Assyrians in Armenia (, ''Asoriner'') make up the country's third largest ethnic minority, after

Yazidis Yazidis, also spelled Yezidis (; ), are a Kurdish languages, Kurdish-speaking Endogamy, endogamous religious group indigenous to Kurdistan, a geographical region in Western Asia that includes parts of Iraq, Syria, Turkey, and Iran. The major ...

and

Russians Russians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Eastern Europe. Their mother tongue is Russian language, Russian, the most spoken Slavic languages, Slavic language. The majority of Russians adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church ...

. According to the 2011 census, there are 2,769

Assyrians Assyrians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to Mesopotamia, a geographical region in West Asia. Modern Assyrians share descent directly from the ancient Assyrians, one of the key civilizations of Mesopotamia. While they are distinct from ot ...

living in

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

, and Armenia is home to some of the last surviving Assyrian communities in the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

. There were 6,000 Assyrians in Armenia before the

dissolution of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...

, but because of Armenia's struggling economy during the 1990s, the population has been cut by half, as many have emigrated.

History

Modern history

Kids holding the Assyrian and Armenian flags in Yerevan

Today's Assyrian population in Armenia are mostly descendants of settlers who came starting in the early nineteenth century during the Russo-Persian War (1826-1828), when thousands of refugees fled their homeland in the areas around

Urmia Urmia (; ) is the largest city in West Azerbaijan Province of Iran. In the Central District of Urmia County, it is capital of the province, the county, and the district. The city is situated near the borders of Iran with Turkey and Iraq. ...

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. In the beginning of the 20th century, many came from what is today Southeastern Turkey, specifically the Hakkari region, where it was common to have Assyrians and

Armenians Armenians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to the Armenian highlands of West Asia.Robert Hewsen, Hewsen, Robert H. "The Geography of Armenia" in ''The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiq ...

living in the same villages. Assyrians, like their Armenian neighbors, suffered during a

genocide Genocide is violence that targets individuals because of their membership of a group and aims at the destruction of a people. Raphael Lemkin, who first coined the term, defined genocide as "the destruction of a nation or of an ethnic group" by ...

by the

Ottoman Turks The Ottoman Turks () were a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group in Anatolia. Originally from Central Asia, they migrated to Anatolia in the 13th century and founded the Ottoman Empire, in which they remained socio-politically dominant for the e ...

, in which an estimated over 750000 Assyrians perished. As many Armenians fled

Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

for what is today Armenia, many Assyrians followed as well, citing it as the only "Christian haven" in the region, although many also fled to

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

(see Assyrians in Georgia). Throughout history, relations between the Assyrians and Armenian majority have tended to be very friendly, as both groups have practiced

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

since ancient times and have suffered through persecution under Muslim rulers. In 2020 amid the Nagorno-Karabakh war, many Assyrians from Armenia volunteered to fight for the defense of Artsakh against

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

. Several Assyrian television channels arrived to Armenia to report the war as well as talk to the Assyrian families who lost their sons in the war.

Distribution

The Assyrian population in Armenia is mainly rural. Out of 3,409 Assyrians in Armenia 2,885 (84.6%) was rural and 524 (15.4%) urban. According to the Council of Europe

European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (ECRML) is a European treaty (CETS 148) adopted in 1992 under the auspices of the Council of Europe to protect and promote historical regional and minority languages in Europe. However, t ...

there were four rural settlements with significant Assyrian population: # Arzni in Kotayk Province - Assyrians and Armenians # Verin Dvin,

Ararat Province Ararat (, ) is a administrative divisions of Armenia, province (''marz (territorial entity), marz'') of Armenia. Its capital and largest city is the town of Artashat, Armenia, Artashat. The province is named after the biblical Mount Ararat. It i ...

- Assyrians and Armenians # Dimitrov,

- Assyrians and Armenians # Nor Artagers in

Armavir Province Armavir (, ), is a administrative divisions of Armenia, province (''marz'') in the western part of Armenia. Located in the Ararat plain dominated by Mount Ararat from the south and Mount Aragats from the north, the province's capital is the tow ...

- Assyrians, Armenians and Yezidis

Culture

The Assyrians have managed to both integrate with Armenian society and maintain their own ethnic identity, as there are classes teaching the

Aramaic language Aramaic (; ) is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language that originated in the ancient Syria (region), region of Syria and quickly spread to Mesopotamia, the southern Levant, Sinai Peninsula, Sinai, Southeastern Anatolia Regi ...

. Most Assyrians in the country are fluent in

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

and Russian as well. Assyrians in Armenia today mostly belong to

Assyrian Church of the East The Assyrian Church of the East (ACOE), sometimes called the Church of the East and officially known as the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East, is an Eastern Christianity, Eastern Syriac Christianity, Syriac Christian denomin ...

, but there is a small community belonging to the

Chaldean Catholic Church The Chaldean Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Catholic Catholic particular churches and liturgical rites, particular church (''sui iuris'') in full communion with the Holy See and the rest of the Catholic Church, and is ...

as well. They mostly work in the fields of gardening, agriculture and viniculture. There are big Assyrian communities in the region of Verin Dvin and Dimitrov of the Ararat Marz, and Arzni of the Kotayk Marz. There is an Assyrian Youth Center in the Armenian capital,

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , ; ; sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia, as well as one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerev ...

. In 2003, the community established the "Assyrian Center BetNahrain", a club that promotes the studying and dissemination of the Assyrian language,

culture Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

, history and traditions, to the general public.

Education

There are four public schools that are providing instructions in Assyrian: * The Secondary School of Verin Dvin village (250 students in 2008) * The Secondary School of Arzni village (114 students in 2008) * The Secondary School of Dimitrov village (68 students in 2008) * Alexander Pushkin no. 8 secondary School of Yerevan (8 students in 2008)

Demographics

References

External links

Assyrian Association of ArmeniaThe Ethnic Minorities of Armenia YerevanThe Armenian Term Āsōrī
{{DEFAULTSORT:Assyrians In Armenia Ethnic groups in Armenia