Iranian Armenians

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Iranian Armenians
Total population
c. 70,000–500,000
Esfahan (New Julfa)
  • Urmia
  • Fereydan
  • Bourvari
    • Languages
    Religion
    Predominantly
    Minority Shia Islam
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    Iranian Armenians (

    Jolfa (Nor Jugha) quarter
    .

    Armenians have lived for millennia in the territory that forms modern-day Iran. Many of the oldest Armenian churches, monasteries, and chapels are located within

    Iranian Armenia, which includes modern-day Armenian Republic was part of Qajar Iran
    up to 1828. Iran had one of the largest populations of Armenians in the world alongside neighboring Ottoman Empire until the beginning of the 20th century.

    Armenians were influential and active in the modernization of Iran during the 19th and 20th centuries. After the

    Christian
    religious minority.

    History

    Saint Jude
    .

    Since Antiquity there has always been much interaction between ancient

    Armenian chapels, monasteries and churches
    in the world are located within this region of Iran.

    On the

    Persians
    were cordial.

    The cultural links between the Armenians and the Persians can be traced back to Zoroastrian times. Prior to the 3rd century AD, no other neighbor had as much influence on Armenian life and culture as Parthia. They shared many religious and cultural characteristics, and intermarriage among Parthian and Armenian nobility was common. For twelve more centuries, Armenia was under the direct or indirect rule of the Persians.[6] While much influenced by Persian culture and religion, Armenia also retained its unique characteristics as a nation. Later, Armenian Christianity retained some Zoroastrian vocabulary and ritual.[citation needed]

    In the 11th century, the Seljuk drove thousands of Armenians into Iran , where some were sold as slaves and others worked as artisans and merchants. After the Mongol conquest of Iran in the 13th century, many Armenian merchants and artists settled in Iran, in cities that were once part of historic Armenia such as Khoy, Salmas, Maku, Maragheh, Urmia, and especially Tabriz.[7]

    Early modern to late modern era

    Armenian Gospel Book made in Isfahan in 1655. Chester Beatty Library

    Although Armenians have a long history of interaction and settlement with Persia/Iran and within the modern-day borders of the nation, Iran's Armenian community emerged under the

    Abbas I of Iran implemented a scorched earth policy in the region to protect his north-western frontier against any invading Ottoman forces, a policy which involved a forced resettlement of masses of Armenians outside of their homelands.[11]

    See also: Great Surgun

    Shah Abbas

    Ottoman–Safavid War of 1603–1618[11] to an area of Isfahan called New Julfa, which was created to become an Armenian quarter, and to the villages surrounding Isfahan. Iran quickly recognized the Armenians' dexterity in commerce. The community became active in the cultural and economic development of Iran.[12]

    Bourvari (Armenian: Բուրւարի) is a collection of villages in Iran between the city of Khomeyn (Markazi province) and Aligudarz (Lorestan province). It was mainly populated by Armenians who were forcibly deported to the region by Shah Abbas of the Safavid Persian Empire during the same as part of Abbas's massive scorched earth resettlement policies within the empire.[13] The villages populated by the Armenians in Bourvari were Dehno, Khorzend, Farajabad, Bahmanabad and Sangesfid.

    Loss of Eastern Armenia

    From the late 18th century,

    Republic of Azerbaijan. By the Treaty of Turkmenchay (1828), Qajar Iran had to cede the remainder of its Caucasian territories, comprising modern-day Armenia and the remaining part of the contemporary Azerbaijan Republic.[14] The ceding of what is modern-day Armenia (Eastern Armenia in general) in 1828 resulted in a large number of Armenians falling now under the rule of the Russians. Iranian Armenia was thus supplanted by Russian Armenia
    .

    The Treaty of Turkmenchay further stipulated that the Tsar had the right to encourage the resettling of Armenians from Iran into the newly established Russian Armenia.[15][16] This resulted in a large demographic shift; many of Iran's Armenians followed the call, while many Caucasian Muslims migrated to Iran proper.

    Until the mid-fourteenth century, Armenians had constituted a majority in Eastern Armenia.[17] At the close of the fourteenth century, after

    Persians, Turkic speakers, and Kurds) constituted some 80% of the population of Iranian Armenia, whereas Christian Armenians constituted a minority of about 20%.[18]

    After the Russian administration took hold of Iranian Armenia, the ethnic make-up shifted, and thus for the first time in more than four centuries, ethnic Armenians started to form a majority once again in one part of historic Armenia.[19] The new Russian administration encouraged the settling of ethnic Armenians from Iran proper and Ottoman Turkey. Some 35,000 Muslims out of more than 100,000 emigrated from the region, while some 57,000 Armenians from Iran proper and Turkey arrived after 1828[20] (see also Russo-Turkish War of 1828–1829). As a result, by 1832, the number of ethnic Armenians had matched that of the Muslims.[18] Not until after the Crimean War and the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878, which brought another influx of Turkish Armenians, would ethnic Armenians once again establish a solid majority in Eastern Armenia.[21] Nevertheless, Erivan remained a Muslim-majority city up to the twentieth century.[21] According to the traveller H. F. B. Lynch, the city of Erivan was about 50% Armenian and 50% Muslim (Tatars[a] i.e. Azeris and Persians) in the early 1890s.[24]

    With these events of the first half of the 19th century, and the end of centuries of Iranian rule over

    Aras river would go through a Russian-dominated period
    until 1991.

    Twentieth century up to 1979

    Qajar era
    Shoghakat Armenian Church in Tabriz
    Vank Cathedral in the New Julfa district of Isfahan. One of the oldest of Iran's Armenian churches, built during the Safavid Persian Empire, 1655 – 1664.[25]

    The Armenians played a significant role in the development of 20th-century Iran, regarding both its economical as well as its cultural configuration.[26] They were pioneers in photography, theater, and the film industry, and also played a very pivotal role in Iranian political affairs.[26][27]

    Yeprem Khan was a leading figure in the Constitutional Revolution of Iran

    The Revolution of 1905 in Russia had a major effect on northern Iran and, in 1906, Iranian liberals and revolutionaries demanded a constitution in Iran. In 1909 the revolutionaries forced the crown to give up some of its powers. Yeprem Khan, an ethnic Armenian, was an important figure of the Persian Constitutional Revolution.[28]

    Armenian Apostolic theologian

    Lorestan, and 5,000 in Tehran.[29]

    During the

    Aras River and took refuge in Qajar Iran.[27] This large influx of Armenians who were affiliated with the ARF also meant that the ARF would ensure its dominance over the other traditional Armenian parties of Persia, and by extension over the entire Iranian Armenian community, which was centered around the Armenian church.[27] Further immigrants and refugees from the Soviet Union numbering nearly 30,000 continued to increase the Armenian community until 1933. Thus by 1930 there were approximately 200,000 Armenians in Iran.[30][31]

    The modernization efforts of Reza Shah (1924–1941) and Mohammad Reza Shah (1941–1979) gave the Armenians ample opportunities for advancement,

    Soviet Armenia.[33] By 1979, in the dawn of the Islamic Revolution, an estimated 200,000 – 300,000 Armenians were living in Iran.[34][35][36][37] By 1978, Tehran alone had an Armenian population of 110,000, in part due to migration of Armenian villagers from rural areas of Iran.[38]

    Armenian churches, schools, cultural centers, sports clubs and associations flourished and Armenians had their own senator and member of parliament, 300 churches and 500 schools and libraries served the needs of the community.

    Armenian presses published numerous books, journals, periodicals, and newspapers, the prominent one being the daily "Alik".

    After the 1979 Revolution

    St. Sarkis Cathedral in Tehran. One of Iran's Armenian churches, 1970[39]

    Many Armenians served in the

    Iranian Armed Forces, with 89 killed in action during the Iran–Iraq War.[40][41][42] Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has praised the role of Armenians in the war, saying to the Armenian Prime Minister that "Armenian martyrs of the imposed war are like Muslims martyrs and we consider them as honors of Iran".[43]

    The fall of the Soviet Union, the common border with Armenia, and the Armeno-Iranian diplomatic and economic agreements have opened a new era for the Iranian Armenians. Iran remains one of Armenia's major trade partners, and the Iranian government has helped ease the hardships of Armenia caused by the blockade imposed by Azerbaijan and Turkey. This includes important consumer products, access to air travel, and energy sources (like petroleum and electricity).

    Current status

    The Armenians remain the largest

    Iranian Parliament reserved for religious minorities (more than any other religious minority) and are the only minority with official observing status in the Guardian and Expediency Discernment Councils. Half of Iran's Armenians live in the Tehran area (where they have been established since at least the Safavid era[45]), most notably in its suburbs of Narmak, Majidiyeh, Nadershah, etc. A quarter live in Isfahan, and the other quarter is concentrated in Northwestern Iran or Iranian Azerbaijan.[46][47][48][49]

    Distribution

    In 387 AD when the

    Russo-Persian War (1826–28) about 40,000 Armenians left Azerbaijan and resettled in newly established Russian Armenia
    .

    The area retained a large Armenian population until 1914 when World War I began and Azerbaijan was invaded by the Ottomans who slaughtered much of the local Armenian population. Prior to the Ottoman invasion there were about 150,000 Armenians in Azerbaijan, and 30,000 of them were in Tabriz. About 80,000 were massacred, 30,000 fled to Russian Armenia, and the other 10,000 fled the area of the modern

    West Azerbaijan Province
    and took refuge among the Armenians of Tabriz. After the war ended in 1918 the 10,000 refugees in Tabriz returned to their villages, but many resettled in Soviet Armenia from 1947 up until the early 80s. Currently, about 4,000 Armenians remain in the countryside of East Azerbaijan and about 2,000 remain in Tabriz living in the districts of Nowbar, Bazar, and Ahrab owning 4 churches, a school and a cemetery.

    This is a list of previously or currently Armenian inhabited settlements:

    Tabriz

    Traditionally, Tabriz where Armenian political life vibrated from the early modern (Safavid) era and on.

    St. Sargis, Shoghakat, and St. Mary), a chapel (fa), a school, Ararat Cultural Club and an Armenian cemetery (fa) (fa
    ).

    Notable Armenians from Tabriz

    Pre-Pahlavi period (pre-1925)
    Pahlavi and post-Pahlavi period (post-1925)

    Central Iran

    List of Armenian villages in central Iran:

    The settlements of Lenjan, Alenjan and Karvan were abandoned in the 18th century.

    The other settlements depopulated in the middle of the 20th century due to emigration to New Julfa, Teheran or Soviet Armenia (in 1945 and later in 1967). Currently only 1 village (Zarneh) in Peria is totally, and 4 other villages (Upper Khoygan, Gharghan, Nemagerd and Sangbaran) in Peria and 1 village (Upper Chanakhchi) in Gharaghan are partially settled by Armenians.

    Other than these settlements there is an Armenian village near Gorgan (Qoroq) which is settled by Armenians recently moved from Soviet territory.

    Culture

    In addition to having their own churches and clubs, Armenians of Iran are one of the few linguistic minorities in Iran with their own schools.[52][53] Armenians are exempt from national laws barring alcohol consumption and public gender relations in Armenian 'public' spaces, where Muslim citizens are not permitted to enter.[53]

    Language: The Iranian Armenian dialect

    The Armenian language used in Iran holds a unique position in the usage of Armenian in the world, as most Armenians in the Diaspora use

    Soviet Armenia in the 1920s and continues in the present Republic of Armenia.[53] This makes the Armenian language used in Iran and in the Armenian-Iranian media and publications unique, applying elements of both major Armenian language branches (pronunciation, grammar and language structure of Eastern Armenian and the spelling system of Western Armenian).[54]

    The Armenian dialects of Iran are referred to collectively in Armenian as Persian Armenian or Parskahayeren (պարսկահայերէն, պարսկահայերեն), or less commonly as Iranian Armenian or Iranahayeren (իրանահայերէն, իրանահայերեն).[53][54] The modern koine spoken in Tehran serves as the prestige dialect, although many historic varieties existed in Iranian Azerbaijan, Central Iran, Isfahan province, the New Julfa district in Isfahan, Kurdistan, Khorasan, and Khuzestan, some of which have persisted in their respective communities.[54] Iranian Armenian dialects are distinguished phonologically from other Eastern Armenian varieties by the widespread pronunciation of the retroflex approximant ⟨ɻ⟩ for ր, which sounds similar to the American English alveolar approximant ⟨ɹ⟩, while Armenian dialects outside of Iran pronounce it as a flap ⟨ɾ⟩.[54] Many dialects also use a low front vowel as a marginal phoneme ⟨æ⟩, primarily in loanwords from Persian, but also in some native Armenian words such as mæt "one; a bit; for a moment" from մի հատ mi hat.[53][54] There are also many calques from Persian, particularly in cultural phraseology and in compound verbs (e.g. պատճառ ելնել patčaṙ elnel from باعث شدن bā'es ⁠šodan “to result in; to cause”).[53]

    See also

    Notes

    1. Transcaucasia.[22] Unlike Armenians and Georgians, the Tatars did not have their own alphabet and used the Perso-Arabic script.[22] After 1918 with the establishment of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, and "especially during the Soviet era", the Tatar group identified itself as "Azerbaijani".[22] Prior to 1918 the word "Azerbaijan" exclusively referred to the Iranian province of Azarbayjan.[23]

    References

    1. Open Society Institute
      . Iran, which borders Armenia to the south, is home to an estimated 70,000–90,000 ethnic Armenians...
    2. ^ Vardanyan, Tamara (June 21, 2007). "Իրանահայ համայնք. ճամպրուկային տրամադրություններ [The Iranian-Armenian community]" (in Armenian). Noravank Foundation. Հայերի թիվը հասնում է մոտ 120.000-ի։
    3. ^ Semerdjian, Harout Harry (January 14, 2013). "Christian Armenia and Islamic Iran: An unusual partnership explained". The Hill. ...the presence of a substantial Armenian community in Iran numbering 150,000.
    4. ISBN 9780230106352
      . Today, the Armenian community in Iran numbers around 200,000...
    5. ISBN 978-0-415-49750-3
      . Armenia has a population of 3 million with a 0.06 percent growth rate. The urbanization level is 64 percent. Yerevan, the capital, is the largest city at 1.1 million inhabitants, Gyumri has 160,000 and Vanadzor has 100,000. The population is 98 percent Armenian, with small percentages of Kurds and Russians. There is a great Armenian diaspora numbering 1 million in Russia, 500,000 in Iran, 500,000 in the USA, 400,000 in France and 300,000 in Georgia.
    6. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on June 16, 2015. Retrieved April 1, 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
    7. ^ "Armenian Iran history". Home.wanadoo.nl. Archived from the original on March 24, 2012. Retrieved March 21, 2012.
    8. ISBN 1780230702
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    11. ^ a b H. Nahavandi, Y. Bomati, Shah Abbas, empereur de Perse (1587–1629) (Perrin, Paris, 1998)
    12. ^ "Armenia in the Age of Columbus". Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved October 23, 2015.
    13. ^ M. Canard: Armīniya in Encyclopaedia of Islam, Leiden 1993.
    14. ISBN 1598849484
    15. ^ "Griboedov not only extended protection to those Caucasian captives who sought to go home but actively promoted the return of even those who did not volunteer. Large numbers of Georgian and Armenian captives had lived in Iran since 1804 or as far back as 1795." Fisher, William Bayne;Avery, Peter; Gershevitch, Ilya; Hambly, Gavin; Melville, Charles. The Cambridge History of Iran Cambridge University Press, 1991. p. 339.
    16. ^ (in Russian) A. S. Griboyedov. "Записка о переселеніи армянъ изъ Персіи въ наши области", Фундаментальная Электронная Библиотека
    17. ^ a b Bournoutian 1980, pp. 11, 13–14.
    18. ^ a b Bournoutian 1980, pp. 12–13.
    19. ^ Bournoutian 1980, p. 14.
    20. ^ Bournoutian 1980, pp. 11–13.
    21. ^ a b Bournoutian 1980, p. 13.
    22. ^ a b c Bournoutian, George (2018). Armenia and Imperial Decline: The Yerevan Province, 1900–1914. Routledge. p. 35 (note 25).
    23. ^ Bournoutian, George (2018). Armenia and Imperial Decline: The Yerevan Province, 1900–1914. Routledge. p. xiv.
    24. ^ Kettenhofen, Bournoutian & Hewsen 1998, pp. 542–551.
    25. ^ Trudy Ring; Noelle Watson; Paul Schellinger. Middle East and Africa: International Dictionary of Historic Places. Routledge. p. 268.
    26. ^ a b Amurian, A.; Kasheff, M. (1986). "ARMENIANS OF MODERN IRAN". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Retrieved May 31, 2016.
    27. ^ a b c Arkun, Aram (1994). "DAŠNAK". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Retrieved May 31, 2016.
    28. ^ "Welcome to Encyclopaedia Iranica".
    29. ^ Ormanian, Malachia (1911). Հայոց եկեղեցին և իր պատմութիւնը, վարդապետութիւնը, վարչութիւնը, բարեկարգութիւնը, արաողութիւնը, գրականութիւն, ու ներկայ կացութիւնը [The Church of Armenia: her history, doctrine, rule, discipline, liturgy, literature, and existing condition] (in Armenian). Constantinople. p. 266.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
    30. ISBN 9780871509635
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    31. ^ https://www.hawaii.edu/powerkills/SOD.TAB5.1B.GIF [bare URL image file]
    32. ISBN 978-1568591414
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    33. ^ "Պատմություն | Հայրենադարձություն". Archived from the original on February 8, 2015. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
    34. ^ Ibrahim, Youssef M. (December 10, 1978). "Moslem Revolt in Iran Stirs Fears for Future Of Minority Religions". The New York Times. Yet, Archbishop Artak Manookian, the leader of Iran's 200,000 Armenians...
    35. ^ "Assessment for Christians in Iran". Minorities At Risk Project. 2006. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved May 28, 2016.
    36. ISBN 9780160017292
      . Retrieved May 28, 2016. There were an estimated 300,000 Armenians in the country at the time of the Revolution in 1979.
    37. ISBN 978-1139429856
      . Armenians numbered an estimated 250,000 in 1979 (...)
    38. ^ Barry, James (2019). Armenian Christians in Iran: Ethnicity, Religion, and Identity in the Islamic Republic. Cambridge University Press. p. 5.
    39. ^ "Sarkis Cathedral, Tehran – Lonely Planet Travel Guide". Lonelyplanet.com. January 7, 2012. Archived from the original on October 5, 2008. Retrieved March 21, 2012.
    40. ^ "Iran's religious minorities waning despite own MPs". Bahai.uga.edu. February 16, 2000. Archived from the original on February 4, 2012. Retrieved March 21, 2012.
    41. ^ "Tehran – A Monument to Armenian Martyrs of the Iran-Iraq War". Art-A-Tsolum. October 3, 2018. Retrieved April 24, 2021.
    42. ^ "Square in Tehran Renamed After Armenian War Martyr". Financial Tribune. August 16, 2015. Retrieved April 24, 2021.
    43. ^ "Ayatollah Khamenei: Iran, Armenia should have solid, amicable ties despite U.S. opposition". Tehran Times. February 27, 2019. Retrieved April 24, 2021.
    44. ^ Golnaz Esfandiari (December 23, 2004). "A Look At Iran's Christian Minority". Payvand. Retrieved March 21, 2012.
    45. ^ Barry, James (2019). Armenian Christians in Iran: Ethnicity, Religion, and Identity in the Islamic Republic. Cambridge University Press. p. 4.
    46. ^ "Իրանի Կրոնական Փոքրամասնություններ". Lragir.am. June 30, 2013. Archived from the original on August 4, 2012. Retrieved July 6, 2013.
    47. ^ Իրանահայ «Ալիք»- ը նշում է 80- ամյակը
    48. ^ Թամարա Վարդանյան. "Իրանահայ Համայնք. Ճամպրուկային Տրամադրություններ". Noravank.am. Retrieved July 6, 2013.
    49. ^ Հայկական Հանրագիտարան. "Հայերն Իրանում". Encyclopedia.am. Retrieved July 6, 2013.
    50. ISBN 978-9004262577
    51. ^
      ISBN 978-3447043090
    52. ^ "Edmon Armenian history". Home.wanadoo.nl. Archived from the original on March 24, 2012. Retrieved March 21, 2012.
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    54. ^
      ISBN 978-3-96110-419-2
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    Sources

    Further reading

    External links

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