{"id":61523,"date":"2017-02-13T16:12:57","date_gmt":"2017-02-13T12:12:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.armgeo.am\/hamshen-armenians\/"},"modified":"2021-02-26T11:39:35","modified_gmt":"2021-02-26T07:39:35","slug":"hamshen-armenians","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.armgeo.am\/en\/hamshen-armenians\/","title":{"rendered":"In search of Hamshen Armenians"},"content":{"rendered":"

After climbing Mount Qajkar<\/a><\/span> we went to Hamshen. This area is located on the slopes of Mount Qajkar facing the sea. Once, Armenians inhabited this area. Now representatives of different nations live here, along with ethnic Armenians who were forcibly converted to Islam in the 18th-19th centuries.<\/p>\n

\"Hamshen\"<\/a>

Hamshen<\/p><\/div>\n

According to the Armenian historian Ghevond, in the 8th<\/sup> century about 12000 people from Kotayk and Aragatsotn provinces of Greater Armenia were unable to withstand the pressure of the Arabs and left Armenia. Under the leadership of Abas Amatuni and his son Hamam they left their homeland and settled in Pontus, which was part of the Byzantine Empire.<\/p>\n

The Byzantine emperor Constantine gladly welcomed Armenians and settled them in different lands. He also gave Armenian nakharars (nakharar is an Armenian noble title) the city of Tambour, which was soon completely destroyed due to wars. Hamam Amatuni restored the city and named it Hamamshen (Hamshen), which means \u201cbuilt by Hamam\u201d.<\/p>\n

The principality founded by Hamam Amatuni existed until 15th<\/sup> century. It was a semi-independent region in the Byzantine Empire, and then in the Kingdom of Pontus.<\/p>\n

Shortly after the establishment of the Ottoman Empire, the policy of intolerance was applied to Armenians and other Christian nations, which often led to hostilities.<\/p>\n

The Ottoman Empire tried to convert the whole population to Islam. In the middle of the 19th<\/sup> century Hamshen Armenians started to immigrate to the coastal regions of the Russian Empire.<\/p>\n

Thus, the Armenian population of this region was divided into two parts:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Islamized Hamshen Armenians living on the Pontic coast of Turkey<\/li>\n
  2. Christian Hamshen Armenians living in the Abkhaz and Russian coastal regions of the Black Sea.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Hamshen Armenians<\/h3>\n

    After exploring Zil Fortress we went in search of Hamshen Armenians. We asked the locals and found out that we need to go to the Chamlihemshin (Upper Hamshen) to meet Armenians. To get from the Zil Fortress to Chamlihemshin, we had to go around the whole mountain range, which means that we had to get to the seashore and drive to Chamlihemshin through another gorge. We preferred the mountain route, as it was shorter and more adventurous.<\/p>\n

    Hamshen songs<\/h3>\n