Tag: Lahore Page 1 of 7

An Armenian colony was established here in 1665, by virtue of a royal farman (decree) issued by the Moghul Emperor, granting the Armenians a piece of land in Saidabad, a suburb of Murshidabad (the then capital of Bengal).  The Armenians flourished and made their fortunes.  In 1758 the well known and extremely successful merchant, Khojah Petrus Arathoon built the Armenian church at Saidabad entirely at his own expense and in memory of his parents.  The place having lost its commercial value, the Armenians left the place towards the end of 1860. 

“There was a brass tablet on the north wall of the Armenian church at Saidabad, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, with an inscription in Armenian, from which it appears that the church was built by Khojah Petrus to the memory of his revered parents, Arathoon his father and Hosannah his mother, Dastagool his wife, Khojah Gregory (Gorgin Khan) and Agah Barsegh (Basil) his brothers and all his blood relations, whether dead of alive.  This tablet is now in the picture gallery of the Armenian Church* at Calcutta.” [Extracted from Armenians in India by M.J. Seth published 1937]

* Sadly, this tablet, along with many other precious and historical items no longer exist. Looted and stolen from this and other Armenian churches in India, by individuals who knew the value and sold them, thus depleting and diluting the history of their very own ancestors and countrymen. Such callous and selfish behaviour deprives the current community, small though it is, of knowing and learning about the many good Armenians who went before them.

In the library of the Armenian church in Calcutta, used to be a beautiful manuscript copy of a collection of 306 hymn, canticles and melodies composed in ancient Armenian by the Fathers of the Armenian Church from time to time.  From the title page it could be seen that it was compiled by Petrus Amirjan, a chorister, but the date and place of the compilation was not shown.  From the colophon (the symbol or emblem that is printed on a book and represents a publisher or publisher’s imprint) that this copy was made at Saidabad from the original of Petrus Amirjan, by a young Armenian, named Arakiel, the son of Mahtesy Johanness, who laboured for 4 months with great devotion and completed his self-imposed task on the 17^th August 1757.

The colophon indicates that the paper was supplied by Martyrose, the son of Arathoon and the cost of the binding was borne by Petrus, the son of Rev. Nicholas, the pious and zealous warden of the Saidabad Armenian Church.  Further evidence indicated that Carapiet, the son of Mathew, helped the copyist by reading the original, thereby enabling him to revise the copy.  The volume, again according to the colophon, was presented by the scribe, Arakiel Mahtesy Johanness to the Armenian church at Saidabad, on the 3^rd August 1759 in memory of all those mentioned above who had participated in its production.

The manuscript itself was composed of 320 quarto pages, measuring 10” x 7 ½ “.  It was beautifully written, like print, with a reed pen on thick hand-made glazed paper, in jet black Indian ink, with the headings and the first letters of the lines in red ink.  In the 1930’s Mesvrob Seth noted in his book “Armenians in India” that “although written 180 years ago, it is in a very fair state of preservation, despite the damp climate of Bengal”.  Whatever became of it?

Another prominent Armenian merchant who lived in Saidabad was Manatsaken Sumbat Vardon.  He was the founder of the Armenian College, which opened its doors on the 2^nd April 1821 and is still going strong today.  Manatsaken Vardon departed this life at Saidabad on the 13^th October 1827 at the very early age of fifty five years having been born in Julfa Ispahan on the 6^th September 1772.  He was buried in the church in Saidabad.

The Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary was built in 1758 and the last service was held there in 1860 after which the church remained closed for nearly a century because the Armenians left towards the end of 1860 due to the decline of commerce and trade.  Successive caretakers looked after it, the last being the late Mr. Mathevos Carapiet who served there between 1908 and 1952. His wife Mary, continued to look after it until her death in 1968, a most remarkable selfless act, by two remarkable people.  During the 100 years or so that it was closed, it was left to the ravages of time.  As a result, the roof collapsed on the altar and the walls were severely damaged.  In 1960 a small number of dedicated Armenians of Calcutta collected funds and had the church thoroughly renovated.  This brought a short-lived revival of just two services being held at which a large number of Armenians from Calcutta attended.

Following the death of Mary Carapiet in 1968 the church no longer had anyone to tend it and it quickly fell into a serious state of disrepair which, coupled with fire and earthquakes almost destroyed it.  The agonies of the heart of that church must have been heard by those few Armenians in Calcutta 37 years later because in 2005, the newly elected Armenian Church Committee of Kolkata vowed that the church should once again, stand tall and proud, and went about a major restoration programme the likes of which have never been seen in the Armenian community of India before.

On the 5th December 2006 the Armenian Apostolic Church of Holy Virgin Mary of Saidabad was re-consecrated by His Eminence Archbishop Aghan Baliozian, Prelate of Australia and the Far East and Pontifical Legate of Armenians in India and the Far East assisted by the Pastor of Armenians in India, the Very Reverend Father Oshagan Gulgulian.  It is a delight to be able to report that regular  services are held at Saidabad attended by the Armenian community from Kolkata and the children from the Armenian College & Philanthropic Academy as well as the girls from the Davidian Girls’ School.

You only have to look at the “before” and “after” pictures to see what the miraculous transformation that has taken place due entirely to the commitment and dedication of the newly formed Armenian Church Committee of Kolkata.

The Armenians in Madras in 1949 celebrating the visit of Bishop Vahan Constantian

Armenians flourished at Madras during the 17^th and 18^th centuries, when they had the trade of the Asians in their hands, and carried on a lucrative trade with Europe and the East.  From a valuable Armenian manuscript, written at Masulipatam by Sarkies Johannes in 1790, it can be seen that Armenians settled permanently at Madras in the year 1666.

However, from “Madras in the Olden Time: Being a History of the Presidency from the First Foundation to the Governorship of Thomas Pitt, Grandfather of the Earl of Chatham 1639-1702. Compiled from Official Records by James Talboys Wheeler.”  Published in Madras in 1861, comes the following extract.

In January  1692 the Court of Directors [of the East India Co.] sent a letter to the administration at Fort St. George, Madras stating: “We have discoursed Sir John Goldsborough (newly arrived in Madras as Governor General, who took over from Mr. Yale) about enlarging our Christian town to a Quadrangle, so as it may be done without detriment to the Company, with handsome stone bridges over the river; in which designed new moiety of the city, one Quarter of that moiety may be set apart for the Armenian Christians to build a new church (for the worship of God according to their own Rites), at their charge, with stone and other durable materials, and also convenient dwelling houses for their merchants, they paying as such ground rents as will fully defray our charges. And that Quarter so set apart for their use  you may call it “Julpha” that being the town from whence Shah Abbas the Great brought them, when he conquered Armenian and settled them in a suburb of his new made metropolitan city of Ispahan and called the Quarter he allotted there to the Armenians “Julpha” the name of the city from whence he brought them”.

During the 17th and 18th centuries the Armenians settled here and grew rich, trading in textiles, precious stones, silks, and spices.  Amongst them Petrus Woskan because a member of the East India Company’s Council.  When the Nawab (Indian Prince) of Arcot visited Madras, it is said that Woskan draped the main streets with costly silks and entertained him on a lavish scale.  The Nawab was so pleased that he asked Woskan what he would like in return as a favour.  The shrewd Woskan with an eye to greater business did not lose this golden opportunity.  He immediately asked for the monopoly of the inland trade to Madras and the interior, which the Nawab graciously granted without hesitation.

 

Thereby Woskan soon became a millionaire and utilised a large portion of his wealth in charitable works.  At his personal cost he build the Marmalong Bridge across the Adyar River in Madras in 1726.  In spite of heavy traffic for over two centuries, the bridge stood until 1960, when it was replaced with a more modern structure.   He also built a flight of 160 large stone steps leading to the top of St. Thomas’ Mount in Madras, where the Church of St. Thomas was built on the reputed site of the martyrdom of St. Thomas the Apostle.  There are a few Armenian graves around this Church.  The pictures of the twelve Apostle hanging on the inside walls of the Church have their names inscribed in Armenian letters.

Petros Woskan was born in Julfa, Iran, in 1681 and passed away in Madras in 15th January 1751.  His will included the following direction:

“My heart longs for home where, should I be unable to go, when my last day comes,
my heart be sent to my native town, so that I shall have a grave there”.

Accordingly, his heart was sent to Julfa in a golden casket and entombed in the grave of his parents in a Church built at the cost of his great grandfather, Khojah Petrus Velijanian.

“Breathes there a man with soul so dead
Who never to himself had said
This is my own my native land”.

The first Armenian church in Madras was erected in 1712 in the Esplanade of the city.  As the British authorities objected to tall buildings in the Fort area, this church and the Latin church in the same neighbourhood were demolished.  However, another account indicated that in fact these two churches were wrecked in 1746 by the French military during their occupation of Madras.

The second Armenian church  dedicated to the Holy Virgin Mary was built in 1772 on land that was originally the burial ground of the community and where a chapel stood where they worshipped whilst the present church was being built.  The ground belonged to the famous Agah Shameer.  His wife, Anna, had been buried there in 1765 and a room built to her memory.  This room, was known as “Shameer’s Room” and was attached to the church that was built seven years afterwards.

One cannot mention Armenians in Madras without mentioning Rev. Haruthiune Shmavonian.  He was born in Shiraz, Iran and came to Madras in 1750 and served the Church for 44 years.  During the years 1794-1796 he published the very first Armenian journal in the world and named it “Azdarar” (ie. Adviser).  It was a completely one-man achievement for not only did he edit, compose and print it, but he also cast the typefaces and made the printing paper from cotton pulp.  He is acknowledged as the “Father of Armenian Journalism”.  He died in Madras on 9th February 1824 and was buried in the churchyard.  The tombstone of Rev. Shmavonian’s grave being in a state of decay for many years (see right), was replaced with a new and beautiful black marble slab in 1965 (see below) with the original epitaph inscribed on it, courtesy of the Armenian Association.

The first Armenian publication in India, which was printed in Madras dates back even further than the start of Rev. Shmavonian’s journal, it being published in 1772 with an interesting title page which translates into English as:

“New pamphlet, called Exhortation , composed for the awakening of the Armenian youth from the weak and idle drowsiness of the sleep of slothfulness, and with an ardent and tender desire printed at the expense and through the exertions of Jacob Shameer by his tutor Moses Bagram, for the benefit of the tender Armenian youth, in the year of the incarnation of the Word 1772 and in the year 1221 of the Armenian era.  In India, at the city of Madras, at the press of the said Jacob Shameer.”

The works in the Armenian language, published at Madras between the years 1772 and 1800, possess considerable literary merit. Source: Seth, Armenians in India P.596.

The Armenian Church at Madras was once well known for possessing a large number of rare and valuable manuscripts and books.  In April 1904 Mesrovb Seth made his first visit to the church in Madras and made the following observation.

“Having arrived on the Saturday, we went to the church service the following day, which was very poorly attended owing to the paucity of Armenians in that city.  We paid our respects to the priest in charge and he received us in the room where the so called Church Library was located.  As a bibliophile, if not a bibliomaniac, we expected to find a large number of rare manuscripts and a complete collection of the works which had been issued from the different Armenian presses at Madras, between the years 1772 and 1812, but we were sorely disappointed when we saw no manuscripts and only a few torn and dilapidated copies of “Hisoos Vordi” (Jesus the Son) which was printed in Rev. Arathoon Shumavon’s press in 1792.

It seems the once beautiful and well stocked library of the church was completely devoid of its past historical content which had never had an inventory done of its unique collection.

FREEMASONRY

It appears that in 1838 a new freemason’s lodge was established in Madras by members of the Armenian community, and it was named the “Armenian Lodge”.

 

Several Armenians owned breweries and others were general merchants.  When the Moghul governor threatened to annihilate the Christians in Lahore, the Armenians were in such fear that 20 merchants with their families fled from the city.  Considering the number of merchants who fled, and the presence of an Armenian Bishop in Lahore in 1711, the community must have been a fairly large one.  So there must have been a chapel or a church where the Armenians worshipped.

 

There are now no traces of Churches or graves in Lahore where the Armenians lived and died during the 17th and 18th centuries.  Records show that a few Armenians were still left in Lahore, as an Armenian Archbishop Sahak Ayvadian who was a primate of Indo-Iranian Diocese in Calcutta visited them in May 1907.  But there is no further record as to what became of them.

Here also, as in other cities in India, the Armenians prospered. Colonel Jacob Petrus was the Commander of the Scindia of Gwaliors’ Army, which position he held for 70 years.  He erected the Armenian Church at Gwalior and for many years maintained a priest at his own expense to attend to the spiritual needs of the Armenian colony there.  He died at the ripe old age of 95 years.  His sons, one a Captain and the other a Major had served under him.  The Captain was killed during the Mutiny in 1857.  The Major having wasted his wealth by high living, died at the early age of 35 years.  It is recorded that Colonel Jacob had a large number of Armenian officers under his command, all of whom amassed large fortunes in later years.

 

There was a fairly large Armenian colony here during the early part of the 18th century, most of whom were engaged in the jute trade.  Prominent Armenian jute merchants had their own companies, namely, Messrs Sarkies & Sons, Messrs David & Co., etc.  Gradually the jute business was absorbed and monopolised by the more powerful and better organised British firms who established themselves there.

Before the Armenian community had its own church or cemetery a number of Armenians were buried in the cemetery of The Church of the Holy Rosary Tejgaon,itself built in 1677.  The oldest Armenian tombstone is of Avietes a merchant who was the son of Lazar of Erivan and dated 15 August 1714.  The Armenian community continued to use the church until 1794, 13 years after their own was built.

The early Armenian settlers built a small chapel in the midst of their community graveyard. By the end of the 18th century the Armenian colony in Dacca had grown considerably and the chapel was found inadequate for the needs of the community.  Major subscriptions were made by Michael Sarkies, Astwasatoor Gavork, Margar Pogose and Khojah Petrus. They replaced the chapel with a Church, known as the Holy Resurrection Church which was completed in 1781 and consecrated by His Grace Bishop Ephreim.  The extensive grounds on which this Church was built were presented by a well known Armenian merchant, Agah Catchick Minas.  His wife, Sophia is entombed inside the church.  Another merchant, Johannes Carapiet Sarkies added the belfry in 1837, which also served as a clock tower. In 1907 a parsonage was built and in 1910 the floor of the church was covered with marble, and electric lights and fans were donated by the late Mr. Arathoon Stephen of the Grand Hotel Calcutta, in memory of his grandfather Rev. Hyrapiet Gregore Bashkhoomian who was priest at the church for 15 years from 1828.  He passed away suddenly on the eve of his retirement from Dacca, and is buried in the churchyard near the belfry.

Armenian Graves, Inscription & Memorials in India. DACCA
1722-1977 [currently out of print]

More Details from my Bookstore

It contains in excess of 160 full colour photographs of all the remaining graves at the Armenian Church Dhaka (Dacca, previously in Bengal but now in Bangladesh). In addition, I have included over 25 individual family tree charts that relate directly to those Armenians buried in Dhaka. These charts have been drawn up from my own research of the Armenian community’s existence there between the 18th and 20th centuries. I have also uniquely cross-referenced the grave inscriptions with the original Armenian Church death register entries and where possible, I have also included important factual information from those registers. All transcriptions and register entries that are written in Armenian have been expertly translated into English, to further help the Armenian family history researchers around the world who may have a South East Asia genealogy connection.

 

There was a fairly large community here in the early part of the 17th century. They built a church and according to old records, Rev. Stephanus was the priest in 1713.

During the Sack of Delhi in 1739, King Nadir Shah’s army devastated the city which included the complete destruction of the Armenian church and cemetery, both of which were situated in the centre of the city. All Christian Churches and cemeteries that came into existence since the Sack of Delhi were likewise destroyed by the Indian mutineers in 1857. Only one small Armenian cemetery and the Martyrs’ Chapel attached to it situated in Kishengunge on the outskirts of Delhi escaped destruction. The oldest grave in this cemetery dates back to 1787. The Chapel and cemetery are being preserved by the Archaeological Department of the Government of India.

A place to post your queries or questions. Send me a message and I’ll add it here to try and help you identify your item.

The Armenian Church of St. John the Baptist in Rangoon

Unfortunately the records for this Church were lost during World War II.  However the Armenian cemeteries in Mandalay, Syriam and Rangoon indicate that Armenians first came to India from Iran around 1608, some of them went on to Burma and settled there, playing a prominent part in the promotion of trade, especially in the three towns mentioned above.

In the 18th century they constructed the Church of St. Gregory the Illuminator in Mandalay, on a plot of land graciously presented to them by His Majesty the King of Burma.  In this Church, divine services were held regularly until the 1920’s, when the community in Mandalay gradually moved down to Rangoon.

The Church of St. John the Baptist in Rangoon was erected by the community there in the year 1862 on land they had acquired in October 1858.  This Church was formally consecrated on the 17th July 1863 by Revd. Father Aviet Chaytor, the then resident priest.  The church was internally remodelled with a new roof during 1908-1909.

Update October 2012

I am grateful to Henri Aslanian of Hong Kong for permitting me to use photographs from his recent trip to Myanmar. I reproduce his photographs and comments with full acknowledgement and thanks to Henri.

Henri says: “….Met the only Armenian still living in Myanmar – a 86 years old Mr. Martin (Mardirossian) whose brother still lives in Bangladesh and whom I met last year in Dhaka – and visited the Armenian Church of Myanmar in Rangoon (built in 1862-exactly 150 years ago this year). The church is located in prime real estate, still standing and is under renovation. The Armenians arrived in Burma as early as 1612 and were some of the first foreigners in Burma but they left in the mid-20th century when the military government took power. They built some of the most impressive landmarks in the country including the famous Strand Hotel. Even after all these years living in Asia and travelling extensively throughout South East Asia, I am still impressed by the amazing footprints that these Armenians left in this part of the world including Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Hong Kong and India. Part of Armenian history that many don’t know about…Very inspiring…”

 

Henri says: “…….The Armenian Church is truly a jewel… following a recent donation by a Russian Armenian, the Church is undergoing minor renovations but there are lots of seriously incredible pieces of Armenian religious items in the Church that are simply getting destroyed by humidity………

 

 

In 1895 Mesrovb Seth wrote: “…….In Surat, the Armenians erected two churches – one in the city, which is still preserved, but is not now used; and the other which lies in ruins, in their cemetery…….”

There are traces of an Armenian settlement in the city during the 16th century.  In the Armenian cemetery at Surat, which adjoins the cemeteries of the early British and Dutch, there is a tombstone of an Armenian lady who died there in 1579 A.D.  The inscription which is in Ancient Armenian translates: “In this tomb lies buried the body of the noble lady, who was named Marinas, the wife of the priest Woskan.  She was a crown to her husband, according to the proverbs of Solomon.  She was taken to the Lord of Life, a soul-afflicting cause of sorrow to her faithful husband, in the year one thousand and twenty eight of our Armenian era, on the fifteenth day of November at the first hour of Friday, at the age of 53.  Ye who see this tomb, pray to the Lord to grant mercy”.  The year 1028 of the Armenian era is equivalent to the year 1579 A.D.  Her husband, Rev. Woskan, must have been the spiritual head of the Armenians living at Surat during the reign of Akbar, the patron of their race.

If there was an Armenian priest in Surat in 1579 then there must have been a church or a chapel.  Accordingly to an unconfirmed source, the old Armenian church at Surat was destroyed by the Mogul governor at the instigation of the Turkish merchants who came to Surat, after their pilgrimage to Mecca, for the purpose of buying goods.  However, evidence of an Armenian Church can be seen on page 297 of the English Factories in India (1661-1664) which is digitised, click to follow the link) there is a rough map of Surat, (which is reproduced below) showing the positions of the prominent buildings at the time of Sivaji’s first raid on the city, in early January 1664, in which the Armenian Church is clearly shown.

The Legend marked on the map is as follows.

1. The English Factory of that time which stood in the north-western part of    the city, in what was known in 1937 as the Mullah’s Ward.

2. The Sarai and the mosqueof Mirza Zahid still standing

3. A building known as the Dadhimar or Racket Court.  It was originally a sarai and may have been the one in which some Armenians and Turkish merchants secured themselves and their goods during the raid.

4. The Armenian Church

5. Shows the position of the French factory established a little later

6. Is the site of the subsequent English factory, near the Mullas’ Water Gate.

During the interval between destruction of the old church and the erection of a new church in 1778 dedicated to the Virgin Mary, the Armenian residents of Surat held divine services at a house set apart for the purpose.

The church built in 1778 was pulled down some years later (after 1907) by the wardens of the Armenian church of Bombay, as it had fallen into disrepair and the site was later used as a playground for school children.  The Armenian scholar and writer Mesrovb J. Seth visited the church in January 1907 and observed that “it was still standing, although a portion of the roof had fallen, but the altar, the sacristies (vestries) on either side of the altar, the gallery for ladies on the west side of the church, were in a fair state of preservation, as also the priest quarters on the left side of the main gate.”  He continued “the beautiful church, with historical associations, was, in the absence of devout worshippers, found in the indisputable possession of thousands of owls, bats, crows, cats, rats, snakes and scorpions which howled, screeched, and hissed ominously when the present writer, at the risk of his life, entered the sacred edifice where his revered grandfather, Seth Mackertich Agazar Seth, had worshipped during the last quarter f the 18th century.”  Seth continues “there is a Mortuary chapel in the Armenian cemetery at Surat which is still standing and it will continue to exist as a valuable landmark of the once-flourishing Armenian colony in that historic city, because it has fortunately come under the control of the Public Works Department as a “Protected Monument” thanks to the solicitude of the late Lord Curzon for the Preservation of Ancient Monuments in India.  We could find no date, either inside or outside the beautiful chapel, showing the year of its construction, but in all probability it must have been erected during the 17th century, because there is a grave inside that chapel, with a tombstone bearing the date 1695.

Khojah Phanoos Kalandar, the “Armenian merchant of eminency”, as the English called him, was a native of Julfa (Ispahan) but had settled down at Surat, where his only son’s grave, in the mortuary chapel at the Armenian cemetery bears an inscription in classical Armenian of  which the following is a translation: “This is the tomb of Kalandar, the son of Phanoos Kalandar of Julfa who departed this life on Saturday, the 6th March 1695″”