Aram Tigran

Who was Aram Tigran?

Aram Tigran or Aramê Dîkran, born Aram Melikyan, was a contemporary Armenian singer who sang primarily in Kurdish. Among Assyrians in Qamishlo he was known as Aram Dikran.

Tigran was born in Al-Qamishli in northeastern Syria to a family originally from Diyarbakır. After finishing ninth grade, he concentrated his efforts on learning music and playing Oud and by the age of twenty years old, he was singing in three languages: Kurdish, Arabic, Syriac and Armenian. He is considered among the best of contemporary Kurdish singers and musicians. He recorded 230 songs in Kurdish, 150 in Arabic, 10 in Syriac, 8 in Greek.

Tigran died in Athens on August 8, 2009. Tigran wanted to be buried in Diyarbakır in Turkey, but the Turkish authorities refused this request.