Iranian Armenians
Iranian Armenians (Armenian: իրանահայեր, romanized: iranahayer; Persian: ایرانی های ارمنی), also known as Persian Armenians (Armenian: պարսկահայեր, romanized: parskahayer; Persian: ارامنه فارس), are Iranians of Armenian ethnicity who may speak Armenian as their first language. Estimates of their number in Iran range from 70,000 to 500,000. Areas with a high concentration of them include Tabriz, Tehran, Salmas and Isfahan's Jolfa (Nor Jugha) quarter.
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| c. 70,000–500,000 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Languages | |
| Religion | |
| Predominantly Minority Shia Islam |
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Armenians have lived for millennia in the territory that forms modern-day Iran. Many of the oldest Armenian churches, monasteries, and chapels are located within modern-day Iran. Iranian Armenia, which includes modern-day Armenian Republic was part of Qajar Iran up to 1828. Iran had one of the largest populations of Armenians in the world alongside neighboring Ottoman Empire until the beginning of the 20th century.
Armenians were influential and active in the modernization of Iran during the 19th and 20th centuries. After the Iranian Revolution, many Armenians emigrated to Armenian diasporic communities in North America and Western Europe. Today the Armenians are Iran's largest Christian religious minority.