. He had a younger brother,
Hampartsum (later known as Medzn Murad) and a sister, Haykanush, both of whom also participated in the
Armenian national movement. He studied at the Vartanian School in Hadjin and then continued his studies in
Constantinople from 1872 to 1874. Afterwards, he returned to Hadjin and worked as a teacher. From 1875 to 1889, he lived in the
Russian Empire, where he was exposed to contemporary revolutionary ideas. He returned to Hadjin in 1890 and became director of the school attached to Hadjin's St Toros church. That same year, Girayr and two of his friends founded a local branch of the
Social Democrat Hunchakian Party. After Girayr's brother Hampartsum organized the
Kum Kapu demonstration in Constantinople, the Turkish authorities decided to arrest him. Girayr advocated for solidarity between the oppressed people of the
Ottoman Empire and established contacts with Kurdish and Turkish revolutionary activists. Girayr founded a fedayee group for his revolutionary activities. Known as "Girayr the Great" (
Medzn Girayr), he mainly acted in the regions of Cilicia and
Sebastia.
Vahram Papazian acted as Girayr in a play written by Hemayag Aramiants in 1908. ==References==