Armenians have made great contributions to the social, political, economic, and cultural fabric of the Ottoman Empire for centuries, and produced countless influential individuals. They have undertaken important government positions in the Turkish royal court, they have been ministers of the Ottoman government, and also deputies of the Ottoman National Assembly (Majilis). Some of the famous families were Tyuzyans, Tatyans, and Paylans. Tyuzyans, were in charge of coinage and jewelry art, Tatyans were involved in gunpowder making, and Palyans were involved in architecture, etc.

The first theatre in Turkey was founded by Hakob Vardovyan, while the first opera and operetta were founded by Tigran Chukhajyan. The first orchestra was formed by Grigor Sinanyan. Yervand Voskan was the first sculptor and the founder of the first art school. The members of the Manase family, who were also the first portraitists of Turkish art, were the painters of the royal court. The family of Abdullahs who had an Armenian origin was the founder of photography.

At the beginning of the 19th century, the power of supervision of the general customs services was given to Hovhannes Tyuzyan Çelebi. Later on, the power of supervision was passed over to Amir Mktrich Tchezayirlyan. The Noratunkyans were responsible for supplying the army with bread. Sericulture was raised to an academic level by G.Torgomyan, who was also the founder of the school of sericulture in the city of Brusa.

Armenians also had significant input in the history of medicine in the Ottoman Empire. Amirdovlat Amasiatsi (15th century) was the court physician of Sultan Mehmed Fatihi II (1451-1481) and was conferred the title of “the great chief physician.” Ten Armenian doctors who have served in the Turkish army were awarded the title of Pasha. The Shushanyans were physicians of the royal court, while Servichen (Serobe Vichenyan), Nikoghayos Rusinyan, Khndamyan, Andranik bey Krchikyan, Stepan Pasha Aslanyan lectured at the medical university of the royal court.  

The influence of Armenians continued on to other fields. For example, the first ballet dancer in Turkey was Mihran Ebeyan; Ara Gyuler, who was a photographer, had a distinguished reputation and was also called “The eye of Istanbul.” Armenian sportsmen were also distinguished in the Ottoman empire.

Armenians also played an important role in the literary life of the Ottoman Empire. Poghos Arapyan created new typefaces for the Turkish publication, which were called “Arap oghlu”. The letters created by Hovhannes Myuhentisyan revolutionized the Turkish art of publication. The first etymological dictionary was formed by Petros Qerestejyan. Hakob Martayan (Dilachar) played a major role in linguistics. In addition to many Armenian language literary figures who shaped Armenian literature also lived and created in Turkey.

In general, there were more than 30 Armenian publishing houses. The first Armenian publishing house was founded in 1567 by Abgar Tokhatetsi. The first Armenian periodical was issued in 1832 in Constantinople and was called “Lro Gire.”

The end of the 19th century and at the beginning of the 20th century saw the formation of Armenian national parties.

For centuries Armenians were persecuted in Turkey (Ottoman Empire). In 1894-1896, during the rule of Abdul Hamid II, approximately 300,000 Armenians who lived in Western Armenia and in the Armenian-populated territories of the Ottoman Empire were massacred and 100,000 Armenians were forcibly converted to Islam. Additionally, the number of people who were banished was almost equal to the ones who were killed.

In 1915-1923 the Young Turk government who came to power at the onset of the Ottoman Empire implemented the systematic mass murder and deportation of the Armenian population, as a result of which 1.5 million Armenians were killed, approximately 800,000 Armenians became refugees and found shelter in different countries. In 1944, Raphael Lemkin coined the term Genocide, to describe what the Young Turk government perpetrated on the Armenian population, "a coordinated strategy to destroy a group of people, a process that could be accomplished through total annihilation as well as strategies that eliminate key elements of the group's basic existence, including language, culture, and economic infrastructure."

Today in Turkey, and living predominantly in Istanbul (Constantinople), there are an estimated 70.000 Armenians. Additionally, there are millions of Hemshin Armenians, as well as “hidden” and Islamized Armenians. According to different sources, there are also some Armenians living in Malatia, Svaz (Sebastia), Kayseri (Kesaria), Ankara, Iskenderun, Antakya, Adana, and Elyazig (Kharberd).

In the Ottoman Empire, Armenians were viewed as a religious community. The Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople was founded in 1461 and to this day has had 85 patriarchs. The Patriarchate was an important governmental structure and the spiritual and national center for Armenians who believe in the Apostolic church.

In 1860, to regulate the national-religious matters, the Patriarchate of Constantinople adopted the National Constitution, which was then considerably shortened (had 99 articles) and confirmed by the government in 1863. The function of the national constitution was ceased in 1915, even though some of its clauses are still used for the regulations of the relationship between the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople, the Armenian community and the country.

At the beginning of the 17th century, the Apostolic monasteries and churches that existed in the territories of the Ottoman Empire belonged to the Patriarchate. At the end of the 18th century the Patriarchate had 20 dioceses, in the 1830s 36 dioceses, and at the beginning of the 20th century 43 dioceses (1181 churches and 132 monasteries). Overall, today there are 43 churches, 42 of which are in Turkey and one is in on the island of Crete and all of them are under the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. Six out of  42 Armenian churches in Turkey are situated out of Istanbul: St. Gregory the Illuminator church in Kessaria, St. Kirakos church in Diarbekir, St.Gevorg church in Deriq, the church of “Forty Children” in Iskenderun, St.Gregory the Illuminator (semi-standing) in Qyryqhan, and Holy Mother of God church in Samandahg Vakqfl.

In general, there are 57 Armenian churches continuing to operate in Turkey, out of which 43 are Apostolic, 12 are Catholic and 2 are Evangelic churches. The only village that is inhabited by Armenians that belong to the Apostolic church is Vaqyl of Hata. Today there are around 3500 Armenian Catholics in Turkey. There are also followers of the Evangelical church the number of which is around 500. In recent years the Evangelical church began to baptize Armenians who have rejected Islam and desire to adopt Christianity. The concrete number of those Armenians is unknown.

The Armenian community is experiencing multiple problems, related to language, closure of Armenian schools, the preservation of cultural identity, as well as different legal community problems. Unfortunately, the number of people who speak the Armenian tongue is declining. The census conducted in Turkey in 1927-1965 shows that the number of people using Armenian as a mother tongue has declined. While in 1927 there were 67,754 Armenian-speaking individuals, in 1965 the number was 33,094. According to an observation conducted in the Armenian community in Istanbul in 2010 Armenian was used by 18% of the community.

The first regular Armenian school was founded in 1715 in Constantinople. At the end of the 19th century, there were around 90 Armenian schools in Istanbul, 40 of which were district schools, 50 were private schools. In 1914 there were 64 Armenian schools with 25.000 students. In 1923, during the first year of the establishment of the Republic of Turkey, there were 47 Armenian schools, while in 1972-1973 the number was 32. Later, in 1999-2000 the number of Armenian schools was 18 and today there are 17 schools.

There are 2 Armenian hospitals in Istanbul: St. Savior (belongs to the Apostolic community, was founded in 1832-1833, but started working in 1934), and St. Hakob (belongs to the Catholic community, was founded in 1836-1837).

According to historical data, the Armenian Apostolic community had 23 cemeteries, 16 of which are still used today and the other 7 (Alemdagh, Beshiktagh, Beykoz, Davutpasha, Quartal, Bankalti, Eyup) have been destroyed.

Continuing their operations are community organizations, unions, institutions, an orphanage, and a nursing home. Newspapers “Marmara”, “Jamanak “Akos”, the monthly magazine “Surb Prkich” play an important role in the elucidation of the Armenian community life. There are also other informational, leisure, and children magazines (“Lraber”, “Shoghakat”, “Jpit”, the monthly magazine “Paros”, “Loys”, a magazine issued every 2 weeks.)

In 1915 the Turkish Majilis had 7 deputies (Grigor Zohrab, Hovhannes Vardges Serengyulyan, Nazaret Saghavaryan, Karapet Pashayan, Onik Derdzakyan (Arshak Vramyan), Petros Halachyan, and Hambardzum Boyajyan). In the 2015 parliamentary elections, 3 Armenians were elected deputies (Selina Doghan, Karo Paylan, Margar Yesayan) of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey.

On June 24 of 2018 as a result of parliamentary and presidential elections 2 Armenian politicians Karo Paylan and Margar Yesayan became deputies of the Turkish Majilis.