Armenian Street in George Town is the biggest marker to the people who once flourished here.
| Photo Credit: The Hindu Archives
Ask anybody in the city as to which of the European nations they associate with Madras, the most common answer will be England. But when you mention the Armenians to them, the reaction will be a great smile. Among all those who came here, the Armenians are perhaps remembered with the greatest fondness, probably because their history too is one of continuous invasions and conquests.There were Armenians in India long before the British came. But once the latter arrived, they became closely aligned in business interests. Madras seems to have recorded its first Armenians from the 1660s, the oldest tomb being that of Khoja David, dating to 1663 and found near Little Mount. By the 1680s, they had the same rights as the British in the city. By the early 18th Century, there were 40 of them in the city, and they were sanctioned a church of their own, which was built on land where the High Court is presently. That structure, completed in 1712, was demolished with the rest of Old Black Town when the French left Madras after a three-year occupation in 1749. Published - August 22, 2025 06:20 am IST
