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Syria Armenians
The Armenians are descendants of a people who have existed
continuously in Transcaucasia since about the sixth century B.C.
Although a small number of Armenians have been settled in the
country for several generations, the bulk of those in Syria
arrived in successive waves as refugees from Turkey between 1925
and 1945.
Like Armenians throughout the Middle East, Armenians in Syria
are city or town dwellers. About 150,000 Armenians lived in Syria
in the mid-1980s. Roughly 75 percent live in Aleppo, where they
are a large and commercially important element, and fewer than 20
percent live in the Hayy al Arman (Quarter of the Armenians), a
new section of Damascus. The remainder are scattered in cities
and towns throughout the country, especially in the larger towns
along the northern border of the Jazirah. Most Armenians belong
to the Armenian Orthodox Church, but about 20,000 belong to the
Armenian Catholic Church.
The Armenian language, which has its own alphabet, belongs to
the Indo-European family at the same level as such other
subfamilies as the Slavic and Italic languages. There is a
classical form with an old, highly developed Christian
literature, but modern Armenian differs essentially from the
older form.
The Armenians work chiefly in trade, the professions, small
industry, or crafts; a few are found in government service. In
Aleppo, where some families have been traders for generations,
their economic position is strong. Many of the technical and
skilled workers of Damascus and Aleppo are Armenian; in the
smaller towns they are generally small traders or craftsmen.
Armenians are the largest unassimilated group in Syria. They
retain many of their own customs, maintain their own schools, and
read newspapers in their own language. Some leaders adamantly
oppose assimilation and stress the maintenance of Armenian
identity. As Arab nationalism and socialism have become more
important in Syrian political life, Armenians have found
themselves under some pressure and have felt increasingly
alienated. As a result, they were reported in the 1960s and early
1970s to have emigrated in large numbers.
Data as of April 1987
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