SEARCH SYSTEM OF THE ARMENIAN HIGHLAND MONUMENTS

Khosrova 156 Monuments

Iran (Country) / Western Atrpatakan (Province) / Salmast (District) / Khosrova (Village)

Location

Khosrova is situated 4.4 km south-west of Salmast City, in a plain 1.8 km west of Haftvan Village, at an average altitude of 1,402 metres.

Karapetian. Samvel, History of Armenia, Salmast, vol. 2, Yerevan, 2019, p. 296.

Other Names

The village which has also been mentioned as Khosrovavank, Khosrovia and Hosrovavank has traditionally been called that way after its founder, the Armenian king Khosrov.

Karapetian. Samvel, History of Armenia, Salmast, vol. 2, Yerevan, 2019, p. 295.

The name is probably a shortened form of Khosrov Ava, its second part deriving from avad or abad, the equivalent for village or settlement.

Աթայեան Ա., Սալմաստ [A. Atayan, Salmast] (New Jugha, 1906), p. 46.
Karapetian. Samvel, History of Armenia, Salmast, vol. 2, Yerevan, 2019, p. 296.

One of the available records states: “The name [Khosrova] can be etymologised only on the basis of the fact that the root ova means a place, as translated from Turkish.”

Ahrenjani, p. 39. Another record says: “[The village name] consists of the proper name Khosro and the word ova, which is translated from Turkish as a place” (Dilmaghani, p. 32).
Karapetian. Samvel, History of Armenia, Salmast, vol. 2, Yerevan, 2019, p. 296.

Historical Introduction

The dated monuments of material culture preserved in Khosrova, once a purely Armenian village, go back to the 16th century, but of course, this does not mean that Armenian presence in this place traces back to only this period.

Karapetian. Samvel, History of Armenia, Salmast, vol. 2, Yerevan, 2019, p. 296.

The village has also been a scriptorium, but only one manuscript written there in 1783, The Benefits of Medicine by Amirdovlat Amasiatsy, is known to us.

Ցուցակ ձեռագրաց Մաշտոցի անվան մատենադարանի [List of Manuscripts of Mesrop Mashtots Research Institute of Ancient Manuscripts (Matenadaran) /henceforward: List of Manuscripts/], vol. 2 (Yerevan, 1970), ms. 7731, p. 599.
Karapetian. Samvel, History of Armenia, Salmast, vol. 2, Yerevan, 2019, p. 296.

The epidemic of cholera that was raging in Khosrova in the autumn of 1904 and in the winter of 1905 affected 164 people 14 of whom fell victim to it.

Mkrtchiants, “Cholera in Salmast,”Aroghjapahik Tert, nos. 9-10, 15 February 1905, p. 226.
Karapetian. Samvel, History of Armenia, Salmast, vol. 2, Yerevan, 2019, p. 296.

A record of 18 August 1911 states the following about the political situation in Khosrova: “In some parts of Atrpatakan, the authorities have started carrying out a new policy to sow enmity among the nations living there. This year some Armenians killed an Armenian woman in Khosrova Village of Salmast. The local Assyrians attributed her murder to the Armenian fidayis and complained to the Government, demanding that the Armenians who had come to the village from other countries should leave it. In this way, the local Armenians and Assyrians became enemies, while the authorities of Dilman [Salmast] only support the protesting Assyrians and continue stirring up enmity, instead of pacifying the sides and reaching reconciliation between them [italics added].”

Հայկազուն, Հայերի դրութիւնը Ատրպատականում [Haykazoun, “The Armenians’ Situation in Atrpatakan”], «Մշակ» [Mshak], no. 185, 26 August 1911, p. 2.
Karapetian. Samvel, History of Armenia, Salmast, vol. 2, Yerevan, 2019, p. 296.

Khosrova suffered plunder and a massacre during the Turkish incursion of 1915: “A lot of Armenians were slaughtered, their dead bodies being thrown into the wells.” M. M.-Hakobiants, who visited the place on 2 March of the same year, describes the same situation: “We reached the village of Khosrova and again came across a well full of corpses. Wherever we went, we incessantly saw only corpses, corpses and corpses.”

Kochnak, no. 20, 1915, p. 375.
Horizon, no. 63, 22 March 1915, p. 5.
Karapetian. Samvel, History of Armenia, Salmast, vol. 2, Yerevan, 2019, p. 296.

During the days of these slaughters, some of the local inhabitants distinguished themselves as true heroes; thus, Yeghisabet, who was only 15, stayed in the village together with her elder sister and their neighbour’s son Davit, a small boy: “Armed with a rifle, she positioned herself in a suitable place to fight against the attacking Turks and Kurds.” Acting together, the young people killed 8 of the attacking enemies and injured one.

Kochnak, no. 19, 8 May 1915, p. 352.
Karapetian. Samvel, History of Armenia, Salmast, vol. 2, Yerevan, 2019, pp. 296-297.

In August 1915 Khosrova lay in ruins just like many other villages in Salmast District.

Hnchak, no. 3, August 1915, p. 19.
Karapetian. Samvel, History of Armenia, Salmast, vol. 2, Yerevan, 2019, p. 297.

The village suffered losses in the subsequent years as well: thus, for instance, on 4 September 1917, one of the local inhabitants, shoemaker Hovsep, was killed near Ula Village.
After the 1920s, the Armenian survivors of the carnage of Khosrova returned to the village, which was already predominantly populated by Assyrians. Although more than a century has passed since these formidable events, the village has not been able to recover from its wounds yet.

Ayg, no. 36, 17 September 1917, p. 4.
Karapetian. Samvel, History of Armenia, Salmast, vol. 2, Yerevan, 2019, p. 297.

Population

Judging from the available written records, the late medieval cross-stones and tombstones preserved in the cemetery of Khosrova and the information provided by the locals, the village was entirely inhabited by Armenians until 1828, when some Assyrian immigrants from Julamerik District of Van Province settled down here. Anyway, in the early 19th century, Khosrova was mentioned as “an Armenian village.”

Աթայեան Ա., Սալմաստ [A. Atayan, Salmast] (New Jugha, 1906), p. 46.
Ինճիճեան Ղ., Աշխարհագրութիւն չորից մասանց աշխարհի [Gh. Intjitjian, Geography of the Four Parts of the World], vol. 1 (Venice, 1806), p. 250.
Karapetian. Samvel, History of Armenia, Salmast, vol. 2, Yerevan, 2019, p. 297.

After the emigration of 1828, the number of the Armenian inhabitants of Khosrova drastically diminished.
The Assyrians who had taken up residence in Khosrova were predominantly followers of the Catholic Church, a fact which—strange as it may sound—ensured security not only for them, but also for their Armenian neighbours. Thus, for instance, on 12 October 1878, some Turkish inhabitants of Hamza Village kidnapped an Armenian girl who had gone to a nearby fountain to fetch water. She was released thanks to the efforts of the Head of Ghalasar Village, Badal Arzumanian, after which it was decided to take her to Khosrova, as the Turks would not dare “to approach the Catholics who were under the protection of the French consul.”

Meghu Hayastani, no. 45, 18 November 1878, p. 4.
Karapetian. Samvel, History of Armenia, Salmast, vol. 2, Yerevan, 2019, p. 297.

On the other hand, however, the different religious denominations sometimes (in the late 19th century, for example) created an atmosphere of intolerance between the two peoples who lived side by side and had shared a lot of misfortunes in the course of their history. A record of 1893 states the following in this regard: “I could hardly find about 10 to 15 Armenian houses [in Khosrova]. The rest were Cathoilc Assyrians forming several hundred houses who treated these few Armenians with unspeakable hatred.”

Tjanaparhord, “Letters from Persia,” Nor-Dar, no. 14, 27 January 1894, p. 3.
Karapetian. Samvel, History of Armenia, Salmast, vol. 2, Yerevan, 2019, p. 297.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Khosrova had a mixed population of Assyrians, Armenians and Kurds. The Assyrians who formed an overwhelming majority constituted about 400 houses, the Armenians and Kurds being in the second and third places with 36 and 10 houses respectively (the Armenians also included 3 families of Catholics).

That the population of Khosrova consisted of 400 houses of Assyrians in the early 1900s is also confirmed by Eugène Aubin, the ambassador of France to Persia (Eugène Aubin, La Perse d’aujourd’hui: Iran, Mésopotamie [Present-Day Persia: Iran, Mesopotamia] (Paris, 1908), p. 62). Also see The Memoirs and Travel Notes of Eugène Aubin, pp. 109-110.
The village was mentioned as having 400 to 500 Assyrian houses in 1904 (Mkrtchiants, “Cholera in Salmast,” p. 226).
Աթայեան Ա., Սալմաստ [A. Atayan, Salmast] (New Jugha, 1906), p. 46, and insert.
Karapetian. Samvel, History of Armenia, Salmast, vol. 2, Yerevan, 2019, p. 297.

In 1930 Khosrova was already a purely Assyrian village of 280 people. The earthquake that took place on 6 May of the same year took away 34 lives.

Մասիս, Լրացուցիչ տեղեկութիւններ Սալմաստի աղէտի մասին. Կորուստներուն առաջին տեղեկագիրը [Masis, “Additional Information about the Disaster of Salmast: the First Report on the Losses”], «Յառաջ» [Haraj], no. 1277, 31 May 1930, p. 1. The earthquake also killed 150 head of cattle.
Karapetian. Samvel, History of Armenia, Salmast, vol. 2, Yerevan, 2019, p. 297.

In 1953 the local Assyrians amounted to 500. In 1960 the “800 families” of Assyrians formerly living in the village had been reduced to 40.

Խան /Միսաք Աֆթանդիլյան/, Իրանը ինչպէս որ է [Khan /Misak Aftandilian/, “Iran as It is”], «Յառաջ» [Haraj], no. 2556, 20 August 1953, p. 2.
Bolatian, “Impressions of the Historical Places of Iran,” Alik, no. 180, 22 August 1960, p. 2. In 1890 “the inhabitants [of the village] total more than 2,000, the overwhelming majority being Catholic Assyrians who are mostly engaged in gardening” (Goroyants, p. 175).
Karapetian. Samvel, History of Armenia, Salmast, vol. 2, Yerevan, 2019, p. 297.

In 2011 Khosrova had a population of 50 houses (30 of Assyrians and 20 of Kurds and Iranian Turks).
In 2017 the Catholic Assyrians of the village constituted 25 houses (60 people).

Karapetian. Samvel, History of Armenia, Salmast, vol. 2, Yerevan, 2019, p. 297.

Assyrians in Khosrova. As already mentioned above, the Catholic Assyrians started living in Khosrova in 1828, making the village the centre of the Catholics of Salmast. The reports of some missionaries who visited the district in the 19th century contain noteworthy information regarding their immigration and activities. In 1831 Eli Smith described Khosrova as a Chaldean village and the residence of Mar Yohanna, the bishop of the Chaldeans living in the Kurdish mountains. In fact, the Chaldean Catholic Church had united the former followers of the Nestorian and Jacobite Churches. According to a priest living in the village, its inhabitants who were natives of the place were all Chaldeans constituting 150 families (according to a local man, they amounted to 170). They had renounced Nestorianism about a century before.

Eli Smith and H. G. O. Dwight, Missionary Researches in Armenia: Including a Journey through Asia Minor, and into Georgia and Persia, with a Visit to the Nestorian and Chaldean Christians of Oormiah and Salmas (London, 1834), pp. 351-352.
Karapetian. Samvel, History of Armenia, Salmast, vol. 2, Yerevan, 2019, pp. 297-298.

Assyrians in Khosrova. Khosrova “is the centre of the Chaldeans and the residence of the bishop of the Catholic Lazarist Mission of Salmast. The diocese which extends to the plain of Urmia has 5 to 6 thousand believers.”
Judging from the available records, the missionaries who had taken up residence in Khosrova also successfully carried out activities in some other places: “The French Lazarists who settled down here in 1836 have converted most of the Assyrians of Salmast to the Catholic Church. The Lazarists have a small but beautiful church of hewn stone. It adjoins a boarding-school where the Catholic Assyrians are being educated as future priests. There are also some other houses for the missionaries and their students, apart from a large garden which is carefully taken care of. Close to these houses, there is a nunnery which is under the charge of some French sisters.”

Aubin, 1908, p. 62 (the original reads: “Khosrova, sert de capitale aux Chaldéens; l’évêque catholique de Salmas, la mission lazariste y résident. Le diocèse, qui s’étend jusqu’a l’entrée de la plaine d’Ourmiah, compte 5 à 6.000 fidèles”). Also see The Memoirs and Travel Notes of Eugène Aubin, p. 109.
Գորոյեանց Ն., Պարսկաստանի հայերը [N. Goroyants, The Armenians of Persia] (Tehran, 1968), p. 175.
Karapetian. Samvel, History of Armenia, Salmast, vol. 2, Yerevan, 2019, p. 298.

Assyrians in Khosrova. A Protestant preacher who visited Salmast in 1879 paid special attention to the prolific activities of the Catholic missionaries: “Some papal [Catholic] missionaries have been residing in the village of Khosrova located in this plain and they are quite zealous in their work.”

V. G. G., “The Work of the Gospel in Salmast,” Avetaber, no. 4, 27 January 1880, p. 15.
Karapetian. Samvel, History of Armenia, Salmast, vol. 2, Yerevan, 2019, p. 298.

According to a German missionary, “forty Syrians [Assyrians] were hanged on the gallows erected in the Catholic Mission Station at Fath-Ali-Han-Göl. The nuns had run into the street and prayed for pity, but in vain. In Salmas in Khosrova their whole station has been destroyed; the nuns have fled.”

Germany, Turkey and Armenia: A Selection of Documentary Evidence Relating to the Armenian Atrocities from German and Other Sources (London, 1917), p. 19.
Karapetian. Samvel, History of Armenia, Salmast, vol. 2, Yerevan, 2019, p. 298.

Khosrova Armenians in Other Places. In 1876 some Armenians from Khosrova lived in Tiflis, the capital of Georgia. The prominent Armenian writer Raffi writes the following about them: “It is the people of this village [Khosrova] that make up the entire community of water-carriers. When asked what nationality they are, they immediately give the following answers, ‘Frank’ or ‘Catholic’: these wretches have even forgotten their national identity.”75 Raffi goes into more details saying that “the water-carriers are of special interest among the workers of Tiflis. They live within a so-called community that has its own rules and customs.... These water-carriers who have come from Salmast District of Persia are Catholic and Gregorian [Apostolic] Armenians, there also being some Assyrians among them.”

Րաֆֆի, Երկերի ժողովածու [Raffi, Collected Works], vol. 9 (Yerevan, 1964), pp. 166, 466-467.
Karapetian. Samvel, History of Armenia, Salmast, vol. 2, Yerevan, 2019, p. 321.

Economic Life

Vodka selling was the main occupation of the Armenians of Khosrova who had almost no plots of land. The landless state of the locals gave rise to the acute problem of emigration. By 1903 it had assumed such a large scale that “there were only women and children [in the village], with absolutely no men and boys above ten. Perhaps, the only exception was an old man who would have probably left for some foreign place to work but for his paralyzed state.”

Աթայեան Ա., Սալմաստ [A. Atayan, Salmast] (New Jugha, 1906), p. 47.
Azatian, “About the Armenians’ Life in Tabriz,” p. 216.
Karapetian. Samvel, History of Armenia, Salmast, vol. 2, Yerevan, 2019, p. 298.

In the early 20th century, the lands of the village were entirely within the possession of the French missionaries who were paid 1/8 of the harvest. By the way, the lands the productivity of which was 4 to 10 times higher than average were allotted for orchards.

Azatian, “About the Armenians’ Life in Tabriz,” p. 216.
Karapetian. Samvel, History of Armenia, Salmast, vol. 2, Yerevan, 2019, p. 298.

One of the gardens of Khosrova belonged to the monastery of Sourb Tadevos Arakyal (St. Thaddeus the Apostle), which had received it as a donation about 100 years before. Probably, this very garden was meant in a press publication of 1957 which stated that Khosrova had only a single plot of land belonging to the Armenians.

Azatian, “About the Armenians’ Life in Tabriz,” p. 216.
Tghtakits, “A Brief Report,” p. 4.
Karapetian. Samvel, History of Armenia, Salmast, vol. 2, Yerevan, 2019, p. 298.

A record of the early 1900s said the following about the state taxes paid by the Assyrians of Khosrova for the use of land: “A Chaldean Lazarist missionary has purchased the village of Khosrova, for which he pays an annual amount of 1,448 tumans in cash, apart from 72 load packs of wheat or barley and 80 load packs of thatch.”

Aubin, 1908, p. 63 (the original reads: “Un missionnaire chaldéen lazariste a racheté Khosrova, qui paye, comme impôts, 1,448 tomans d’argent, 72 kharvars de blé ou d’orge et 80 batmans de paille hachée”). Also see The Memoirs and Travel Notes of Eugène Aubin, p. 110.
Karapetian. Samvel, History of Armenia, Salmast, vol. 2, Yerevan, 2019, p. 298.

Partial view of the village (photo 1900s)

Partial view of the village (photo 1950s)

Name	Year/Century	Etymology
Khosrovavank
Khosrovia
Hosrovavank

Below follow the available statistical data regarding the Armenian inhabitants of Khosrova:

Dates	Armenian Houses	Armenians (Male)	Armenians (Female)	Total (Armenians)	Notes	Source

1860	17	41	40	81		Mkhitariants, “A Statistical List of Armenians,” p. 1. Karapetian. Samvel, History of Armenia, Salmast, vol. 2, Yerevan, 2019, p. 297.
1864	11					National Archives of Armenia, fund 429, list 1, file 100, p. 102. Karapetian. Samvel, History of Armenia, Salmast, vol. 2, Yerevan, 2019, p. 297.
1875	15	34	25	59		Ararat, no. 3 (1876), p. 110. Karapetian. Samvel, History of Armenia, Salmast, vol. 2, Yerevan, 2019, p. 297.
1890	18					Goroyants, p. 175. The author particularly writes: “According to the statistical evidence provided by the Prelacy, the Armenians make up 13 houses in the village of Khosrava (with 34 males and 26 females), but when I visited this village in 1890, I was told that it had 18 houses of Armenians.” Karapetian. Samvel, History of Armenia, Salmast, vol. 2, Yerevan, 2019, p. 297.
1895	23			117		Ararat, no. 2 (1896), p. 94. Samvel, History of Armenia, Salmast, vol. 2, Yerevan, 2019, p. 297.
1896	23	65	54	119		Palouny, “Statistical Data,” p. 3 (the village also had 487 houses of Protestant Assyirans). Karapetian. Samvel, History of Armenia, Salmast, vol. 2, Yerevan, 2019, p. 297.
1898	23	65	52	117		Ararat, nos. 11-12 (1898), p. 505. Karapetian. Samvel, History of Armenia, Salmast, vol. 2, Yerevan, 2019, p. 297.
1903	30					Ազատեան, Թաւրիզի հայ կեանքից [Azatian, “About the Armenians’ Life in Tabriz”], «Լումայ» [Luma], no. 5, September-October 1903, p. 216. Karapetian. Samvel, History of Armenia, Salmast, vol. 2, Yerevan, 2019, p. 297.
1905	36	74	66	140	According to another author, in the same year, 21 of the 148 local Armenians temporarily were in some other countries for work. The Armenians included both natives (13 families with 29 males and 21 females) and resettlers who amounted to 23 families (Atayan, insert). Also see Materials for the History of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation Party, vol. 4, p. 267.	G. Hovsepian’s Archives, folder 91, document 14, p. 11. Samvel, History of Armenia, Salmast, vol. 2, Yerevan, 2019, p. 297.
1914	20					The Armenian Genocide, p. 376. Samvel, History of Armenia, Salmast, vol. 2, Yerevan, 2019, p. 297.
1927	4			10		Iranian, “The Tragedy of Salmast,” p. 2. Samvel, History of Armenia, Salmast, vol. 2, Yerevan, 2019, p. 297.