Hidden Armenians (Armenian: թաքնված հայեր, romanized: t’ak’nvats hayer; Turkish: Gizli Ermeniler) or crypto-Armenians (Kripto Ermeniler)[1] is an umbrella term to describe Turkish citizens hiding their full or partial Armenian ancestry from the larger Turkish society.[2] They are mostly descendants of Ottoman Armenians who, at least outwardly, were Islamized (and Turkified or Kurdified) "under the threat of physical extermination" during the Armenian genocide.[3][4]
Turkish journalist Erhan Başyurt[a] describes hidden Armenians as "families (and in some cases, entire villages or neighbourhoods) [...] who converted to Islam to escape the deportations and death marches [of 1915], but continued their hidden lives as Armenians, marrying among themselves and, in some cases, clandestinely reverting to Christianity."[5] According to the 2012 European Commission report on Turkey, a "number of crypto-Armenians have started to use their original names and religion."[6]The Economist suggests that the number of Turks who reveal their Armenian background is growing.[7] In Turkish, they are referred to by the derogatory term "leftovers of the sword" (Turkish: kılıç artıkları).[8][9]
^Ziflioğlu, Vercihan (24 June 2011). "Hidden Armenians in Turkey expose their identities". Hürriyet Daily News. Archived from the original on 13 November 2013. Retrieved 13 November 2013.
^Ziflioğlu, Vercihan (19 June 2012). "Elective courses may be ice-breaker for all". Hürriyet Daily News. Archived from the original on 21 October 2013. Retrieved 24 June 2013.
^Khanlaryan, Karen (29 September 2005). "The Armenian ethnoreligious elements in the Western Armenia". Noravank Foundation. Archived from the original on 10 November 2013. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
^Altınay, Ayşe Gül; Çetin, Fethiye (2014). The Grandchildren: The Hidden Legacy of 'Lost' Armenians in Turkey. Transaction Publishers. p. xxxi. ISBN 978-1412853910.
^Altınay & Turkyilmaz 2011, p. 41.
^"Commission Working Document Turkey 2012 Progress Report" (PDF). European Commission. 10 October 2012. p. 24. Archived (PDF) from the original on 31 October 2013. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
^"The cost of reconstruction". The Economist. 11 March 2010. Archived from the original on 3 June 2013. Retrieved 24 June 2013. Although today's inhabitants of Geben hesitate to call themselves Armenians, a growing number of "crypto-Armenians" (people forced to change identity) do just that.
^Hadjian, Avedis (30 April 2018). Secret Nation: The Hidden Armenians of Turkey. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. viii. ISBN 978-1-78673-371-9.
^Watenpaugh, Keith David (2013). ""Are There Any Children for Sale?": Genocide and the Transfer of Armenian Children (1915–1922)". Journal of Human Rights. 12 (3): 283–295. doi:10.1080/14754835.2013.812410. S2CID 144771307.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).
HiddenArmenians (Armenian: թաքնված հայեր, romanized: t’ak’nvats hayer; Turkish: Gizli Ermeniler) or crypto-Armenians (Kripto Ermeniler) is an umbrella...
Armenians (Armenian: հայեր, romanized: hayer, [hɑˈjɛɾ]) are an ethnic group and nation native to the Armenian highlands of West Asia. Armenians constitute...
The Armenian diaspora refers to the communities of Armenians outside Armenia and other locations where Armenians are considered an indigenous population...
Muslim Armenians may refer to: HiddenArmenians, Christian Armenians of Turkey who became Islamized, and Turkified or Kurdified to escape the Armenian genocide...
population of over 2 million Armenians between the years 1914 and 1921. Today, the overwhelming majority of Turkish Armenians are concentrated in Istanbul...
native bishops before their execution, and some other Armenians had been ordained outside of Armenia by James the Just. Scholars including Bart Ehrman, Han...
Turkish Armenia, such as Kars. The region's Armenian population was affected during the widespread massacres of Armenians in the 1890s. The Armenians living...
forced relocation of the Armenians to Iran in 1604, some of whom subsequently moved on to settle in Iraq. A further 25,000 Armenians arrived in Iraq during...
Armenians with India and the presence of Armenians in India are very old, and there has been a mutual economic and cultural association of Armenians with...
already 60,000 Armenians in the United States. As more Armenians fell victim to the genocide and more Armenians were deported, the Armenian American community...
and by Armenians in Samtskhe–Javakheti province of Georgia (Akhalkalaki, Akhaltsikhe). Nakhichevan-on-Don Armenians speak another Western Armenian variety...
number of Armenians, because in many countries, most prominently France, most ethnic Armenians are not from Armenia. Also, not all Armenian citizens and...
Armenians in Russia or Russian Armenians (Armenian: Հայերը Ռուսաստանում, romanized: Hayery Rrusastanum; Russian: Армяне в России, romanized: Armyane v...
Before World War I, Armenians occupied a somewhat protected, but subordinate, place in Ottoman society. Large-scale massacres of Armenians had occurred in...
population is 18,873 (2022). It is mostly populated by Kurds with few HiddenArmenians. It is the site of the 1071 Battle of Manzikert. In the city, there...
Armenians have lived in Lebanon for centuries. According to Minority Rights Group International, there are 156,000 Armenians in Lebanon, around 4% of the...
Armenians in Georgia or Georgian Armenians (Georgian: ქართველი სომხები, romanized: kartveli somkhebi; Armenian: Վիրահայեր, romanized: Virahayer) are Armenian...
countries. Most Armenians established themselves in Cilicia where they founded the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia. Many other Armenians have preferred to...
Amatuni Armenians in Turkey Armeno-Tats Cherkesogai Christianity in Turkey Chveneburi Crypto-Armenians Empire of Trebizond Islam in Armenia Laz people...
majority of Armenians arriving in the 1920s originated from the province of Adana in Cilicia of the Ottoman Empire. Most of these Armenians left their...
of the Dutch East Indies, as did Armenians moving east from the Persian Empire, establishing a community of Armenians in Java. In 1808, with a growing...
Armenia. Armenians have a long history of settlement in France. The first Armenians appeared in Francia in the Early Middle Ages. In 591, an Armenian...
earthquake-stricken Armenians in Armenia, after the 1988 earthquake, to orphans in Nagorno-Karabakh, to Armenians in Lebanon, Armenians in Greece and Armenians in Syria...
Armenians in Jordan are ethnic Armenians living in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. There are an estimated 3,000 Armenians living in the country today...
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...
traditional Armenian homeland—the Armenian Highland—which are currently or have historically been mostly populated by Armenians. The idea of what Armenians see...
as they fled during the Armenian genocide, during which 1.5 million Armenians perished. In contemporary times, the Armenians in the region lived through...
Global Information