Zaro Aga

Zaro Aga (Bitlis, Ottoman Empire, 1777? - İstanbul, Turkey, 29 June 1933), aged 157 when he died, is claimed to be one of the longest-lived humans in the history of mankind.

There is a debate as to his actual age when he died. In his 1976 book Arthur C. Custance cites a "News Review" article from 22 December 1938, wherein a number of instances of individuals who survived to remarkable ages were given, among whom was a Kurdish man named Zaro Aga who died in the United States in 1933 at the age of 164 years. Nevertheless, according to the death certificate given by his doctor, Zaro Aga's age was 157. He died in Istanbul, although there exists some confusion about the death place, probably because the body was sent to the U.S. right after his death.

He was born in Bitlis, Mutki, Gundê Meydan, Ottoman Turkey, worked as a construction worker when he was young, and then moved to Istanbul, where he worked as a porter for more than 100 years and finally retired as a janitor. He was a major attraction to press during his last years as the world's oldest living man and one who had traveled to many countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy and France. His body was sent to the U.S. for research purposes after he died.

Further reading

* I. Schükrü-Aksel, Über das Gehirn des „ältesten Mannes der Welt“ (Zaro Aga), Journal European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience, Volume 106, Number 1 / December 1937, ISSN 0940-1334 (Print) 1433-8491, Steinkopff
* A. C. Custance, Phd, The Virgin Birth and the Incarnation, Published in book form in 1976. Online Internet edition, 24 June 1997. [http://www.custance.org/old/incarnation/]
* R. Alakom, Eski İstanbul Kürtleri (1453-1925), Avesta yay, 1998, pp. 155-181.