THE ARMENIANS AND JEWS IN TURKEY.
Historical Misfortunes of the Armenians—Refugees in
Turkey, Russia, Persia—Want of Patriotism—Appearance and
Character—Armenian Ladies—American Mission Work—Schools—The
Jews of Turkey—Reputed Origin—Classes—Conservatives and
Progressives—Jewish Trade—Prejudice against Jews—Alliance with
Moslems—Wealth and Indigence—Cause of the Latter—The Jewish
Quarter—Education—“L’Alliance Israélite”—Divorce among the Jews
merely a Question of the Highest Bidder.
There are few nations that can compete with the Armenians in historical
misery. Tossed about between Arsacid, Roman, and Sassanian; fought over
by Persian and Byzantine; a common prey to Arabs, Mongols, and Turk, it
is a matter for amazement that the nation still exists at all. Up to the
fourteenth century the Armenians held persistently to their country; but
after its subjection by the Mamluk Sultans of Egypt, the unfortunate
inhabitants, seeing no hope of the restoration of their old independence,
and despairing of relief from the oppression and spoiling to which they
had been exposed for centuries, began to migrate to other countries, to
try whether fortune would everywhere be so unkind to them. Some went to
Anatolia, others to Egypt, or to Constantinople, where they were kindly
received and allowed a Patriarch. Some wandered into Poland, whence
they were soon driven out by the determined hostility of the Jesuits,
and forced to take refuge in Russia, where they were joined by numbers
of their compatriots and formed a colony at Grigoripol. Others went to
the Crimea and Astrachan, and many of the Armenians who had first gone
to Turkey followed in their steps. The Armenians in Russia were treated
with great kindness by Peter the Great and Catherine, and were granted
special rights and privileges. A colony of Armenians was settled at New
Nakhitchevan on the Don. After more persecutions from the Ottomans,
in the sixteenth century, a large number of Armenian refugees set out
for Persia. The Shah received them graciously, and settled them in
Ispahan. Afterwards, during the war between the Shah and the Sultan, a
depopulation of Armenia was attempted, with the view of destroying the
Turkish power there. Twelve thousand families were dragged off to Persia,
most of whom died on the way. The settlers at Ispahan were at first
treated well, but afterwards subjected to such persecution that they
were obliged to seek a home in other lands. The portion of Armenia ceded
by Persia to Russia, thus acquiring for the first time the necessary
conditions of peace and safety, became the refuge of the Armenians who
had not already left their native land, but who now, driven beyond
endurance by the oppressive rule of the Pashas, crossed the frontier and
immediately found themselves possessed of the ordinary privileges of
Russian subjects, and able to carry on commercial pursuits, in which the
nation excels, in peace and confidence. Thus the Armenian race became
scattered over the face of the earth, whilst only a remnant still lives
in the land of its ancestors. The Armenians are to be met with all over
the East. There are large numbers of them at Constantinople and a few
other towns, such as Adrianople, Gallipoli, and Rodosto. In the towns of
the interior, however, their number is small.
Ages of Asiatic oppression, varied by few glimpses of prosperity, in
the traditional garden of Eden, have obliterated whatever love the
Armenians formerly had for their country, which they willingly deserted
to seek a home wherever they could find one. When the first cravings of
their hearts for peace and security had been satisfied, they settled
down in communities, forgot their country and its past history, and
assimilated their external forms and customs with those of the nations
among whom they lived, with the philosophic _nonchalance_ of the Asiatic.
In Armenia, the people who remain, remembering the terrible sufferings
their country has gone through, have followed the wise policy of burying
in the depths of their hearts any surviving sparks of patriotism or
love of liberty; though these hidden sparks may some day be fanned into
flame by the introduction of education and by the influence Russia is
exerting in the country. So far the Porte may felicitate itself on the
success its foreign policy has met with in Armenia. This policy, with its
consequences of misery and suffering, is safe only so long as ignorance
and stupid docility prevail among the masses; this cannot last forever,
and in the face of present events it will not be surprising to hear of
troubles breaking out in that direction as well as everywhere else.
It is only a question of time. In Turkey, political feeling among the
Armenians is still in its infancy; but there must be thinking men among
the educated young generation who are watchful of the present and hopeful
for the future.
The Armenians as a race are strong, well built, and hardy. With these
constitutional advantages they readily take to the mechanical arts;
but commerce and banking are their _forte_, and in these they show
great ability and as much honesty as is possible in a country where,
of all difficulties, that of following a straight line of conduct is
the greatest. They are considered crafty, but at the same time exercise
considerable moral influence in the countries they inhabit, especially
at Constantinople, where some of the rich Armenians have been very
closely connected with the high dignities of the empire. Their fancy for
toad-eating is well adapted to please the Turks, who by turns show them
regard and contempt. There is an old saying, that no Turk can be happy in
the evening without having cracked a few jokes with an Armenian during
the day.
The physiognomy of the Armenians is generally dark. Their heads are
large, with black, coarse, and abundant hair. Their eyes, overshadowed
by long eyelashes and thick eyebrows, meeting over the nose, are black
and almond-shaped, but lack the lustre of Greek eyes. The nose, the worst
feature of the Armenian face, is large and hooked; the mouth large,
with thick lips; the chin prominent. Their bearing would be dignified
but for a certain want of grace. Armenians are divided into two classes
denominated _Kalun_ and _Injé_, or coarse and refined. The latter belong
to the Roman Catholic creed, and are certainly more advanced than the
former, who are far more subservient to the Turks, and keep as much as
possible in the background, devoting themselves to the interests of the
Porte in general and to their own in particular.
In Armenia the ladies are secluded to the extent of dining and sitting
apart from the men, and are said to be very backward in every respect.
Their costume very nearly resembles that formerly worn by Turkish
women. They display the same disregard to neatness as the latter,
without possessing their redeeming point of cleanliness: their heads
are specially neglected, and abound in live stock of a most migratory
character. My mother once pointed out one of these creatures on the
forehead of an Armenian girl, and reprimanded her for her neglect of her
person; the girl answered that she did not know that any human being
could exist without them!
The Armenian ladies of Constantinople are renowned for their beauty,
which is supposed to lie particularly in the languid expression of their
eyes. Both in Constantinople and Smyrna there are many Armenians of
both sexes who are well educated, and scarcely to be distinguished from
Europeans in society. I was once invited to an Armenian fancy ball, where
I was the only European present. Everything was arranged as in civilized
society, the stewards were equal to their duties, and the costumes
were _recherchés_ and varied. One slight pretty girl, in particular,
dressed in the old Turkish costume, produced a great sensation, and was
deservingly besieged by partners, for she waltzed to perfection. Many
of the ladies and gentlemen spoke English, and nearly all French, and I
certainly spent a very pleasant evening among them.
In the privacy of their homes the women, as a rule, are untidy and
slatternly. They are exceedingly fond of dress, and, to the best of
their ability, copy the Parisian fashions; but their natural want of
taste seldom fails to make itself evident in toilettes of glaring and
ill-assorted colors, while their hands, arms, and necks are overloaded
with jewelry. Out of doors they are shod with boots of Parisian
manufacture, on whose high heels they totter along the badly-paved
streets; but they exchange them for slippers down at heel on re-entering
their homes. Even those who have lived in Europe, and no longer consider
themselves Orientals, sit cross-legged on their sofas in the most
careless costumes.
The Armenians have advanced but a very little way on the road of
education. The most enlightened are certainly those in British India,
whilst those of them who are Russian subjects have of late considerably
improved. Hitherto, the nation has never had a fair chance, but that
it has the possibility of progress in it is shown by the fact that no
sooner are the Armenians placed under a firm and wise government than
they at once begin to go forwards, in every respect. The progress of the
inhabitants of Russian Armenia has begun to work a political revival
among their brethren under Turkish rule. A wish for instruction is
everywhere beginning to be shown, and it has received a strong and most
salutary impulse from the numerous American missionaries now established
throughout Armenia. The untiring efforts of these praiseworthy and
accomplished workers in the cause of civilization and humanity are
beginning to bear fruit, especially since education has become one of
their principal objects. They are working wonders among the uncultivated
inhabitants of this hitherto unhappy country, where mission-schools,
founded in all directions, are doing the double service of instructing
the people by their enlightened moral and religious teaching, and of
stimulating among the wealthy a spirit of rivalry, which leads them to
see their own ignorance and superstitious debasement, and raises a desire
to do for themselves, by the establishment of Armenian schools, what
American philanthropy has so nobly begun to do for them.
The moral influence that America is now exercising in the East through
the quiet but dignified and determined policy of its Legation at
Constantinople, curiously free from political intrigues and rivalry,
is daily increasing, and has the most salutary effect on the country.
It watches with a jealous care over the rights and safety of the
missionaries, who are loved and respected wherever they settle, and make
their influence felt in the remotest corners of Turkey. Next to Greece,
whose educational efforts are naturally greater throughout the country,
it is America that will be entitled to the gratitude of the Christians
for her ready aid in elevating the ignorant masses to the dignity of
civilized beings.
In the Armenian schools, the Turkish, Armenian, and French languages
are taught; the two former are generally well mastered by the pupils,
Armenians being considered apt linguists; a very fair knowledge of French
is also common among them.
Armenians do not show any taste for the arts and sciences. One seldom
hears of an Armenian artist, doctor, or lawyer, and the few that do exist
attain only mediocrity.
It is difficult to obtain correct statistical information of native
Armenian schools, but I can affirm that of late years they have greatly
increased in number, and are much improved in their organization and
mode of teaching. At Constantinople, Erzeroum, and many other towns
where the Armenian communities are large, excellent schools for girls
have been founded. In towns where these are wanting, many girls are
sent for a few years to the boys’ schools, where religion, reading, and
writing are taught them. Turkish, the language with which the Armenians
are most conversant, is also taught from books written in the Armenian
characters. In all other respects, the education of Armenian girls is
very much neglected; from an early age they fall into a listless, aimless
existence, and are seldom taught to busy themselves with needlework
or any useful or rational employment. Some of the wealthy families at
Constantinople and Smyrna are manifesting a desire for improvement in
this respect, by engaging European governesses or sending their children
to European schools; but it will be long before either sex gets rid of
the ignorance and indolence which circumstances, perhaps, as much as
nature, have forced upon it.
The Jews dwelling in Turkey are, to a great extent, descendants of
those expelled from Spain by the Inquisition and the edict of 1492;
their language is a corrupt Spanish dialect; but they are conversant
with those of the places they inhabit. Besides these and other native
Jews, there is an influential class of European Jews who are certainly
in the van of progress among their co-religionists in Turkey. They are
educated, liberal-minded men, and, as a rule, a prosperous class. They
are untiring in their efforts to develop education among the native Jews
by establishing schools, assisting the poor, and setting a good example
of conduct by their own higher manner of life.
The native Jews may be divided into two classes, Conservative and
Progressive. The Conservative Jews are strict, rigid, and intolerant to
their brethren: they keep aloof from the rest of the world, and mix with
it only in business transactions. They are cunning and avaricious, and
although some possess large fortunes, they are seldom known to use them
for the benefit of the community, or for any other good purpose. Strongly
opposed to liberal education, the influence they exercise over their
respective communities is always employed to counteract the action of the
enlightened party. The Progressive Jews, who are becoming pretty numerous
among the upper classes, act in direct opposition to these principles and
endeavor as much as possible to shake off old customs and traditions.
The chief occupations of the Jewish community are banking and commerce.
They excel in both to such a degree that where a man belonging to another
nationality can only realize a fair competence, the Israelite makes a
fortune; whilst in positions in which other men would starve, the Jew
will manage to keep himself and family in comfort. The secret of this
well-known fact lies in the unusual finesse and ability displayed by
Israelites occupying high positions in the business world, and the
cunning and ingenuity of the lower orders, who with moderate exertion
make the most of their trade, and extort all they can from those with
whom they have dealings.
With regard to moral and personal qualifications, the Jews of Turkey
are the most backward and debased of any of the races. This degenerate
condition may be attributed to more than one cause. One of the chief
causes, however, is the general feeling of antipathy shown towards Jews
in a semi-civilized country: all kinds of real and fictitious sins are
attributed to them, from the charge of kidnapping children (an absurdity
still credited everywhere in Turkey) to the proverbial accusation
of never transacting business with members of other creeds without
infringing the laws of good faith and honesty. To apply this latter
charge to the whole community would be unjust, for there are honest,
liberal, and straightforward men; but there is no doubt the reputation is
not altogether ill-earned among them.
The Jews in Turkey have from all times shown a greater liking for their
Moslem neighbors than for the Christians. The Moslems sneer at them
and treat them with disrespect as a nation, but are far more tolerant
and lenient towards them than towards the Christians. The Jews, on
their side, although at heart feeling no disposition to respect their
Mohammedan masters, show great sympathy outwardly for them; and in case
of a dispute between Christians and Mohammedans, unanimously espouse the
cause of the latter. The wealthy Israelites would render every assistance
in their power to remove the difficulties of the Government, while those
of humbler standing tender their service for the performance of anything
that may be required of them, however degrading.
In few countries is the contrast of wealth and indigence among the Jews
so striking as in Turkey. On one side may be seen wealth so great as
to command respect for its possessors, and give them an influence in
the localities in which they spring up greater than that of all other
nationalities; whilst hard by one sees poverty and wretchedness of the
most sickening nature. The principal cause of this is the limited sphere
of action allotted to, or rather adopted by, the Jewish communities.
They evince a strong repugnance to going beyond the few trades generally
practised by the laboring classes; the rest content themselves with
performing the coarsest and dirtiest work of the town. From generation
to generation the Jews will cling to these callings without allowing
themselves to be tempted beyond them, or raising themselves in the social
scale by taking to agricultural or other pursuits that might insure them
a comfortable home and an honorable living.
In towns where the Jewish element predominates, it is packed in dingy,
crowded quarters, in hovels, buried in filth. These miserable abodes
contrast strongly with the fine and showy houses of the rich. Both
rich and poor of the native Jews may be seen in their court-yards or
at their doors, the mother rocking the cradle, the children playing in
the mud, and the women and girls washing or engaged in other household
occupations. The men on coming home don their _négligé_ in-door costume
and join the family party, lounging on a sofa, smoking and chatting. This
community is very noisy, the most natural conversation among them being
carried on in the loud tones of lively dispute, all talking at once in
such an elevated key as to be heard at a considerable distance.
They are certainly lively and cheerful, neither want nor poverty
detaining them at recreation-time from listening to their discordant
national music, which they accompany by a vocal performance of a
deafening nature.
Some of the women are very pretty, and their beauty is heightened by
their peculiar costume and gay head-dress. They are, however, cold and
rather graceless in demeanor, and are not noted for intelligence.
Education among the native Jews was completely neglected until very
recently, when the efforts of the European Jews and a few of the liberal
natives finally produced a beneficial reaction, and schools of a superior
order, principally dependencies of “L’Alliance Israélite” formed in
Europe for the benefit of the Eastern Jews, have been established in all
the principal towns, and are said to have greatly benefited the rising
generation, which is wanting neither in intelligence nor aptitude for
study. Before the establishment of these schools the Jews had to send
their children to European or Greek schools, where they received an
indifferent style of education, as the training, owing to the difference
of religion and habits, did not include the complete course.
The director of the schools established by “L’Alliance Israélite” gave me
most satisfactory accounts of the progress made by the pupils attending
them, and of the increase of morality among them. The Jewish girls
have not equal advantages with the boys with respect to educational
establishments. This unfortunate difference will, it is hoped, be in time
remedied by the schools, founded by the same society and others, in the
principal towns. All these schools owe their origin to the generosity
of wealthy Israelites like Baron Hirsh and others, who have endowed the
establishments with the funds necessary for rendering them useful and of
lasting duration. In Salonika the girls’ school, established some years
ago, has, thanks to the able management and munificence of the Messrs.
Allatini, been placed upon an excellent footing, and, being presided over
by the most intelligent and gifted European ladies of the community, is
doing great and good service.
Besides these schools, there is one of older standing connected with the
Missionary Society, under the direction of a missionary and three able
and devoted Scottish ladies, who receive a large class of day pupils and
give them the benefit of sound education for a trifling fee. This part
of missionary work is in reality the best and most beneficial to the
community, and far more so than the efforts made at proselytism—efforts
which, so far as I can ascertain, have nowhere met with success.
Polygamy is prohibited among the Jews; but their divorce laws are very
lenient; and a separation is the easiest thing in the world—for the
husband. A wife cannot get a separation without her husband’s consent.
Practically, however, this is seldom refused if a sum of money is
offered. A gentleman, aware of this Jewish weakness, and falling in love
with a Syrian beauty who was married to a Jew, bought her divorce for
2,000_l._ In some towns the morality of the community is closely watched.
In Adrianople, for instance, a faithless wife is led for three successive
days round the Jewish quarter, and compelled to stop before every door to
be spat upon and abused. At Salonika, where the Jews are very numerous,
it is quite otherwise. Among the wealthy and liberal many of the old
customs have been set aside, intermarriage with European Jewish families
is of frequent occurrence, and many modifications permitted which do not
seem strictly conformed to the Mosaic law.
The affairs of the Jewish communities, like those of the Christians, are
managed by elders. The chief Rabbi has control over all matters regarding
the religious and social interests, and is in direct communication with
his superior at Constantinople.