A martyr (
Greek: μάρτυς, mártys, 'witness'
stemμαρτυρ-, martyr-) is someone who suffers
persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party.
In the martyrdom narrative of the remembering community, this refusal to comply with the presented demands results in the punishment or execution of an individual by an oppressor. Accordingly, the status of the 'martyr' can be considered a
posthumous title as a reward for those who are considered worthy of the concept of martyrdom by the living, regardless of any attempts by the deceased to control how they will be remembered in advance.[1] Insofar, the martyr is a relational figure of a society's boundary work that is produced by
collective memory.[2] Originally applied only to those who suffered for their religious beliefs, the term has come to be used in connection with
people killed for a political cause.
Most martyrs are considered holy or are respected by their followers, becoming symbols of exceptional leadership and heroism in the face of difficult circumstances. Martyrs play significant roles in religions. Similarly, martyrs have had notable effects in secular life, including such figures as
Socrates, among other political and cultural examples.
Meaning
In its original meaning, the word martyr, meaning witness, was used in the secular sphere as well as in the
New Testament of the
Bible.[3] The process of bearing witness was not intended to lead to the death of the witness, although it is known from ancient writers (e.g.,
Josephus) and from the New Testament that witnesses often died for their testimonies.
During the
early Christian centuries, the term acquired the extended meaning of believers who are called to witness for their religious belief, and on account of this witness, endure suffering or death. The term, in this later sense, entered the
English language as a
loanword. The death of a martyr or the value attributed to it is called martyrdom.
The early Christians who first began to use the term martyr in its new sense saw
Jesus as the first and greatest martyr, on account of his
crucifixion.[4][5][6] The early Christians appear to have seen Jesus as the
archetypal martyr.[7]
The word martyr is used in English to describe a wide variety of people. However, the following table presents a general outline of common features present in stereotypical martyrdoms.
A person of some renown who is devoted to a cause believed to be admirable.
2.
Opposition
People who oppose that cause.
3.
Foreseeable risk
The hero foresees action by opponents to harm him or her, because of his or her commitment to the cause.
4.
Courage and commitment
The hero continues, despite knowing the risk, out of commitment to the cause.
5.
Death
The opponents kill the hero because of his or her commitment to the cause.
6.
Audience response
The hero's death is commemorated. People may label the hero explicitly as a martyr. Other people may in turn be inspired to pursue the same cause.
Martyrdom in the Middle East
In contemporary Middle Eastern cultures, the term for 'martyr’ (Arabic shahid) has more uses than the English word ‘martyr’.[9]
While the term can be narrowly used for a person who is killed because of their religion, it is more generally used to mean a person who died a violent death. Thus it can arguably mean a general ‘victim’.[10]
A person is a martyr if they were killed because of their identity, because of natural disasters like earthquakes,[11] or while performing relief or health care work. For example,
İbrahim Bilgen was killed by Israel in the 2010
Gaza flotilla raid. Because he died as a humantiarian activist, he is called a martyr by
Al-Jazeera.[12]
Martyrdom is also tied with nationalism, because a martyr can be a person who died in the context of national struggle.[13] For example, in Beirut,
Martyrs' Square is a public square that's dedicated to Lebanese nationalists who were executed by the Ottomans.
In Palestine, the word ‘martyr’ is traditionally used to mean a person killed by Israeli forces, regardless of religion.[14][15] For example,
Shireen Abu Akleh was a Palestinian Christian journalist who was killed by Israeli forces, and Arabic media calls her a ‘martyr’.[16] This reflects a communal belief that every Palestinian death is part of a resistance against Israeli occupation.[17] Children are likewise called martyrs, such as the late children of journalist
Wael Al-Dahdouh who were killed in an Israeli airstrike.[18]
The label of martyrdom is used as a form of memoralizing the dead within some narrative, such as how the victims of the
2020 Beirut explosion were called ‘martyrs of corruption’ as a form of protest against the government.[19]
The wide usage of ‘martyr’ is not restricted to Arabic. Armenian culture likewise uses the term for the victims of the
Armenian genocide, who are called Holy Martyrs.[20] April 24 is
Armenian Genocide Memorial Day, and also called "Armenian Martyrs Day".[21]
Martyrdom was extensively promoted by the
Tongmenghui and the
Kuomintang party in modern China. Revolutionaries who died fighting against the Qing dynasty in the
Xinhai Revolution and throughout the
Republic of China period, furthering the cause of the revolution, were recognized as martyrs.[citation needed]
Hinduism
Despite the promotion of ahimsa (non-violence) within
Sanatana Dharma, and there being no concept of martyrdom,[22] there is the belief of righteous duty (dharma), where violence is used as a last resort to resolution after all other means have failed. Examples of this are found in the
Mahabharata. Upon completion of their exile, the Pandavas were refused the return of their portion of the kingdom by their cousin Duruyodhana; and following which all means of peace talks by
Krishna,
Vidura and
Sanjaya failed. During the great war which commenced, even
Arjuna was brought down with doubts, e.g., attachment, sorrow, fear. This is where Krishna instructs
Arjuna how to carry out his duty as a righteous
warrior and fight.
Martyrdom (called shahadat in Punjabi) is a fundamental concept in
Sikhism and represents an important institution of the faith. Sikhs believe in Ibaadat se Shahadat (from love to martyrdom). Some famous Sikh martyrs include:[23]
Guru Arjan, the fifth leader of Sikhism. Guru ji was brutally tortured for almost 5 days before he attained shaheedi, or martyrdom.
Guru Tegh Bahadur, the ninth guru of Sikhism, martyred on 11 November 1675. He is also known as Dharam Di Chadar (i.e. "the shield of Religion"), suggesting that to save Hinduism, the guru gave his life.
Bhai Dayala is one of the Sikhs who was martyred at Chandni Chowk at Delhi in November 1675 due to his refusal to accept Islam.
Bhai Mati Das is considered by some one of the greatest martyrs in Sikh history, martyred at Chandni Chowk at Delhi in November 1675 to save Hindu Brahmins.
Bhai Sati Das is also considered by some one of the greatest martyrs in Sikh history, martyred along with Guru Teg Bahadur at Chandni Chowk at Delhi in November 1675 to save kashmiri pandits.
In
Christianity, a martyr, in accordance with the meaning of the original Greek martys in the New Testament, is one who brings a testimony, usually written or verbal. In particular, the testimony is that of the Christian
Gospel, or more generally, the
Word of God. A Christian witness is a biblical witness whether or not death follows.[25]
The concept of Jesus as a martyr has recently received greater attention. Analyses of the Gospel
passion narratives have led many scholars to conclude that they are martyrdom accounts in terms of genre and style.[26][27][28] Several scholars have also concluded that
Paul the Apostle understood Jesus' death as a martyrdom.[29][30][31][32][33][34] In light of such conclusions, some have argued that the Christians of the first few centuries would have interpreted the
crucifixion of Jesus as a martyrdom.[7][35]
In the context of church history, from the time of the
persecution of early Christians in the Roman Empire and
Nero, it developed that a martyr was one who was killed for maintaining a
religious belief, knowing that this will almost certainly result in imminent death (though without intentionally seeking
death). This definition of martyr is not specifically restricted to the Christian faith. Christianity recognizes certain Old Testament Jewish figures, like
Abel and the
Maccabees, as holy, and the New Testament mentions the imprisonment and beheading of
John the Baptist, Jesus's possible cousin and his prophet and forerunner. The first Christian witness, after the establishment of the Christian faith (at Pentecost), to be killed for his testimony was
Saint Stephen (whose name means "crown"), and those who suffer martyrdom are said to have been "crowned". From the time of
Constantine, Christianity was decriminalized, and then, under
Theodosius I, became the
state religion, which greatly diminished persecution (although not for non-Nicene Christians). As some wondered how then they could most closely follow Christ there was a development of desert spirituality, desert monks, self-mortification,
ascetics, (
Paul the Hermit,
St. Anthony), following Christ by separation from the world.[clarification needed] This was a kind of white martyrdom, dying to oneself every day, as opposed to a red martyrdom, the giving of one's life in a violent death.[36]
In Christianity, death in
sectarian persecution can be viewed as martyrdom. There were martyrs recognized on both sides of the schism between the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of England after 1534. Two hundred and eighty-eight Christians were martyred for their faith by
public burning between 1553 and 1558 by the Roman Catholic
Queen Mary I in England leading to the reversion to the
Church of England under
Queen Elizabeth I in 1559. "From hundreds to thousands" of
Waldensians were martyred in the
Massacre of Mérindol in 1545. Three hundred Roman Catholics were said to have been martyred by the Church authorities in England in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.[37]
Even more modern day accounts of martyrdom for Christ exist, depicted in books such as Jesus Freaks, though the numbers are disputed. The claim that 100,000 Christians are killed for their faith annually is greatly exaggerated according to the
BBC, with many of those deaths due to war,[38] but the fact of ongoing Christian martyrdoms remains undisputed.[39][40][41][42]
Shahid originates from the
Quranic Arabic word meaning "witness" and is also used to denote a martyr. Shahid occurs frequently in the
Quran in the generic sense "witness", but only once in the sense "martyr, one who dies for his faith"; this latter sense acquires wider use in the
hadiths. Islam views a martyr as a man or woman who dies while conducting jihad, whether on or off the battlefield (see
greater jihad and
lesser jihad).[43]
The concept of the martyr in Islam had been made prominent during the Islamic revolution (1978/79) in Iran and the subsequent Iran-Iraq war, so that the cult of the martyr had a lasting impact on the course of revolution and war.[44]
The Islamic meaning of martyr is connected with the general
Middle Eastern meaning of martyrdom.
In the
Baháʼí Faith, martyrs are those who sacrifice their lives serving humanity in the name of God.[45] However,
Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Baháʼí Faith, discouraged the literal meaning of sacrificing one's life. Instead, he explained that martyrdom is devoting oneself to service to humanity.[45]
Notable people entitled as martyr
399 BCE –
Socrates, a Greek philosopher who chose to die rather than renounce his ideals.
c. 34 CE –
Saint Stephen, considered to be the first Christian martyr.
1675 –
Guru Tegh Bahadur, the ninth
guru of Sikhism, referred to as "Hind di Chadar" or "Shield of India" martyred in defense of religious freedom of Hindus.
1967 –
Che Guevara, an influential Marxist–Leninist revolutionary in
Cuba,
the Congo, and
Bolivia who was executed in Bolivia by counter-revolutionary forces. He has since become a figure of political protests and revolutions worldwide.
A political martyr is someone who suffers persecution or death for advocating, renouncing, refusing to renounce, or refusing to advocate a political belief or cause.
Revolutionary martyr
The term "revolutionary martyr" usually relates to those dying in
revolutionary struggle.[47][48] During the 20th century, the concept was developed in particular in the culture and propaganda of communist or socialist revolutions, although it was and is also used in relation to nationalist revolutions.
In
India, the term "revolutionary martyr" is often used when referring to the world history of socialist struggle.
Guru Radha Kishan was a notable Indian independence activist and communist politician known to have used this phrasing.
^See e.g. Alison A. Trites, The New Testament Concept of Witness,
ISBN978-0-521-60934-0.
^Frances M. Young, The Use of Sacrificial Ideas in Greek Christian Writers from the New Testament to John Chrysostom (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2004), pp. 107.
^Eusebius wrote of the early Christians: "They were so eager to imitate Christ ... they gladly yielded the title of martyr to Christ, the true Martyr and Firstborn from the dead." Eusebius, Church History 5.1.2.
^Scholars believe that
Revelation was written during the period when the word for witness was gaining its meaning of martyr. Revelation describes several Christian reh with the term martyr (Rev 17:6, 12:11, 2:10–13), and describes Jesus in the same way ("Jesus Christ, the faithful witness/martyr" in Rev 1:5, and see also Rev 3:14).
^
abA. J. Wallace and R. D. Rusk, Moral Transformation: The Original Christian Paradigm of Salvation (New Zealand: Bridgehead, 2011), pp. 217–229.
^From A. J. Wallace and R. D. Rusk, Moral Transformation: The Original Christian Paradigm of Salvation (New Zealand: Bridgehead, 2011), pp. 218.
^Fierke (2012). "Martyrdom in the contemporary Middle East and north Africa". Political Self-Sacrifice: Agency, Body and Emotion in International Relations: 198.
doi:
10.1017/CBO9781139248853.011.
ISBN9781139248853.
^Fierke (2012). "Martyrdom in the contemporary Middle East and north Africa". Political Self-Sacrifice: Agency, Body and Emotion in International Relations: 216.
doi:
10.1017/CBO9781139248853.011.
ISBN9781139248853.
^See Philippe Bobichon, « Martyre talmudique et martyre chrétien », Kentron : Revue du Monde Antique et de Psychologie Historique 11, 2 (1995) and 12, 1 (1996), pp. 109–129
^J. W. van Henten, "Jewish Martyrdom and Jesus' Death" in Jörg Frey & Jens Schröter (eds.), Deutungen des Todes Jesu im Neuen Testament (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2005) pp. 157–168.
^Donald W. Riddle, "The Martyr Motif in the Gospel According to Mark." The Journal of Religion, IV.4 (1924), pp. 397–410.
^M. E. Vines, M. E. Vines, "The 'Trial Scene' Chronotype in Mark and the Jewish Novel", in G. van Oyen and T. Shepherd (eds.), The Trial and Death of Jesus: Essays on the Passion Narrative in Mark (Leuven: Peeters, 2006), pp. 189–203.
^Stephen Finlan, The Background and Content of Paul's Cultic Atonement Metaphors (Atlanta, GA: SBL, 2004), pp. 193–210
^Sam K. Williams, Death as Saving Event: The Background and Origin of a Concept (Missoula, MT: Scholars Press for Harvard Theological Review, 1975), pp. 38–41.
^David Seeley, The Noble Death (Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1990), pp. 83–112.
^Stanley Stowers, A Rereading of Romans: Justice, Jews, and Gentiles (Ann Arbor: Yale University Press, 1997), pp. 212ff.
^Jarvis J. Williams, Maccabean Martyr Traditions in Paul's Theology of Atonement (Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock, 2010)
^S. A. Cummins, Paul and the Crucified Christ in Antioch (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001).
^Stephen J. Patterson, Beyond the Passion: Rethinking the Death and Life of Jesus (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress, 2004).
^The French Revolution Page 95 Linda Frey, Marsha Frey – 2004 "He was immortalized by the painter David in the famous painting of the death scene that became the icon of the revolution and an emblem of revolutionary propaganda. The revolutionary martyr was commemorated not only in painting and in ..."
^Revolutionary Mexico: The Coming and Process of the Mexican ... p. 250 John Mason Hart – 1987 "They popularized Ricardo Flores Magon as a revolutionary martyr who was harassed by the American and Mexican ..."
^Vietnam At War Mark Philip Bradley – 2009 "As the concept of 'sacrifice' (hi sinh) came to embody the state's narrative of sacred war (chien tranh than thanh), the ultimate sacrifice was considered to be death in battle as a 'revolutionary martyr' (liet si)."
Foster, Claude R. Jr. (1995). Paul Schneider, the Buchenwald apostle: a Christian martyr in Nazi Germany: A Sourcebook on the German Church Struggle. Westchester, PA: SSI Bookstore, West Chester University.
ISBN978-1-887732-01-7
History.com Editors. "Abolitionist John Brown Is Hanged". History.com, 4 Mar. 2010, www.history.com/this-day-in-history/john-brown-hanged.
Further reading
Bélanger, Jocelyn J., et al. "The Psychology of Martyrdom: Making the Ultimate Sacrifice in the Name of a Cause." Journal of Personality & Social Psychology 107.3 (2014): 494–515. Print.
Kateb, George. "Morality and Self-Sacrifice, Martyrdom and Self-Denial." Social Research 75.2 (2008): 353–394. Print.
Olivola, Christopher Y. and Eldar Shafir. "The Martyrdom Effect: When Pain and Effort Increase Prosocial Contributions." Journal of Behavioral Decision Making 26, no. 1 (2013): 91–105.