Reference Type: Book
Author: Selian, Sergiu
Year: 1999
Title: Schiţă istorică a comunităţii armene din România
Translated Title: [A Historical Sketch of the Armenian Community in Romania]
[A romániai örmény közösség rövid története]
City: Bucureşti
Publisher: Ararat
Number of Pages: 144
Edition: 2nd Edition
Language: Romanian
Keywords: Armenian minority, history, demography, migration, settlement, dwelling, culture, traditions, religion, Catholic Church, employment, economy, elites, politics, modernization, integration, social groups, language, language use, urbanization, education, religious identity
Abstract: (En) The oldest testimony attesting the presence of the Armenians on the Romanian territory is a tombstone inscription made in 967 which was found in Cetatea Albă according to Grigore Goilav who recorded it. Almost at the same time the existence of an Armenian colony in Transylvania was also reported. In their writings, the Hun-grian chroniclers Simon de Kezai and Thuroszi pointed out that in the time of the duke Geza and during the reign of King Stephen (997-1038), a number of Armenians who were granted privileges and titles settled down in the Kingdom besides the Polish, Greek, and Spanish inhabitants.
The Armenians who established themselves in Moldavia were merchants, craftsmen, generally speaking, wealthy people who due to the privileges they had obtained and to the trade they had developed contributed to the Moldavian Principality flourishing and prosperity. This was also stressed by Nicolae Iorga, our great historian, who pointed out that "the Moldavian Principality was established as a result of the trade relationships and the ones who followed in this trade cooperated on the creation of the national state in Moldavia. Therefore the Armenians can be considered the parents of Moldavia to a certain extent".
In Wallachia the Armenians settled down only later, in the 14th century, their presence being attested in Bucharest, Tîrgovişte, Piteşti, Craiova, Giurgiu during 1400-1435, and in Dobrudja after the year 1500.
The most important document considered as a "genui-H birth certificate" of the Armenians who settled down on the Romanian territory is represented by the muniment dated July, 30, 1401, through which Alexander the Great, the ruler of Moldavia at that time, approved of the appointement of an Armenian archbishop in Suceava th seat of Moldavia. The document was discovered in/and belongs to, the Armenian Episcopacy of Lwow. After having granted the Armenians the right to having their own bishop, Alexander the Great issued another muniment dated October, 8, 1407, calling the Armenian merchants from Poland to contribute to the prosperity of the Moldavian towns, at the same time promising the to exempt them from customs fees and taxes.
Consequently, about 700 Armenians came to Suceava, some other 3,000 settling down in 7 towns all over Moldavia: Iassy, Botoşani, Dorohoi, Vaslui, Gala\i, Hotin, and again Suceava.
During the reign of Stephen the Great, about 10,000 Armenians came to Moldavia, totalling 20,000 people. The "Armenian wagons" coming from the Moldavian towns carried cattle, grain, silk, cheese, to Europe and the Oriental countries, bringing in cloth, carpets, embroideries, silk, spices. As Nicolae Iorga himself concluded in his writings, "the existence of any Moldavian borough was linked to trade, therefore to the Armenians".
This is the points where we have to go back to Transylvania and mention that Ladislau IV's munient of 1281 reports the existence of a Terra Armenorum and a Monas-terium Armenorum, which obviously belonged to the Armenians, the most important event in the Transyl-vanian Armenians' life is the establishment of the Arme-nopoiis settlement near the village Gherla, in 1700. The Armenians already inhabited that territory as early as 1672 and with Emperor Leopold's permission built that Armenian town. In exchange for the permission granted from Vienna, they paid 25,000 florins.
Armenopolis was built on the designs of architect Alexian on the territory bought by the Armenians. Thus, 3,000 Armenians settled in this town which became an important manufacturing centre in Transylvania.
The second town inhabited by Armenians was Elisa-betopolis (present-day Dumbrăveni), where an Armenian colony existed in 1658. Through an Imperial Decree issued in 1799, the two Armenian towns were declared "free royal towns" and their Armenian inhabitants - who had become Catholics as a result of Bishop Vărzărescu's urge - were granted privileges permitting them to organize themselves, to have their own Courts of Law and laws. Other settlements in Transylvania where Armenians used to live at that time were: Frumoasa, Sibiu, Oradea, Bistriţa, Târgu Secuiesc, Sfîntu Gheorghe. Mention should be made that in the towns heavily inhabited by Armenians in Transylvania, besides the mayor and the wise-men's councils elected by the local people, the Armenians had their own Court of Law, where judgments were passed in agreement with the principle of the first Armenian Code of Civil Procedure, that of Mâchitar Gos (13th century).
It is obvious that on Transylvanian territory the Armenians contributed significantly to the international trade development. Franz Joseph, Emperor of the Austro-Hungarian Empire considered the Armenians "very important to me, due to their trade".
As we have already mentioned, the Armenians settled down much later in Wallachia, a fact underlined by a muniment issued in February 15,1742, by Mihai Racoviţă, the ruler of
Wallachia. The muniment gave the Armenians the right to build their own church of Săpunarilor Street. In 1820, voivode Alexander Şuţu allowed the Armenians to reorganize their guild and elect 4 guardians, the latter in their turn electing the head of the community through the "Reorganization Chart of the Guild". The guardians and their foreman ensured the guild discipline was observed and did justice whenever a conflict between Armenians broke out.
In all the Romanian provinces, there were Armenian companies which operated as civil bodies regulating the Armenian tradesmen's and craftsmen's issues, as well as the relationships between the Armenian colonies and the Romanian administration.
In the important centres where Armenians settled down, churches were always built. Let us mention only the main ones still standing: St. Mary's Church in Botoşani (1350), St. Mary's Church in Jassy (1395), The Church of the Holy Cross in Suceava (1521), the Zamca Monastery (1551), the Hagigadar (the fulfilment of the wishes - 1512). Other examples of churches are those built in: Roman, Târgu-Ocna, Galai, Focşani.
In Transylvania, the churches were Catholic (in Gherla - St. Solomon, 1724, the Holy Trinity, 1776 - Frumoasa, Dumbrăveni, Gheorghieni).
The existence of the Armenians wherever they settled could not be conceived but in relationship with the existence of the church. The second important element preserving the Armenians' existence was the Armenian language.
The first Armenian immigrants spoke Armenian, on the basis of which a dialect later on developed in Moldavia, including Romanian, Polish, Turkish, and Tartar words, and also Hungarian words in the case of Transylvania. These dialects ceased to exist at the beginning of this century, the spoken language being that of the immigrants who had just arrived from Turkey.
The language was preserved through the schools established around the monasteries and churches - at Zamca (15th century) and in Jassy (1646). Public schools were also established in Dumbr[veni (1685), Gherla (1700), Bucharest (1800), Botoşani (1839). The first "ABC-book" printed in Armenian was The Key to the Mesrobian Letters' Reading, issued in Jassy in 1847, at the "Albina" printing shop, under the guidance of Gheorghe Asachi, who was of Armenian origin.
AS we have mentioned the first printed book in Armenian, we should also mention another book printed' the same shop, Asachi's "Albina", namely: The Christian Teachings Following the Armenian Holy Church.
As early as 1911, a collection of writings for children was printed in Bucharest, called Masis, whereas in Frumoasa, in 1938, Father Măgîrdici Budurian, a scholar, prinţi several books, among which an Armenian Encyclopedia.
Translations into Armenian of the great poet Emi-nescus poems were made especially by the historian and orientalist H. Dj. Siruni.
Unfortunately, the literature written in Armenian cannot boost famous names, going beyond community boundaries. Nevertheless, they are important to the Armenian culture and we take pride in mentioning Grigore Goilav, Grigore Buiucliu, Zareh Bîlbul, Harutiun Arslanian, Grigor Covrighian.
The Armenians' press was very prolific. Over 30 newspapers, magazines and periodicals have been issued over the last 100 years and played an important part in the life of the Armenian communities. The first Armenian newspaper was the weekly Aror ("The Plough"), issued in Galaţi in 1892, and had a brief life. But the first periodical was in Hungarian, under the name Armenia, and was published in Gherla, under the guidance of Cristof Szongott, between 1887 and 1907. There followed a series of publication in Armenian and Romanian, up to the present-day magazines, namely Ararat and Nor Ghiank, as well as Armenia that reappeared 2 years ago in Cluj (in Hungarian).
The Ararat is the new edition of the former one, published in Romanian between the two World Wars, under the guidance of Vartan Mestugean. The Nor Ghiank is a magazine first issued in Armenian in 1950, initially a weekly and later on a monthly publication. Up to 1990, the magazine had a strong propaganda character, reflecting the great achivements of the communist age.
Throughout history, a great many Armenians have asserted themselves in different fields in Romania. For instance, the Moldavian rulers Garabet loan Potcoavă (1552) and Ion Vodă Armeanul ("the Terrible"), and Petru Vartic, counsellor to Voivode Petru Rareş; a Petru Armeanul was one of Michael the Brave's diplomats; Manuc-bei Mîrzaian, prince of Moldavia and Walachia and a diplomat, too; Vasile Misir, chairman of the House of Deputies and a minister (1900); Grigore Trancu-Iaşi, an economist and a minister; generals Zadig, Iacob Cerchez and Hovhanes Czecz, who commanded the revoltionary army in Transylvania in 1849; literary critic and writer Garabet Ibrfileanu; musicologist Emanoil Ciomac; art collector and critic Krikor H. Zambaccian; orientalist H. Dj. Siruni; composers Carol Mikuli, Matei Socor, Mihail Jora; painters Simon Hollosy, Abgar Baltazar, Nutzi Acontz, Hrandt Avakian; graphic designer Cik Damadian; sculptor Ioana Kasargian; philosopher Aram Frenkian; the Acterian brothers - Haig, Arşavir and Jeny, Levon Mira-horian... And the list can go on.
Although nowadays the Armenian community in Romania counts less members than it used to, there are still personalities worth mentioning, such as writers Bedros Horasangian, Ştefan Agopian, poet Anais Nersesian, painters Ervant Nicogosian, Nicolae Iacobovici, Paruhi Tepelikian, music critic Dumitru Avakian, mathematician Varujan Pambuccian, physicist Măricel Agop, doctors Bergi Aşgian and Florin Exergian. Speaking about music, the name of David Ohanesian is already famous for embodying Enescu's Oedipus for decades. Other famous Armenian musicians are jazz composers and interpreter Harry Tavitian, as well as sax-player Garbis Dedeian.

(Ro) Povestea comunităţii armene din România se cerea de mult adunată între copertele unei cărţi. A făcut-o, în felul său, în 1979, un armean plecat din România, publicînd-o în limba armeană. încerc s-o fac, în felul meu, acum, dar în limba română, şi mi se pare mai utilă astfel, punînd-o la îndemîna celor cărora armenii din România, deşi convieţuiesc de vreme îndelungată cu ei, nu s-au făcut încă suficient cunoscuţi şi înţeleşi.
De zeci de ani se cîntă prohodul comunităţii armene din România şi de tot atîta timp ea se încăpăţînează să existe. Fărîmiţaţi, împuţinaţi, asimilaţi, armenii se topesc şi se pierd în masa populaţiei locale, însă, chiar dacă într-o zi ei nu vor mai rămîne nici măcar cu numele, în schimb, mai statornic decît fiinţa, vor dăinui valorile lor materiale şi spirituale oferite civilizaţiei române.
Paradoxul face că, pe pămîntul românesc, armenii, reprezentanţi ai unei naţiuni cu personalitate puternică, s-au contopit re-pede şi uşor cu populaţia autohtonă. Explicaţia trebuie găsită, pe de o parte, în credinţa lor de rit ortodox, aceeaşi cu cea a localnicilor şi permiţînd realizarea de căsătorii mixte, fatale efortului de supravieţuire a unui neam, iar pe de altă parte, în capacitatea genetică (ţinînd, adică, de o genă etnicii) de a abdica de la orgoliul naţional într-un mediu străin şi de a se pune, cu discreţie şi mo-destie, în folosul comun al propăşirii ţării de adopţie. Aşa se face că, aici, coloniile armeneşti au parcurs, cu dezinvoltură şi fără multe reticenţe, drumul de la integrare la asimilare, ceea ce avea să le pulverizeze ca grupuri etnice distincte. Păstrarea identităţii naţionale, a conştiinţei de neam, a devenit, în aceste condiţii, o opţiune personală, rezolvabilă - sau nu - la nivel de individ.
Armenii, popor romantic, interesat de noutate progres, s-au avîntat întotdeauna printre primii, ca eutentici pionieri, spre cîte o etapă istorică despre care credeau va determina evoluţia omenirii. Aşa s-a întîmpiat cînd adoptat, cei dintîi, creştinismul, care, pe lîngă şansa vitale a supravieţuirii într-o zonă de păgînism, le-a adus şi neajunsul dramatic al necontenitelor înfruntări soldate cu pierderi în masă ale populaţiei. Aşa s-a întîmpiat cînd, la ofensiva bolşevismului, în primele rînduri s-au aflat şi o sumă de armeni, ulterior ei înşişi victime ale terorii pe care n-o prevăzuseră, iar fenomenul s-a repetat, la scară redusă, în România, unde armeni deveniţi comunişti s-au dezlănţuit uneori împotriva propriilor lor conaţionali, pentru ca în cele din urmă, prea tîrziu, să aibă revelaţia deşteptării. Aşa s-a întîmpiat cînd, înşelaţi de lozinca pe-restroikăi gorbacioviste, au aderat printre primii la ea, nădăjduind că vor obţine, astfel, alipirea Karabaghului la Patria-mamă. Aşa s-a întîmpiat, apoi, cînd, dezmeticiţi din înşelăciune, au declanşat Mişcarea pentru Karabagh, care avea să dea semnalul dezmembrării Uniunii Sovietice, pentru ca - blocaţi, izolaţi, pauperizaţi, agresaţi - tot ei, fără a regreta, însă, cîtuşi de puţin independenţa obţinută, să constate cu amărăciune indiferenţa Occidentului -căruia altădată îi stătuseră pavăză - la suferinţa şi anean-tizarea unei naţiuni surori. Şi nu altfel s-a întîmpiat în dimineaţa zilei de 22 decembrie 1989 la Bucureşti, unde clopotele Catedralei armeneşti au început să vestească, primele, de la ora 9, zorii unei mult-aşteptate şi nesperate renaşteri, în vreme ce în clopotniţă flutura tricolorul românesc, în curte vegheau, în rasele lor negre, ca nişte întrupări ale spiritului şi conştiinţei, dar şi ale doliului ce avea să vină, cei trei prelaţi armeni, iar în stradă coloană de oameni care se scurgeau spre centru îngenuncheau cu fața spre lăcaşul sfînt şi se închinau parcă nutrindu-se cu spreanța și putere. Şi clopotele au continuat să bată pînă la căderea dictaturii. Clopotele al căror dangăt se făcuse auzit prima oară, dureros şi prevestitor, în 1915, atunci cînd pe fostele meleaguri de baştină ale armenilor aşezaţi în Capitală şi în celelalte oraşe româneşti se dezlănţuise urgia asupra consîngenilor rămaşi acasă.
Lor, acelor dintîi imigranţi armeni care au sosit aici cu credinţa că găsesc o nouă patrie şi din a căror sămînţă şi lucrare ne tragem noi, cei de astăzi, li se cuvine acest apel la memorie, pentru ca amintirea să le fie păstrată şi preţuită pe măsura actului lor cutezător de sălăşuire pe un tărîm străin.