Armenians in Istanbul (Armenian:Պոլսահայեր,romanized: Bolsahayer;Turkish:İstanbul Ermenileri) are a major part of theTurkish Armenian community and historically one of the largest ethnic minorities ofIstanbul,Turkey. The city is often referred to as Bolis (Պոլիս) by Armenians, which is derived from the ending of the historical name of the cityConstantinople.
Today, most estimations put the number of Armenian-Turkish citizens in Istanbul at 50,000, 60,000 or 70,000. They constitute the largest Christian and non-Muslim minority in Istanbul, as well as in Turkey.[14][15][16][17][18] They are not considered part of theArmenian Diaspora by theMinistry of Diaspora, since they have been living in their historical homeland for more than four thousand years.[19][20][21]
In early 17th-century, according to travelerSimeon of Poland, there were five Armenian churches in Constantinople at the time: Surp Nikoghayos, Surp Asdvadzadzin, and Surp Sarkis in the neighborhood of Langa, another church inBalat, andSurp Georg in Sulumanastır. Apart from monks, there were 4–5vardapets, 3 bishops, and over 100 priests in the city. He put the number of native Armenian households only at about 80, whileAnatolian Armenian households who took refuge in Constantinople,Galata, andÜsküdar after theCelali rebellions, were more than 40 thousand.[28]
The Armenian community was made up of three religious denominations:Catholic,Protestant, andApostolic, the Church of the vast majority of Armenians. The wealthy, Constantinople-basedAmira class, a social elite whose members included the Duzians (Directors of the Imperial Mint), theBalyans (Chief Imperial Architects) and theDadians (Superintendent of the Gunpowder Mills and manager of industrial factories).[29][30]
At present, the Armenian community in Istanbul has 20 schools (including theGetronagan Armenian High School[32]), 17 cultural and social organizations, three newspapers (Agos,Jamanak, andMarmara), two sports clubs (Şişlispor andTaksimspor),[33] and two health establishments, as well as numerous religious foundations set up to support these activities.[34][35]
^The Armenian People from Ancient to Modern Times: Foreign dominion to statehood : the fifteenth century to the twentieth century; Volume 2 of The Armenian People from Ancient to Modern Times, Richard G. Hovannisian, Palgrave Macmillan, 2004.ISBN978-1-4039-6636-0
^Herzig, Edmund; Kurkchiyan, Marina, eds. (2005).The Armenians: Past and Present in the Making of National Identity. Abingdon, Oxon, Oxford: RoutledgeCurzon. p. 133.ISBN0203004930.
^Barsoumian, Hagop (1982), "The Dual Role of the Armenian Amira Class within the Ottoman Government and the Armenian Millet (1750–1850)", in Braude, Benjamin; Lewis, Bernard (eds.),Christians and Jews in the Ottoman Empire: The Functioning of a Plural Society, vol. I, New York: Holmes & Meier
