The Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports on the death of the last Armenian living in the South Asian state of Bangladesh — 89-year-old Michael Joseph Martin (Mikayel Hovsep Martirosyan).
According to the agency’s report, Martirosyan spent his entire life caring for the preservation of the Armenian church in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, and the adjoining Armenian cemetery.
Armenians first settled in the territory of present-day Bangladesh as early as the 16th century. During the period of British rule, the local Armenian community gained great influence, particularly in the field of trade. And it was during this period, in 1781, that the Armenian Church of the Holy Resurrection was built in Dhaka.
“With the death of Mikayel Hovsep Martirosyan, the Armenians’ presence of more than 300 years is drawing to its end,” AFP notes.
