This article is about the family of Greek descent. For the commune in western Romania, see
Armeniș.
Armenis (
Greek: Αρμένης, Armēnēs), in Italian and older English literature Armeni, is a Greek family from
Corfu. The Armeni family is an ancient
Byzantine-, and later
Greco-Venetiangens that produced many important individuals in the history of
Europe. With origins in
Byzantium, the family achieved levels of
wealth and prominence over the centuries in branches found across the territories of modern
Greece and
Italy. The Armeni are listed in numerous registers of
nobility, including Teatro della Nobiltà dell'Europa, ovvero notizia delle famiglie nobili, che in Europa vivono di presente, e che in lei vissero prima (1725),[1]Origine de' cognomi gentilizi nel Regno di Napoli (1756),[2]Dictionnaire Historique et Généalogique des Grandes Familles de Grèce, d'Albanie et de Constantinople (1983),[3]Livre d'Or de la Noblesse Ionienne (1925),[4] and
La Dalmazia Giornale Letterario Economico Inteso Agli Interessi Della Provincia, Volume 2 (1846),[5] among others.
Thus, [
Nikephoros Phokas ] subdued and ransacked the whole island, which
for 142 years had been occupied and lorded by barbarians, and he had it settled and left in the form of a colony, for its greater security, under noble families originally from
Constantinople [nobili Costantinopolitani] of the Màggiori and of the
Senatorial order, namely: the Armeni; the Caleteri; the Anatolici, also called Cortezzi; the Cargenti, that is, Saturnini; the Vespesiani, also called Melissini; [...] the Sutili; the Papiliani, also called
Vlasti; the Romuli, also called Claudi; the Aliotti, also called Scordilli; the Colonessi, also called Coloini; the Irtini, also called Arculendi; and the Phoca, of the same blood of the Phoca from whom the noble
house of Calergi originated.[7]
According to Trivan (1644) the Armeni family belonged to the
bourgeoisie that encompassed the noble class descended from the twelve Senatorial Houses of
Constantinople and those
noble Venetian families whose
titles had lapsed, all citizens of
Crete, most of whom were from the original inhabitants of the
Metropolitan city of
Heraklion.[8]
County of Avellino
The
Angevins ruled Corfu from 1267 to 1386.[9]Charles I d'Anjou imposed a new form of rule on
Corfu. He appointed a
Regent as his representative, and divided the island into four administrative regions. The administrator of each region was called the
Bailo and the large estates, the “
feuds” (timária), were ceded to barons from
Provence and Italy.[10]
Trivan (1644) listed the Armeni family in the city of
Chania as members of the
bourgeoisie and added that the name was also written as Armuri (
Armeri from d'Armer, also Darmer[18]).[8] Trivan (1644) lists the Darmer family of the same city [
Chania] separately as a Venetian noble house with a footnote stating that the Armeni name is also noted as Armuri in the original text. Another example of this practice can be found in the
Cretanaristocratic family
Kallergis known to have descended from the
Phokas family on
Crete.
On the island of Corfu in 1406 C.E. the barony of the count of Martina (Baronia del Conte de Martina) belonged to Vito Darmer who established the settlement of
Armenades.[22] The
Armer on
Corfu belonged to the
new noble class of Venice. Aloysius Armenus,[23][24] also known as Luigi Armeno[25] and Alvise Darmer, was the
Provveditore (1502) and the
Bailo of Corfu (1512).[26] In 1499 C.E. his brother Albano Armenio died bravely during the naval
battle of Zochio against the Ottomans.[27] The naval
battle of Zochio is noted as the first naval battle in history where
gunpowder determined the outcome of the
naval battle.[28] His warship was named the Santa Barbara, who would later become the patron saint of artillery.[29]
Milos
Dr. Ben J. Slot (1982) provides the nomination of Ioannis Armenis on the 9th of November 1589 as French Consul on the island of Milos as:[18][30]
Acte de nomination d'Armeni ("Jean Darmer") dans: Marseille.
Notable family members
George Armenis (b.18.10.1943 Klimatia,
Ioannina) one of the best-known and respected actors in classical theater.
Countess Eleni Armeni-Mocenigo (b.1780
Corfu) (+1840
Padova,
Veneto) daughter of Dr. Ioannis Armenis from Corfu and Regina Falier from
Venice. She was married to Count Giorgio Mocenigo, the Commissioner of Internal Affairs for the Empress of Russia,
Catherine the Great, at the
Grand Dutchy of Tuscany and the Commissioner of the
Septinsular Republic and Russia's Imperial Representative to the
Ionian Islands. Countess Elena established a fund for the maintenance and care of orphaned children of Greek descent in
Italy. The countess donated 10,000 Italian pounds in favour of the
Flanginian School in Venice. She donated 30,000 Italian pounds to the
Greek Cathedral of St. George in Venice. She also donated 1,000,000 Austrian pounds to her hometown of
Corfu for
Swiss scholarships for needy young people and provided the funds needed to care for brides from
Corfu who could not afford
dowries.
Dr. Ioannis Armenis (*1753 Potamos,
Corfu) (†3.8.1837 Potamos,
Corfu) son of Dr. Demetrios Armenis and Marinetta Quartano. He was a
Doctor of Law and served as a Senator, a secretary of the Senate, a member of Onoranda Deputazione (11.11.1801), a chairman of the committee on the establishment of the
Public Library, and represented the
Ionian Senate in negotiations with
Ali Pasha concerning the clarification of territorial borders.
Captain Leonardo Armeni from Corfu was a commander of a
Venetian ship of war and the son of Captain Ioannis Armenis. He married Maria the daughter of Captain Antonio Tarakouli on the 15th of April 1744 in Venice. They had two sons that served as naval commanders, Antonio and Zuane.
Captain Zuane Armeni, a nobleman from
Corfu and commander of the Venetian warship
San Giorgio assigned to the
Armata Grossa stationed at
Corfu (30.6.1786 - 12.5.1797). He first married Vasiliki, the daughter of Apostolo Loverdo and secondly Caterina, the daughter of Captain Alessandro Mormori.
Dr. Karolo Armeni (*1772
Corfu) (†4.11.1847
Corfu) son of Dr. Pietro Antonio Armeni and Massimiliani Tefa. He was a medical doctor and surgeon as well as a founding member of the Medical Association of Greece, a candidate elect for the Legislative Assembly of the
Ionian Senate, an author and the family physician of
Count Ioannis Kapodistrias, the 1st Governor of
Independent Greece.
Joachim Armenis (born Ioannis Armenis) served as a
Greek Orthodox Monastic and Priest (1716 - 1743) and was ordained Bishop of
Koroni in the
Peloponnese (Venetian Administration).
Dr. Demetrios Armenis (*1729 Potamos,
Corfu) (†5.4.1817 Potamos,
Corfu) was the son of Giannakis Armenis and Anastasia Mourmouraki. He studied at the
Flanginian School in
Venice (29.9.1745) and graduated from the School of Law at the
University of Padua. He was a
Doctor of Law and served as a senator and a member of the Onoranda Deputazione (21.10.1801 Corfu). In addition, he was a member of the first administration for the establishment of a public education system in the
Septinsular Republic.
Antonios Armenis (*1776 Corfu) (†2.2.1844 Corfu) was the son of Dr. Pietro Antonio Armeni and Massimiliani Tefa. He acquired great wealth and land in central and southern
Corfu from the management of the
Tron Barony. He was commissioned by the
Ionian Senate to oversee the finances of the
island of Lefkada and served as financier of
Count Ioannis Kapodistrias.
Sir
Petros Brailas Armenis was born on the 10th of December 1812 on Corfu and died in 1884 in
London. He was the son of Demetrios Brailas of
Vonitsa and Anna Angiola Armeni from
Corfu. He was a judge, a professor of philosophy at the
Ionian Academy, president of the Legislative Assembly of the
Ionian Islands and he served as
ambassador of Greece at
St. Petersburg,
Paris and
London. In addition, he was the founder of the Corfu Reading Society, he established the National Archives on Corfu and established the free
press in Greece by creating the first two independent newspapers on
Corfu. He was awarded the Knight's Grand Cross of the
Order of St. Michael and St. George (GCMG).
Iohannis Armeni (1521-1574) was the
Voivode of Moldavia from 1572 to 1574.[33] He was one of the last
Romanian rulers to battle the Turks. His short reign was marked by fierce combat against the
Ottoman Empire and their
CrimeanTatar allies. In order to counter the power of the Ottomans, he allied himself to the
Ukrainian Cossacks. He was victorious at
Brăila,
Tighina and
Cetatea Alba.
The paternal
haplogroup associated with this family is
R1b-L2. The terminal
SNP for this branch of
R1b-L2 is FGC13631 and the 12-marker
short tandem repeat values for this
SNP are as follows:
Armeni crest from Heraklion, Crete: Gules, to the crane in her vigilance Argent, supported of a coronet Or, set on a hillock Vert, the field chape-embowed Azure, 2 affrontee griffins Or, supporting a Lorraine cross together of the same. Crowned Helmet. Crest: a vol of 2 wings endorsed Gules, charged of a crane in her vigilance Argent. Lambrequins: in dexter Or and Azure, in sinister Argent, and Gules.[36][37]
References
^Lumaga, Giuseppe (1725). Teatro della Nobiltà dell'Europa, ovvero notizia delle famiglie nobili, che in Europa vivono di presente, e che in lei vissero prima (in Italian). The British Library: per Giovan Francesco Paci, 1725. pp. 118–375.
^Grande, Gennaro (1756). Origine de' cognomi gentilizi nel Regno di Napoli. Arnaldo Forni Editore. p. 291.
^
abcSturdza, Mihail Dimitri (1983). Grandes familles de Grèce: d'Albanie et de Constantinople. Paris: M.D. Sturdza.
^Rankabēs, Eugenios Rizos (1925). Livre d'or de la noblesse ionienne. Athens: Athènes, Maison d'éditions "Eleftheroudakis".
^La Dalmazia Giornale Letterario Economico Inteso Agli Interessi Della Provincia, Volume 2. Austria: Demardi Rougier. 1846.
^Andrea Corner, Storia di Candia, Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana (BNM), Venice, It. VI. 286 (5985)
^Balkan Studies: Biannual Publication of the Institute for Balkan Studies, Volume 39. University of Michigan:
The Institute. 1998.
^Wrigley, W. David (1988). The Diplomatic Significance of Ionian Neutrality, 1821-31. University of Wisconsin - Madison: P. Lang. p. 9.
ISBN9780820406961.
^
abBulletin historique et archéologique de Vaucluse. Oxford University: Seguin frères. 1882. p. 521.
^
abMacé, Laurent (2003). Les comtes de Toulouse et leur entourage: XIIe-XIIIe siècles : rivalités, alliances et jeux de pouvoir. Indiana University: Private. p. 388.
^
abcLes petits Bollandistes vies des saints de l'Ancien et du Nouveau Testament ...: du 19 mai au 13 juin, Volume 6. Angelica Library, Rome: Louis Guérin. 1872. p. 583.
^
abcZigarelli, Giuseppe (1856). Storia della cattedra di Avellino e de' suoi pastori, Volume 2. Oxford University. p. 77.{{
cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
link)
^Deutsche Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin. Philosophisch-Historische Klasse (1923). Sitzungsberichte der Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaften. University of Michigan: Akademie der Wissenschaften. p. 28.
^I registri della Cancelleria angioina, Volume 14. University of Virginia: L'Accademia. 1961. p. 48.
^Deputazione toscana di storia patria (1950). Documenti di storia italiana. University of Michigan. p. 401.{{
cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
link)
^
abSlot, B. (1982). Archipelagus turbatus: les Cylades entre colonisation latine et occupation ottomane c. 1500-1718. Nederlands Historisch-Archaeologisch Instituut te Istanbul.
ISBN9062580513.
^Zancarolo, Basilio (1669). Antiquitatum civitatis FORI IVLII. Italy: Mortali.
^Cornaro, Flaminio (1758). Notizie storiche delle chiese e monasteri di Venezia, e di Torcello, tratte dalle chiese venezian, e torcellane. Italy: Nella stamperia del Seminario appresso G. Manfrè.
^Allgemeine Encyclopädie der Wissenschaften und Künste in alphabetischer Folge, Volume 86, Part 1. Ohio State University: J. F. Gieditsch. 1868. p. 99.
^Willenberg, Samuel Friedrich (1736). Dissertatio Ivridica De Delictis Maritimis. Bavarian State Library: Heller. p. 17.
^Macfarlane, Edward Mactier (1860). Catalogus librorum impressorum bibliothecæ collegii b. Mariæ Magdalenæ in academia Oxoniensi. Appendix, Volume 1. Oxford University. p. 136.{{
cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
link)
^Giustiniani, Pietro (1671). Dell'historie venetiane di Pietro Giustiniano nobile veneto. Di nuouo riuedute, & ampliate, nelle quali si contengono tutte le cose notabili, occorse dal principio della fondatione della città, sino all'anno 1575. University of Turin: appresso Gio. Battista Brigna. p. 424.
^O'Connell, Monique (2009). Men of Empire: Power and Negotiation in Venice's Maritime State.
JHU Press. p. 50.
ISBN9780801891458.
^Laugier, Marc-Antoine (1768). Storia Della Repubblica Di Venezia Dalla sua Fondazione sino al presente: Tradotta dal Francese, Volume 8. National Library of the Czech Republic: Presso Carlo Palese e Gasparo Storti. p. 100.
^Ponting, Clive (2011). Gunpowder: An Explosive History - from the Alchemists of China to the Battlefields of Europe.
Random House.
ISBN9781448128112.
^Rambert, Gaston. "Histoire du commerce de Marseille". Histoire du commerce de Marseille, Marseille. Chambre de commerce. 3 – via Plon, 1951.
^Arens, Meinolf (2001). Habsburg und Siebenbürgen, 1600-1605: gewaltsame Eingliederungsversuche eines ostmitteleuropäischen Fürstentums in einen frühabsolutistischen Reichsverband. p. 185.
^Cantemir, Dimitrie (1872). Operele principelui Demetriu Cantemiru: Descriptio Moldaviae, edita ab A. Paplu Ilarianu. University of California: Typografia Curtii. pp. 48–109.
^"Dōdōnē". Dōdōnē. 27 (1) – via Philosophikē Scholē Panepistēmiou Iōanninōn.
^Rietstap, Johannes Baptista (1884). Armorial général, précédé d'un dictionnaire des termes du blason, Volume 1. National Library of the Netherlands: Van Goor. p. 66.
^"Giornale araldico-genealogico-diplomatico". Giornale Araldico-genealogico-diplomatico. 20: 118. 22 September 2020 – via Google books.