Armenians of Romania

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Armenians in Romania
Total population
1,361 (2011 census); 10,000 (estimate)
Regions with significant populations
Transylvania, Wallachia
Languages
Armenian, Romanian
Related ethnic groups
Armenian diaspora
Part of a series on
Armenians
Armenian culture
By country
or region
Armenian diaspora
Russia
Subgroups
Religion
Languages and dialects
Persecution

Romanian Revolution
of 1989.

History

The distribution of Armenians in Romania (2002 census)

Danubian Principalities

The earliest traces of Armenians in what was later

Bagratuni rule (c. 885-1045) and other disasters, including the 13th-century Mongol invasion
.

Armenian expatriates were awarded

Prince
) of Moldavia.

In

Russian attack during the 1768–1774 war with the Ottomans
.

Citizenship was bestowed on the community only with the decision taken by the international protectorate over the two countries (instituted after the

civil rights
to all religious minorities.

Transylvania

Armenians of Transylvania (1850)

Armenians were present from early on in

King Ladislaus IV the Cuman (late 13th century). Here, they were even allowed to found their own trading towns, the most notable one being Gherla, called Armenopolis/Armenierstadt or Hayakaghak (Հայաքաղաք). The second important Armenian town in Transylvania is Dumbrăveni
(Elisabethstadt).

Despite their increasing autonomy, the townspeople's adherence to the

Romanian Roman-Catholic Church archbishops of Alba Iulia
.

Most Armenians from Transylvania were magyarized in the last half of the 19th century.

Romania

After the

political asylum to refugees
from the area.

Following

World War 1, Romania acquired territories including 40,000 Armenians (15,000 in Bessarabia, 20,000 in Transylvania, and 5,000 refugees), thereby raising the Armenian population of Romania to 50,000—they were represented by the Union of Romanian Armenians (headed by Harutiun A. Khentirian who would later become the honorary consul-general of Armenia in Romania in 1922–1924) which sought to gain them minority rights and to facilitate repatriation to Armenia. Despite cosigning the Treaty of Sèvres with Armenia, Romania withheld de jure recognition "pending the final determination of Armenia's boundaries and ratification of the Turkish peace treaty."[1]

In 1940 about 40,000 Armenians lived in Romania. Under

communist rule, Armenians started to leave the country, and Nicolae Ceaușescu
's regime eventually closed all Armenian schools.

In the 1990s, after the

dissolution of the USSR, the poor economic conditions in Armenia and the military conflicts in the Caucasus, Iraq or Lebanon caused a number of Armenians to seek a better future in Romania as emigrants or travel through Romania to Western Europe or the United States. Since the 1990s, Armenians of Romania enjoyed a cultural revival. As a state-recognized national minority, the Armenians of Romania have 1 seat in the Chamber of Deputies
. The Armenians of Romania have 3 newspapers: Nor Ghiank, Ararat and the Romanian-funded Lăcașuri de cult.

Churches and monasteries

Notable Romanians of Armenian descent

Main article: List of Romanians of Armenian descent

Romanians of Armenian descent have been very active in Romanian political, cultural, academic and social life. Most worthy of mention would be Vazgen I, Catholicos of Armenia, and Iacob Zadig, a general in the Romanian Army during World War I.

See also

References

  1. ISBN 0-520-01805-2
    .
  • Armenians in Romania at the Central European University site (retrieved on 28 November 2005)
  • (in Romanian) Armenii ("The Armenians"), on Divers online bulletin of ethnic minorities in Romania (retrieved on 28 November 2005)
  • Neagu Djuvara, Între Orient și Occident. Țările române la începutul epocii moderne ("Between Orient and Occident. The Romanian lands from at the beginning of the modern era"), Humanitas, Bucharest, 1995, p. 178
  • Constantin C. Giurescu, Istoria Bucureștilor. Din cele mai vechi timpuri pînă în zilele noastre ("History of Bucharest. From the earliest times to our day"), Ed. Pentru Literatură, Bucharest, 1966, p. 98, 270-271
  • Nicolae Iorga, Choses d’art arméniennes en Roumanie ("Artworks of Armenians in Romania"), 1935
  • Kornél, Nagy (2011). "The Catholicization of Transylvanian Armenians (1685-1715): Integrative or Disintegrative Model?". Integrating Minorities: Traditional Communities and Modernization. Cluj-Napoca: Editura ISPMN. pp. 33–56.
    ISBN 9786069274491
    .

External links
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