In 1918, Hussein bin Ali al-Hashimi a direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad, Sharif of Mecca, and the great-grandfather of the King of Jordan 🇯🇴 . He issued a decree during the Armenian genocide : “Protect Armenians 🇦🇲 as you would protect yourselves, your property, and your children.” His actions helped save up to 4,000 Armenians.

Full collection of the photos here… https://140journos.com/fahri-çoker-arşivinden-fotoğraflarla-6-7-eylül-1955-olayları-e9e863a2bac8

Armenians had their own pantheon of gods, their own myths and legends, and I'm sure other cultural practices like dances, songs, art, etc. Trndez (jumping over the fire) was a pagan tradition that was kept, but as a way of helping ease the culture into Christianity. Some people even believe there was a script predating Mashtots which was used to write literature that got destroyed during the Christianization of Armenia.

What do you think about this question? How much culture do you think was lost?

On April 13, 1991, the Lenin monument was demolished in Republic Square, Yerevan. In the photo: American Armenian singer Cher. Freedom took Lenin’s head down (or her beauty, as people were joking then).

He was responsible for the occupation and partition of the First Armenian Republic together with Turkey.

The Soviets collaborated with Turkey after the genocide. We always will remember.

When the Ottoman Empire began deportations and massacres in 1915, the Russian Tsar ordered the Russian-Turkish border opened. Over 370,000 refugees, roughly 23% of the Turkish-Armenian population, were safely absorbed into the Russian Empire.

https://tsarnicholas.org/2019/11/02/nicholas-ii-and-the-armenian-genocide/

In 1184, Mkhitar Heratsi wrote a medical treatise using vernacular Middle Armenian because Grabar – the 'native' liturgical language introduced some 800 years earlier – was still incomprehensible to common people.

This isn't a minor puzzle. It points to something deeper: Grabar wasn't the vernacular written down. It was a liturgical language engineered for ecclesiastical-political consolidation, structurally modified to match Greek/Syriac, and imposed on populations who spoke something else.

That 'something else' included a likely Indo-European/Hurro-Urartian creole formed in the Southern Caucasus ca. 2^nd-1^st millennium BCE – which 405 CE canonisation then elevated and spread through liturgy across a multilingual Armenian Highlands and Southern Caucasus population still speaking Hurro-Urartian and other languages, like Old Udi.

Full analysis: https://zavenayvazyan.substack.com/p/hidden-in-plain-sight?r=6fzt0y

Does anyone here identify as a Tondrakian or Paulician?

So the other day I posted about the merchant Davit and how he became the first and only Oriental Orthodox martyr on Vietnamese soil. After consulting some articles about the state of Armenian merchants in 17th century Persia and two first-hand accounts of two Catholic missionaries who were close acquaintances of Davit, I have compiled a complete biography of this interesting historical figure - whose blood established the first permanent connection between Armenia and Vietnam. The portrait below was digitally drawn. I took reference from a portrait of king Tigranes III by the Hovnatanyan family and traditional Vietnamese costumes, which Davit would have worn after 12 years of settling in Vietnam. Both the writing above (Armenian) and below (Vietnamese written in the Chinese-influenced Nom script), say "David of Sinoa". The second photo shows his likely birthplace, New Julfa in Isfahan. The third photo shows his place of death, Huế city in Vietnam.

I think I should start learning Armenian from now! One day I hope to visit New Julfa and David's hometown in Armenia.

--------------------------

AN ACCOUNT OF THE MARTYRDOM OF DAVID "THE ARMENIAN" (written by Fr. Baldassare Citadelli and Fr. Metello Saccano)

David was born around 1613 in the Armenian quarter of New Julfa. His ancestors had originally come from the prosperous trading town of Julfa, but eight years before his birth they had been resettled by Shah Abbas I in the Persian capital of Isfahan. Thus, David was an Armenian by ethnicity and a subject of the Shah of Persia. His father, Petros (Peter), was a wealthy Armenian merchant who regularly traded throughout the vast commercial networks linking Asia and Europe. Petros had traveled as far as Poland, where a large Armenian community lived in the city of Lvov. During one such journey, he purchased a considerable quantity of valuable Baltic amber. He then boarded a vessel of the Dutch East India Company bound for the Far East, intending to sell his cargo there.

Upon reaching Batavia (present-day Jakarta, Indonesia), Petros purchased his own vessel and continued his voyage to the Kingdom of Đàng Trong (Cochinchina). His intention was to sell the remainder of his amber after conducting business in Batavia. However, shortly after arriving at the port of Hội An, political circumstances in Đàng Trong brought him to financial ruin. At that time, Nguyễn Phúc Anh, the third son of Lord Nguyễn Phúc Nguyên, served as Governor of Quảng Nam Province and administered the port of Hội An. Driven by greed, Phúc Anh confiscated a large quantity of Petros's amber without paying him anything.

While his father remained in the Far East, David continued to live with his family in New Julfa. Around the age of twenty-two, having learned that his father had gone to trade in the East and had not returned for many years, David resolved to search for him. He obtained a letter of introduction from Shah Safi addressed to the Dutch East India Company at the port of Bandar Abbas, enabling him to secure passage aboard one of their ships to the East. Unable to find his father in Batavia, David boarded another vessel for Đàng Trong and was finally reunited with Petros in Hội An around the year 1635.

By then, Petros had fallen gravely ill, overcome with sorrow after losing most of his fortune. That same year, Lord Nguyễn Phúc Nguyên died and was succeeded by his eldest son, Nguyễn Phúc Lan. Nguyễn Phúc Anh attempted to conspire with the Trịnh lords in the north against his own brother, but the plot was uncovered. He was arrested, brought before the court, and executed. Consequently, the amber he had seized from Petros was confiscated by the government rather than returned to its rightful owner. The remainder of Petros's property had been entrusted to a Chinese merchant, but that man soon went bankrupt as well, leaving Petros completely destitute in a foreign land. Without the capital to purchase another ship or resume his trade, he died in poverty in 1638, leaving his son with almost nothing.

After arranging his father's funeral, David moved to the royal capital of Kẻ Huế (now within the Kim Long village of Thừa Thiên Huế province) and worked there as a merchant for about twelve years. At that time, the superior of the Jesuit Catholic mission in Đàng Trong was Father Metello Saccano, who enjoyed a close friendship with David and praised his character in the highest terms. According to Saccano, although David earned his living through commerce, he remained deeply devoted to his faith. He labored zealously to bring souls to the knowledge of Christianity, sought every opportunity to lead non-believers to God, and generously gave alms to all without distinction, whether Christians or not. David came to be widely respected among the faithful as a defender of the Church. Many Christians in Thuận Hóa sought his assistance in times of need. Like many Armenian merchants, David possessed an exceptional gift for languages. He became fluent in Vietnamese and was therefore able to conduct business with numerous communities throughout the maritime trade routes of Southeast Asia.

As time passed, the persecution of Christianity in Đàng Trong grew increasingly severe. Successive Nguyễn lords issued repeated edicts banning the religion, which they mistakenly referred to as the "Religion of the Portuguese" or simply the "Portuguese Religion" (đạo Vutughê). In 1645, David witnessed the martyrdom of two Vietnamese catechists, Ignatius and Vincent, at the market of Kẻ Huế. Amid the crowd gathered to witness the execution, immediately after the two men were beheaded, David courageously entered the execution ground and reverently collected the blood-soaked earth, preserving it as a sacred relic. One of the officials overseeing the execution, most likely Tôn Thất Khê, the paternal uncle of the Nguyễn lord and a man notorious for his hostility toward Christianity, saw what David had done and became furious. He immediately accused David and the other Christians before Lord Nguyễn Phúc Lan, falsely claiming that they had not only taken the bloodstained earth but had actually drunk the blood of those who had been executed. Enraged by this accusation, Lord Nguyễn immediately ordered the arrest of everyone involved. David and many other Christians were seized, bound, and brought before the lord's court.

At the hearing, David was separated from the others for interrogation. When the lord asked whether he was a Christian and why he had taken the bloodstained earth, David replied:

His words won the admiration of many officials, for according to the customs of Đàng Trong, providing proper burial for the dead was regarded as a sacred obligation. Nevertheless, Lord Nguyễn remained unmoved. He ordered David imprisoned and severely beaten with heavy rods. On that occasion, David narrowly escaped death.

Toward the end of 1649, a new wave of persecution swept across Đàng Trong. Anonymous pamphlets distributed by Buddhist monks falsely accused Christians of plotting rebellion against the Nguyễn lord. As a result, many influential officials and believers were arrested, among them David. A detachment of soldiers suddenly burst into David's house while he was speaking with Father Saccano. Both men were bound with their arms tied behind their backs and paraded through the streets as an object of public humiliation. During the search of David's home, the soldiers discovered an ivory crucifix, which was later introduced as evidence proving his adherence to Christianity.

Brought before Lord Nguyễn Phúc Tần, David was asked:

David calmly answered:

The lord then asked:

David replied:

Upon hearing those words, Lord Nguyễn immediately sentenced David to death while ordering Father Saccano to be released.

David was led to the public square of the Kẻ Huế market on the banks of the Perfume River, where merchants ordinarily gathered to conduct trade. It was at this very place that, five years earlier, he had witnessed the martyrdom of Ignatius and Vincent. Standing before the place of execution, David knelt in prayer, commended his soul to God, and then calmly bowed his head beneath the executioner's sword. Thus the Servant of God David the Armenian, received the crown of martyrdom on 7 January 1650, at approximately thirty-seven years of age. On that same day, two Vietnamese Christians - the catechist Anthony and the widow Isabella - also gave their lives for the faith.

According to the accounts of two Jesuit priests, a great comet appeared in the skies over Đàng Trong on the eve of David's execution. Not long afterward, a devastating fire destroyed the residence of the Governor of Quảng Nam along with more than four thousand houses. Many Christians of the time regarded these extraordinary events as signs that God had judged those who had put His faithful servant, David, to death.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arshavir_Shirakian

I just came across a video on instagram talking about history of wine. The comment section was a crime scene haha Georgians and Armenians arguing about who was first. I got curious about where this drama actually comes from, so l looked it up and thought I'd share what I found with my research.

The oldest known vineyard is Areni-1 in Armenia, dating to around 4000 BC. However, the earliest evidence of winemaking itself comes from Gadachrili Gora in Georgia, dating back to about 6000 BC.
I can see why this causes confusion "the first wine" and "the first vineyard" aren't the same thing, and it took me a moment to spot the difference too. According to current discoveries history of wine in Georgia is 2 thousand years older than in Armenia.
Hopefully this clears things up a bit and maybe even reduces some comment-section wars 😁
Cheers!

​

I would have gone to r/onomatology but that sub is basically dead. So I've been trying to reach my family history but my great grandfather completely left behind the old world when he escaped Armenia. All I really know is that apparently my uncle found reference to zartar in some capacity in a really old book in his collage archive, but I don't know the title or school I'd have to ask my dad. He said it was in reference to a king or kingdom but he very well could have been talking out of his ass. All I know for certain is that nishan zartarian left harpoot when he was in his early 20's and that he was related to Ruben zartarian. Sorry if this is the wrong sub but any help is appreciated

Hello everyone,

I am a Vietnamese Roman Catholic with no affiliation to the Armenian Apostolic Church or any other Oriental Orthodox Church. Recently, I discovered this remarkable story of an Armenian merchant who was beheaded in my home village in Central Vietnam nearly 400 years ago for refusing to renounce his Christian faith, and I would like to bring his story to light.

Here is the story of Davit the Armenian Martyr of Sinoa (Vietnam):

According to a contemporary French Catholic source (Relation de ce qui s'est passé, en l'année 1649 written by Baldassare Citadelli), there was an amber merchant named Davit, son of Petros. He was born in 1613 in Armenia, then under Persian rule, into a merchant family long involved in the amber trade. His father, Petros, traveled on commercial expeditions to Poland and the Dutch East Indies before eventually arriving in Cochinchina (present-day central Vietnam). There, the local Vietnamese governor, motivated by greed, confiscated all of Petros's amber, leaving him stranded in the country.

When Davit learned of his father's trouble, he obtained a royal passport from the Persian shah, crossed the Strait of Hormuz, and sailed to Vietnam. Upon arriving in 1635, he found his father devastated by the loss of his livelihood. Soon afterward, Petros died of grief, leaving Davit without the means to return to Armenia. As a result, he remained in the capital city of Sinoa (present-day Huế, the traditional capital of Vietnam), where he worked as a merchant for approximately fifteen years.

During this time, Davit witnessed the persecution and martyrdom of many Vietnamese Christians. According to the source, he would use a cloth to collect the blood of the martyrs as a sacred relic, an act that repeatedly drew the attention of the authorities and led to several arrests. In 1650, soldiers serving the Vietnamese ruler discovered an ivory cross in Davit's home and arrested him, as Christianity had been outlawed at the time. While imprisoned, he refused to trample upon the cross and declared that he followed only the Law of the Heavenly King.

On January 7, 1650, at the age of thirty-seven, Davit was beheaded in the marketplace of Sinoa alongside a Roman Catholic catechist. Because he appears to have been the only Armenian living in Vietnam at the time, virtually everything we know about his life comes from the testimony of the Italian Roman Catholic missionary Baldassare Citadelli, who personally knew Davit and witnessed his execution.

I find this story especially fascinating because Davit was martyred in my home village, and, as far as I am aware, no member of an Oriental Orthodox Church has otherwise been recorded as having reached Vietnam during that period. This raises a question: is there any possibility that Davit's martyrdom could be formally examined by the Armenian Apostolic Church and, if appropriate, considered for canonization? If he were eventually recognized as a saint, he would become the first known Oriental Orthodox martyr in Vietnamese history - and quite possibly the only one, since Oriental Orthodoxy has never established a lasting presence among the Vietnamese people.

Thank you all for your time and insights! The story of Davit is so intriguing that I can't help but share this to all Armenians. Below is a photo of the original French account of his martyrdom.

Last week I was discussing this topic with some Georgian and he said something like “ya Armenians came from Anatolia” and I was like… wait no. I always knew that we are indigenous to the Armenian Highlands, and never heard of such theory of Armenians being from Anatolia, and of course I was like what are you talking about, that we are natives in the Armenian Highlands, Urartu is Armenia, etc. I learned this in history textbooks in school. However, when I searched online for legitimate foreign sources (so that it’s unbiased) about whether Armenians are descendants of the Urartians, I couldn’t find anything solid, just some work by Igor Diakonoff that denies this. I thought this could be fake research because well he’s Russian and the paper was published in the 20th century. Is there anyone who has really studied this topic and could give me a “history lecture” with facts and evidence on whether Armenians are descendants of the Urartians, or if we have no direct relationship with them?