Armenia


Figure 1.--Here we see three siblings in an Armenian family somewhere in eastern Anatolia before World War I. The children wear European styles except for the older boy's fez. He may have wore that to school. The girl would have attended school. Many Turkish girls at the time did not.

Armenia is a small landlocked, mountainous country in the South Caucasuses. located at what might be called the cross-roads of Europe and Asia. It is a difficult country to categorize. As it is located beyond the Caucauses in might be place in Asia, but culturally it is firmly tied to Europe. Armenia is one of the oldest countries in the world with a recorded history streaching back an estimated 3,500 years. Armenians were early coverts to Christianity, but separated from the Orthodox Church when tennants of Monophysttism became widely accepted. We have an Armenian history page. It has existed as an independent country, but has often been a part of larger empires, both ancient and modern(Ottoman and Russian/Soviet). Armenia once included whay is noe eatern Turkey and the area of modern Armenia. Its history is marred by the terrible Turkish Holocaust during World War I. Armenia was thorougly integrated into the Soviet economy. It had an industrual economy including chemicals, electronics, machinery, processed food, synthetic rubber, and textile. Armenian industry relied heavily on raw materials from the rest of the Soviet Union, commonly provided without regards to actual cost. The modern Armenian economy relies heavily on investment and support from Armenians abroad. The country's industrial sector has had to adjust to being cut off from the raw materials once provided by Soviet plannets. The industrial sector is now on a more market-based footing. They export machine tools, textiles, and other manufactured goods in exchange for imported raw materials and energy. We have a portrait of an unidentified Armenia boy and his mother in the Ottoman Empire during the 1890s, before the Turks carried out the Armenian genocide. After that there was an Armenian population left in Tsarist Russia. We also notice a portrait of an Armenian boy wearing a school smock (1954). The Soviet Armenian SSR was the core of the new Armnian state that emerged from the Soviet Union (1992).

Geography

Armenia is a small landlocked, mountainous country in the South Caucasuses. located at what might be called the cross-roads of Europe and Asia. It is a difficult country to categorize. As it is located beyond the Caucauses in might be place in Asia, but culturally it is firmly tied to Europe.

History

Armenia is one of the oldest countries in the world with a recorded history streaching back an estimated 3,500 years. The Armenian homeland is the Armenian plateau, central and eastern Anatolia and southwestern Caucasia--the highlands which once dominate the southern lowlands of Syria and Mesopotamia. Early Armenian history is associated primarily with the Hittites and the Urartians and the great civilizaions of Mesopotamia. Later Armenia history is associated with the Persian Empire. Armenia was never conquwered by Alexander, although of course Persia was. With Alexander's defeat of the Persian, Armenia, at least the upper classes were Hellenized. Armenia was briefly independent under king Tigran (Tigranes) the Great (about 90 BC). Armenia became the first state to establish Christianity as an official religion. The Eastern Empire known as the Byzantine Empire sought to control Armenia by underminining the authority of the native nobility and serious weakening Aemenia's social structure. Armenia was less able to resist waves of foreign invaders (Arabs, the Seljuk Turks, the Mongols, various Turkmen tribes) which followed. These waves of foreign invaders grdually changed the ethnic makeup of the Armenian plain and the dillution of the Armenian presence. Finally the Ottomans after finally taking Constantinople (1453) turned eastward an added Armenia to their growing empire. Armemia has existed as an independent country, but has often been a part of larger empires, both ancient and modern(Ottoman and Russian/Soviet). Armenia once included whay is noe eatern Turkey and the area of modern Armenia. Its history is marred by the terrible Turkish Holocaust during World War I.

Economy

Armenia was thorougly integrated into the Soviet economy. It had an industrual economy including chemicals, electronics, machinery, processed food, synthetic rubber, and textile. Armenian industry relied heavily on raw materials from the rest of the Soviet Union, commonly provided without regards to actual cost. The modern Armenian economy relies heavily on investment and support from Armenians abroad. The country's industrial sector has had to adjust to being cut off from the raw materials once provided by Soviet plannets. The industrial sector is now on a more market-based footing. They export machine tools, textiles, and other manufactured goods in exchange for imported raw materials and energy.

Religion

Armenians were early coverts to Christianity, but separated from the Orthodox Church when tennants of Monophysttism became widely accepted. And they held on to their Christisnity even after the Turkish conquest of Anatolia.

Families

We have very few images of Armenian families. This is an important part of HBC because it shows fashion trends for the whole family and put boys' fashion in a context of how their sisters and parents dressed over time. We see varied dress, both standard local outfit including Turkish as well as Western dress. The family here for example shows a Westernized family (figure 1). Fashion tells great deal about orientatiin nd outlook. We do not yet have enough information and images to make any assessments.

Armenian Diaspora

In modern times, there was no independemt Armenian state. Most Armenians lived in the vast Ottomoan Empire, mostly northeastern Antolia and the southern Caucauses. Ottomn power wained in the 18th anf 19th century. The Tsarist Empire seized large ares of northern territory, including the Balkans, southern Ukrine, the Crime, and the Caucuses This mean that a substantial part of the Armenia population came under Tsarist control. The Armenians became split between the Russian souther Caucayuses and the Ottoman eastern Anatolia. Which was the sitution at the time of Wold War I. With the outbreak of World War I and the early German victories, the Young Turks who had become the dominant force in the Empire saw a way of addressing major concerns, both the loss of territory and the existence of a Christian population in Anatolia. The result was the horific Armeninan Genocide. This essentially ended a major Armenian presence in Anatolia. After the Ottoman killing operations, the primary Armenian population left was in Russia. The Ottoman Genocide set in motion a movement of armenians beyond Anatolia and he Caucauses. To a limited extent this had already begun wihin the Empire. As a result, we see Armenian communities growing in Egypt and Greece. A new Armenian population appeared in America. The Soviet Armenian SSR was the core of the new Armnian state that emerged from the Soviet Union (1992).

Armenian Photography

We note Armenian photographers theroughout the Balkans and Middle East. This is partly because there were Armenian communities within the Ottoman Empite. The Armenian heartland was northeast Anatolia and te southern Caucauses. But those living in the Ottoman Empire were Ottombn subjects and could move freely wihin the Empire. This is oart of the reason you also see Greek and Jewish communities thrughout the Empire. What we do not fully understand is why so many Armenian photograophic studios were established. The Greek achieved independence early (1820s) and thus had contact with the West at the time photography was invented. We are less sure why the Armenians were especially competent with photography. Perhaps there were Western contacts trough the Christiabn Church or contacts with Armenians in Tsarist Russia. Two of the best know Armenian photographers are Pascal Sebah and Abdullah Frères. Both operated studios, but also took genre photographs. And for whatever reason we see mny Armenian photographic studios througout the Ottoman Empire and in countries that were formed from the Ottoman Empire. Photographic studios were especially numerous in Constantinople and the major studios were located ghere, but we aee Armenisn studios throughout the Empire. And they were seving the wider communitiy in the cities they set up shop, not just the Armenian community.

Individuals

We have a portrait of an unidentified Armenia boy and his mother in the Ottoman Empire during the 1890s, before the Turks carried out the Armenian genocide. We notice a portrait of an Armenian boy wearing a school smock, but we are not sure where he was from (1954).







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Created: 7:47 AM 10/15/2012
Last updated: 2:58 AM 12/10/2018