81-541: David Kherdian (born December 17, 1931) is an Armenian - American writer , poet , and editor . He is known best for his book, The Road from Home (1979), depicting his mother's childhood. His works have been translated into 14 languages. Kherdian was born on December 17, 1931, in Racine , Wisconsin, to Veron Duhmejian and Melkon Kherdian, both survivors of the Armenian genocide . He dropped out of high school during
162-567: A Russian-dominated period until 1991. The Armenians played a significant role in the development of 20th-century Iran, regarding both its economical as well as its cultural configuration. They were pioneers in photography, theater, and the film industry, and also played a very pivotal role in Iranian political affairs. The Revolution of 1905 in Russia had a major effect on northern Iran and, in 1906, Iranian liberals and revolutionaries demanded
243-504: 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. Shah Abbas relocated an estimated 500,000 Armenians from his Armenian lands during the Ottoman–Safavid War of 1603–1618 to an area of Isfahan called New Julfa , which was created to become an Armenian quarter, and to
324-730: A brief period, from 1918 to 1920, Armenia was an independent republic plagued by socio-economic crises such as large-scale Muslim uprisings . In late 1920, the communists came to power following an invasion of Armenia by the Red Army ; in 1922, Armenia became part of the Transcaucasian SFSR of the Soviet Union , later on forming the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic (1936 to 21 September 1991). In 1991, Armenia declared independence from
405-482: A chapel ( fa ) , a school, Ararat Cultural Club and an Armenian cemetery ( fa ) ( fa ) . 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
486-495: A common origin of the Armenian and Greek languages. Some linguists tentatively conclude that Armenian, Greek (and Phrygian ) and Indo-Iranian were dialectally close to each other; within this hypothetical dialect group, Proto-Armenian was situated between Proto-Greek ( centum subgroup) and Proto-Indo-Iranian ( satem subgroup). This has led some scholars to propose a hypothetical Graeco-Armenian-Aryan clade within
567-791: 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 . Armenian Apostolic theologian Malachia Ormanian , in his 1911 book on the Armenian Church, estimated that some 83,400 Armenians lived in Persia, of whom 81,000 were followers of the Apostolic Church, while 2,400 were Armenian Catholics. The Armenian population
648-614: A few elements regarding identification of its pantheon with Greco-Roman deities). In the early years of the 4th century, likely 301 CE, partly in defiance of the Sassanids it seems. In the late Parthian period, Armenia was a predominantly Zoroastrian-adhering land, but by the Christianisation, previously predominant Zoroastrianism and paganism in Armenia gradually declined. This is the period that an Armenian community
729-546: A high concentration of them include Tabriz , Tehran , Salmas and New Julfa , Isfahan . Armenians have lived for millennia in the territory that forms modern-day Iran. Many of the oldest Armenian churches, monasteries, and chapels are in Iran . Iranian Armenia (1502–1828) , which includes what is now the Armenian Republic , was part of Qajar Iran up to 1828. Iran had one of the largest populations of Armenians in
810-649: 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 Safavids . In the 16th century, the Ottoman Empire and Safavid Iran divided Armenia. From the early 16th century, both Western Armenia and Eastern Armenia fell under Iranian Safavid rule . Owing to the century-long Turco-Iranian geo-political rivalry that would last in Western Asia , significant parts of
891-523: A minority in Eastern Armenia. In the wake of the Russian invasion of Iran and the subsequent loss of territories, Muslims ( Persians , Turkic speakers , and Kurds ) constituted some 80% of the population of Iranian Armenia , whereas Christian Armenians constituted a minority of about 20%. After the Russian administration took hold of Iranian Armenia, the ethnic make-up shifted, and thus for
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#1732772831802972-667: A result, by 1832, the number of ethnic Armenians had matched that of the Muslims. 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 . Nevertheless, Erivan remained a Muslim-majority city up to the twentieth century. According to the traveller H. F. B. Lynch ,
1053-473: 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. In addition to having their own churches and clubs, Armenians of Iran are one of
1134-596: Is very close to that used in Armenia , Georgia , and Russia . Iranian Armenians speak this dialect due in part to the fact that in 1604 much of the Armenian population in Nakhchivan, which used the eastern dialect, was displaced and sent to Isfahan by Shah Abbas . This also allowed for an older version to be preserved which uses classical Armenian orthography known as "Mashtotsian orthography" and spelling, whereas almost all other Eastern Armenian users (especially in
1215-736: The Armenian Highland . Each of the aforementioned nations and tribes participated in the ethnogenesis of the Armenian people. Under Ashurbanipal (669–627 BCE), the Assyrian empire reached the Caucasus Mountains (modern Armenia , Georgia and Azerbaijan ). Luwianologist John D. Hawkins proposed that "Hai" people were possibly mentioned in the 10th century BCE Hieroglyphic Luwian inscriptions from Carchemish . A.E. Redgate later clarified that these "Hai" people may have been Armenians. The first geographical entity that
1296-599: The Armenian highlands of West Asia. Armenians constitute the main population of Armenia and constituted the main population of the breakaway Republic of Artsakh until the 2023 Azerbaijani offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh and the subsequent flight of Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians . There is a wide-ranging diaspora of around five million people of full or partial Armenian ancestry living outside modern Armenia. The largest Armenian populations today exist in Russia ,
1377-523: The Armenian language is classified as an Indo-European language , its placement within the broader Indo-European language family is a matter of debate. Until fairly recently, scholars believed Armenian to be most closely related to Greek and Ancient Macedonian . Eric P. Hamp placed Armenian in the "Pontic Indo-European" (also called Graeco-Armenian or Helleno-Armenian) subgroup of Indo-European languages in his 2012 Indo-European family tree. There are two possible explanations, not mutually exclusive, for
1458-860: The Behistun Inscription of 515 BC, Darius the Great indirectly confirmed that Urartu and Armenia are synonymous when describing their conquests. Armenia became a satrapy of the Achaemenid for a long time, and relations between Armenians and Persians were cordial. The cultural links between the Armenians and the Persians can be traced back to Zoroastrian times. Before the 3rd century, no other neighbor had as much influence on Armenian life and culture as Parthia . They shared many religious and cultural characteristics, and intermarriage among
1539-632: The Berkshires of Massachusetts in the summer of 1970. In the early 1970s, The Poets in Schools project was established, with Kherdian participating for New Hampshire. During this period, he published a series of three anthologies on contemporary American poetry with Macmillan: Visions of America: By the Poets of Our Time , Traveling America: With Today's Poets , and Settling America: The Ethnic Expression of 14 Contemporary American Poets . Kherdian won
1620-693: The Bronze Age Trialeti-Vanadzor culture and sites such as the burial complexes at Verin and Nerkin Naver are indicative of an Indo-European presence in Armenia by the end of the 3rd millennium BCE. The controversial Armenian hypothesis , put forward by some scholars, such as Thomas Gamkrelidze and Vyacheslav V. Ivanov , proposes that the Indo-European homeland was around the Armenian Highland. This theory
1701-715: The Bronze Age , several states flourished in the area of Greater Armenia, including the Hittite Empire (at the height of its power in the 14th century BCE), ( Mitanni (South-Western historical Armenia, 1500–1300 BCE), and Hayasa-Azzi (1500–1200 BCE). Soon after Hayasa-Azzi came Arme-Shupria (1300s–1190 BCE), the Nairi Confederation (1200–900 BCE), and the Kingdom of Urartu (860–590 BCE), who successively established their sovereignty over
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#17327728318021782-584: The Mushki and the Kaskians . The Urumu apparently settled in the vicinity of Sason , lending their name to the regions of Arme and the nearby lands of Urme and Inner Urumu. The location of the older site of Armani is a matter of debate. Some modern researchers have placed it in the same general area as Arme, near modern Samsat , and have suggested it was populated, at least partially, by an early Indo-European-speaking people . The relationship between Armani and
1863-848: The Proto Indo-European words póti (meaning "lord" or "master") or *h₂éyos / *áyos (meaning "metal"). Khorenatsi wrote that the word Armenian originated from the name Armenak or Aram (the descendant of Hayk). Khorenatsi refers to both Armenia and Armenians as Hayk‘ (Armenian: Հայք) (not to be confused with the aforementioned patriarch, Hayk). Pontic Steppe Caucasus East Asia Eastern Europe Northern Europe Pontic Steppe Northern/Eastern Steppe Europe South Asia Steppe Europe Caucasus India Indo-Aryans Iranians East Asia Europe East Asia Europe Indo-Aryan Iranian Indo-Aryan Iranian Others European While
1944-673: The Russian Empire following Iran's forced ceding of the territories after its loss in the Russo-Persian War (1826-1828) and the outcoming Treaty of Turkmenchay . Western Armenia however, remained in Ottoman hands. The ethnic cleansing of Armenians during the final years of the Ottoman Empire is widely considered a genocide , resulting in an estimated 1.2 million victims. The first wave of persecution
2025-570: The USSR and established the second Republic of Armenia. Also in 1991, the ethnic Armenian-majority Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (later the Republic of Artsakh ), declared independence from Azerbaijan which lasted until 2023. Armenians are believed to have had a presence in the Armenian Highland for over 4,000 years. According to legend, Hayk , the patriarch and founder of the Armenian nation, led Armenians to victory over Bel of Babylon and settled in
2106-593: The United States , France , Georgia , Iran , Germany , Ukraine , Lebanon , Brazil , Argentina , Syria , and Turkey. The present-day Armenian diaspora was formed mainly as a result of the Armenian genocide with the exceptions of Iran, former Soviet states , and parts of the Levant . Armenian is an Indo-European language . It has two mutually intelligible spoken and written forms: Eastern Armenian , today spoken mainly in Armenia, Artsakh, Iran , and
2187-537: The 1979 Boston Globe–Horn Book Award for children's non-fiction, and he was the only runner-up for the 1980 Newbery Medal , recognizing The Road from Home (1979), about the childhood of his mother Veron Dumehjian before and during the Armenian genocide . The book has been published in most European countries and in other countries including Japan. It has been reissued several times in the United States. The sequel, Finding Home (1981), describes her moving to
2268-616: The 4th century in the Holy Land , and one of the quarters of the walled Old City of Jerusalem is called the Armenian Quarter . An Armenian Catholic monastic community of 35 founded in 1717 exists on an island near Venice , Italy. The region of Western Armenia was an influential part of the Eastern Roman Empire , which was absorbed by the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century. The Armenian population of
2349-454: The Armenian Highland. Today, with a population of 3.5 million (although more recent estimates place the population closer to 2.9 million), they constitute an overwhelming majority in Armenia, Armenians in the diaspora informally refer to them as Hayastantsi s ( Armenian : հայաստանցի ), meaning those that are from Armenia (that is, those born and raised in Armenia). They, as well as
2430-514: 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. From 1946–1949 about 20,000 Armenians left Iran for the Soviet Union and from 1962–1982 another 25,000 Armenians followed them to Soviet Armenia . By 1979, in the dawn of
2511-543: The Armenians of Iran and Russia, speak the Eastern dialect of the Armenian language. The country itself is secular as a result of Soviet domination, but most of its citizens identify themselves as Apostolic Armenian Christian. While the largest Armenian diaspora populations reside in Russia , the United States , France , and other countries, small Armenian trading and religious communities have existed outside Armenia for centuries. A prominent community has continued since
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2592-659: The Eastern Mediterranean world suddenly and violently collapsed. Armenians have since remained isolated and genetic structure within the population developed ~500 years ago when Armenia was divided between the Ottomans and the Safavid Empire in Iran. A genetic study (Wang et al. 2018) supports the indigenous origin for Armenians in a region south of the Caucasus which he calls "Greater Caucasus". In
2673-654: The Great of Persia refers to Urashtu (in Babylonian ) as Armina ( Old Persian : 𐎠𐎼𐎷𐎡𐎴) and Harminuya (in Elamite). In Greek , Armenios ( Αρμένιοι ) is attested from about the same time, perhaps the earliest reference being a fragment attributed to Hecataeus of Miletus (476 BC). Xenophon , a Greek general serving in some of the Persian expeditions, describes many aspects of Armenian village life and hospitality in around 401 BC. Some have linked
2754-621: The Great , a member of the Artaxiad (Artashesian) dynasty , the Kingdom of Armenia extended from the Caucasus all the way to what is now central Turkey , Lebanon , and northern Iran . The Arsacid Kingdom of Armenia , itself a branch of the Arsacid dynasty of Parthia , was the first state to adopt Christianity as its religion (it had formerly been adherent to Armenian paganism , which was influenced by Zoroastrianism , while later on adopting
2835-565: The Indo-European language family from which the Armenian, Greek, Indo-Iranian, and possibly Phrygian languages all descend. According to Kim (2018), however, there is insufficient evidence for a cladistic connection between Armenian and Greek, and common features between these two languages can be explained as a result of contact. Contact is also the most likely explanation for morphological features shared by Armenian with Indo-Iranian and Balto-Slavic languages . It has been suggested that
2916-494: The Islamic Revolution, an estimated 200,000 – 300,000 Armenians were living in Iran. By 1978, Tehran alone had an Armenian population of 110,000, in part due to migration of Armenian villagers from rural areas of Iran. 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
2997-608: The New Julfa district in Isfahan, Kurdistan, Khorasan, and Khuzestan, some of which have persisted in their respective communities. 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
3078-466: The Ottoman Empire is estimated to have been between 1.5 and 2.5 million in the early 20th century. Most of the modern Armenian diaspora consists of Armenians scattered throughout the world as a direct consequence of massacres and genocide in the Ottoman Empire . However, Armenian communities in Iran , Georgia ( Tbilisi ), and Syria existed since antiquity . During the Middle Ages and
3159-737: The Parthian and Armenian nobility was common. For twelve more centuries, Armenia was under the direct or indirect rule of the Persians. In the 11th century, the Seljuks drove thousands of Armenians into Iran, where some were sold as slaves and others worked as artisans and merchants. After the Mongol invasion of Persia and Mesopotamia 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 . Although Armenians have
3240-664: The Russian Empire. The community experienced a political rejuvenation with the arrival of the exiled Dashnak (ARF) leadership from Russian Armenia in mid-1921; approximately 10,000 Armenian ARF party leaders, intellectuals, fighters, and their families crossed the Aras River and took refuge in Qajar Iran. This large influx of Armenians who were affiliated with the ARF also meant that the ARF would ensure its dominance over
3321-666: The Tehran area (where they have been established since at least the Safavid era ), 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. In 387 AD when the Sasanian Empire and the Byzantine Empire split Armenia, the historically Armenian areas of Nor Shirakan , Paytakaran , and
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3402-522: The United States as a mail-order bride ; it is sometimes cataloged as fiction. In 2017, he published Starting from San Francisco: A Life In Writing , in which he wrote about his school years. Kherdian's influences include the Transcendental American poets Walt Whitman and Henry Thoreau , and American poet Emily Dickinson . Kherdian credited the three large Kaiserlian families (comprising ten children in all) as his first literary influences during his childhood years. His best friend, Mikey Kaiserlian,
3483-485: The ceding of swaths of territories to Russia in the first quarter of the 19th century, the independent position of the Tabrizi Armenians was strengthened, as they gained immunities and concessions by Abbas Mirza . The particular importance of the Tabrizi Armenians also grew with the transfer of the bishop's seat from St.Taddeus (or Qara Kelissa ) near Salmas to Tabriz in 1845. Tabriz has an Arajnordaran , three Armenian Churches ( St. Sargis , Shoghakat , and St. Mary ),
3564-868: The centuries prior to the genocide, additional communities were formed in Greece , Bulgaria , Hungary , Kievan Rus' and the territories of Russia, Poland , Austria , and Lebanon . There are also remnants of historic communities in Turkey ( Istanbul ), India , Myanmar , Thailand , Belgium , the Netherlands , Portugal , Italy , Israel-Palestine , Iraq , Romania , Serbia , Ethiopia , Sudan and Egypt . Iranian Armenians Iranian Armenians ( Armenian : իրանահայեր , romanized : iranahayer ; Persian : ایرانی های ارمنی ), also known as Persian Armenians ( Armenian : պարսկահայեր , romanized : parskahayer ; Persian : ارامنه فارس ), are Iranians of Armenian ethnicity who may speak Armenian as their first language. Estimates of their number in Iran range from 70,000 to 500,000. Areas with
3645-412: The city of Erivan was about 50% Armenian and 50% Muslim (Tatars i.e. Azeris and Persians) in the early 1890s. With these events of the first half of the 19th century, and the end of centuries of Iranian rule over Eastern Armenia , a new era had started for the Armenians within the newly established borders of Iran. The Armenians in the recently lost territories north of the Aras river would go through
3726-411: 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: Traditionally, Tabriz where Armenian political life vibrated from the early modern (Safavid) era and on. After
3807-421: The eastern half of Vaspurakan were ceded to the Persians, these territories comprise the western and northern regions of Azerbaijan. Following 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
3888-478: The efforts of two of his apostles, St. Thaddeus and St. Bartholomew . In the early 4th century, the Kingdom of Armenia became the first state to adopt Christianity as a state religion, followed by the first pilgrimages to the Holy Land where a community established the Armenian Quarter of Old Jerusalem . The earliest attestations of the exonym Armenia date around the 6th century BC. In his trilingual Behistun Inscription dated to 517 BC, Darius I
3969-465: The few linguistic minorities in Iran with their own schools. 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. 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 Western Armenian . However, Iranian Armenians speak an Eastern Armenian dialect that
4050-416: The first semester of his junior year. After his service within the United States Army, he graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a B.S. degree in Philosophy. He married Nonny Hogrogian , an Armenian illustrator, in 1971. She died at the age of 92 from cancer on May 9, 2024 in Holyoke, Massachusetts. The majority of his early poems were written over a period of one month, during his first visit to
4131-443: The first time in more than four centuries, ethnic Armenians started to form a majority once again in one part of historic Armenia. 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 (see also Russo-Turkish War of 1828–1829 ). As
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#17327728318024212-412: The former Soviet Union) have adopted the reformed Armenian orthography which was applied in Soviet Armenia in the 1920s and continues in the present Republic of 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
4293-475: The former Soviet republics; and Western Armenian , used in the historical Western Armenia and, after the Armenian genocide, primarily in the Armenian diasporan communities. The unique Armenian alphabet was invented in 405 AD by Mesrop Mashtots . Most Armenians adhere to the Armenian Apostolic Church , a non-Chalcedonian Christian church, which is also the world's oldest national church . Christianity began to spread in Armenia soon after Jesus' death, due to
4374-577: The imposed war are like Muslims martyrs and we consider them as honors of Iran". 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 Armenians remain
4455-424: The largest religious minority in Iran , and is still the largest Christian community in the country, far ahead of Assyrians . They are appointed two out of the five seats in the 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
4536-534: The later Arme-Shupria, if any, is undetermined. Additionally, their connections to Armenians is inconclusive as it is not known what languages were spoken in these regions. It has also been speculated that the land of Ermenen (located in or near Minni ), mentioned by the Egyptian pharaoh Thutmose III in 1446 BCE, could be a reference to Armenia. Armenians call themselves Hay ( Armenian : հայ , pronounced [ˈhaj]; plural: հայեր, [haˈjɛɾ]). The name has traditionally been derived from Hayk ( Armenian : Հայկ ),
4617-440: The legendary patriarch of the Armenians and a great-great-grandson of Noah , who, according to Movses Khorenatsi (Moses of Khorene) , defeated the Babylonian king Bel in 2492 BC and established his nation in the Ararat region. It is also further postulated that the name Hay comes from, or is related to, one of the two confederated, Hittite vassal states— Hayasa -Azzi (1600–1200 BC). Ultimately, Hay may derive from
4698-471: 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
4779-417: The name Armenia with the Early Bronze Age state of Armani (Armanum, Armi) or the Late Bronze Age state of Arme (Shupria) . Armini , Urartian for "inhabitant of Arme" or "Armean country", referring to the region of Shupria, to the immediate west of Lake Van. The Arme tribe of Urartian texts may have been the Urumu, who in the 12th century BC attempted to invade Assyria from the north with their allies
4860-432: The native ethnic groups of northwestern Iran, having millennia-long recorded history there. The region (or parts of it) has made up part of historical Armenia numerous times in history. These historical Armenian regions that nowadays include Iranian Azerbaijan are Nor Shirakan , Vaspurakan , and Paytakaran . Many of the world's oldest Armenian chapels, monasteries and churches are located within this region of Iran. On
4941-401: The needs of the community. Armenian presses published numerous books, journals, periodicals, and newspapers, the prominent one being the daily "Alik". Many Armenians served in the Iranian Armed Forces , with 89 killed in action during the Iran–Iraq War . Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has praised the role of Armenians in the war, saying to the Armenian Prime Minister that "Armenian martyrs of
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#17327728318025022-404: The newly established Russian Armenia. 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 . At the close of the fourteenth century, after Timur 's campaigns, Islam had become the dominant faith, and Armenians became
5103-431: The next few centuries, Djenghis Khan , Timurids , and the tribal Turkic federations of the Ak Koyunlu and the Kara Koyunlu ruled over the Armenians. From the early 16th century, both Western Armenia and Eastern Armenia fell under Iranian Safavid rule . Owing to the century long Turco-Iranian geo-political rivalry that would last in Western Asia, significant parts of the region were frequently fought over between
5184-453: The other traditional Armenian parties of Persia, and by extension over the entire Iranian Armenian community, which was centered around the Armenian church. 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. The modernization efforts of Reza Shah (1924–1941) and Mohammad Reza Shah (1941–1979) gave
5265-405: 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. The villages populated by the Armenians in Bourvari were Dehno, Khorzend, Farajabad, Bahmanabad and Sangesfid. From the late 18th century, Imperial Russia switched to a more aggressive geo-political stance towards its two neighbors and rivals to
5346-438: The region were frequently fought over between the two rival empires. From the mid-16th century with the Peace of Amasya , and decisively from the first half of the 17th century with the Treaty of Zuhab until the first half of the 19th century , Eastern Armenia was ruled by the successive Iranian Safavid, Afsharid and Qajar empires, while Western Armenia remained under Ottoman rule. From 1604 Abbas I of Iran implemented
5427-415: The remaining part of the contemporary Azerbaijan Republic. 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
5508-405: The rivaling Byzantine and Sassanid Persian empires, until the Muslim conquest of Persia overran also the regions in which Armenians lived. In 885 CE the Armenians reestablished themselves as a sovereign kingdom under the leadership of Ashot I of the Bagratid Dynasty . A considerable portion of the Armenian nobility and peasantry fled the Byzantine occupation of Bagratid Armenia in 1045, and
5589-414: The south, namely Iran and the Ottoman Empire. As a result of the Treaty of Gulistan (1813), Qajar Iran was forced to irrevocably cede swaths of its territories in the Caucasus, comprising modern-day Eastern Georgia , Dagestan , and most of the 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
5670-441: The spelling system of Western Armenian ). 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). The modern koine spoken in Tehran serves as the prestige dialect, although many historic varieties existed in Iranian Azerbaijan, Central Iran, Isfahan province,
5751-496: The subsequent invasion of the region by Seljuk Turks in 1064. They settled in large numbers in Cilicia , an Anatolian region where Armenians were already established as a minority since Roman times. In 1080, they founded an independent Armenian Principality then Kingdom of Cilicia , which became the focus of Armenian nationalism. The Armenians developed close social, cultural, military, and religious ties with nearby Crusader States , but eventually succumbed to Mamluk invasions. In
5832-613: The two rivalling empires. From the mid 16th century with the Peace of Amasya , and decisively from the first half of the 17th century with the Treaty of Zuhab until the first half of the 19th century, Eastern Armenia was ruled by the successive Iranian Safavid, Afsharid and Qajar empires, while Western Armenia remained under Ottoman rule. In the late 1820s, the parts of historic Armenia under Iranian control centering on Yerevan and Lake Sevan (all of Eastern Armenia) were incorporated into
5913-405: The villages surrounding Isfahan. 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 Khomeyn ( Markazi province ) and Aligudarz ( Lorestan province ). It was mainly populated by Armenians who were forcibly deported to
5994-422: The way of a war, or that killings of Armenians were justified by their individual or collective support for the enemies of the Ottoman Empire. Passage of legislation in various foreign countries, condemning the persecution of the Armenians as genocide, has often provoked diplomatic conflict. (See recognition of the Armenian genocide ) Following the breakup of the Russian Empire in the aftermath of World War I for
6075-651: The world, alongside the neighbouring Ottoman Empire until the beginning of the 20th century. Armenians were influential and active in modernizing Iran during the 19th and 20th centuries. After the Iranian Revolution , many Armenians emigrated to Armenian diasporic communities in North America and Western Europe . Today, the Armenians are Iran's largest Christian religious minority . Since Antiquity, there has always been much interaction between ancient Armenia and Persia. The Armenian people are among
6156-673: Was called Armenia by neighboring peoples (such as by Hecataeus of Miletus and on the Achaemenid Behistun Inscription) was the Satrapy of Armenia , established in the late 6th century BCE under the Orontid (Yervanduni) dynasty within the Achaemenid Persian Empire . The Orontids later ruled the independent Kingdom of Armenia . At its zenith (95–65 BCE), under the imperial reign of Tigran
6237-584: Was distributed in the following regions: 40,400 in Azerbaijan , 31,000 in and around Isfahan , 7,000 in Kurdistan and Lorestan , and 5,000 in Tehran. During the Armenian genocide , about 50,000 Armenians fled the Ottoman Empire and took refuge in Persia. As a result of the Persian Campaign in northern Iran during World War I , the Ottomans massacred 80,000 Armenians and 30,000 fled to
6318-532: Was established in Judea (modern-day Palestine -Israel), leading to the Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem . Later on, to further strengthen Armenian national identity, Mesrop Mashtots invented the Armenian alphabet , in 405 CE. This event ushered the Golden Age of Armenia , during which many foreign books and manuscripts were translated to Armenian by Mesrop's pupils. Armenia lost its sovereignty again in 428 CE to
6399-575: Was in the years 1894 to 1896, the second one culminating in the events of the Armenian genocide in 1915 and 1916. With World War I in progress, the Ottoman Empire accused the (Christian) Armenians as liable to ally with Imperial Russia , and used it as a pretext to deal with the entire Armenian population as an enemy within their empire. Governments of the Republic of Turkey since that time have consistently rejected charges of genocide, typically arguing either that those Armenians who died were simply in
6480-684: Was partially confirmed by the research of geneticist David Reich (et al. 2018), among others. Similarly Grolle (et al. 2018) supports not only a homeland for Armenians on the Armenian highlands, but also that the Armenian highlands are the homeland for the "pre-proto-Indo-Europeans". A large genetic study in 2022 showed that many Armenians are "direct patrilineal descendants of the Yamnaya ". Genetic studies explain Armenian diversity by several mixtures of Eurasian populations that occurred between 3000 and 2000 BCE. But genetic signals of population mixture cease after 1200 BCE when Bronze Age civilizations in
6561-803: Was the subject of The Dividing River / The Meeting Shore , a collection of poems written following Kaiserlian's death. Mikey and his cousin, Ardie, appeared frequently in Kherdian's poems. Maggie, the oldest of all the Kaiserlian children, appeared in his autobiographical novella, Asking the River . Permanent collections of Kherdian's work are part of the University of Connecticut Archive and Special Collections. Armenians Armenians ( Armenian : հայեր , romanized : hayer , [hɑˈjɛɾ] ) are an ethnic group and nation native to
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