In the Ottoman Empire, amira was a small group of elite, wealthy

Ottoman Armenians Armenians were a significant minority in the Ottoman Empire. They belonged to either the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Armenian Catholic Church, or the Armenian Protestant Church, each church serving as the basis of a millet. They played a ...

living in urban centers of

Western Armenia Western Armenia (Western Armenian: Արեւմտեան Հայաստան, ''Arevmdian Hayasdan'') is a term to refer to the western parts of the Armenian highlands located within Turkey (formerly the Ottoman Empire) that comprise the historic ...

, and in Istanbul.Barsoumian, Hagop Levon. '' The Armenian Amira Class of Istanbul''. Columbia University, 1980. p.54 This word has an Arab origin, meaning "prince" or "lord", but to the Armenians had the restricted meaning of "national leader." The term was used between 1550 and 1870.

Role in the Ottoman State

The amira class played a role in Ottoman finances and administration due to their wealth and connections. Many amiras were sarrafs (money changers) or

technocrats Technocracy is a form of government in which decision-makers appoint knowledge experts in specific domains to provide them with advice and guidance in various areas of their policy-making responsibilities. Technocracy follows largely in the tra ...

, helping to sustain the Ottoman financial structure until European capitalist penetration in the 1850s. They enjoyed certain privileges, but their position rested on favor, not rights: amiras could be fined, dismissed, or executed and their wealth confiscated at a stroke by the

Sublime Porte The Sublime Porte, also known as the Ottoman Porte or High Porte ( or ''Babıali''; ), was a synecdoche or metaphor used to refer collectively to the central government of the Ottoman Empire in Istanbul. It is particularly referred to the buildi ...

. Within the Ottoman Empire, Armenians were considered second-class citizens; they were required to pay extra taxes and faced discriminatory laws.

Role in the Armenian Millet

Up until the mid 19th century, the amira class exerted significant control over the

Armenian millet The Armenian millet (, ''Millet-i Ermeniyân'') or the Armenian Gregorian Millet was the Ottoman millet (autonomous ethnoreligious community) of the Armenian Apostolic Church. It initially included not just Armenians in the Ottoman Empire but membe ...

in the Ottoman Empire, particularly by bringing the Armenian Patriarchate of Istanbul under their influence. The amiras were also instrumental in the cultural preservation and revival of the Armenian people. Through their financial and moral support, many secular schools were established in Istanbul, and numerous books and periodicals were published. Their philanthropic efforts were notable, extending to the construction and repair of churches. However, In the struggle for a Constitution to regulate the affairs of the millet, the amiras, largely opposed the

constitutionalists Constitutionalism is "a compound of ideas, attitudes, and patterns of behavior elaborating the principle that the authority of government derives from and is limited by a body of fundamental law". Political organizations are constitutional to ...

. However, the Ottoman Tanzimat reform movement supported the constitutionalists, leading the amiras to eventually accept the institution of a constitution in 1860.

Decline

The decline of the Amira class as a distinct power elite occurred following the rise of liberalism in Turkey. After the

Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

(1856) the Ottoman treasury turned to European lenders, stripping Armenian sarraf-bankers of their influence on state finance and undercutting the amiras’ wealth. The decline in the financial power of the amiras' was followed by a decline in their political privileges due to the rise of the Armenian National Constitution in 1860. The

Tanzimat reforms The (, , lit. 'Reorganization') was a period of liberal reforms in the Ottoman Empire that began with the Edict of Gülhane of 1839 and ended with the First Constitutional Era in 1876. Driven by reformist statesmen such as Mustafa Reşid Pasha, ...

and the influx of Western capital reduced the role of the millet system, with civic reforms opening bureaucratic and communal positions to a wider spectrum of Armenians. This led to both new communal councils and a decline in amira representation on the Civil Council fell from nine members (1847) to two members (1855). Finally, the title of "bey", "aga", or " çelebi" which was official Ottoman nomenclature came to replace the honorific of amira.Barsoumian, H. Levon. (2007). ''The Armenian amira class of Istanbul.'' Yerevan, Armenia: American University of Armenia. p.184 By the 1870s the amiras had assimilated into the wider Armenian upper middle class.

References

{{reflist Armenians from the Ottoman Empire High society (social class) Social groups