This article describes the ancient and composite nature of the Armenian diaspora in Europe and pr... more This article describes the ancient and composite nature of the Armenian diaspora in Europe and provides an explanation for its formation and relative resilience over time. It describes how, starting in the fifth century AD, successive waves of migration drove substantial numbers of Armenians into continental Europe, where they established communities and imported religious, cultural, and economic institutions from their places of origin. Additionally, the article explains how, from the late Middle Ages to the Modern era, Armenians developed a far-ranging network of merchants as well as networks of cultural and intellectual centres that contributed to sustaining Armenian communities. These networks provided resources to individuals and to institutions and connected them to one another across borders, thus promoting a sense of common identity and destiny. Finally, those networks and the place of the Armenians in European societies were transformed in the twentieth century as a result of new, substantial waves of migrants and of the transformation of Europe's political and economic landscape. Some of the communities that exist in different European countries today as a result are also described briefly.
This article describes the ancient and composite nature of the Armenian diaspora in Europe and pr... more This article describes the ancient and composite nature of the Armenian diaspora in Europe and provides an explanation for its formation and relative resilience over time. It describes how, starting in the fifth century AD, successive waves of migration drove substantial numbers of Armenians into continental Europe, where they established communities and imported religious, cultural, and economic institutions from their places of origin. Additionally, the article explains how, from the late Middle Ages to the Modern era, Armenians developed a far-ranging network of merchants as well as networks of cultural and intellectual centres that contributed to sustaining Armenian communities. These networks provided resources to individuals and to institutions and connected them to one another across borders, thus promoting a sense of common identity and destiny. Finally, those networks and the place of the Armenians in European societies were transformed in the twentieth century as a result of new, substantial waves of migrants and of the transformation of Europe's political and economic landscape. Some of the communities that exist in different European countries today as a result are also described briefly.
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