ABSTRACT
The Nazarians have been traced back to the sixteenth century, but the founders of the family branch in Aintab came from Persia around 1700. They were three brothers on their way to Jerusalem on a pilgrimage. The Nazarian brothers offered to pay for the renovation of the church. The youngest brother stayed behind to oversee the project and settled in Aintab. Before the tragic events, particularly the deportations and the genocide of 1915, Aintab had a vibrant Armenian community. Its churches, schools, and cultural institutions had earned it the name of the “Athens of Cilicia.” In addition to the large Armenian Apostolic church (later converted to a stable and then a mosque), and an imposing Catholic church, there were three Protestant churches. The transformative event that has defined the ethnic consciousness of modern Armenians was the genocide of 1915, which led to the virtual extermination of the Armenian population of Anatolia.
