The Armenians in Pakistan are ethnic

Armenians Armenians ( hy, հայեր, ''hayer'' ) are an ethnic group native to the Armenian highlands of Western Asia. Armenians constitute the main population of Armenia and the ''de facto'' independent Artsakh. There is a wide-ranging diaspora ...

living in the present country of

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. Armenians migrated to Karachi during the economic boom in the early 20th century. Notable Armenian settlements in Pakistan can be found in the cities of

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second List of cities in Pakistan by population, most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th List of largest cities, most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is th ...

and in the capital

Islamabad Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital ...

History

The Ottoman and the Safavid conquests of the Armenian highlands in the 15th century CE meant that many Armenians dispersed across the Ottoman and Safavid empires, with some eventually reaching Mughal India. During the period of Akbar, Armenians -- such as Akbar's wife Mariam Begum Saheba and a Chief Justice

Abdul Hai Abdul Hai ( ar, عبد الحي, translit=Abd al-Ḥayy) is a Muslim male given name, and in modern usage, surname. It is built from the Arabic words '' Abd'', '' al-'' and ''Hayy''. The name means "servant of the Living God", ''Al-Hayy'' being one ...

-- gained prestige in the empire. While Armenians gained prestige serving as governors and generals elsewhere in India such as Delhi and the Bengal, they were also present in Lahore. Armenian inscriptions from 1606 and 1618 have been found by archaeologists in 1901 in the Thal Chotiali, Loralai District, in

Balochistan Balochistan ( ; bal, بلۏچستان; also romanised as Baluchistan and Baluchestan) is a historical region in Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. ...

. There was an Armenian colony established there in the beginning of the seventeenth century. In 1908, a British officer wrote that There was a large Armenian colony in

as early as the 16th century, in the time of the

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...

.Jacob Seth Mesrovb,
Armenians in India - From the Earliest Times to the Present
'', Calcutta, 1937, "Armenians at Lahore" p.201-206 (digitalized) Lahore also had an enclosed Armenian quarter near Lahore Fort with an Armenian church and cemetery, and Christian Armenian and Georgian gunners were in the employ of the governor Mir Mannu during its invasion by

Ahmad Shah Durrani Ahmad Shāh Durrānī ( ps, احمد شاه دراني; prs, احمد شاه درانی), also known as Ahmad Shāh Abdālī (), was the founder of the Durrani Empire and is regarded as the founder of the modern Afghanistan. In July 1747, Ahm ...

; members of the Dutch East India Company's expeditions to Lahore noted many Armenian priests. Armenians prospered there, and while most were general merchants, members of the community were also noted as owners of breweries and wine-shops. There was a church in Lahore "used by Armenian Christian traders" under the Mughal Emperor

Akbar Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar (25 October 1542 – 27 October 1605), popularly known as Akbar the Great ( fa, ), and also as Akbar I (), was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Hum ...

. In 1711, there was a Bishop of the

Armenian Church Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

. However, many Armenians, including twenty merchants with their families, fled from the city after a

Mughul The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...

governor threatened them. The community of the 17th and 18th centuries was greatly reduced, but with the arrival of

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

, an Armenian presence continued in this part of the

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;; ...

until the early 20th century. In 1907, the remaining Armenians in Lahore were visited by Armenian Archbishop Sahak Ayvadian, a primate of the Indian Diocese in

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, commer ...

Notable Armenians in Pakistan

Lieutenant Colonel (retd) Derek Joseph was a Pakistan army officer of Armenian origin and the recipient of

Tamgha-i-Jurat Tamgha-i-Jurat ( ur, تمغہِ جرأت, , Medal of Courage), is the fourth highest military award of Pakistan. This citation is awarded for extraordinary heroism while engaged in armed combat with an opposing force on Pakistan soil or outside it ...

References

Ethnic groups in Pakistan Immigration to Pakistan {{Pakistan-stub

History

Notable Armenians in Pakistan

See also

References