Israel Ori () (1658–1711) was a prominent figure of the Armenian national liberation movement and a diplomat that sought the liberation of Armenia from Persia and the Ottoman Empire. Early life Ori was born in 1658 in the village of Sisian in Syunik. He was the son of Melik Haikazian of Syunik. During his youth along with a number of other Armenians, Ori looked for support among the European powers in the fight of Armenians against the Persian and Ottoman Empires. As one of the members of a seven-man delegation created by Catholicos Jacob IV and the support of Georgian King George XI he visited Constantinople in 1678. When the Catholicos died, the plan was abandoned, but Ori independently resolved to complete the mission and journeyed to Venice, Paris and Vienna. He joined the French army of Louis XIV, and entered into contact with the high political circles of France, in course of which he constantly raised the question about the liberation of Armenian people from the foreign yoke; however, he was met with cold indifference. Life in Germany In 1695 Ori settled in Germany, in the city of Düsseldorf, where he established connections with Johann Wilhelm, Elector Palatine. Hoping that the question of Armenia would become the object of consideration in the highest diplomatic circles of European states, German prince sent Ori with a letter of recommendation to the emperor of Austria and the ruler of Florence. However, since Ori did not have official authority from the Armenian political mainstream, his statements were disregarded. Ori departed to Armenia with the purpose to obtain the appropriate written documents from the Armenian nobility on the advice of Johann Wilhelm. In 1699 Ori, together with melik Safraz called in Angekhakot a secret conference along with eleven Syunik Meliks, where they agreed to officially ask for military aid from West European states. Ori met with Emperor Leopold I in 1700 who advised him that Russian support would be necessary for the success of his plan. Without having attained results in Germany and Austria, Ori in 1701 left for Moscow. The Armenia Plan Ori was the first to set the pro-Russian orientation of the Armenian liberation movement for decades to come. After arriving in Moscow, Ori met Peter the Great and presented the request from the Meliks of Syunik where they had written that we do not have another hope, we hope for God