CHAPTER1
Armenian Settlements in India
Armenians in South India

        The visits of Armenians to India grew in number as the first Armenian colonies began to appear on the Indian territory. One of the first Armenian communities came into existence on the Malabar Coast in the 7th century. The Armenian merchants were the foremost traders in the South. They practically controlled the trade of the Carnatic and conducted a highly profitable business with Europe, Persia and Manila, especially in precious stones and costly fabrics.
        In 1956 an Archive Directory  was published in Delhi. It was stated there that seven centuries before Vasco de Gama an Armenian merchant-diplomat named Thomas Cana landed on the Malabar Coast in A.D. 780 reaching India via overland route. Thomas Cana was not only a prosperous merchant in muslins and spices but as he proved later, an able diplomat and a protector of Christians. He founded a commercial town near Cranganore where he built a church and opened a school. From the Emperor of Malabar he obtained a copperplate document, which mentioned several commercial, social and religious privileges for the Christians of that region. The early Portuguese writers mentioned him as Thomas Cananeo and gave his nationality as an Armenian.²² As the priests, who served in the church were trained in Assyrian language, they spread here this language and literature. Due to these people and their efforts the Indian Assyrian Church was born, and its  followers were called Christians of St. Thomas. This Church existed for centuries, far from  Western influence  until the 15th century when the Portuguese appeared here and transformed it into a Catholic Church.²³
        To the present Malabar Christians Thomas Cana is known as Knayi Thomman or Kanaj Tomma, which means the merchant Thomas.
        There is an interesting story on record about Thomas Cana which states that Christianity was in a decline in India during the 7th and 8th centuries. Towards the end of the 8th century an Armenian merchant named Thomas, arrived in India and revived Christianity. This merchant, whether he was ordained or not is not known, discharged the office of a bishop and was so considered, and under his protection the native chiefs ceased persecuting the Christians.²⁴
        Some authorities think Thomas Cana has been confused with the apostle bearing the same name. Other authorities who have recorded the same story state that the tradition of the arrival of the Apostle St. Thomas in South India may be traced to that of the Armenian merchant, Thomas Cana, who had been famed as the pillar of Christianity in South India. Some Armenian scholars admit Thomas Cana could mean Priest Thomas as in Armenian language priest is called Cahana, and during a period of time Cahana became Cana in India.
        Henry Davison Lovie in his Vestiges of Old Madras states:
 “In 1507, Don Francisco de Almeida, the Portuguese Viceroy at Goa, heard from some native Christians of Malabar that the house or Chapel of the Apostle [Thomas] still existed on the Coromandel Coast. Of four men whom he sent round by sea to make inquiries, two died, but the survivors brought back a report, which was transmitted, to the King of Portugal. Ten years later, [1517] two Portuguese, named Diego Fernandes and Bastiao Fernandes, arriving at Pulicat from Malacca, heard of the Chapel from some Armenian merchants. They all proceeded to the spot, some seven leagues distant, and discovered a very ancient edifice, constructed like a church with nave and aisles, and having timber pillars and roof. Its length was twelve cubits. A sacristy beyond, five cubits long, had a dome, surmounted by a dwarf spire rising to the height of thirty cubits. Crosses and peacocks in plaster constituted the decoration. This structure was believed to be the sepulcher of the saint, [Thomas the Apostle].”²⁵
        From the above mentioned statement it can be assumed that one of the oldest, if not the first, Armenian settlements in India was founded on the Malabar Coast.
        There is another reference on Armenians who lived in South India from ancient times. One of the active personalities of East India Company Francois Martene, who settled in Malabar in the second half of the 17th century and conducted a thorough investigation of this region, wrote that “in Saint Fomes the Armenians who settled in this area from ancient times and were engaged in trade were very active… Here there used to be Armenian families whose wealth estimated in millions.”²⁶
        Near Madras there is an old Portuguese town of great historical interest, called Mylapore or San Tome. The Armenians who were found on the Coromandel Coast in the early 16th century, are known to have lived in Mylapore since the 17th century. Alberto de Mandelslo, a Portuguese traveler who traveled in India from 1638 to 1640, found some Armenian merchants in that area.
        In May 1662 this town was captured from the Portuguese by Abdullah Kutub Shah, the King of Golcond. Later on he appointed Markus Erizad (Hoorizad), an Armenian, as the Governor of Mylapore.
 In the Public Records Office Museum in Chancery Lane, London, a letter is exhibited written by the Governor of Mylapore Markus Erizad to Charles II, King of England on 14 February, 1664. In his letter the Governor was asking the King to grant him a ship and instead he sent some valuable presents for His Majesty, along with their description in that letter. However, there is nothing in the Public Records to whether the King of England favoured the Governor of Mylapore or not. It is not possible to specify how long Markus Erizad governed Mylapore. It is only known that in 1698 he was still holding this position. There is such a reference in an old manuscript which was written in that city and the governor was referred to as “friend of kings and the pride of Christians”.²⁷
        Madras (now Chennai) has been an important and big centre of Armenian colony. This community played a significant role in the formation and development of the ideology of national freedom movement of the Armenian nation. There are  references  from the 16th century regarding the existence of Armenian merchants  in Madras. But those were individuals who had only come for trade and they meant to go back after their business had got over. Thus their settlement was temporary. Permanent Armenian settlement in Madras was established from the middle of the 16th century.
        In one Armenian manuscript which was copied in 1790 in Masulipatam by an Armenian named Sarkis Johannes, it is written that  “the Armenians permanently settled in Madras in the year 1666”.²⁸ However, the oldest Christian grave in Madras belongs to an Armenian who died in 1663.²⁹
 One more evidence about the permanent Armenian settlement in Madras is the manuscript of Voskeporik, written in 1688. This manuscript is now the property of the British Museum.³⁰ In this manuscript Madras is mentioned in its old name – Chenapatam.
        The Armenian colony of Madras became larger and played a significant role especially in the 18th century. A printing press started there and consequently publishing work developed. From that time onwards the Armenian colony was situated in the centre of the new city on the Armenian Street (the street has preserved its name until now). The Armenian population of Madras mostly consisted of artisans and petty merchants. However, Armenian wealthy traders and industrialists had a tremendous success. The trade in precious stones, spices, muslins and other goods was concentrated in their hands.
        The first Armenian Church in Madras was built in 1712 but it fell into disuse as the British objected to such an impressive edifice in the Fort area. The present Armenian church dedicated to the Holy Virgin Mary was erected on Armenian Street in 1772 on the site of the old Armenian cemetery.
        The war in this region between the French and the British in the 1780s had an impact on the population as well as the Armenian colony of Madras. They  began to leave the city. One section settled in Nigapatam and Seringapatam, while the other settled in Masulipatam, and the third section remained in Madras. In Masulipatam the Armenian settlers erected a church. However, only a few families remained in this place by the middle of the 19th century. Many Madras Armenians left for Indonesia and Malaysia.
        According to 19 preserved tombstones bearing inscriptions in Armenian language, which were found in an old cemetery in Hyderabad by Mesrovb Jacob Seth (the author of the book Armenians in India) we can assume that there was an Armenian colony here during the 17th-18th centuries. And the community has been considerably large as among the tombstones there are two of Armenian priests.