Египет армяндарының тарихы мен қалыптасуы

Ethnic group

Armenians in Egypt are a community with a long history. They are a minority with their own language, churches, and social institutions. The number of Armenians in Egypt has decreased due to migrations to other countries and integration into the rest of Egyptian society, including extensive intermarriage with Muslims and Christians. Today they number about 6000, much smaller than a few generations ago. They are concentrated in Cairo and Alexandria, the two largest cities. Economically the Egyptian Armenians have tended to be self employed businessmen or craftsmen and to have more years of education than the Egyptian average.

Armenians in Egypt have had a presence since the 6th and 7th centuries. The early Armenian migrants to Egypt were Muslims. A migration of Armenian Christians to Egypt started in the early 19th century, and another wave occurred in the early 20th century. The presence of Muslim Armenians in Egypt is well documented during and after the Muslim conquest of Egypt. Islamized Armenians under Arab rule had visible military and government positions, such as governors, generals and viziers (and the more notable individuals are listed by name further below). A series of viziers of Armenian origin shaped the history of the Fatimid Caliphate, beginning with Badr al Jamali and his son al Afdal Shahanshah, up until Tala'i ibn Ruzzik and his son Ruzzik ibn Tala'i.

Nearly 10,000 Armenians were captured, during invasions of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, which took place between 1266 and 1375, and were brought to Egypt as mamluks or slave soldiers. They were employed in agriculture and as craftsmen. The youngest were educated in army camps following the Mameluke system, and later employed in the army and the palace. At the beginning of the 14th century, a schism occurred in the Armenian church, which caused Patriarch Sargis of Jerusalem to request and obtain a firman from the Sultan Al Malik Al Nasir. This brought the Armenians within the Mamluk realm under the jurisdiction of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem. The schismatic Armenians who came to Egypt were given permission to practice their religion freely. Their patriarch's authority over the Armenian community's private and public affairs was decisive. The churches and those who served them were supported by the generosity of the faithful and the revenues deriving from charitable foundations.

The reign of Muhammad Ali of Egypt (1805–1849) witnessed strong migration streams of Armenians to Egypt. Mohamed Ali hired Armenians in government positions, and the Armenians were given great opportunities to contribute to the socioeconomic development of Egypt. Boghos Youssufian (1775–1844) was an Armenian banker and businessman. In 1837, Muhammad Ali appointed Boghos as head of the Diwan Al Tijara (bureau of commerce) and overseer of other financial affairs for Mohamed Ali. In 1876 the Armenian Nubar Nubarian (1825–1899) became the first Prime Minister in modern Egypt. Starting from the 19th century Egypt became one of the centers of Armenian political and cultural life. Many prominent Armenians of that period, including Komitas, Andranik and Martiros Sarian visited Egypt. The Armenian General Benevolent Union was founded in Cairo in 1906. The first Armenian film with Armenian subject called "Haykakan Sinema" was produced in 1912 in Cairo by Armenian Egyptian publisher Vahan Zartarian. The film was premiered in Cairo on March 13, 1913.

The Armenian genocide started on 24 April 1915 with the deportation of Armenian intellectuals. The Armenian communities in Egypt received some percentage of the refugees and survivors of the massacres in Turkey. The total number of Armenians in Egypt in 1917 was 12,854 inhabitants. They increased to reach its peak in 1927 census data where their total number was 17,188 inhabitants most of whom were concentrated in Cairo and Alexandria. Some independent estimates push the number of Armenians in Egypt to 40,000 inhabitants at the beginning of year 1952. After the 1952 revolution led by Gamal Abdel Nasser many Armenians began to emigrate to Europe, the United States, Canada and Australia.

A reverse migration, not to the original homelands, but rather to the West, was observed among Armenian Egyptians starting in around 1956. 1956 saw the introduction of what are called the “Socialist Laws” in Egypt and the nationalization of many economic sectors under the Nasser regime. Since Armenian Egyptians at that time worked predominantly in the private sector and tended to monopolize basic professions and trade markets, the so called Socialist Laws affected them more than those working in the government or in agriculture. Many migrants concluded – mistakenly or correctly – that they were threatened by the new policies of the Nasser regime and many left Egypt and migrated to the West. Since 1956 the total number of Armenian Egyptians has decreased. Accurate figures of how many left and how many are still there are not available since questions on ethnicity have not been included in censuses since the 1952 revolution.

Most Egyptian Armenians today, who are permanent residents of Egypt, were born in Egypt and are Egyptian citizens. Armenia to them is the collection of folkloric stories and cultural practices that each generation hands to its successor. Armenian Egyptians are full Egyptians with an extra cultural layer. They number around 6,000 and live primarily in Cairo.

Armenians have historically contributed prominently to the Egyptian public life, be it in politics, economics, business and academic circles as well as in all facets of the arts. Suffice to mention that Nubar Pasha, a prominent politician became the First Prime Minister of Egypt. Alexander Saroukhan is considered one of the prominent caricaturists who set the standards for the art of caricature in the Arab World. According to media, contemporary artist Armen Agop is among the artists from Egypt that are changing perspectives on contemporary art from North Africa. According to the Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU) in Egypt, Armenouhi Jamgotchian born on the 15th of June 1927 had started real beginning as a mature Armeno Egyptian Artist in 1974. She exhibited 32 of her paintings at the Ekhnaton Gallery in Cairo. This exhibition was inaugurated on the 8th of July, by Yousef el Sebai, the minister of culture at that time, who was also a famous writer. It lasted till the 14th of June. Being a representative of the 4th generation of Armeno Egyptian artists, which can be considered as the generation of the disciples of Ashod Zorian, Armenouhi Jamgotchian like several other female artists of her generation (born during 1929s and 1930s and studied in the studio of A. Zorian), developed the traditions “inherited” from their master, each one creating her own style.

Because of a rise of nationalism and pan Arabism joined with confiscation of civil rights and economic freedoms, many Egyptians of Armenian descent decided in the late 1950s and during the 1960s to leave the country in many thousands to Europe and the Americas (United States, Canada, Latin America) and Australia. This greatly reduced the number of the Egyptian Armenian community in Egypt. However the migrating Egyptian Armenians remained attached to their homeland Egypt and kept the Egyptian Armenian traditions and established their own associations in the new diaspora away from their country Egypt. They also actively contributed to the institutions still working in Egypt (churches, schools, clubs, cultural activities etc.). We can mention for example the Association of Armenians from Egypt in Montreal, Canada and many others in the United States.