Armenians have lived in Lebanon for centuries. According to Minority Rights Group International, there are 156,000 Armenians in Lebanon, around 4% of the population. Prior to the Lebanese Civil War, the number was higher, but the community lost a portion of its population to emigration.
Lebanon experienced a significant migration of Armenian refugees primarily between 1918 and 1920, seeking sanctuary from the Armenian genocide carried out by Ottoman authorities. These refugees established Bourj Hammoud, a suburb east of Beirut, in the site of what was then a swampy marshland. Another wave of migration occurred in 1939, as refugees fleeing the Turkish annexation of Alexandretta founded the town of Anjar in the Beqaa region. The Armenian population gradually grew and expanded until Beirut (and Lebanese towns like Anjar) became a center of Armenian culture. The Armenians became one of Lebanon's most prominent and productive communities.How The Lebanese-Armenian Community Thrived Over Decades, by Hussein Yassine, July 2020
Armenians in Lebanon strive to balance their Lebanese identity with ties to their homeland, keeping a distance from sectarian divisions. In areas like Bourj Hammoud and the coastal area northeast of Beirut, they maintain Armenian-language media and political parties. While most adhere to the Armenian Apostolic Church, there are also Armenian Protestants and Catholics.
History
Armenians first established contact with Lebanon when Tigranes the Great conquered Phoenicia from the Seleucids and made it part of his short-lived Armenian Empire. When the Roman Empire established its rule over both Armenia and ancient Lebanon, some Roman troops of Armenian origin went there in order to accomplish their duties as Romans. After Armenia converted to Christianity in 301, Armenian pilgrims established contact with Lebanon and its people on their way to Jerusalem; some of whom would settle there.The Armenians of Lebanon, by S. Varjabedian, Beirut, 1951, p. 5-8
In the year 1250, the Mamluk Sultanate invaded the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia. Tens of thousands of Armenians were taken captive and deported to Egypt as prisoners. During the deportation, which took place along the Levantine coastline, from Antioch to Beirut to Haifa, a large number of the prisoners escaped and mostly took refuge in the mountains between the towns of Zgharta and Ehden. Many families in Zgharta today descend from these Armenians such as the Sarkis, Karkour, Korkomaz and Bakhos among others.
The Catholic Armenians who fled to Lebanon in the declining years of the 17th century may be credited with establishing the first enduring Armenian community in the land.Lebanese Armenians; A Distingtive Community in the Armenian Diaspora and in Lebanese Society, by Scott Abramson, p. 213 The Maronites further acted on the Armenians' behalf in 1742, when they interceded with the Vatican to win Papal recognition for the patriarch of the Armenian Catholics. In 1749, the Armenian Catholic Church built a monastery in Bzoummar, where the image of Our Lady of Bzommar is venerated. The monastery is now acknowledged as the oldest extant Armenian monastery in Lebanon. Alongside it was built the patriarchal see for the entire Armenian Catholic Church.
In the 1890s the Hamidian massacres had produced a trickle of Armenian refugees into Lebanon.
Armenians in Lebanon (1915–1975)
The Armenian presence in Lebanon during the Ottoman period was minimal; however, there was a large influx of Armenians after the Armenian genocide of 1915. Other Armenians inhabited the area of Karantina (literally "Quarantine", a port-side district in the Lebanese capital of Beirut). Later on, a thriving Armenian community was formed in the neighbouring district of Bourj Hammoud.
In 1939, after the French ceded the Syrian territory of Alexandretta to Turkey, Armenians and other Christians from the area moved to the Bekaa Valley. The Armenians were grouped in Anjar, where a community exists to this day. Some of these Armenian refugees had been settled by the French mandate authorities in camps in the South of Lebanon: El Buss and Rashidieh camps in Tyre would later make way for Palestinian refugees.
Prior to 1975, Beirut was a thriving center of Armenian culture with varied media production,Migliorino, Nicola. Constructing Armenia in Lebanon and Syria: Ethno-Cultural Diversity, page 166 which was exported to the Armenian diaspora.
Armenians in Lebanon (1975–present)
During the Lebanese Civil War, Armenians, grouped in Bourj Hammoud and Anjar, have been known for their neutrality in the civil war.Armenians in Lebanon, UNHCR, 1989 And while the insecurity and economic dislocation of the war caused Lebanese Armenians to lose much of their number to emigration, the distinctive features and manifold successes of the community yet remain.
There are three prominent Armenian political parties in Lebanon: the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (also Dashnak or Tashnag), Social Democrat Hunchakian Party (Hunchag) and Armenian Democratic Liberal Party (Ramgavar Party). They play significant influence in all facets of Armenian life. During the civil war militant organizations, such as ASALA, became active in Lebanon, and used it as a launching pad for their operations. ASALA was founded in 1975 in Beirut, during the Lebanese Civil War by Hagop Hagopian, pastor Reverend James KarnusianRev. James Karnusian, retired pastor and one of three persons to establish ASALA, dies in Switzerland // The Armenian Reporter International, 18 April 1998. and Kevork Ajemian, a prominent contemporary writer, with the help of sympathetic Palestinians."Political Interest Groups", Turkey: A Country Study ed. Helen Chapin Metz. Washington, D.C.: The Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress, 283, 354–355
More than 150,000 Lebanese-Armenians have political representation in 6 seats in the Lebanese Parliament, in addition to one ministerial position.
Lebanon was one of the region's first nations and the first Arab League member to recognize the Armenian genocide. The Armenian bloc of the Lebanese Parliament put forth a resolution, calling for the commemoration of the anniversary of the Armenian genocide; the legislature unanimously approved the resolution on 4 April 1997. In May 2000, the Lebanese Parliament approved a resolution calling for the commemoration of the Genocide's 82nd anniversary and called on all Lebanese citizens to unite with the Armenian people every April 24 to commemorate it.
On 4 August 2020, during the 2020 Beirut explosions, 15 Armenians were killed,Another Armenian dies in Beirut blast, News.am more than 250 injured, the Armenian Catholicosate in Antelias suffered great material damage, Armenian churches and the building of Haigazian University have been damaged.At least three Armenians killed in deadly Beirut blasts, Panarmenian.netArmenian Catholicosate damaged in Beirut explosion, Public Radio of Armenia, 05.08.20Armenian representative in Lebanon: The scale of destruction from Beirut blast is unprecedented
Armenian neighborhoods Armenians live in many parts of Lebanon. Historically most Armenians have lived in Beirut and Matn District and Anjar in the Bekaa Region. From Beirut proper we can mention grander Ashrafieh: Hadjen (Corniche Nahr), Khalil Badawi, Karm el Zeytoun (Հայաշէն), Rmeil, Gemmayze, Mar Mikhael, Sursock, and Geitawi. Armenians have had strong presence also in other Beirut regions such as Khandaq Ghamik, Zuqaq al-Blat, Zarif, Bab Idris, Sanayeh (Kantari), Clemenceau and Hamra, among others. During the civil war many of these Armenians emigrated or fled to safer regions in Lebanon. From the Beirut suburbs, there are big concentrations in Matn District, particularly Bourj Hammoud, Dora-Amanos, Fanar, Rawda, Jdeide, Zalka, Jal El Dib, Antelias, Mezher (Dzaghgatzor), Naccash, Dbayeh, Awkar and in the regions situated from Antelias to Bikfaya. To the north, there are further Armenian populations scattered in Jounieh, Byblos and Tripoli (particularly the Mina area). Anjar is a place where Armenian populations are predominant.
There are Armenian religious centers in Antelias and Bikfaya (Armenian Apostolic Church) and Beirut and Bzommar (Armenian Catholic Church). There is an Armenian orphanage in historic sites in Byblos.
In the Bekaa, there are Armenians living in Zahlé and most notably Anjar.
Bourj Hammoud
Bourj Hammoud (, ) is a suburb in east Beirut, Lebanon in the Metn district. The suburb is heavily populated by Armenians as it is where most survivors of the Armenian genocide settled. Bourj Hammoud is an industrious area and is one of the most densely populated cities in the Middle East. It is divided into seven major regions, namely Dora, Sader, Nahr Beirut, Anbari, Mar Doumet, Naba'a and Gheilan. It is sometimes called "Little Armenia". Bourj Hamoud has a majority Armenian population but also has a notable number of other Lebanese Christians, a considerable Shi'a Muslim population, a Kurdish population, and some Palestinian and newcomer Christian refugees from Iraq. Most streets in Bourj Hammoud are named after various Armenian cities such as Yerevan, mountains such as Aragats, and rivers such as Araks. A lot of streets are also named after cities and regions in modern-day-Turkey which were heavily populated by Armenians such as Cilicia, Marash, Sis, Adana, etc.
Mezher (Dzaghgatzor)
Mzher (or Dzaghgatzor in Armenian) is a small town located between Antelias and Bsalim, in Matn district. It is a new town, where most of the population is Armenian, along with other Christians. In Mzher the Armenian community has one of the top Armenian schools, Melankton and Haig Arslanian College (Jemaran) and a socio-cultural sport club, Aghpalian. The headquarters of SAHALCO are also situated nearby. Most of the Armenians of Mzher come from Bourj Hamoud, Ashrafieh, Anjar and the other old Armenian quarters.
Anjar
Anjar (, ), also known as Haoush Mousa (), is a town of Lebanon located in the Bekaa Valley. The population is about 2,400 consisting almost entirely of Armenians.
Jbeil
Jbeil-Byblos (, ), is a town of Lebanon located in the Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate. Armenians in Jbeil count around 200 Armenian family. In Jbeil the Armenian community has the Armenian Community Center () including : A.R.F Hohita Keri Gomide, Armenian Relief Cross Sosse chapter, Lebanese Armenian Youth Federation Ararad chapter, Serop Aghpuir Badanegan Miyoutioun, Birds Nest Orphanage, Sourp gayane Church. an additional 40 Armenian families live in the neighboring city of Batroun.
Politics
According to the traditional Lebanese confessional representation in the Lebanese Parliament, a certain number of seats have been reserved for Armenian candidates according to their confession. Presently the Lebanese-Armenians are represented in the 128-seat Lebanese Parliament with 6 guaranteed seats (5 Armenian Orthodox and 1 Armenian Catholic) as follows: 3 Armenian Orthodox and 1 Armenian Catholic seat in the Beirut I electoral district 1 Armenian Orthodox seat in the Matn District 1 Armenian Orthodox seat in Zahle District
As many Protestants in Lebanon are ethnic Armenians, the sole parliamentary slot for Evangelical (Protestant) community has at times been filled by an Armenian, making for a total of 7 Armenian deputies in the Lebanese Parliament. Lebanese Armenians have been represented in government by at least one government minister in the formations of Lebanese governments. In case of larger governments (with 24 ministers and above) Armenians are traditionally given two government ministry positions. Lebanese-Armenians also have their quota in top-level public positions.