Armenians in Istanbul

Ethnic group

Ethnic group

Armenians in IstanbulTotal population

50,000–70,000[1]
Languages
Turkish (majority), Western Armenian (minority)[2][3]
Religion
Armenian Apostolic Church (Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople), Armenian Catholic Church, and Armenian Evangelical Church
An Armenian couple in Constantinople in early 19th century by Louis Dupré. Armenians in Istanbul by years  Year  | TOTAL  | Armenians  | %

|
|
|

1478 [4] | 100,000 – 120,000  | 5,000–6,000  | ~5%
1844[5][6] | 891,000  | 160,000[7]–222,000  | 18–25%
1880s[6] |  | 250,000  |
1885[5] | 873,565  | 156,861  | 18%
1913  | 1,125,000  | 163,670[8] | 15%
2011  | 13,483,052[9] | 50,000 – 70,000[10][11][12][13] | 0.4–0.5%
2021  | 15,840,900  | 50,000 – 70,000[10][11][12][13] | 0.3–0.4%

Armenians in Istanbul (Armenian: Պոլսահայեր, romanized: Bolsahayer; Turkish: İstanbul Ermenileri) are a major part of the Turkish Armenian community and historically one of the largest ethnic minorities of Istanbul, Turkey. The city is often referred to as Bolis (Պոլիս) by Armenians, which is derived from the ending of the historical name of the city Constantinople.

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.[14][15][16][17][18] 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.[19][20][21]

In addition to local ethnic Armenians who are Turkish citizens, there are also between 10,000 and 30,000 recent illegal immigrants from Armenia in Istanbul.[22][23][24][25][26]

## History

[edit]

Armenians have been living in Constantinople since the fourth century. An Armenian parish was established in 572. Armenians flourished in Byzantium and there were many Byzantine emperors of Armenian origin.[27][7]

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 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.[28]

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, 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).[29][30]

The Ottoman Empire's Armenian genocide during World War I began with the deportation of 250 prominent Armenians from Constantinople.[31]

### Institutions

[edit]

At present, the Armenian community in Istanbul has 20 schools (including the Getronagan Armenian High School[32]), 17 cultural and social organizations, three newspapers (Agos, Jamanak, and Marmara), two sports clubs (Şişlispor and Taksimspor),[33] and two health establishments, as well as numerous religious foundations set up to support these activities.[34][35]

## Notable Armenians from Istanbul

[edit]

Further information: List of Armenians from Istanbul

## See also

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Armenians in Istanbul.

* Demographics of Istanbul
* Organization of Istanbul Armenians
* Armenians in the Ottoman Empire
* Armenians in Turkey
* Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople
* Kurds in Istanbul

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Turay, Anna. "Tarihte Ermeniler". Bolsohays: Istanbul Armenians. Archived from the original on 6 December 2006. Retrieved 2007-01-04.
2. ^ Helix Consulting LLC. "Turkologist Ruben Melkonyan publishes book "Review of Istanbul's Armenian community history"". Retrieved 11 June 2015.
3. ^ UNESCO Culture Sector, UNESCO Interactive Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger, 2009 Archived February 22, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
4. ^ The Armenian People from Ancient to Modern Times: Foreign dominion to statehood : the fifteenth century to the twentieth century; Volume 2 of The Armenian People from Ancient to Modern Times, Richard G. Hovannisian, Palgrave Macmillan, 2004. ISBN 978-1-4039-6636-0
5. ^ a b (in Armenian) Nicholas Adontz, «Հայկական հարցի լուծման շուրջ» [Around solution of the Armenian question], “Publishing house of Yerevan State University”, Yerevan, 1989, pp.87–88
6. ^ a b (in Armenian) ՍՏԱՄԲՈՒԼԱՀԱՅ ՀԱՄԱՅՆՔ. ԱՆՑՅԱԼԸ, ՆԵՐԿԱՆ, ԽՆԴԻՐՆԵՐԸ (պատմական ակնարկ)
7. ^ a b "Constantinople Vilayet (Province) / Βυζάντιον – Byzantion / Κωνσταντινούπολη – Konstantinoúpoli / قسطنطينيه – Ḳusṭanṭīniyye / η Πόλη / Պոլիս – Polis / Bolis / Istanbul". Virtual Genocide Memorial. Retrieved 2023-10-13.
8. ^ Justin McCarthy, THE POPULATION OF THE OTTOMAN ARMENIANS
9. ^ Turkish Statistical Institute: Population of Town Centers and Provinces in Turkey Archived July 8, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
10. ^ a b Hauer, Neil (April 23, 2019). "100 years after genocide, Armenians in Turkey revive their identity". The World. Archived from the original on 23 January 2021. "...the small Turkish Armenian community in Istanbul — only about 50,000..."
11. ^ a b "Ամերիկայի Հայկական Համագումարի Երեւանի Ներկայացուցիչ Ալին Օզինեանի Հետ". ragmamoul.net (in Armenian). RAG. 27 April 2017. Archived from the original on 12 August 2020. "Տիկ. Օզինեանէն իմացանք, որ ներկայիս Պոլսոյ մէջ կայ մօտաւորապէս 50–60 հազար հայ:"
12. ^ a b Mac Cormaic, Ruadhán (April 27, 2015). "Istanbul's Armenians mark genocide centenary". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 23 January 2021. "...community of about 60,000 Armenians still living in Istanbul."
13. ^ a b "Turkey's Armenians 'cannot breathe' as Karabakh rhetoric rages". france24.com. France24. 23 October 2020. Archived from the original on 23 January 2021. "Members of roughly 60,000 Armenians based mostly in Istanbul..."
14. ^ AZAD-HYE. "Azad-Hye Middle East Armenian Portal (Turkish Armenians hope for new era)". www.azad-hye.net. Archived from the original on 2014-07-28. Retrieved 2012-01-17.
15. ^ Foreign Ministry: 89,000 minorities live in Turkey Archived 2011-05-20 at the Wayback Machine Today's Zaman
16. ^ "Armenian in Istanbul: Diaspora in Turkey welcomes the setting of relations and waits more steps from both countries - News - ArmeniaNow.com". armenianow.com. Archived from the original on 2017-01-01. Retrieved 2012-01-17.
17. ^ The Armenian Church[usurped]
18. ^ Herzig, Edmund; Kurkchiyan, Marina, eds. (2005). The Armenians: Past and Present in the Making of National Identity. Abingdon, Oxon, Oxford: RoutledgeCurzon. p. 133\. ISBN 0203004930.
19. ^ Baronian, Marie-Aude; Besser, Stephan; Jansen, Yolande (2006-01-01). Diaspora and Memory: Figures of Displacement in Contemporary Literature, Arts and Politics. BRILL. doi:10.1163/9789401203807_006. ISBN 978-94-012-0380-7.
20. ^ Baser, Bahar; Swain, Ashok (2009). "Diaspora Design Versus Homeland Realities: Case Study of Armenian Diaspora". Caucasian Review of International Affairs: 57.
21. ^ "Minister denies calling Armenians 'Diaspora representatives' in Istanbul". www.tert.am. Retrieved 2023-10-08.
22. ^ Uras, Umut. "Armenian immigrants look for a better life in Turkey". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2023-10-07.
23. ^ "Rightwing Turkish politician calls for expulsion of Armenian migrants | Eurasianet". eurasianet.org. Retrieved 2025-04-04.
24. ^ Reuters https://www.reuters.com/article/world/armenian-migrants-in-turkey-live-in-shadow-of-century-old-massacre-idUSKCN0XL05C/. `{{cite web}}`: Missing or empty `|title=` (help)
25. ^ https://www.euractiv.com/section/global-europe/news/turkey-threatens-to-chase-out-armenian-immigrants/. `{{cite web}}`: Missing or empty `|title=` (help)
26. ^ "Turkey: Armenian Illegal Migrants Put National Grievances Aside for Work | Eurasianet". eurasianet.org. Retrieved 2025-04-04.
27. ^ "The Armenians in the Byzantine Empire by Peter Charanis, Armenian Medieval History, Armenia, Armenian Highlands, Byzantium, Byzantine Empire". www.attalus.org. Retrieved 2023-10-13.
28. ^ Andreasyan, Hrand D. (1964). Polonyalı Simeon'un Seyahatnâmesi: 1608–1619 (in Turkish). Istanbul: Istanbul University School of Literature Press. p. 4. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
29. ^ Barsoumian, Hagop (1982), "The Dual Role of the Armenian Amira Class within the Ottoman Government and the Armenian Millet (1750–1850)", in Braude, Benjamin; Lewis, Bernard (eds.), Christians and Jews in the Ottoman Empire: The Functioning of a Plural Society, vol. I, New York: Holmes & Meier
30. ^ Barsoumian, Hagop (1997), "The Eastern Question and the Tanzimat Era", in Hovannisian, Richard G (ed.), The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times, vol. II: Foreign Dominion to Statehood: The Fifteenth Century to the Twentieth Century, New York: St. Martin's, pp. 175–201, ISBN 0-312-10168-6
31. ^ Naimark, Norman M. (2017). Genocide: A World History. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-063771-2. OCLC 960210099.
32. ^ "Getronagan Armenian High School". Getronagan Armenian High School: Official Website. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
33. ^ Hrant Dink's club Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine
34. ^ "Ana Sayfa – T.C. Kültür ve Turizm Bakanlığı". www.kultur.gov.tr.
35. ^ AFP news agency (Director). Discreet but proud: The Armenians of Istanbul. Event occurs at 10 seconds. Retrieved 2018-05-14.

## Further reading

[edit]

* Hovannisian, Richard G. (ed.), Armenian Constantinople. Costa Mesa, CA: Mazda Publishers, 2010.
* Şekeryan, Ari (2020). "The transformation of the political position of the Armenian community in Istanbul vis-à-vis the declaration of the Republic of Turkey". Turkish Studies. 21 (2): 297–323\. doi:10.1080/14683849.2019.1604137. S2CID 151025314.
* Tchilingirian, Hratch, "The 'Other' Citizens: Armenians in Turkey between Isolation and (dis)Integration," Journal of the Society for Armenian Studies 25 (2017), pp. 156–84.

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