Armenians in Bulgaria
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Armenians (Bulgarian: арменци, armentsi) are the fourth largest minority in Bulgaria, numbering 10,832 according to the 2001 census,[1] while Armenian organizations estimate up to 22,000.[2] They have been inhabiting the Balkans (including the territory of modern Bulgaria) since no later than the 5th century, when they moved there as part of the Byzantine cavalry. The main centres of the Armenian community in the country are the major cities Plovdiv (3,140 Armenians in Plovdiv Province), Varna (2,240 in Varna Province), Sofia (1,672) and Burgas (904 in Burgas Province).
The traditional language of the community is Western Armenian, though due to education during the Communist period in Bulgaria being in Eastern Armenian, many are also fluent in the latter dialect. Bulgarian, being the official language, is spoken by almost all Armenians in the country.
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[edit] History
The Armenians that settled between the 6th and the 11th century in the Rhodopes, Thrace and Macedonia were several thousand in number and were mostly Paulicians and Tondrakians. They had very strong ties with the Bulgarian sect of the Bogomils and were assimilated into it, Bulgarianized and later converted to Roman Catholicism (see Roman Catholicism in Bulgaria) or Islam (see Pomaks). According to one hypothesis, the mother of 11th-century Bulgarian tsar Samuil may have been Armenian,[3] and 10th-century Tsar Peter I's wife was the granddaughter of Byzantine emperor of Armenian origin Romanos I Lekapenos, Maria. Another Byzantine emperor—Basil I, the founder of the Macedonian dynasty and an Armenian from Thrace—spent his early years as a captive in the First Bulgarian Empire in the 9th century.
After both Bulgaria and Armenia were conquered by the Ottoman Empire, many Armenian settlers from Armenia, Crimea, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and Asia Minor arrived in what is now Bulgaria due to internal migration. Those coming from Armenia were forced to seek a new homeland because of their country's devastation by Arabs, Persians, and Turks.[4] With Bulgaria gaining autonomy in the aftermath of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78, many Armenians fled the Ottoman Empire because of the Hamidian massacres in the 1890s and settled in the country, particularly in the major cities of Plovdiv and Varna. In 1878, there were 5,300 Armenians in the Principality of Bulgaria and Eastern Rumelia, and this number increased by almost 20,000 after the Hamidian massacres.[4]
Around the Balkan Wars (1912–1913) the Armenians in Bulgaria were about 35,000, and after the events sorrounding the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire (1915–1917) 22,000 sought refuge in the country during the government of Aleksandar Stamboliyski in 1922.
During the Communist rule of Bulgaria (1945–1989) and the times of the Soviet Union, most of the Armenians returned to their homeland, then the Armenian SSR, but many also chose to stay in their new homeland or emigrate to other countries like the United States.[4] The dissolution of the USSR, the poor economic and life conditions in Armenia and the military conflicts in the Caucasus also forced a number of Armenians to seek a better future in Bulgaria as emigrants in the 1990s.
[edit] Culture, religion and media
The Armenians and their historical faith were an inspiration for noted Bulgarian poet Peyo Yavorov to write one of his most recognizable works, the poem Armentsi (Armenians), describing the Armenians as 'forlorn exiles, a miserable fragment; of an ever-brave martyr-people; little children of a troubled slavewoman-mother; and victims of a legendarily great feat':
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Изгнаници клети, отломка нищожна |
Three Armenian newspapers are published in Bulgaria, Armentsi, issued in Burgas every fortnight with a circulation of 3,500, the weekly Vahan issued in Plovdiv with a circulation of 1,000, and the weekly Erevan issued in Sofia.[2]
There are a total of ten Armenian Apostolic churches and two chapels in twelve cities, mostly in the urban centres with a significant Armenian population, with boards of trustees in Aytos, Burgas, Pazardzhik, Rousse, Shumen, Sliven, Stara Zagora, Varna and Yambol. All churches are organized in an eparchy based in Sofia.[2] The Armenian Evangelical Church in Bulgaria is located in Plovdiv.
[edit] Notable Bulgarian Armenians
- Haygashod Agasyan, composer
- Armen Ambartsumyan, footballer (goalkeeper) and Armenia international
- Antranik Arabadzhiyan, better known as Astor, illusionist
- Krikor Azaryan, film director
- Yuliya Berberyan, tennis coach and UDF deputy
- Eduard Eranosyan, footballer and manager
- Magardich Halvadzhiyan, film director and producer
- Vili Kazasyan, composer and conductor
- Kevork Kevorkyan, TV host
- Armen Nazarian, Greco-Roman wrestler (naturalized)
- Norair Nurikian, weightlifter
- Alice Panikian, Miss Universe Canada 2006
- Sylvie Vartan, French pop singer and music hall impressario
[edit] References and footnotes
- ^ Population as of 1 March 2001 divided by provinces and ethnic group (Bulgarian). National Statistical Institute (2001). Retrieved on 2006-07-10.
- ^ a b c Website of the Armenian community in Bulgaria (Bulgarian). Retrieved on 2006-07-10.
- ^ Adontz, Nikoghayos (1938). Samuel l'Armenien, Roi des Bulgares (in French). Brussels: Palais des academies.
- ^ a b c Armenians (Bulgarian). OMDA.bg. Retrieved on 2006-07-10.
[edit] External links
Armenian diaspora in Europe • Armenian diaspora in the Middle East • Armenian diaspora in the Americas
Specific countries:
Russia • Iran • United States • Syria • Lebanon • Turkey • Canada • Turkmenistan • Bulgaria • Iraq • Israel • Egypt • The Netherlands • Romania • India • Singapore
