|
|
| Caro Lucas • Andranik Teymourian Yeprem Khan • Varand Vigen Derderian • Sarkies Brothers |
| Total population |
|---|
| 40,000-80,000 Armenian speakers[1] more than 350,000 Iranians of Armenian ethnicity abroad |
| Regions with significant populations |
| Tehran, New Julfa, Peria, Bourvari |
| Languages |
| Religion |
|
Armenian Apostolic, Armenian Catholic, Evangelical and Protestant Christians |
| Part of a series on |
| Armenians Հայեր |
|---|
| Armenian culture |
| Architecture · Art Cuisine · Dance · Dress Literature · Music · History |
| By country or region |
| Armenia · Nagorno-Karabakh Republic See also Nagorno-Karabakh Armenian diaspora Russia · France United States · Iran · Georgia Azerbaijan · Argentina · Brazil Lebanon · Syria · Ukraine Poland · Canada · Australia Turkey · Greece · Cyprus |
| Subgroups |
| Hamshenis · Cherkesogai · Lom people |
| Religion |
| Armenian Apostolic · Armenian Catholic Evangelical · Brotherhood · |
| Languages and dialects |
| Armenian: Eastern · Western |
| Persecution |
| Genocide · Hamidian massacres Adana massacre · Anti-Armenianism |
Armenia Portal |
Iranian-Armenians (Armenian: Իրանահայ Iranahay or Armenian: Պարսկահայ Parskahay, derived from հայ Hay "ethnic Armenian"), sometimes called Persian-Armenians, are Iranian citizens of Armenian origin. Their number is about 100,000.[2] However, recent estimates put the numbers between 40,000-80,000 due to emigration.[3] They mostly live in Tehran and Jolfa district, Isfahan. The Iranian-Armenians were very influential and active in the modernization of Iran during the 19th and 20th centuries. After the Iranian Revolution, many Armenians immigrated to Armenian diasporic communities in North America and Western Europe.Today the Armenians are Iran's largest Christian religious minority. Despite their cultural Armenian identity in Iran, no sizeable numbers of Iranian-Armenians hold Armenian citizenship.
Contents |
Since Antiquity there has always been much interaction between Ancient Armenia and Persia (Iran).
On the Behistun inscription of 515 BC, Darius the Great indirectly confirmed that Urartu and Armenia are synonymous when describing his conquests. Armenia became a satrap of the Persian Empire for a long period of time. Regardless, relations between Armenians and Persians were cordial.
Prior to the 3rd century AD, no other neighbor had as much influence on Armenian life and culture as Persia. They shared many religious and cultural characteristics, and intermarriage among Iranian and Armenian nobility was common. Armenia's conversion to Christianity in 301 alienated them from the Persians, who were mostly Zoroastrian, and the Persian conversion to Islam in the 7th century deepened this alienation.
In the 11th century, the Seljuk Turks drove thousands of Armenians to Iranian Azerbaijan, 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 bordering historic Armenia such as Khoy, Maku, Maraghe, Urmia, and especially Tabriz.[4]
Although Armenians have a long history of interaction with Persia/Iran, Iran's Armenian community emerged when Shah Abbas relocated tens of thousands of Armenians from Nakhichevan to an area of Isfahan called New Julfa in the early 17th century, which was created to become an Armenian quarter. Iran quickly recognized the Armenians' dexterity in commerce. The community became active in the cultural and economic development of Iran.
Bourvari (Armenian: Բուրւարի) is a collection of villages in Iran, between the city of Khomein (Markazi Province) and Aligoodarz (Lorestān Province). It was mainly populated by Armenians who were forcibly deported to the region by Shah Abbas of the Safavid Persian Empire during the Ottoman-Persian War.[5] The following villages populated by the Armenians in Bourvari were: Dehno, Khorzend, Farajabad, Bahmanabad and Sangesfid
By the 20th century, Iran (Persia at the time) had a dominant Armenian presence. As we have seen, by the end of the nineteenth century, there were some 300,000 Armenians in Iran, representing almost 3% of the Iranian population of 1900. Armenian political movements opened cells seeking refuge from the tsarist and Turkish police. The massacres of the end of 19th century and early 20th century brought more Armenians refugees to north-western Iran, which were safe havens provided by the American Red Cross.
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.
Thousands of Armenians had escaped to Iran during the Armenian genocide. The community experienced a political rejuvenation with the arrival of the exiled Dashnak leadership from Armenia in 1921. Further immigrants and refugees from the Soviet Union continued to increase the Armenian community until 1933. The modernization efforts of Reza Shah (1924–1941) and Mohammad Reza Shah (1941–1979) gave the Armenians ample opportunities for advancement and Armenians gained important positions in the arts and sciences, economy and services sectors, mainly in Tehran, Tabriz, and Isfahan that became major centers for Armenians with their numbers up to some 3,000,000.
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".
The Islamic Revolution has signaled the end of the "golden age" of the Armenian community in Iran. Restrictions by the leaders of the Islamic Revolution, the Iran-Iraq War, and the economic problems resulting from Iran's isolation. forced the exodus of many Armenians. The wave of mass emigration of Armenians from the country has significantly reduced their figures by some 1,000,000 according to various estimates. Iranian-Armenians immigrated mostly to Europe, North America and Australia.
Many Armenians however served in the army, and many died in action during the Iran–Iraq War.[7]
Later Iranian governments have been much more accommodating and the Armenians continue to maintain their own schools, clubs, and churches. 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). The remaining Armenian minority in the Islamic Republic of Iran is still the largest Christian community in the country, ahead of Assyrians.[8] The Armenians remain the most powerful religious minority in Iran. They are appointed two seats in Iranian Parliament (the most within the Religious minority branch) and are the only minority with official Observing Status in the Guardian and Expediency Discernment Councils.
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.[9]
The Armenian language used in Iran holds a unique position in the usage of Armenian in the world. Usually, the traditional Armenian diaspora worldwide that emanated from the Ottoman Empire and immigrated to the Middle East, Europe and the Americas, uses Western Armenian. However the Armenians of Iran, owing to their proximity to the Armenian Republic, actually speak an Eastern Armenian dialect that is very close to that used in Armenia, Georgia and Russia.
However in stark departure from their other Eastern Armenian brethrens, the Iranian-Armenians have stuck to the Traditional Armenian orthography known as "Mashdotsian orthography" and spelling, whereas almost all other Eastern Armenian users have adopted the Reformed Armenian Orthography known as "Abeghian orthography" applied in Soviet Armenia.
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).
|
||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||