Hemshin people

"Armenian Muslims" redirects here. For Muslims in Armenia, see Islam in Armenia.

Hemshin people
Armenian: Համշենցիներ, Hamshentsiner
The flag that is used by Hamshen People in Abkhazia
Total population
150,000[1][2]–200,000[3]
Regions with significant populations
 Turkey: Rize (majority: Hemşin, Çamlıhemşin; minority: Çayeli, İkizdere)
Artvin (almost half: Kemalpaşa; minority: Hopa)
Trabzon (minority: Araklı)
Erzurum (minority: Tortum, İspir)
Diaspora communities in Sakarya and Düzce
 Turkey150,000[4]
 Russia2,082[5]
Languages
Western Armenian (Homshetsi dialect)
Turkish
Religion
Sunni Islam in Turkey
Armenian Apostolic in Georgia and Russia
Related ethnic groups
Armenians, Pontic Greeks, Laz people
Part of a series on
Armenians
Armenian culture
By country or region
Armenian diaspora
Subgroups
Religion
Languages and dialects
Armenian: Eastern (Zok) • Western (Homshetsi)
Sign languages: Armenian Sign • Caucasian Sign
Persian: Armeno-Tat
Cuman: Armeno-Kipchak
Armenian–Lom: Lomavren
Persecution

The Hemshin people (Armenian: Համշենցիներ, Hamshentsiner; Turkish: Hemşinliler), also known as Hemshinli or Hamshenis or Homshetsi,[6][7][8] are a bilingual[9] small group of Armenians who practice Sunni Islam after they had been converted from Christianity in the beginning of the 18th century[10] and are affiliated with the Hemşin and Çamlıhemşin districts in the province of Rize, Turkey.[11][12][13][14] They are Armenian in origin, and were originally Christian members of the Armenian Apostolic Church, but over the centuries evolved into a distinct community and converted to Sunni Islam after the conquest of the region by the Ottomans during the second half of the 15th century.[1] In Turkey, apart from those living in provinces of Artvin and Sakarya, Hemshin people do not speak the Homshetsi dialect and their mother tongue is Turkish.[15]

For centuries, the ongoing migration from the geographically isolated highlands to lowlands made Hemshin people settle in the areas near Trabzon, Artvin and in the Western part of the Black Sea coast.[16] Thus, is a significant Hamsheni population were formed in Trabzon, Artvin and Western part of the Black Sea coast.

  1. ^ a b Simonian (2007), p. xx, Preface.
  2. ^ "The Hemshin: A Community of Armenians Who Became Muslims". Asbarez. 29 December 2010.
  3. ^ "Sergey Vardanyan'la söyleşi" [Interview with Sergey Vardanyan]. Biryaşam (in Turkish). 2010. Archived from the original on 27 September 2013.
  4. ^ Goble, Paul (5 April 2017). "Islamicized Armenians in Turkey: A Bridge or a Threat?". Eurasia Daily Monitor. 14 (46). Jamestown Foundation.
  5. ^ "Оценка численности постоянного населения по субъектам Российской Федерации". Federal State Statistics Service. Retrieved 31 August 2024.
  6. ^ Vaux (2001), p. 1.
  7. ^ Simonian (2007).
  8. ^ Dubin & Lucas (1989), p. 126.
  9. ^ Kepenek, Evrim (5 October 2013). "Kimdir Bu Hemşinliler?". Bianet.
  10. ^ Wixman (2012).
  11. ^ Vaux (2001), pp. 1–2, 4–5.
  12. ^ Andrews & Benninghaus (1989), pp. 476–477, 483–485, 491.
  13. ^ Simonian (2007b), p. 80.
  14. ^ Hachikian (2007), pp. 146–147.
  15. ^ Anumyan, Meline (22 January 2014). "Hemşinli aydınlara göre Hemşin ve Hemşin Ermenileri". hyetert.org (in Turkish). hyetert.org. Retrieved 1 August 2024. Türkiye'de yaşayan Hemşinlilerin Hopa, Borçka ve Adapazarı'ında yaşayanlarının dışındakiler, Ermenice'nin bir lehçesi olan Hemşin Ermenicesi'ni konuşamamaktadır.
  16. ^ Simonian (2007), p. 141.