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Armenian history in brief:
As far as the origins of Armenians are concerned, it is believed that they are descendants of different tribes that melded with each other, between 10th and 7th century BC. These tribes consisted of indigenous people, called Hayasa-Azzi tribes, living in Eastern Anatolia and were later mixed with an Indo-European ethnic group, called Armens, which migrated from Northern Balkans to Eastern Anatolia. The mixture of this two ethnic groups eventually produced the Armenian people as it is known today, existing as a single linguistic family since 600 BC.
The first known Armenian state was Kingdom of Ararat, better recognised under its Assyrian name Urartu. This kingdom was created in 11th century and existed until 7th century BC. During the first centuries Urartu was ruled by a non-Armenian dynasty, although populated mostly by Armenians. In the late 7th century BC, the state of Urartu fell to Scythian invaders but after some decades was restored by an Armenian dynasty, the Orontides. Since the birth of the new kingdom, neighbouring people referred to it as "Armenia" while others still called it "Urartu". Armenia afterwards became a satrapy of Persia and later part of the Seleucid Empire. It regained its independence in 190 BC under king Artashes I.
After a small period of territorial expansion and cultural advancement, Armenia found itself in the middle of a long war campaign between Rome and Persia. As Persians tried to assimilate Armenians by taking advantage of religious similarities of the two nations, the Armenian king Trdat III in 301 AD declared Christianity as the official religion of Armenia, thus making Armenian Kingdom the first Christian state in the world. In the middle of 4th century AD Armenian lands were divided between Byzantine and Persian Empire. After fighting for spiritual independence, Eastern part of Armenia was conquered by the Arabs. More than two centuries later, Armenia regained its independence in 886 AD, consisting the Third Armenian Kingdom. During the next century Armenia reached its peak in political, social and cultural development. However, in the late 10th century AD the Armenian Kingdom was annexed by Byzantine Empire.
In 1080 AD, the last Armenian state before the Ottoman era was formed in a region at the north-eastern corner of the Mediterranean Sea under the name "Cilician Armenia". The new Armenian state established very close relations with Western Europe, while there was strong religious, political, and cultural influence. Cilician Armenia survived for three centuries and fell to Egyptian Mameluks in 1375. Armenian lands were eventually divided between the Ottoman Empire (Western Armenia) and Persia (Eastern Armenia). Fighting for centuries against their physical annihilation, Armenians managed to preserve and develop their national, religious and cultural identity.
The defeat of the Ottomans in World War I and the collapse of the Russian Empire gave the Armenians a chance to declare their independence in 1918. However, due to external pressure and overwhelming difficulties the Republic of Armenia collapsed in 1920. Subsequently, the Soviet Red Army moved into the territory of Eastern Armenia and in the same year declared it a Soviet republic. After the fall of Communism, on September 21, 1991, the Armenian people overwhelmingly voted in favor of independence in a national referendum, and an independent Armenia came into being.
For more information please check below:
1. http://www.welcomearmenia.com/armenia/armenian_history
2. http://www.hyeetch.nareg.com.au/armenians/history_p1.html
3. http://www.littlearmenia.com/html/little_armenia/armenian_history.asp
Armenians of Thessaloniki:
About the community
Armenian families are believed to be residing in Thessaloniki since Byzantine times, coming mostly from Eastern Thrace. During the mid-19th century roughly 300 Armenians came to Greece looking for jobs in the railway constructions and stayed afterwards. However, the biggest influx of Armenians running away from Hamidian Massacres and the subsequent Armenian Genocide (1915), took place in the early 20th century. Total amount of Armenian refugees looking for shelter in Greece (1922) was about 80.000, while those who settled in Thessaloniki were roughly 11.000 people.
Gradually, the number of Armenians residing in Greece fell as many of them left to Western Europe or USA looking for better living conditions. In addition, many people returned to Soviet Armenia, after Joseph Stalin's promise for jobs and accommodation (1947). As a result, in 1992, members of Armenian community of Thessaloniki consisted of roughly 2.500 people. Still, after the collapse of Soviet Union, more than 10.000 Armenians migrated to Greece (1993), facing financial hardship back in their home country. Nowadays, Armenians living in the city of Thessaloniki and its surrounding area count around 15.000 people.
Armenian Community of Thessaloniki is regarded as a very active one, maintaining a cultural centre, a sports union and of course the church of Madonna, the beating heart of the community. Additionally, there is a school which is free of charge for all the Armenian children that wish to learn their native language. As far as the relations with the Greek state are concerned, they are regarded as exemplary. In the recent past Greek government has helped Armenia in various ways. For instance, Greece sent humanitarian aid to Gyumri, Armenia's second largest city, after the terrible earthquake of 1988. The cities of Thessaloniki and Gyumri are twinned.
About the church of Madonna & the Armenian Cemetery
The story of the Armenian church of Thessaloniki begins in the last quarter of the 19th century. The community had is first chapel consisting of three separate apartment rooms in 1884. Afterwards, this chapel was moved to another apartment. In 1888, thanks to the efforts of Arsen Khatsoyan and Krikor Pasayan, a space for the construction of the church was bought. After the continuous refusals of the Ottoman state the construction permission was obtained in 1902. Eventually, the church was built in 1903, with the assistance of Armenians residing in Thessaloniki. The official inauguration took place on November 6 of the same year, while the church was dedicated to Madonna (Surp Astvatzatzin). The architect of the temple was the Italian Vitaliano Poselli who was known as the architect of many public buildings of Thessaloniki during that time.
The church of Madonna in Thessaloniki acts in constant contact and cooperation with the rest of Armenian churches in the world. In total, there are two Armenian Patriarchates, located in Constantinople and Jerusalem. Furthermore, the church of Madonna is often involved in social action, such as the organisation of blood donations and this year's concert of solidarity towards refugees and migrants. The church's doors are open to everyone.
The Armenian Cemetery exists since the late 19th century and it belongs to the jurisdiction of the church of Madonna. It contains roughly 500 graves, while the people buried there belonged to various Christian creeds (orthodox, catholic, apostolic and protestant). There are ceremonies honouring the deceased that are taking place in the cemetery, six times a year, one day after every major Christian holiday.
Armenian presence in the daily life of Thessaloniki
Nowadays, Armenian presence is still evident in the daily life of Thessaloniki. Apart from some markers that survived through the years, indicating Armenian community's long history in Thessaloniki, you can see stores owned by Armenians, in the city centre. Some of the owners took the time to share with us stories of their family business.
Walking along Alexandrou Svolou street we stopped by Krikor Sirakian's nuts and coffee shop. He had the courtesy to tell us about his grandfather who found shelter, as a refugee, in the town of Kavala, in 1922. Afterwards, in 1930, he opened his first shop in Kavala and in 1958 he moved it to Thessaloniki.
Some minutes later, we met Sebukh Kasparian at his jewelry shop, on Venizelou street. Mr. Kasparian told about his grandfather too. He was captured by the Ottoman Army in Edirne of northwestern Turkey and escaped to Deir-Al Zor (Syria), in 1915. There he was rescued by some Bedouins and taken to Egypt. Eventually, Mr. Kasparian's grandfather reached the town of Komotini (1918).
While many Greek people hosted Armenian refugees and the state provided them with shelter, it was very difficult to survive during these hard times.
Our visit to Erebuni Armenian Restaurant in Thessaloniki, Greece:
Background / Crosstalk:
We had a goal, as a group, to discover Armenian traditions and culture in Thessaloniki and that's why we started this cultural voyage from Erebuni Armenian Restaurant.
Our volunteer, Arthur Ambartsumyan, arranged an interview in Erebuni Armenian Restaurant and told us: “We have interview with Artur this weekend. I talked to his father who is the owner.” So weekend came and it was time to go to the restaurant to do the interview.
When we reached our destination we said to a girl working there: “We have interview with Artur. Is he here?”
Young girl: “Artur?”
Arthur: “Yes, I talked to his father and he said that we can do an interview with his son, Artur.”
This information elucidated who is Artur. Yes, there was Artur. But he has two names: Artur and Alexandros. He got used to ‘Alex’. This is very familiar to me, because it is something people usually do in Turkey. Some parents cannot choose between modern and traditional names, especially if their children's grandparents’ names are at stake. As a result, they give two names to their children. But the children choose their modern names generally. Eventually, parents or grandparents call them with their traditional names, and they continue to use their modern names.
We started our conversation joking about it and it actually was a pretty interesting conversation. Because three of us represented a variety of cultures with a lot of similarities among them. I am from Turkey and I have been living in Greece for about a year. Arthur has origins from Armenia but he was born in Russia and came to Greece when he was a kid. Alex was born in Armenia and came to Greece with his family during the '90s from the town of Alaverdi.
They opened Erebuni Armenian Restaurant as a family business in 2010, in order to keep the traditions alive. At the same time Alex was going to the Armenian School, while his family has always been an active member of Armenian Community in Thessaloniki. An interesting fact about Erebuni’s cuisine is that it has ingredients of Mediterranean, Asian, Eastern European and of course Armenian cooking. One can say their cuisine is very international. Alex told us: “All customers think our cuisine is very similar to their own countries’ cuisines”. Then we started checking their menu. To be honest, I was not so shocked. I have been in Yerevan, the capital city of Armenia, in 2014, and I had my shock when I was there because of our cuisines’ similarities: lahmacun, kebap, mantı, dolma, lavaş…
Trying not to be disrespectful we asked how business is going?
Alex: Given the circumstances it's ok! Although, during summer people leave Thessaloniki and as a result we have less customers.
Why Erebuni?
The family wanted to remember Armenian history and traditions. For this reason, their name choice was ‘Erebuni’, the capital of ancient Armenian Kingdom. The history of Yerevan dates back to the 8th century BC, with the founding of the fortress of Erebuni in 782 BC by king Argishti I at the western part of the Ararat region. Erebuni was ‘designed as a great administrative and religious centre, a fully royal capital’. After World War I, Yerevan became the capital of the First Republic of Armenia. The city expanded rapidly during the 20th century as Armenia became part of the Soviet Union. In a few decades, Yerevan was transformed from a provincial town within the Russian Empire, to Armenia’s principal cultural, artistic, and industrial center, as well as the seat of national government.
United Societies of Balkans EVS volunteers:
Our visit to Erebuni Armenian Restaurant in Thessaloniki was only one of the many important moments of our research. If you want to see our movie called “Life of Armenians in Thessaloniki” about the Armenian Community, and Armenians of Thessaloniki, you can follow this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSHIwZbiYqc
Written and Edited by: Arthur Ambartsumyan & Yeşim Bayrak
