History
Although a few Armenians lived in Abkhazia in the Middle Ages, significant Armenian immigration to Abkhazia began in the late 19th century when much of Abkhazia became depopulated due to the exodus of many Abkhaz of Muslim descent to the Ottoman Empire after the Russian crackdown on the rebellion in Abkhazia; at the same time anti-Armenian pogroms started in Turkey and the attitude of the Porte towards its Armenian subjects became increasingly more brutal. More Armenians came to Abkhazia in 1910s fleeing the Armenian Genocide.
During the 1992–1993 War in Abkhazia most of the Armenians remained neutral for a long time, but as Georgian attacks on their settlements increased, they increasingly opted to support Abkhazians and many fought on their side. Armenians made up a quarter of the Abkhaz army; twenty Armenians were awarded the title of Abkhazian Hero and 242 were killed in battle. Armenian population declined after the war as many Armenians left the country (mainly for Russia and Armenia) due to the economic hardships.
Read more about this topic: Armenians In Abkhazia
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“The history of mankind interests us only as it exhibits a steady gain of truth and right, in the incessant conflict which it records between the material and the moral nature.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“A people without history
Is not redeemed from time, for history is a pattern
Of timeless moments.”
—T.S. (Thomas Stearns)
“Both place and time were changed, and I dwelt nearer to those parts of the universe and to those eras in history which had most attracted me.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)