InternationalThe road that led to Hayakaghak: How Armenians ended up in Transylvania
Published: Saturday February 28, 2009
Cristina Popa in traditional Armenian costume with local children at a Christmas celebration.
Yerevan - No, you didn't misread that and it's not a typo. Believe it or not, Armenians have been living in Transylvania for over 300 years. They migrated there mostly from the historical region of Moldavia, where they had been living for at least 700 years prior, and built a city that they aptly named Hayakaghak ("Armenian City").
Outside of Romania and Hungary, few people know much about Transylvania except that it's the setting of Bram Stoker's Dracula. But aside from an orientalist fascination generated by Stoker and other Victorian authors, who associated the region with all that is mysterious and exotic because of its Muslim Turkish influence and late industrialization, Transylvania is known for the scenic beauty of its Carpathian landscape and its rich history. Located in present-day central Romania, the ancient land of Transylvania was once the nucleus of the powerful Kingdom of Dacia, and has passed through the hands of the Romans, the Huns, the Visigoths, the Kingdom of Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire, to name a few.
How Armenians ended up in Transylvania, and how they were at one point numerous, organized and powerful enough to build an exclusively Armenian city there, is, like any other story of Armenian migration, a long and winding one, swiftly changing its course each time conditions became unfavorable or tragedy struck.
The origins of the Armenian community in Romania and its neighboring regions are connected with a devastating series of events that affected Armenia over the centuries. The fall of the Bagratuni kingdom in 1045, the conquest of Ani by Seljuk Turks in 1064, the Tatar invasions of the 13th century, the earthquake and famine of 1319 and the Mongol invasion in 1342, all led to waves of Armenian migration into Poland, Crimea (currently an autonomous republic in Ukraine), and the Principality of Moldavia (a territory now divided between Moldova, Ukraine and Romania).
In Moldavia, Armenians flourished for centuries. They settled there before the actual foundation of the principality in 1352. They came mostly from Crimea, Galicia and Podolia, regions that already had significant Armenian populations and trade centers, moving along established trade routes. Armenians upheld their reputation as skilled craftsmen and merchants. In fact, for centuries, Moldavian trade was dominated by Armenians. They used their knowledge of a wide range of Oriental and European languages to develop their trade networks. The great Romanian historian, Nicolae Iorga wrote, "Since the principality of Moldavia was actually created by way of trade, those who followed this way became participants in the creation of the nation state of Moldavia. Therefore Armenians are in a way the parents of Moldavia."
By the 15th century, the Armenians had built churches and developed towns across the principality. In 1401, before a Romanian Orthodox hierarchy had even been established, Bishop Ohannes was appointed the first bishop of Armenians in Moldavia.
Armenians were highly regarded by Moldavian princes and rulers because they brought a great deal of wealth through trade. They were given special privileges, following the model that was in place in Armenian communities in Poland, such as tax exemptions and special property rights. They even had their own legal system. Conflicts among Armenians were tried by Armenian judges following the code of Mkhitar Gosh (the father of Armenian law), and conflicts between Armenians and non-Armenians could only be tried by the prince and his council.
Armenians went on to hold positions of power and privilege in Moldavia, forming an important part of the administrative structure of towns and of the upper nobility. They became military commanders and even princes. They were well-regarded, upper-class members of society who enjoyed a prosperous and relatively peaceful existence well into the 17th century.
In 1672, the Ottoman Empire staged a massive invasion in Moldavia, and in the coming years, the principality suffered devastating losses when it became a battleground for the wars between Poland and the Ottoman Empire. In 1683, the Armenian monastery of Zamca was seized and used as a fortress by the army of the Polish king Jan Sobieski. With their communities in ruins, many of the Armenians of Moldavia fled across the Carpathians to take refuge in Transylvania.
Though there was a continual presence of Armenians in Transylvania from as far back as the 11th century, it wasn't until the mass exodus from Moldavia in the 17th century that a strong and stable community was established there.
In 1672, 3000 Armenians from Moldavia, led by their bishop, Minas Zilihtar, fled to Transylvania. At first, the migration was thought to be temporary, but eventually as the politics of the region became more unstable, they realized they had to settle there. Prince Michael Apafi allowed the Armenians to settle in several Transylvanian towns and issued a charter allowing them a certain degree of autonomy, the right to trade freely, and to elect their own judges.
An important Armenian community settled initially in Bistrita, where they built a church, but conflicts with the local Saxons (a confederation of Old Germanic tribes, the ascendants of modern Germans), who did not like the prospect of new competition in the marketplace, forced Armenians to leave the town.
Around the same time, some of the members of the old Armenian community in Poland fled to Transylvania to escape forced conversion to Catholicism, but it soon became apparent that, despite Michael Apafi's protection, they would have to convert even in Transylvania, which became part of the Habsburg Monarchy (the predecessor of the Austrian Empire) in 1699.This created a divide between those who agreed to convert and those who resisted. But eventually, after a two-year campaign by the Armenian Catholic bishop Oxendius Varzarescu/Varzarian, the majority of the population converted to Catholicism.
