Armenian Community of Dhaka

The Armenian community of Dhaka played a significant role in Bengali trade and commerce in the 17th and 18th centuries.

In the early part of 18th Century, Armenians settled in Dhaka, then one of the commercial centres in Bengal. They initially built a chapel and cemetery at Tejgaon, five miles from Dhaka. The oldest tombstone is “Avetis” an Armenian merchant who died on 15 August 1714.

Apart from Dhaka there was a significant Armenian presence in Saidabad (a suburb of the capital Murshidabad), Hoogli, Kolkata, Chinsura, Patna and Kasimbazar. A neighborhood in Dhaka - Armanitola - bears their name; there the Church of the Holy Resurrection and the cemetery established by the community in 1781 stand as major landmarks. The records of Church of the Holy Resurrection list over 200 deaths between 1833-1918, over 250 baptisms and over 50 marriages. Their assertive presence, however, began to decline from the beginning of British rule. Michael Joseph Martin (Mikel Housep Martirossian) is reported to have been the last Armenian in Dhaka.

Armenians played a major role in the commercial life of Dhaka, led by the Pogoses, Agacy, Michael, Stephen, Joakim, Sarkies, Arathon (also spelled as Aratun), Coja (also spelled Khojah) and Manook (also spelled as Manuk) families. Khwaja Hafizullah, a merchant prince, laid the foundations for the Dhaka Nawab Family by accumulating wealth by doing business with Greek and Armenian merchants. This trend was followed by his nephew and the first Nawab of the family Khwaja Alimullah. Parts of the gardens of Shahbag, Ruplal House (a major landmark in the old part of Dhaka) and the land where Bangabhaban stands belonged to Armenian zamindars (landlords). There is still a Manuk House inside Bangabhaban, bearing the name of the original owner's family.

They also played a major role as patrons of education and urban development in Dhaka. The Pogose School, the first private school in the country, was founded by JG Nicholas Pogose, a merchant and a zamindar. P Arathon was the headmaster of the Normal School. According to the Dhaka Prakash, a newspaper of his time, students in his school scored better in examinations than students of other normal schools in Bengal, including the one in Hoogli. Margar David, Mackertich Abraham George, Michael Sarkies, Abraham Lucas, M Highcazony, A S Mackertich, Tigran Nahapiet, Thaddeus Nahapiet, M.J. Catchhatoor, Joseph Lazarus, and M David were other prominent Armenians of Dhaka.