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41-873: Today, most estimations put the number of Armenian-Turkish citizens in Istanbul at 50,000, 60,000 or 70,000. They constitute the largest Christian and non-Muslim minority in Istanbul, as well as in Turkey. They are not considered part of the Armenian Diaspora by the Ministry of Diaspora , since they have been living in their historical homeland for more than four thousand years. In addition to local ethnic Armenians who are Turkish citizens , there are also many recent illegal immigrants from Armenia in Istanbul. Armenians have been living in Constantinople since

82-470: A central region to the history of Armenians , and one of the four geopolitical regions associated with Armenians , the other three being Armenia Minor , Sophene , and Commagene . The highlands are primarily defined by the geographical dispersal of its native inhabitants, the Armenians. Prior to the appearance of nominally Armenian people in historical records, historians have hypothesized that

123-587: A part of the Armenian Diaspora, since they have been living in their historical homeland for more than four thousand years. They are not considered part of the diaspora either by the Ministry of Diaspora Hranush Hakobyan : "Diaspora represents all the Armenians who live beyond the Armenian Highland. In this context, we have singled out the Armenians of Istanbul and those living on the territory of Western Armenia. Those people have inhabited

164-783: A social elite whose members included the Duzians (Directors of the Imperial Mint), the Balyans (Chief Imperial Architects) and the Dadians (Superintendent of the Gunpowder Mills and manager of industrial factories). The Ottoman Empire 's Armenian genocide during World War I began with the deportation of 250 prominent Armenians from Constantinople. At present, the Armenian community in Istanbul has 20 schools (including

205-581: Is about 400,000 km . Historically, the Armenian highlands have been the scene of great volcanic activity. Geologically recent volcanism on the area has resulted in large volcanic formations and a series of massifs and tectonic movement has formed the three largest lakes in the Highlands: Lake Sevan , Lake Van , and Lake Urmia . The Armenian highlands are rich in water resources. The central, axial chain of Armenian highland ridges, running from west to east across Western Armenia ,

246-703: Is also traditionally believed to be one of the possible locations of the Garden of Eden . The Armenian Plateau has been called the "epicenter of the Iron Age ", since it appears to be the location of the first appearance of Iron Age metallurgy in the late 2nd millennium BC . In the Early Iron Age , the Kingdom of Van controlled much of the region, until it was overthrown by the Medes and Orontid dynasty . In

287-803: Is called the Anti-Taurus . In the west, the Anti-Taurus departs to the north from the Central (Cilician) Taurus, and, passing right in the middle of the Armenian plateau, parallel to the Eastern (Armenian) Taurus , ends in the east at the Ararat peaks. To the west is the Anatolian plateau , which rises slowly from the lowland coast of the Aegean Sea and converges with the Armenian highlands to

328-399: Is in charge of coordinating and developing Armenia's relations with the diaspora. In Armenian, the diaspora is referred to as spyurk ( pronounced [spʰʏrkʰ] ), spelled սփիւռք in classical orthography and սփյուռք in reformed orthography . In the past, the word gaghut ( գաղութ pronounced [ɡɑˈʁutʰ] ) was used mostly to refer to the Armenian communities outside

369-575: Is in present-day eastern Anatolia , and also includes northwestern Iran, all of Armenia, southern Georgia , and western Azerbaijan. Its northeastern parts are also known as Lesser Caucasus , which is a center of Armenian culture . Regardless of its topography, the Armenian highlands are primarily defined by the geographical dispersal of its native inhabitants, the Armenians. From 4000 to 1000 BC, tools and trinkets of copper, bronze and iron were commonly produced in this region and traded in neighboring lands where those metals were less abundant. It

410-581: The Epic of Gilgamesh , the land of Aratta is placed in a geographic space that could be describing the Armenian plateau. In Antiquity , the population living on the Highlands was ethnically diverse, but in the Achaemenid period (550–330 BC), Armenian-speakers came to prominence. Recent studies have shown that Armenians are indigenous to the Armenian highlands and form a distinct genetic isolate in

451-671: The Ararat Valley where Mount Ararat is located. Western Armenia is nowadays referred to as eastern Anatolia , and Eastern Armenia as the Lesser Caucasus or Caucasus Minor, and historically as the Anti-Caucasus, meaning "opposite the Caucasus". During the Iron Age , the region was known by variations of the name Ararat ( Urartu , Uruatri , Urashtu ). Later, the Highlands were known as Armenia Major ,

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492-685: The Armenian Apostolic Church despite pressure from official authorities. A growing number of Armenians migrated to Cilicia during the course of the eleventh and twelfth centuries as a result of the Seljuk Turk invasions. After the fall of the kingdom to the Mamelukes and loss of Armenian statehood in 1375, up to 150,000 went to Cyprus , the Balkans , and Italy . Although an Armenian diaspora existed during Antiquity and

533-552: The Armenian homeland . It is borrowed from the Aramaic (Classical Syriac) cognate of Hebrew galut (גלות). The Armenian diaspora has been present for over 1,700 years. The modern Armenian diaspora was largely formed after World War I as a result of the Armenian genocide . According to Randall Hansen , "Both in the past and today, the Armenian communities around the world have developed in significantly different ways within

574-611: The Armenian upland , Armenian plateau , or Armenian tableland ) is the most central and the highest of the three plateaus that together form the northern sector of West Asia . Clockwise starting from the west, the Armenian highlands are bounded by the Anatolian plateau , the Caucasus , the Kura-Aras lowlands , the Iranian Plateau , and Mesopotamia . The highlands are divided into western and eastern regions, defined by

615-463: The Caucasus and Eastern Armenia at the expense of its suzerain, Qajar Iran , after four major wars spanning more than two centuries. The Highlands saw a massive demographic shift after the Armenian genocide and fall of the Ottoman Empire, with Western Armenia being relabeled "Eastern Anatolia". Since the Armenian genocide and partitioning of the Ottoman Empire after World War I ,

656-512: The Committee of Union and Progress as part of their Turkification policies. Today, the eastern half is mainly inhabited by Armenians , Azerbaijanis , and Georgians , while the western half is mainly inhabited by Armenians (included crypto-Armenians and Hemshins ), Kurds (including Yazidis and Zazas ), Turks, and Azerbaijanis . The region was administered for most of its known history by Armenian nobility and states , whether it

697-653: The Getronagan Armenian High School ), 17 cultural and social organizations, three newspapers ( Agos , Jamanak , and Marmara ), two sports clubs ( Şişlispor and Taksimspor ), and two health establishments, as well as numerous religious foundations set up to support these activities. Armenian Diaspora The Armenian diaspora refers to the communities of Armenians outside Armenia and other locations where Armenians are considered an indigenous population. Since antiquity, Armenians have established communities in many regions throughout

738-556: The Middle Ages , it grew in size due to emigration from the Ottoman Empire , Iran , Russia , and the Caucasus . The Armenian diaspora is divided into two communities – those communities from Ottoman Armenia (or Western Armenia ) and those communities which are from the former Soviet Union , independent Armenia and Iran (or Eastern Armenia ). Armenians in Turkey , such as Hrant Dink , do not consider themselves

779-800: The United States and Canada . In the United States, the rate of immigration increased after the Immigration Act was passed in 1965. The outbreak of the civil War in Lebanon in 1975 and the outbreak of the Islamic Revolution in Iran during 1978 were factors which pushed Armenians to immigrate. The 1980 U.S. Census reported that 90 percent of the immigration to the United States was undertaken by Iranian-Armenians during

820-639: The East Coast. The Armenian diaspora grew considerably both during and after the First World War due to the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire . In the year 1910, over 5,500 Armenians immigrated to the United States, and by 1913, 9,355 more Armenians entered the North American borders. As World War I approached, the rate of Armenian immigration rose to about 60,000. In 1920 and until the Immigration Act of 1924 , 30,771 Armenians came to

861-629: The Highlands saw the migrations of the Karluk and Kharizmian peoples. The Mongols, who did not distinguish between Christianity and Islam , reached the Highlands in 1235. With their arrival, Armenia became part of "the East" in its entirety for the first time since the territory was partitioned during the Byzantine–Sasanian wars . Considered the successors of the Abbasids , Sassanids and Seljuks,

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902-806: The Mongols eventually converted to Islam and established their dynasty in modern day Azerbaijan . In 1410 the area was ruled by the Kara Koyunlu , who ruled until 1468. The pastoral culture of the Kara Koyunlu Turks undermined agricultural practices in Armenia. In 1468, the Ak Koyunlu Turks assumed power; their reign lasted until 1502 when the Safavids brought Armenia under Iranian rule. The Ottoman Turks did not take control of

943-494: The United States; the immigrants were predominantly widowed women, children, and orphans. Although many Armenians perished during the Armenian genocide , some of the Armenians who managed to escape, established themselves in various parts of the world. By 1966, around 40 years after the start of the Armenian genocide, 2 million Armenians still lived in Armenia, while 330,000 Armenians lived in Russia, and 450,000 Armenians lived in

984-611: The city. He put the number of native Armenian households only at about 80, while Anatolian Armenian households who took refuge in Constantinople, Galata , and Üsküdar after the Celali rebellions , were more than 40 thousand. The Armenian community was made up of three religious denominations: Catholic , Protestant , and Apostolic , the Church of the vast majority of Armenians. The wealthy, Constantinople-based Amira class ,

1025-632: The constraints and opportunities found in varied host cultures and countries." In the fourth century, Armenian communities already existed outside Greater Armenia . Diasporic Armenian communities emerged in the Achaemenid and Sassanid empires, and they also defended the eastern and northern borders of the Byzantine Empire . In order to populate the less populated areas of Byzantium, Armenians were relocated to those regions. Some Armenians converted to Greek Orthodoxy while retaining Armenian as their primary language, whereas others remained in

1066-598: The early modern era and on, the region came directly under Safavid Iranian rule. Heavily contested for centuries between the Iranian Safavids and its archrival the Ottoman Empire , with numerous wars raging over the region, large parts of the Highlands comprising Western Armenia were finally conquered by the Ottomans in the first half of the 17th century following the Ottoman–Safavid War (1623–39) and

1107-585: The early seventh-century C.E. document called the Ašxarhac‘oyc‘ ("Geography"). The earlier Arab geographers know Armenia (Arminīya) under this definition, but the Muslim geographers of the late Middle Ages know Armenia as a much more restricted area, effectively the regions of Lake Van, Erzurum , and the upper Aras in Azerbaijan ( Adhharbāyjān ). According to Britannica Online , most of the Armenian highlands

1148-535: The east of Cappadocia . The Caucasus extends to the northeast of the Armenian highlands, with the Kura river forming its eastern boundary in the Kura-Aras lowlands . To its southeast is the Iranian plateau , where the elevation drops rapidly by about 600 metres (2,000 ft) to 1,500 metres (5,000 ft) above sea level. To the southwest is Mesopotamia (or Fertile Crescent ). According to Thomas A. Sinclair in

1189-677: The fourth century. An Armenian parish was established in 572. Armenians flourished in Byzantium and there were many Byzantine emperors of Armenian origin . In early 17th-century, according to traveler Simeon of Poland , there were five Armenian churches in Constantinople at the time: Surp Nikoghayos, Surp Asdvadzadzin, and Surp Sarkis in the neighborhood of Langa, another church in Balat , and Surp Georg in Sulumanastır. Apart from monks, there were 4–5 vardapets , 3 bishops, and over 100 priests in

1230-521: The highland region until 1514, several decades after Armenians in the Ottoman Empire were given millet status. The Highlands came under Ottoman control following the defeat of the Safavids at the Battle of Chalderon ; they appointed Kurdish tribesman to rule over the highlands' local administrative affairs. By 1516, the Ottoman Empire had invaded all of the Armenian lands, including Cilicia. From

1271-459: The lands for thousands of years, and they are not considered Diaspora [representatives]." Before 1870, 60 Armenian immigrants settled in New England. Armenian immigration rose to 1,500 by the end of the 1880s, and rose to 2,500 in the mid-1890s due to massacres caused by the Ottoman Empire. Armenians who immigrated to the United States before WWI were primarily from Asia Minor and settled on

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1312-483: The peninsula until finally the Ottoman Empire was declared in 1299. The Seljuks' victory at the Battle of Manzikert made them dominant in the region. Ruben I, Prince of Armenia , led some Armenians out of the Highlands and escaped into the mountains of Cilicia , where they founded the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia . In the early 13th century, as various peoples fled from the advancing Mongol onslaught,

1353-408: The region must have been home to various ethnic groups who became homogenous when the Armenian language came to prominence. The population of the Armenian highlands seem to have had a high level of regional genetic continuity for over 6,000 years. Recent studies have shown that the Armenian people descend from the indigenous people of the Armenian highlands and form a distinct genetic isolate in

1394-421: The region. The region was also inhabited during Antiquity by minorities such as Assyrians , Georgians , Greeks , Jews , and Iranians . During the Middle Ages , Arabs and particularly Turkmens and Kurds settled in large numbers in the Armenian highlands. The Christian population of the western half of the region was exterminated during the Armenian genocide (1915–1917), organized and perpetrated by

1435-418: The region. There are signs of considerable genetic admixture in Armenians between 3000 BC and 2000 BC , these mixture dates also coincide with the legendary establishment of Armenia in 2492 BCE, but they subside to insignificant levels since 1200 BC, remaining stable until today. Seljuk Turks first arrived in the Armenian highlands in the 1040s and expanded westward, conquering territories and populating

1476-552: The resulting Treaty of Zuhab . Eastern Armenia , the other major part of the Highlands, stayed in Iranian hands up to the 1828 Treaty of Turkmenchay , when it was ceded to Imperial Russia . During the first half of the 19th century, the Ottoman-held parts of the Armenian highlands comprising Western Armenia formed the boundary of the Ottoman and Russian spheres of influence, after the latter had completed its conquest of

1517-604: The third edition of the Encyclopaedia of Islam : It occupied a large part of present-day Turkey, the whole of the territory of the present Republic of Armenia, further districts, now in the Republic of Azerbaijan , immediately adjacent to the east, and the northwest corner of modern Iran . The preceding is the definition of Armenia assumed in texts of the Classical and Late Classical periods and laid out explicitly in

1558-464: The world. However, the modern Armenian diaspora was largely formed as a result of World War I , when the genocide which was committed by the Ottoman Empire forced Armenians who were living in their homeland to flee from it or risk being killed. Another wave of emigration started during the dissolution of the Soviet Union . The High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs established in 2019

1599-525: The years from 1975 and 1980. Less than one third of the world's Armenian population lives in Armenia. Their pre- World War I population area was six times larger than that of present-day Armenia, including the eastern regions of Turkey , northern part of Iran , and the southern part of Georgia . By 2000, there were 7,580,000 Armenians living abroad in total. Armenian Highlands The Armenian highlands ( Armenian : Հայկական լեռնաշխարհ , romanized :  Haykakan leṙnašxarh ; also known as

1640-520: Was as part of a fully independent Armenian state, as vassals, or as part of a foreign state. Since the 1040s, the highlands have been under the rule of various Turkic peoples and the Safavid dynasty , with pockets of Armenian autonomy in places such as Artsakh . Much of Eastern Armenia , which had been ruled by the Safavids from the 16th century, became part of the Russian Empire in 1828 and

1681-723: Was later incorporated into the Soviet Union , while much of Western Armenia was under the rule of the Ottoman Empire and later incorporated into modern Turkey . Today, the region is divided between Armenia , Azerbaijan , Iran , and Turkey. The Armenian highlands is part of the Alpide belt , forming part of the Eurasian range that stretches from the Pontic Mountains to the Malay Peninsula . Its total area

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