GIFT OF HORACE W. CARFENTIER C^ Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2007 with funding from IVIicrosoft Corporation http://www.archive.org/details/armeniaherpeopleOOfilirich RIGHT REV. BISHOP M. KHIRIMIAN. The Armenian Catholicos. RMENIA AND HER PEOPLE OR iSl\)t Storn of Armenia BY AN ARMENIAN A description of the land of Armenia : its ancient and modem history; its physical features; its people, their re- ligious beliefs, customs, etc,, from the oldest dates, as recorded in Armenian Histories and Church Records. A presentation of the true causes of the recent atrocities and a detailed account of the massacres ^ ^ ^ ji ^ ^ ^ By Rcv^ George H. Filian A native pastor, banished by the Turkish Government from the Gty of Marsovan, Armenia jt^jt HARTFORD, CONN. AMERICAN PUBLISHING COMPANY 1896 r)SI75 F5 CARPENTIER CoPTRieHT 1896 By American Publishing Company Hartford, Conn. (AU rights reserved) BeMcatfott IN REMEMBRANCE OF THE MARTYRS OF ARMENIA WHO SACRIFICED THEIR LIVES FOR CHRIST THIS VOLUME IS AFFECTIONATELY INSCRIBED (8^ 839050 CONTENTS. I- PAGE. The Land op Armenia, 21 II. The People of Armenia, .... .39 III. The Armenian Dynasties, 45 IV. Rulers of The Ottoman Empire, 132 V. The Great Powers and The Armenian Question, . 175 VI. The Causes of the Atrocities 217 VII. The Turkish Atrocities in Armenia, .... 239 VIII. The Armenians of To-Day, 334 IX. The Future of Armenia and the Battle of Arma- geddon, 850 X. Poems on the Armenian Question, (V) ILLUSTRATIONS. PACE PAGE Portrait of Armenian Catholicos, .... 1 Portrait of Author, .... 12 City of Antioch, 17 Map of Armenia, 21 Mount Ararat, 23 Kurdish Bandits, 35 Oriental Threshing Floor, . 35 Armenian Flags — Coats of Arms, 45 Lake and City of Van, .... 40 Oldest Church Edifice in the World, 101 Portrait of Armenian Patriarch, 108 Recent Portrait of Sultan of Turkey, 139 Early Portrait of Sultan of Turkey, 143 A Bread Seller, 166 A Zeibeck, 166 A SOFTA 166 Group of Circassians, .... 217 Group of Georgians, 217 Kurdish Home, 239 Kurd Chiefs 239 Kurd Woman, 239 Massacre at Sassoun, 247 (vii) viii ILLUSTRATIONS. FACE PAGE Massacre at Erzeroum, 247 ]VL\ssACRE AT Stamboul, 257 City of Harpoot, 264 Armenian Peasant Girl, 272 MousA Beg, Kurd Chief 272 Rev, Prof. Thourmain, 272 City of Marsovan, 280 A Water Peddler, . . 280 City of Trebizond, 300 Group of Armenian Children, ..... 319 Group of Young Armenian Women, .... 319 Anatolia College, 335 Armenl\n Family, 335 PREFACE. The problem of Armenia and the Turkish atrocities there, is in the very forefront of the world's burning questions at the present time. In every civilized land it is ranked along- side their own pressing local issues; everywhere there is not only sympathy and indignation, but a feeling of real re- sponsibility. We are a group of Christian nations, and the first Christian nation is being exterminated. Within a few months the unspeakable Turks and barbarous Kurds de- stroyed more than a thousand villages and towns, murdered a hundred thousand Armenian Christians,— men, women, and innocent children,— and left 500,000 others without homes, clothing, or food, thousands of women shamefully defiled, and thousands of men put to horrible tortures. Dying in the streets, in the fields, on the mountains; dying of hunger, of cold, of storm, and of diseases bred of all these; dying of broken hearts and despair, even more, of shame and mental torture. Yet all these Armenians who thus suffered and were driven forth to starve and die like deserted animals, were absolutely peaceable,— indeed, they were totally un- armed and could not have been otherwise if they wished,— perfectly respectable, most of them comfortably off, and some of them rich. One who was last week a banker is to- day a beggar; yesterday a merchant, to-day a tramp. Why ? For the main reason that he is a Christian, and the Sultan has resolved to have no more Christians in his dominion; tlie doom of Islamism is hanging over their heads. " If you accept Islam," they are told, "well and good; if you do (ix) X PREFACE. not, you shall be killed — or worse — as your fellows have been." These are all facts, proved to superfluity, though the Sul- tan denies them and instructs his ministers everywhere to deny them. How often has tlie Turkish minister in Wash- ington, Mavroyeni Beg, oflicially (?) declared the Armenian atrocities to be fiction, giving the papers lying statements (which come from the Sublime Porte), and asserted that the Armenians were the aggressors ! It is precisely as though one should account for a devastated sheepfold, with the wolves raging about in it, by alleging that the lambs had wantonly assailed and slain the wolves first. Some pre- tended to believe this rubbish; but most people, to their credit, are only the more angered and disgusted by it. The Turkish proverbs, occasionally good, are generally evil;— a significant index to the race; one of the commonest is this: " Yalan yigitin kullesi dir " (A lie is the fortress of the brave). Kill, plunder, ravish, and then deny it; not sim- ply deny it, but cliarge those very things to your enemy, and make them an excuse for all you do to him or his. Such are the principles of the Sultan, the false successor of the false prophet of Arabia. At the very time when noble American and European Christians are sending help to the survivors of his massacres, to the half-million homeless, naked, starving, heart-broken beggars he has made from prosperous citizens, he coolly denies that anything has hap- pened but the putting down of a few local riots. He writes to Queen Victoria sympathizing with her expressions of humane sentiment, but declaring that the reports wei-e in- vented by evil-disposed persons; that on the exact contrary, it was the Turks who were first attacked while praying in the mosques. He assures the Queen that his measures have succeeded in restoring order. PREFACE. xi And this same Sultan a few months ago, before the greatest of the recent massacres, wrote to Lord Salisbury as follows:— "Take the words of my honor, 1 will make reforms in Armenia. I will keep before me every article of the desired reforms, and will order the governors of the provinces to carry them into effect." He at once began to put this pledge of his " honor " into effect, by sending orders from Yildiz Kiosk to the provincial governors in Armenia to root out or convert the accursed infidels. Since that promise of his "honor" months have passed away; and during the time at least eighty thousand more Armenian Christians have been killed, and even death has been the most merciful " reform " he has bestowed on the land. The word in his mouth means beggaring, burning, ravaging, violating, mutilating, torturing, and assassinating. When all the leading Armenians are slain and their helpless fami- lies forced to become Mohammedans, after the women have been dishonored,— in a word, when all the Armenian Chris- tians are exterminated, then Armenia will have been re- formed. A special chapter is devoted to the person and doings of this eminent reformer. THE AUTHOK. A SKETCH OF HIS LIFE AND BIRTHPLACE. I was born January 20, 1853, in a suburb of Antioch; twelfth child and youngest sou of a family of nine boys and four girls, and therefore considered the Joseph of the fam- ily, and as a small boy went to a missionary school with my elder brothers. :My father was a banker and merchant. His partner in the former business was Mr. Edward Barker, English consul at Aleppo; in thfe latter a Greek, Jabra An- taki, their traffic being in raw silk, for which and for silk- worms Antioch is a great center. Millions of dollars passed through his hands, and he was considered one of the wealth- iest men in the city. A common saying was, " If you can drain the Mediterranean dry, you can drain Filian's money dry." This saying roused the cupidity of the local governor; he imprisoned my father, and proposed to torture and kill him, and confiscate his property. Americans would relish living under this sort of government. His partner, the consul, saved him, however, and won his undying gratitude; and when Mr. Barker died, my father gave his son a part of his own orchard for a burial ground. The son erected a beautiful $25,000 monument there, which still stands, the ground being owned by my brother, Moses Filian. When I was fourteen or fifteen, my father lost all his money through the failure of others, became hopelessly bankrupt, and was too old to regain his position, and sank into a poor and broken-hearted old man: his Mediterranean was not inexhaustible. He often patted me and said, " My dear boy, I am sorry — I helped your brothers and gave them good educations, and I meant to do the same by you; but I cannoi, for I am too poor. You will have to make your own way." He was a devoted friend of education, himself highly educated, master of three languages,— Ar- (xii) s ^ €©s' i^ ».*-«» •': .•.'" THE AUTHOR. ^.jjj mouian, Arabic, and Turkish,— and of slronjj roaRoninjr powers, lo^^ical, iniaj^inative, profound, an-'ii *\ffn - 't . T/nnfr, r4-f'^K\yii' ^•^•vv ' ^ ^A/* ^T^f -^^ V^^l^r^' /*-c t^-'H'-vv^*" **• ^^*-i- v*r-t -f ' f^j'y^t w-vV •^^-r* ^■^-^4— -lr*T#t^*'**-'H* y^-^Vir -^-/Kr-/ W^^^^V Translation of a letter (see opposite page) written in 1842 by the District Catlioiicos at city of Sis to Kevorli Filiau (father of the author) in Antioch : Red Seal of Catholicos. Symbol in colors representing an Altar. Symbol in colors Michael Catholicos, The servant of Jesus representing q^^^^^^ i,y ^i^^ gj.^ee of OUT Lord, the the name supreme father of all Armenians who live Jesus Christ, iu Great Seleucia. I the servant of St. Gregory's right hand and most Holy throne of the Holy Mother Church. Greetings of love and blessings upon my spiritual son Kevork Filian esteemed and honored and to all who belong to his family, perpetual happiness through Jesus Christ. Honorable Gentleman. You will be informed through my letter of spiritual greetings and blessings that truly and earnestly, more than a father, I am willing to bestow upon you my blessings and praises, and in order to show my respect practically, I feel it my duty to thank you for your hospitality, when I came to your blessed home, as a spiritual father, where I was entertained and received proper honors. The Lord bless your valuable soul and keep you prosperous and happy through the mediation of Jesus and St. Gregory. The Lord give you and to all those who belong to you, power and ability in doing good. For a long time I have desired to send to you this letter of blessing; but I have not been able. Now I am glad to send to you one of my spiritual sons Rev. Sarkis Vartabed (a preacher). When he comes he will see your good deeds and enjoy your hospitality. May 4. 1842. (xix) AUTHOR'S EXPLANATION The author feels that it is due to both his Armenian readers and himself to explain why, in some points, he has deviated alike from the Armenian historians and his own conviction. It is because on these points, the Armenian records are in irreconcilable conflict with those of Rome or Persia, or both, and in a book mainly for Anglo-Saxon read- ers it is not possible to defy the general consensus of western scholarship, which, in my judgment, has not given proper weight to Armenian sources. I will specify only two or three items; if my Armenian friends notice other contra- dictions of their accepted history they will be safe in setting them down to the same cause. It is a commonplace of Armenian history that St. Gregory, the Illuminator, the Christianizer of Armenia, was the son of Anag, the murderer of King Chosroes (see page 72) born about the time of the murder, and made himself the companion of Chosroes' son, Tiridates, partly in order to atone for his father's crime. I am very reluctant to omit this fact; but the birth of Gregory and the death of Ardashir will not fit according to western dates, though they are coherent from Armenian. I have also given twenty years' rule and a good character to King Artavasdes, who reigned three and was a coward. Most unwillingly of all, I have changed a very full and eulogistic account of Moses Khorenatzi, the great national historian of Armenia, for a meager and depreciating one. That he lived in the fifth century and wrote as an eye and ear witness, instead of being a not wholly veracious com- piler of two centuries later, and that his histoi-y is sound and consistent, is my firm belief. That his work is better known than all other Armenian works together, and is the one native book that has become a standard western classic, shows the powerful genius of the man. GEORGE H. FILIAN. (XX) I . THE LAND OF ARMENIA. PHYSICAL FEATURES. Where is Armenia ? It seems a simple question, yet during my lecturing in the United States I have met far more people who did not know than who did. That is natural enough, for until the late horrors, it seemed little more than a name of old history, of no present importance ; but there is a further reason. The present Sultan forbids the use of the name altogether, and insists on the district being termed Kurdistan, or called by the names of its vilayets, Diarbekr, Van, Erzroom, etc. Many maps do not have the name Armenia at all. A few years ago, when the mission- aries of the American Board were organizing the col- lege at Harpoot, now so bloodily famous, they named it Armenia College; but the Sultan forbade it on the ground that there was no longer an Armenia, and the use of the name would encourage the Armenians* to revolt. The missionaries were forced to change the name to Euphrates College. If any Turkish subject uses the word, he is fined and imprisoned; if it is used in any book, the book is confiscated, and the author banished or killed. The study of Armenian history ♦The word "Armenian" is not altogether indicative of race, it refers more particularly to those who are Christianp. Any who have forsaken the faith and become Mohammedans are no longer regarded as Armenians, bat are Turka. (21) 22 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. is forbidden to the Armenians; they must be kept in ignorance about their own land, so that many of them do not know where Armenia was or what Armenia is. A letter directed to any person or place in Armenia will never reach its destination; for the Turkish pos- tal authorities recognize no such address. There is still another cause for the widespread ignorance concerning Armenia. It has been partitioned be- tween three different powers, Turkey, Russia, and Per- sia. The northern part, from Batoum on the Black Sea to Baku on the Caspian, — the river Araxes being the boundary to near Mt. Ararat, — belongs to Rus- sia; the southeastern course of the Araxes from near Mt. Ararat, to Persia ; the largest and most fertile part, the western, from Mt. Ararat to the Black Sea and the Kizil-Irmak to Turkey. But at the time of its greatest extent and power, when its people were great and its kings were great, long before Alexander's con- quest, — Armenia covered about 500,000 square miles, and stretched from the Black Sea and the Cau- casus on the north to Persia, and Syria on the south, from the Caspian and a much smaller Persia on the east, to Cilicia and far beyond the Halys (Kizil-Ir- mak) on the west, but including also old Media and a part of Mesopotamia. It is one of the most picturesque of countries; tra- velers call it the Switzerland of Asia. Its general character is that of a plateau some 4,000 feet above the sea, a natural garden watered by noble streams and studded with beautiful lakes; but the mountain *M*OUNt" ARARAT. THE LAND OF ARMENIA. 23 ranges are 7,000 to 8,000 on the average, while that historic Land-mark, the superb snow-capped Mt. Ara- rat, is about 1 8,000, — towering toward Heaven nearly in the center of Armenia, piercing and ruling over the clouds and the storms. Armenia is the mother land, the cradle of human- ity, and all other lands are her daughters; but she is fairer than any other. Even her mountain tops of per- petual snow are a crown of glory; the sun kisses her Ijrow with the smile of morning; and she supplies the beautiful rivei's, Euphrates, Tigris, Pison, Araxes, and many others from the jewels of her crown. These rivers penetrate to every corner of the land; traverse many hundreds of miles to give life to the fields, the vineyards, and the orchards, to turn the mills, and final- ly close their course in the Caspian Sea, the Black Sea, and the Gulf of Persia, carrying the bounty and good- will messages of the mother land to her children in re- mote parts, to Persia, India, and Russia. From the same inexhaustible reservoir she feeds her noble lakes; Sevan (Gokche), Urumiah, Van and the rest. Lake Sevan is the only sweet-water lake; the others are salt. The most important is Lake Van, probably the most elevated of any large-sized lake in the world; it is 5,400 feet above sea level, and its area is 1,400 square miles. A few words from the author^s respected teacher. Professor Philip Schaff, will not be amiss. Schaff's Bible Dictionary, page 68, "Physical Features of Armenia," says: "It is chiefly an elevated plateau about 7,000 feet above 24 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. the level of the sea, the highest peak being Mt. Ararat. The lower portions of the plateau are broken by val- leys and glens, including the fertile valleys of the Eu- phrates and Tigris. It is watered by four large streams, the Araxes, the Kur, the Euphrates, and the Tigris; also by numerous lakes, one of the largest, the salt Lake Van, being over 5,400 feet above the sea." NATURAL RESOURCES. The mineral wealth of Armenia is very great; but like the other potential riches of the Turkish Em- pire, it profits nobody, not even the greedy despot whose word is death. Gold, silver, copper, iron, and minor metals, besides marble and other beautiful stones, are present in abundance. About three miles from Marsovan, where I preached, is a mountain called Tarshan Dagh (rabbit mountain), rich in gold; another called Goomish Dagh, about eight miles west, is laden with silver; and they are likely to remain so, for no one will rifle them of their treasures while Turkey en- dures. The Sultan, it is true, sends an officer from Constantinople under large salary, to take out the pre- cious metals, but that person does very little work. He lives like a lord, lets things go as they will, bribes the palace officials, and all the gold and silver extracted does not pay his wages. The Sultan will not permit Christians to work mines, and if they did, he would rob them of the proceeds. Everywhere the condition is the same. Though Armenia is the oldest inhabited country, she is, in utilization, the newest; much newer THE LAND OF ARMENIA. 25 than the United States, for indeed she does not exist yet. She is a virgin land, her mines not open, her soil not half tilled. The Turks and the Kurds are lazy and stagnant; they will do nothing, and they will not permit the industrious Armenian Christians to do anything of importance. The country has all the old fertility which made Asia Minor under the Byzantine Empire the garden of the world, till the Turks half turned it into a desert, as thoy do every spot accursed by their presence. The grain, the fruit, the vegetables are hardly, if at all, to be equaled. The watermelons raised on the banks of the Euphrates and the Tigiis are the largest and sweetest of their kind; two melons are sometimes a (^ameFs load. It is impossible for a family to use the whole of such a melon, which has to be cut up and sold in pieces. The grapes, either fresh or in the shape of wine or raisins, are of the first rank. Many varier ties when cured and dried as raisins exceed in size the plumpest grapes of other lands. Nearly every- thing is raised or grows wild in Armenia which is to be had in the Northern or Southern States of America, though of course each country has some things pecu- liar to itself. The products of the North are paral- leled by those of the rugged picturesque highlands of Xorth Turkish and Russian Armenia, with their cold, snowy winters, short, hot summers, and mild inter- vening seasons; those of the South find their counter- parts from the rich upland valleys, or the lowland plains needing irrigation, of Kurdistan and Persian 26 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. / Armenia (Azerbijan), with its semi-tropical climate, and alternations of wet and dry seasons. The grain crops are wheat, Indian corn, barley, and oats. Cot- ton is one of the main products ; a great deal of tobacco and rice are raised; and sugar is made in the Persian part. In the fields and gardens you can find not only the wonderful melons I have just spoken of, but pumpkins and squashes, lettuce and egg-plant, and indeed most of the vegetables that come to an Ameri- can table. As to fruits, all that you know we know also, only of finer flavors. Asia Minor is the original home of the quince, the apricot, and the nectarine, and I believe of the peach too ; while our apples, pears, and plums are incomparable. The Muscat apples of Amassia are exceptional even there. After eating them, one hardly wonders that Adam and Eve could not resist the temptation of doing the same, at the cost of innocence and Eden. The pears of Malatia keep them company; and the quince grows sometimes as large as a man's head. Another fruit equally im- portant is the mulberry for silk-worms. The olive and fig are cultivated and also grow wild, and filberts and walnuts can be gathered anywhere in the woods, as well as orchards; of course not the American " hick- ory nuts," but the " English walnuts " of the gro- ceries. In spite of the dreadful roads, and the lack of pro- tection for travelers, the Armenians manage to send a good deal of grown or manufactured stuff to the ports on the Black and Caspian seas, — Trebizond, Batoum, THE LAND OF ARMENIA. 27 Poti, Baku, — silk and cotton, and fabrics made from the?n; hides and leather, including lambskins; wine, dried fruits, raisins, tobacco, drugs, and dyestuffs, wax, and other things. Methods of cultivation are probably much like what they were in Abraham's time; there are no very modern machines or even tools. The plough is not quite the mere scratching-stick of the savages, to be sure ; but it is only a crooked piece of wood with a bit of iron fastened to the end that touches the ground, drawn by oxen and held by the farmer. The fields of grain are reaped by the sickle as of old ; it takes as long to cut down one acre so as fifty by a common mowing machine. The sheaves are carried to a gal or thresh- ing floor near the house, an open platform, not shel- tered from the weather; and there the grain is sepa- rated from the straw by a process so curious that I doubt if any American, save a missionary to Armenia, has ever heard of it. It is not treading it out under the feet of the cattle, as pictured in the Bible, nor beating it out with a flail; both these methods kept the straw whole. A threshing board is made by fastening hundreds of sharp flints into a wooden frame; the grain is placed between this and the threshing floor, the oxen attached to the board, and the farmer sitting on it drives them round and round in a circle until the straw is cut fine, and the grain well rubbed and shaken loose. Then, on the first windy day, he takes the old hand fan or winnow, and separates the grain from the straw, keeping the latter 28 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. to feed the animals in winter; for the long grass of American plateaus, and the barns of hay from them, are seldom seen in Armenia. The wheat crops are extraordinary ; not only great in yield, but the grains often double the size of ordi- nary American wheat, as compared with specimens from the large and representative fields of Minnesota and Nebraska. TAXATION. But when this wheat is threshed out, the farmer cannot shovel it up and grind, or sell, or put it into bins; no indeed ! He cannot take up a quart of it without permission from the government ; for the gov- ernment claims one-eighth of it as a tax, — it was always a ^' tithe " or tenth from the oldest historic times down to the present Sultan, but he raised the percentage to an eighth, — and it must stay on that exposed threshing floor, in rain or winds, or any sort of weather, till the tax-gatherer comes and measures it, which may be a week, or two weeks, or a month, and will be forever unless he is bribed to come. Nor is even this double tax all; the tax-gatherer is a tax farmer, — that is, he pays a lump sum to the govern- ment for the taxes of a district, and all he can get above that is so much profit to him; so if the grain on a threshing floor actually measures ten bushels, say, he will write it fifteen. After the farmer has paid first the tax on the land to the government direct, then the double, or rather treble, tax to the gatherer on the crops, more than half the income he can get from the THE LAND OP ARMENIA. 29 land has gone to the government. I do not know an Armenian farmer who is not in debt; they work hanl, but the products of their labor go to the government and the Kurds, and any one who complains is con- sidered a revolutionist, and imprisoned or killed. The simple unvarnished truth is that an Armenian Chris- tian has no rights of life or property whatever; and all he keeps of either (not very much) is what the reg- ularly appointed officials or the self-appointed Kurdish fleecers choose to leave him. This, however, is anticipating. I have only begun on the catalogue of taxes which strip most Armenians, and are intended to strip them, of every- thing but the means of sustaining life and perpetuating their race. When a boy is born, a poll-tax is laid on him, — two dollars on the average, — which must be paid every year as long as he lives, whether he remains in Armenia or leaves it. Of course, during boyhood the parents have to pay this tax on every male child ; if a woman is widowed, she has to go on paying these capitation taxes just the same. They are assumed to be taxes in lieu of military service; the Sultan takes no soldiers from the Armenians, — does not dare, — and this poll-tax is used to raise and pay that very Tiirkish army which in return butchers the Armenians, just as the old tribute of Christian children was used to butcher their parents. (That the Armenians are un- warlike and would not make good soldiers is ridicu- lously untrue; many of the best soldiers and best of- ficers, even commanders-in-chief, in the Kussian ser- 30 AKMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. vice are Armenians.) When the boy has attained manhood he pays his own tax, — he must have a paper of citizenship, which must be renewed every year, and for which he must pay; but he is not allowed to leave the country without providing absolute security, either in property or bondsmen, for paying that tax through life, wherever he may be. Of course this is utterly impossible in most cases, — men of property do not often migrate, and men without property do not easily get people to be responsible for lifelong obligation to let them emigrate; which is one chief reason why so few Armenians, except banished ones, or runaways, are seen in foreign countries. Furthermore, as I have said, he must pay for a passport every time he stirs from home. Land, houses, cattle, crops, are all sep- arately taxed. Suppose an Armenian owns a vine- yard. First, the land is taxed; there is a separate tax for irrigation, a third for the grapes, a fourth if you make wine from them. In all, a vineyard pays five taxes, and the government gets more than the owner. Why don't they emigrate ? ask my American friends. I have given one explanation. Pharaoh would not permit the Hebrews to go away, nor will the Sultan permit the Armenians. Another reason is that even if one has property, it is very hard to sell it. Turks have no money and Armenians no confidence. And to run away to a foreign country, whose language you do not know, wholly without money, is so desper- ate a remedy that most of them shrink from it. THE LAND OF ARMENIA. 31 THE CLIMATE. Armenia, in my belief, is the healthiest country in t^e world ; I do not say one of the healthiest, but the very healthiest . The climate is excellent all the year round, and, though the winters are severe, and much of the country is covered with snow, yet on account of the elevation — being several thousand feet above sea level, and in latitude 36^ to 42^, or say from North Carolina to Massachusetts — thejair is dry, pure, and agreeable, a preventative of disease, and conducive to / longevity. The dread disease, consumption, does not ^ exist there, while dyspeptics, if any are to be found, j must have been imported. The perfect type of physi- cal vigor is to be seen there. Generally the Armen- i ians are tall, powerful, and ruddy cheeked, full of en - durance and energy. Shrewd and enterprising they are, as reputed ; bjut pure and honest t90. T hey are longer lived than any other people. I have known Armenians of 115 and even 125 years of age; one old lady of my acquaintance at 115 was full of life and fuji; I have seen her dance at wedding festivities like a girl of 15. An old gentleman of 125 was my neigh- bor; he worked on his farm as if he were not over 25. He could run and jump and was as gay as a boy, and greatly enjoyed children's society. If the people of ; Armenia could have the same government, the same encouragements, the same freedom from horrible fears, as the people of the United States, they would live many, many years longer than they do, till it might be 32 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. necessary to kill the old folks in order to get rid of them. The most of the American missionaries in Armenia would be sure to echo these words. A returned mis- sionary gave a striking testimony to this effect. He was addressing the students of the Chicago Theological Seminary, and spoke as follows: — '^ Before I became a missionary I had very poor health ; most of my family died of hereditary consumption, and I was attacked by it. My physicians strongly protested against my becoming a missionary, saying that if I went to a foreign land I would grow worse, and probably die there. I paid no attention to this; I presumed they Avere right, but I was determined to go anyway, and if I must die, to die in my chosen work. When I offered myself to the American Board, I was allotted to Armenia, and thither I went; my disease disappeared and now I am as healthy as any missionary in the world. You see how stout and vigorous I look, and I do not expect to die soon. But I feel sure that if I had stayed in America to save my life, I should have lost it before this time." He is still living in Armenia, and I hope will live to be over a hundred, as many of the natives do. The reader will smile at all this as the patriotic boastfulness of an Armenian, and say perhaps that he can make as fabulous declarations for his own land, wherever he may be; but such claims cannot be sub- stantiated by records and personal observations as these for Armenia can. Take the Bible ; some of the Patriarchs lived to be 700, 800, one even to 969, if THE LAND OF ARMENIA. 33 indeed he ever died a natural death; some were taken up to heaven without knowing death; and all those long lives, as will be shown, were lived in Armenia. God's judgment was good. He did not create man in America, Europe, or India, or anywhere but in Armenia. He came down there from Heaven, planted the Garden of Eden there, and from the dust of that land created the first man. When the race had be- come sinful and only Noah's family were preserved, the ark was not brought to rest on the Rockies, the Alps, or the Himalayas, but on Ararat in Armenia. Where was the Garden of Eden ? In my belief, around Lake Van, the highest lake, the largest lake, and the most picturesque lake in the Bible lands; its surrounding country, mountains, plains, flower gar- dens, and orchards, make it a most charming spot, and quite worthy to have been the seat of Paradise on earth. As the wickedest cities, Sodom and Gomorrah, were on the lowest, ugliest, and nastiest lake, the Dead Sea, it is natural that Paradise should be on the highest and loveliest one. A certain very learned Gospel minister, who desired to change my views respecting the Garden of Eden, declared that when the North Pole was discovered the Garden of Eden would be. Some think it was in India, and there are about as many opinions as there are countries on the earth. The Bible, however, seems to be pretty clear about it and settles the question to the Armenian mind; we feel, therefore, that we cannot be far from the Scrip- tural descriptions. 3 34 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. TRAVEL AND TRANSPORTATION. Both are as hard in Armenia as they can be, short of impossibility. In the Russian section the roads are as good as in any part of Russia, and there are railroads; but in Persian and Turkish Armenia there are none of the latter, and the roads are very poor bridle-paths. A few years ago the government levied an extra tax to build " Shosse Yolou " or macadam- ized roads for carriages; but most of the money was spent as usual, in a good time for the Turkish officials; the roads built were wretched, and riding over them in the springless carriages of the country is weariness and torture. Most of the traveling is done on horseback or muleback, while the transporta- tion of goods is almost entirely by camels and don- keys. An hour's journey in America in distance is a two days' journey in Armenia, and it must be accomplished on horseback, muleback, or foot; or perhaps in a wagon without springs. Almost all the horse and mule keepers are Turks, Kurds or Circassians, all Mohammedans and of the lowest types, — which does not increase either the comfort or the security of a journey. The tenders and drivers of animals are never of a very high order of men in any country; in Armenia they are specially vulgar, dirty, and some- times dangerous brutes. If you wish to travel with your family, you must arrange with the horse-keeper several days or even weeks beforehand; if he is ready when the time comes, he calls at your house and tells THE LAND OF ARMENIA. 35 you. If animals are used and the family large, bas- kets will be needed to put the children in; they are put on the animals like panniers, one on each side with the mother between. This is attended with more (►r less danger from accidents of various kinds, liable to occur on the unkept paths, which, rough in some places and horribly muddy in others, are used for roads. As in the case of the writer, who, when an infant, nearly lost his life before he could be pulled out of the mud into which he had fallen from his mother's arms, she being thrown from the stumbling horse she was riding. A more modern way of travel is in springless carriages; which on the rough roads means racking your body horribly, bones, nerves, and all, into out- right and often severe suffering, a pain and fatigue which the traveler feels for a long time. At evening all travelers must go to a caravanserai or khan ; often they are all huddled into a single room, men, women, and children, and the room is invariably filthy, and full of every kind of vermin. Such getting about is con- stant torment. There is no safety in traveling; Kurdish, Circas- sian, or Georgian brigands may meet you on the roads anywhere, and plunder, torture, or perhaps kill you. A few years ago, when traveling in Armenia with a company of about forty persons of both sexes, we came to a forested pass between two mountains. Sud- denly three men leaped out in front of us; they were Georgian brigands (Mohammedans), armed from top 36 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. to toe. They stopped the caravan, picked out the rich persons and the Christians, and robbed them of all their valuables. They did not search the writer, probably supposing that as a minister he was too poor to be worth troubling. The women were dreadfully frightened, for the robbers declared that if they did not give up their earrings their ears would be cut off, and if they did not give up their bracelets their hands would be cut off. It can easily be imagined that they made haste to relinquish all their valuables. Such robberies take place every day in Armenia, for there is no protection or redress whatever; it is a matter of indifference at best, and probably of satisfaction, to the Sultan and his governors. The brigands are not the only robbers. Bear in mind that before any one in Armenia can travel at all, the government officials plunder him. He must get a passport first; I do not mean when he goes to foreign countries, for an Armenian is forbidden to go there at all, — all who are in other lands reached there by bribing the police and running away, — but when he goes to another place or town in Armenia itself, even if it is not over fifteen or twenty miles off. This passport will cost him from two to five dollars in bribes to the officials to let him have it. When he reaches his destination, the officials of the latter place must examine his passport, and they force him to pay for the examination, else they will not let him enter the town. So the Armenians are robbed at every step whether they travel or stay at home. THE LAND OF ARMENIA. 87 Transportation of goods is even harder. Nearly all goods are carried on camels or donkeys which never go more than ten miles a day, and of course much less in bad spots; it takes months and even a year to get goods if they have to come very far, or may never be received. If an Armenian merchant orders goods from Constantinople, say 500 miles away, it takes five or six months at best from the time of sending the order to the time of receiving the goods, even if he ever gets them, no matter what condition they are in. The difficulties of transportation prevent the ex- port, to any extent, of Armenian products to foreign countries, and even between neighboring cities ex- change of supplies is well-nigh impossible. As all through the East, there is often famine in one part of Armenia, while there is plenty in other parts; one city may be hungry while another is feasting; one willing to pay any price but unable to buy, another eager to sell but with no one to sell to; because there is no way to transport the grain or produce. Yet good highways are not built because the officials embezzle the funds, railroads are not built because it would hinder the Sultan from crushing the people. It may be asked. Are there no railroads in Turkey ? and will not the Sultan permit them, and are there not Armenians in the places along their route ? Yes, there are a few short lines; one from Constantinople to Adrianople, one from Constantinople to Angora, one from Smyrna to Aiden, one from Mersina to Adana, one from Joppa to Jerusalem. I think there g8 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. is also one lately built from Beirout to Damascus. The length of the whole system is not over 1,000 miles, one of them is in Europe, part of them are tourist lines, along routes that streams of Europeans would traverse anyway. Some of them were built before the time of the present Sultan ; some of them are near the seashore, where there are some Armenian emi- grants; but none of these roads are in Armenia. Plenty of money has always been available from European and even Armenian sources to build rail- roads; syndicates and private capitalists have tried again and again to get permission to build them; but the Sultan will not grant it, for it runs counter to his fixed policy of isolating the Armenians, to make their oppression or destruction easier. Railroads would mean not only prosperity and strength for the people, but easy gathering and sending out of news to the -world, easy bringing of help from the world, lighting up the dark places, and exposing the horrors of the hell now existing. When they are built, commerce will follow; Europeans will flock in, and a new era dawn. Who are the commercial class ? The Armen- ian Christians or Europeans; not a Turk or a Kurd among them. Commerce means, then, the increase of the Christian population; wealth, greatness, security for the Armenians; finally freedom from the Ottoman power. Therefore that power forbids any improve- ment of the backward conditions. II. THE PEOPLE OF ARMENIA. THEIR LINEAGE. Who are the Armenians ? The average Ameri- can knows very little about them, while few even of the educated classes have much knowledge of the race or its history. Many people regard them as bar- barians, partially Christianized. Some think them of Chinese type; most often the^^ are considered as Turks because the chief portion of Armenia is part of the Turkish Empire; every Armenian feels justly indig- nant at the latter classification. The old story applies of the Irishman who refused to consider himself an American though born in America, on the ground that " being born in a stable did not make one a horse " ; we know that the Scotch and English in Ireland do not consider themselves Irish ; we know it would be worse than absurd to call the English children bom in India Hindoos. When the missionaries of the American Board first went to Turkey, the people there supposed from the name American, that they must be Indians, and crowded to see them out of curiosity, but they were much surprised and probably somewhat disap- pointed when they found them very like themselves. In the same way, being born in Turkish Armenia does not make one a Turk. The Turks are one race, (39) 40 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. the Armenians a totally different one, and different in the very foundation type. The Turks are Turanian, the Armenians Aryan. The Turks belong to the Turko-Tataric stock ; they are kinsmen of the Tartars. The primal origin of the Armenians will be found in Genesis, Chapter 10, — from Togarmah, the son of Gomer, the son of Japheth; the Armenians are some- times called the Sons of Togarmah. Togarmah had a son named Haig (the Armenian records tell us), and Armenians call themselves Haigian or Haigazian from him; and the land of Armenia is called Hayasdan or the land of Plaig. He was a powerful warrior and the founder of the Armenian Kingdom, which began 2350 B. C, and ended with Levon YL, 1375 A. D.; thus lasting 3725 years, though with intervals of ex- tinction. Their own kings did not always reign in Armenia; sometimes other nations ruled over it; by way of compensation, sometimes the Armenians ruled over other nations. The people never call them- selves Armenians, or their country Armenia ; they use the name simply for the sake of foreigners. But where did the name come from ? Of course as with many very old ones, the origin is somewhat a matter of guesswork. Some derive it from the great King, Aram, the seventh from Haig; some from Armerag or Armen, the eldest son of Haig, — the more probable supposition of the two; still others connect it with the Hebrew Aram (Aramea), the district of Mesopotamia and [NTorth Syria, and derive both from a word mean- ing " man," most old names of nations having meant THE PEOPLE OF ARMENIA. 41 that originally. "Whatever its origin, it is certain that the Armenians are a very ancient nation, — as ancient as the Assyrians or Persians. The people belong to the stock formerly known as Japhetic, later as Caucasian (from the Caucasus Moun- tains on the jiorth of Armenia), then as Indo-Euro- pean, now as iVryan; the most advanced type of man- kind, and the most physically beautiful. And what are the people of the United States ? Hamitic or Negroid ? Of course not. Semitic (Arab, Jew) ? Certainly not. They are Japhetic or Aryan too — exactly the same as the Armenians. Indeed, the type of face is the same, and the type of character. The Armenians are often called the Anglo-Saxons of the East; they are the same blood, features, religion, and civilization as those of the West, and are true brothers and sisters, though the opportunities of the latter have been greater;"^ however, the ancestors of the former were Christians in Asia before those of the latter were in Europe, and they kept the mother land faithfully while the others ran away. THEIR LANGUAGE. The tongue spoken by the Armenians is one of the great family now known as the Aryan languages; cer- tainly one of the oldest of them if there is any dif- ference in the ages of the different branches, though that really means nothing. It has no relation what- ever to the Semitic tongues like Chaldee or Phoenician, nor the Tataric tongues of Scythia, though those were 42 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. in the earlier ages its nearest neighbors, while it is blood brother to languages so widely separated as Irish on the west and Hindoo on the east, to Gothic and Greek, Lithuanian and Latin. Linguists think the whole Aryan family much younger than the Semitic or the Turko-Tataric or the Mongoloid, but this would not be granted by the Armenians without much more solid proof than has yet been brought forward. They claim first that Noah and his sons lived in Armenia, which has been sliown must be true ; second, that they spoke the Armenian language, which therefore was the very oldest. Some of the arguments in favor of this are as follows: — In Armenia, near Mt. Ararat, are places with Armenian names, which have preserved the same names from the time of Noah till now. North of Ararat is a city named Erivan, which in Armenian means "appearance"; after Noah's ark rested on the mountain, the first place he saw was Eri- van. Another city southeast of Ararat is called Nakhichevan, which in Armenian means " the first station " ; it was the first stopping-place of Noah when he came out of the ark. The first chief or King of the Armenians, Haig, built a village and called it Hark, which means " fathers,'' as he was the father of the Armenians; and when Haig fought with Belus and killed him, the place was called Kereznank, meaning " grave " or " graves." There are many such places in Armenia, where the names have always been the same and are certainly Armenian now, indicating that the language has always been the same; here are a THE PEOPLE OF ARMENIA. 48 few: Arakaz, Armavir, Shirag, Ararat. The latter took its name from Ara, the Armenian king who was the son of iVram, that great King who ruled in Armenia for fifty years; the name means " lofty " or " holy." These instances show the antiquity of the language; but even if they were not sufficient, it would not affect the antiquity of the race. Many very old races speak languages much less old. The mass of people in Tus- cany are Etruscans, a race which some people hold to be much older than the whole Aryan family; but they speak Italian, a very modern tongue. A large part of the Basques, believed by many scientists to be the oldest race in Europe, older even than the Tuscans, speak Spanish, much more modern even than Italian. So that it does not follow that the Armenian race, aside from the language, may not be the oldest in the world. The old Armenian classic language is very dif- ficult, from the number of particles and participles in it; but modern Armenian is one of the easiest of lan- guages to learn, very regular in inflection and the spell- ing entirely phonetic. There are no exceptions or anomalies; for instance, to pluralize a noun, you in- variably add the particle ner or er. Thus, doon means "house;" the plural is dooner. Manch is "boy"; plural mancher; mannugh is "-child," mannughner " children." The irregularities of English in these forms are too well-known to need illustration. The Armenian tongue is not only very regular, but very sweet, as well to the ears of foreigners as of natives. 44 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. The testimony of '^ Sunset '' Cox of Ohio is worth citing on this point. He was United States minister to Turkey some years ago, and as such presided at the Commencement Exercises of Robert College in Con- stantinople, that being the rule of the college. In his address on this occasion, he said he did not like Bulgarian (which is a Turkish tongue), because it had no sweetness ; — indeed, there is none in any of the Turkish languages, which are strong and emphatic, but harsh. But he said he liked Armenian ; it was the " sweetest language he ever lieai-d." lie went on to say that Adam talked Armenian in the Garden of Eden, proposed to Eve in that language, and succeeded in winning her heart ; in any other language he might not have done it. "It is the loveliest of tongues to make love to a woman in, and sure of success if the lady knows Armenian." I think he was right; but I think too, that next to Armenian, if not equal tait, is English. It sounds as sweetly to my ears as Armenian. I am an Armenian and my wife is an Armenian; but I proposed to her in English and was successful; not a sure test, perhaps, for any language is beautiful when words of love are uttered in it to ears that are willing to hear; and true love may be successful without any words at all. Coal of Arms and Flags of Ancient Armenia. yV/{ /pusf 'iT/lti^^ • • • • • J' J. * 'fAe Dynasty of Pakr l^ia lfyH,}styjiliArskiigiit\iiaii\ ,] '^. Tkf Kingdom of Rou • '.••••.■• i douniun bin I an III. THE ARMENIAN DYNASTIES. According to the liistoiies written by native his- torians from the old Armenian records. 1. THE HAIGAZIAN DYNASTY. This dynasty began 2350 years before Christ, and ended in the time of Alexander the Great, 328 B. C. No other recorded dynasty has so long an unbroken Buccession. 2. THE ARSHAGOONIAN DYNASTY. This dynasty began 150 years B. C. and ended 428 A. D. 3. THE PAKRADOONIAN DYNASTY. This dynasty began 885 A. D. and ended 1045 A. D. 4. THE RUPENIAN DYNASTY. This dynasty began 1080 A. D. and ended 1375 A. D. I shall try to show the condition of the Armenians under the rule of these different dynasties. (45) 46 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. 1. THE HAIGAZIAN DYNASTY. As already mentioned, Haig \ras the founder of the Armenian kingdom. He can scarcely be called a king, because in his time there was not a great Armen- ian nation; it was rather a tribe, and Haig was chief or governor. His position was like that of Abraham; what would now be called a sheikh ; and like Abraham, he was a worshiper of the true God. Haig went from the highlands of Armenia to the plains of Shinar to help build the Tower of Babel. During the progress of the work, Belus, a warlike giant, descended from Ham, assumed to direct the enter- prise; Haig would not submit to this, and so returned to his own country. When the undertaking failed, all the tribes became scattered. To wreak vengeance on Haig, Belus resolved to go to Armenia, kill him in fight, and reign over his land. When he reached Armenia with his men on his errand, Haig went with a force to meet him ; a great battle took place and Haig was victorious, killing Belus and saving his country from being overwhelmed by the Hamites. His spirit was inheritedjby his posterity, though recent irresist- ible force and refusal of permission to bear arms may seem to make them submissive. They have battled stoutly against awful odds and with insufficient means for liberty and for freedom of thought and conscience ; and millions have lost their lives for those principles; if they could now have arms and help, they would fight and die again for them. THE ARMENIAN DYNASTIES. 47 After the repulse of this Hamitic invasion, the Armenians increased so rapidly that Haig became a real king and took that title, thus actually founding the Armenian Kingship. They were free, lived long jives , and married only one wife each, — all favorable conditions for growth of population, — it need not be pointed out how slavery and polygamy check national growtib And they kept their faith in the one true God, as their ancestor Noah did. Haig's son Armen succeeded his father, and greatly enlarged the kingdom. He subdued a large district northeast of Mt. Ararat and built cities and towns there. It is most likely the name Armenia comes from him. Some recent foreign writers have the impudence to say that there was no such king, but that his name was made up to account for that of Armenia; but the same records wdiich tell us of Haig, tell us of his son. After Armen we find his son Arma- iss, w^ho built the city of Armavir. I will not enumerate all the names of the dynasty; it would only be a tedious catalogue without profit. T will only mention the most noted ones, and those most interesting from their relations with the Jews or the heathen nations. One of the notable kings is Aram, the seventh in succession, and the greatest of Armenian conquerors. He raised and drilled an army of 50,000 men, whose efficiency and his own military skill and energy are proved by his invading and conquering Media. He then invaded Assyria and conquered a part of that 48 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. country. Next he marched westward and subjugated some of the eastern portion of Asia Minor inhabited by the Greeks, — the later Cappadocia, along the Halys or Kizil-Irmak. Aram named this district the Hayas- dan, translated by the Komans as " Armenia Minor "; which, oddly enough, in later times became Greater Armenia or Armenia Proper. Aram set over this province a governor named Mishag, with instructions to compel the Greeks to speak Armenian. Mishag built a city which exists in Cappadocia (Karamania) to-day, frightfully familiar from recent events. He called it by his own name; the Greeks mispronounced it as Mazag; the Roman emperors afterwards named it Caesarea, which the Turks corrupted into Kayseri, and several thousand Armenians were massacred there some months ago, which will be described further on. Th^ richest and most enterprising Armenians in the Turkish Empire are from Kayseri, and it is a leading missionary station of the American Board. The writer preached there and in that vicinity for four years. The enormous growth of the Armenian Kingdom under Aram, and its conquest of part of Assyria, excited the alarm of the Assyrian king, Ninos. ^ot feeling strong enough to engage in open warfare with him, he thought to compass his destruction by winning his friendship and then putting him out of the way, and, as a first step, sent him a costly jeweled crown. The intrigue failed, however, and Aram lived to a great age, reigning fift;y years. • * i » » 1 1 THE ARMENIAN DYNASTIES. 49 Aram was succeeded by his son Ara, called " Ara theJBeautiful." The fame of his beauty went abroad through the world; the Assyrian queen Semiramis was so enchanted by the sight of his person that she fell madly in love and proposed marriage to him, but he refused her. This military Amazon was not to be balked so. She resolved to marry him by force, and came with a great army to Armenia to capture the prize; but he was killed in the war, and she took possession of the country, with which she was so charmed that she decided to remain; she removed the capital of the enlarged Assyrian Kingdom to the lovely shores of Lake Van, erecting a palace there for her- self, and building on the eastern side a city named " Shamiramaguerd " (built by Semiramis). Many years later, a king of the Haigazian Dynasty whose name was Van rebuilt it and called it after himself. This was the present city of Van, another great center of the American Board and of Turkish horrors. The next great interesting event was in 710 B. C. when Sennacherib of Assyria was assassinated by his two sons, Adramelich and Sharezer, who escaped into Armenia. The king of Armenia at this time was Sgayorti, which means " son of a giant." He received the sons of Sennacherib with great kindness; they married Armenian women, and remained in the coun- try till their death. Their descendants were great Armenian princes, bearing the titles Prince Arziroo- nian and Prince Kinoonian. Armenia comes to view again in connection with 4 50 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. Biblical history in tlie capture of Jerusalem by N^ebu- cliadnezzar, 600 B. C, and the deportation of the Judean people; the Armenian king, Hurachia, was one of his allies in the siege, and on returning to Armenia carried with him a Hebrew prince named Shampad. This was a very intelligent man, and made himself greatly loved and esteemed by the Armenians; a sort of Daniel or Joseph. He, too, married an Ar- menian noblewoman, and his descendants became the very foremost of the noble families and ecclesiastical functionaries of the country, crowning the kings on occasion. They were called Pakradoonian Princes, and at last one of them founded the third dynasty of Armenian kings, the Pakradoonian. Though the nation is Aryan, there is noble Hebrew (Semitic) blood mixed with it. Perhaps the most interesting part of the Haigaz- ian Dynasty comes just before the end; the time of Dikran or Tigranes I. In him both wisdom and valor were combined to an eminent degree. As soon as he succeeded his father, Yerevant, he instituted great reforms to improve the state of the country. He not only enlarged it by conquest, but he greatly im- proved public education and morals, removed obstruc- tions to international commerce, introduced naviga- tion on the lakes and rivers, encouraged cultivation; trade flourished, every acre of ground was tilled, the country was alive with energy and hope. This vigor and prosperity aroused the envy of Ashdahag, King of Media; he resolved to kill Dikran, and to throw THE ARMENIAN DYNASTIES. 51 him off his guard married his sister, Princess Dik- raiioohi. A plot to murder Dikran was then set on foot; the princess learned of it, warned her brother, whom she loved, and ran away. Dikran collected an army, made a rapid march to Media, surprised and slew Ashdahag, and brought back a vast amount of spoils in captives and goods. He built a fine city on the banks of the Tigris, and called it Dikranagerd, the city of Dikran; it was afterwards the residence of the sister who had saved his life. It is now called by the Turks Diarbekr, and was the scene of a frightful mas- sacre a few months since. The most important politi- cal achievement of his life was assisting Cyrus in the capture of Babylon 538 B. C; the two monarchs were very friendly, and Dikran's Armenian army was a chief factor in the conquest. In Jeremiah^s proph- ecy of the capture, about a century before it occurred, he mentions the Armenian Kingdom as one of the actors : " The Kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ash- chenaz." (Jer. li. 27.) After Dikran's death his son Vahakn succeeded him; he was considered a god by the people, and wor- shiped as such through a monument after his death. Thus far the people had mostly worshiped the one true God, but from this time they relapsed into heathenism for a while on account of the influences pressing on them from outside. The last king of the Haigazian Dynasty was Vahe. When Alexander the Great in- vaded Persia, Vahe went to Darius' help with 40,000 infantry and 7,000 cavalry ; but Alexander conquered 52 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. first Darius and then Valie (328 B. C), and annexed both Persia and Armenia. Thus came to an end the first Armenian dynasty, after an existence of 1922 years. ARSHAGOONIAN OR ARSACID DYNASTY. This dynasty began not far from 150 B. C, — close to the time when Carthage was utterly destroyed, and Greece was finally subjugated; it ended 428 A. D., about half a century before the extinction of the West- ern Roman Empire, and about the time Genseric and his Yandals conquered Africa. It is by far the most famous of the Armenian royal houses ; for it embraces the very heart of the classic times with which all ed- ucated people are familiar, it brings us perpetually in contact with the most brilliant and best-known of classic names, it is sprinkled itself with names tower- ing up familiar and powerful, even among the Greek and Roman magnates; and, in spite of political ups and downs, it covers a time of immense expansion for the Armenian people, of a firmly rooted growth in num- bers, wealth, and consciousness of national unity, which has enabled the nation to survive and keep its united being through many centuries of dismember- ment, impoverishment, massacre, and attempts at out- right extermination again and again. More than all, it covers the time of Jesus Christ, and the conversion of Armenia to his religion, first of all the nations of the earth, as by its history and traditions it ought to have been. THE ARMENIAN DYNASTIES. 53 During the time between the disappearance of the line of Ilaig and the rise of the line of Arshag, Armenia was not by any means wholly without kings of its own ; but it was mostly a dependency. Alexander the Great, after his conquest, put a native governor named Mihran over it; but on Alex- ander's death, five years later (323 B. C), his generals partitioned the Macedonian Empire among themselves, and Armenia fell to ^N'eoptolemus. His government was at once so oppressive, and so contemptuous of native feeling (he and his court were Greeks, and de- spised all Asiatics), that the people rose and drove him out in 317, under the lead of one Arduat (Ardvates), who remained their king for thirty-three years; but he left no successor, and Armenia was conquered by and became part of the great Syrian Empire founded by Seleucus. It remained so in the main for about three quarters of a century, though the eastern part (Kurdistan), fell under the Parthian kings. Armenia was never a very quiet province, however, and its re- volts against the Syrian satraps kept it much of the time in a half-anarchic state. About 210 B. C. An- tiochus the Great quelled one of these uprisings, and divided the country into Greater and Lesser Armenia (whose boundaries I have described), putting a separate deputy over each. But after his crushing defeat by the Romans at Magnesia in 180 B. C, and having to buy peace by giving up everything beyond the Halys, each governor proclaimed his province an independ- ent kingdom. Zadriades (Zadreh), in Lesser Armenia 54 ARJ^IENIA AND HER PEOPLE. founded a family which kept their hold for almost exactly a century, when Tigranes II once more united the two Armenias. Artaxias (Ardashes), in Greater Armenia was powerful as long as he lived, and sheltered Hannibal at his court when the Romans had set a price on the head of their great foe; but about the middle of the century his family was dispossessed by Mithridates of Parthia, who conquered the country. The family name of this Parthian house was Arshag, rendered by the Greeks Arsakes, spelled by the Ro- mans Arsaces. Mithridates made Greater Armenia a kingdom for his brother Wagh-arshag (Yal-arsaces), whose family remained in succession to the throne, though sometimes eclipsed for long periods from actual occupation of it, for six hundred years. The new king had the great hereditary ability both in war and states- manship which characterized the whole Arsacid line, and the Mithridates in particular, and its great knowl- edge of men. He knew an able man when he saw him, and liked to raise him up; he promoted industry and built cities; he reformed the system of laws and their administration as well. The new line did not escape the usual fate of Eastern dynasties, of having disputes over the succes- sion, in which their neighbors interfered. In 94 B. C, Dikran or Tigranes II (great-grandson of Wagh- Arshag), owed his possession of the throne of Greater Armenia to his third cousin, Mithridates II (the Great), of Parthia, who exacted seventy Armenian valleys as the price; probably part of Kurdistan. Ti- THE ARMENIAN nVNASTIES. 55 granes, however, paid no more blood-money to any- body when once on the throne. On the contrary, he began at once to overrun and annex the neighboring states. He first conquered Lesser Armenia, and made it one with its sister again ; then part of Syria, so long the mistress of his own state; then, in a series of wars with the weak successors of Mithridates, he half de- stroyed the Parthian Empire itself, not only recovering the seventy valleys he had paid for his throne, but con- quering Media, and annexing Mesopotamia and Adia- bene. After these conquests he called himself " King of Kings " (that is, emperor, king with other kings under him), which title the Parthian kings had claimed theretofore. He would probably have ended by mastering and restoring the unity of the old Seleu- cid Kingdom in its widest extent, the whole heart of Western Asia, had he not in an evil hour been in- duced by that reckless old fighter, his father-in-law, Mithridates of Pontus, to join him in war against the Romans. Tigranes' own son had quarreled with him, and taken refuge with the King of Parthia, whose daughter he married; and now offered to guide his father-in-law into Armenia if he would invade it as the ally of the Romans. This was done, and Tigranes the elder had to fly to the mountains; but the Parthian king grew tired of the siege of rock castles, and went home, leaving his son-in-law to carry on operations with part of the army. The great Armenian king at once broke loose and annihilated the forces of his son, who fled to Pompey, just invading Armenia with the Ro- / • / ^e ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. man army. Even the great Tigranes was no match for Eome, and had to surrender. Pompey was not harsh with him, but left him Armenia (except Sophene and Gordjene, which were made into a kingdom for his son), and his Parthian conquests; even going so far as to send a Roman division to wrest these from the Parthian king, who had re-conquered them on Ti- granes' defeat, and restore them to the latter. On the departure of Pompey the Parthian once more re- claimed them, but a compromise was finally made. Phraates of Parthia, however, resumed once more the title of " King of Kings.'' Tigranes remained the ally of the Romans till his death in 55 B. C. ; a reign of thirty-nine years, on the whole of great glory and usefulness. He was succeeded by his son, Artavasdes ( Ardvash) II, who inherited that most dreadful of legacies, a place between the hammer and the anvil. For the next quarter of a century the Romans, and the steadily growing and consolidating power of the Parthian Em- pire were alternately irresistible in Eastern Anatolia; it was impossible to avoid taking sides, for neutrality meant invasion by one party or the other; and which- ever side he took he was sure to be punished for as soon as the other came uppermost. If Artavasdes had been as dexterous as Alexius Comnenus himself, he could hardly have escaped ruin ; that he kept his throne for over twenty years is proof that he was not unworthy of his father. First came the invasion of Parthia by Crassus; Artavasdes, faithful to his father's Roman THE ARMENIAN DYNASTIES. 57 allegiance; asked him to make the invasion by way of Armenia, and offered to help him. Crassus refused, but the Parthian king, Orodes, invaded Ar- menia; however, he made peace, and betrothed his eldest son, Pacorus, to Artavasdes* daughter, just be- fore new^s was brought him of the annihilation of Crassus^ army, guaranteed by Crassus' severed head and hand. The civil wars at Rome for years to come broke the Roman power, and the Parthians (with the good-will of the inhabitants, who detested the Roman proconsuls), swept w^estward, compelled submission or alliance from all the countries to the Taurus, and even annexed all Syria for a time, just as seven centuries later the Syrians, from hate of the Byzantine gover- nors, gave up their cities to the Saracens. But the Roman power once more rallied; the Parthians were driven out of Syria, and Pacorus was killed ; the aged Orodes, under whom the Parthian Empire proper reached its pinnacle, died, leaving the throne to one of those jealous murderous despots so familiar in Eastern history, who made a general slaughter of his brothers, and even murdered his son, to remove any possible leader of a revolt, and Artavasdes once more returned to the Roman alliance. In the year 36 A. D., Mark Antony undertook the task Crassus had so terribly failed in seventeen years before, of striking at the heart of Parthia; but this time the in- vasion was by way of Armenia. It was almost as frightful a disaster as the former; a third of the army of 100,000 men was destroyed by the enemy, 8,000 58 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. died of cold and storm in the Armenian mountains, the wounded died in enormous numbers; but that Ar- tavasdes let the army winter in his country it would have perished as completely as Crassus' did. In spite of this, the Romans, wanting a scapegoat, laid the whole blame on Artavasdes, without a shadow of rea- son that can be shown. It was the last time for a century and a half that the Romans attacked Parthia. In default of that plunder, they resolved to have Ar- menia, and a couple of years later, in the year 33 A. D., they seized Artavasdes by treachery, and occupied the country. The Parthians at once took up the cause of his son, Artaxes, and made war on the Romans to seat him on the throne ; and when the Roman troops were withdrawn to help Antony's cause, which was lost in the battle of Actium, the Parthians overran Ar- menia, and killed all the Romans in the country, and made their candidate king as Artaxes II. This was in 30 B. C, and in the same year his father, Artavas- des, who had been carried to Alexandria by An- tony, was beheaded by Cleopatra. But the very next year the worthless tyrant Phraates of Parthia was driven from the throne by a rebellion, and Artaxes made peace with Rome. The history of Artavasdes' reign is in essence the history of the next four centuries, save that the results were incomparably worse. We have been dealing with a time at least of steady, single-handed govern- ment, of able rulers either inside or outside, of some sort of ability to keep the civil structure of the coun- / THE ARMENIAN DYNASTIES. 59 try from breaking to pieces; but even that disappears over long periods in the early centuries of the Roman Empire. One great secret of Armenia's misery dur- ing these ages of woe — indeed, to a large extent dur- ing all the ages since — lies in the fact that she is a borderland; a buffer between great states, and indeed between great natural divisions of climate and society. ' She is the boundary between semi-tropic Central Asia and temperate Eastern Europe, touching the land of the fig and the silk-worm on the one side, and that of the apple and the mountain goat on the other; between Scythian steppes and Syrian deserts. In these earlier ages she was fought for between east, west, and south, — Par- tliia, Eome, and a Syro-Egyptian power of some sort; in these days divided between east, west, and north, — Persia the successor of Parthia, Turkey the successor of Rome, while the southern power is ages dead, and a great northern power, Russia, has grown up in the steppes. Had Armenia been smaller, or more level, she would have perished without a strug- gle, perhaps rather would never have existed ; but her territory is so large and so defensible that her history could have been predicted, — final dismemberment be- tween great states surrounding her, yet not without ages of desperate struggle. She was not large enough to be permanently the seat of empire; she was far too large for either rival to let pass wholly into the hands of the other — so she was pulled to pieces. But she 60 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. wanted to control her own destiny, and made a long and heroic fight before being dismembered. To write the history of the next few centuries would tire out all my readers, and would not do any good; it was a long duel between Rome and Persia for the ownership of Armenia, in which the prosperity and happiness of their unhappy foot-ball nearly per- ished. Almost the whole foreign policy of Parthia was to control, or to have a paramount influence in Armenia; almost the whole foreign policy of Rome in tlie East was to do the same thing. For nearly a century following Artavasdes' deposition, though the Romans professed to govern the country and the Parthians sometimes held it, and both sides repeatedly put kings on its throne, it was actually in a state of pure anarchy. Every great family, seeing it must depend on its own strength for preservation, extended its rule over as wide a district as would submit; nearly two hundred houses acted with perfect independence of each other, and of the nominal government, and some of them established principalities of considerable size. After this, though the country was for century after century just the same shuttlecock between the rival states, the feudal anarchy was somewhat reduced, the turbulent nobility better held in check, but it was im- possible that there should be really firm and orderly government w^hen a king could not be secure of his throne for a year on one side or the other, and dared not render his powerful subjects disaffected by making them obey the laws. We may be sure that the gov- THE ARMENIAN DYNASTIES. 61 ernment was really an oligarchy under the forms of a monarchy, and even the title '^ King of Armenia " during this period must not be taken to mean too much. There were sometimes separate kings of Upper and Lower Armenia, one under Roman, and one under Parthian influence; the independent princes often made head against both, and outlying principalities, like those of Osrhoene and Gordyene probably got hold of more or less Armenian territory in the melee. No king of Armenia after Tigranes ever held sway over all of old Armenia for any length of time, if at all. But any king who got an acknowledged position at all was invariably an Arshagoonian ; the people con- sidered that line the only rightful kings. Artavasdes III, whom the Romans seated in power just before the birth of Christ; Tigranes IV, who expelled him by Parthian aid the year of Christ's birth; Vonones, a deposed Parthian king, who got himself chosen king as the Roman favorite in 16 A. D., but was persuaded by Tiberius to retire; Arsaces, son of the king of Par- thia, assassinated by the king of Iberia whose brother was the Roman candidate, about the time of the crucifixion; Ervand, who made himself master of tHe land after a fashion, in 58; Dertad (Tiridates), set up by the Parthians in 52, and acknowledged by the Romans in 66; Exedarus (Eshdir ?) son of the Parthian king, given the throne with Roman consent about 100, pulled down by his uncle in 114, resulting in the conquest of the country by Trajan ; Sohaemus, set up by the Romans about 150, dethroned by the Par- 62 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. thians in 162 in favor of another Arsacid, restored by the Romans in 164; and the other fleeting monarchs of this long nightmare were all of the same line of Arshag, which in Armenia survived for over two centuries its brother line in Parthia, the last of whom, Ardvan (Artabanus), was slain in battle in 224 by Ar- dashir (Artaxerxes), first of the Sassanian house, and founder of the Persian Empire. But I must go back a little. The most important event in the history of any na- tion is its conversion to Christianity, and therefore we wish to know when the Armenians first came to believe in Christ, and how it came about. Of course it did not come all at once; but it came very early, and the story of the first converts is very curious. According to the Armenian church history, and also the great Christian father Eusebius, it came through King Ab- gar or Apkar (Abgarus), the fifteenth king of the little kingdom of Osrhoene, in northern Mesopotamia, whose capital was the flourishing city of Edessa, now Oorfa; it lay next the southern border of Armenia. The church history gives the following account: " The origin of Christianity in Armenia dates from the time of its king Abgar, who reigned at the beginning of the Christian era; he had his seat of gov- ernment in the city of Edessa, and was tributary to the Romans. " Herod Antipas, the tetrarch of Judea, was hostile to king Abgar, but was unable to injure him except by exciting the Romans against him. He therefore ac- cused him falsely, to the Emperor Tiberius, of rebel- THE ARMENIAN DYNASTIES. 68 lious projects. King Abgar, on being made ac- quainted with this accusation, hastened to send mes- sengers to the Roman general Marinus, then governor of Syria, Phoenicia, and Palestine, for the purpose of vindicating himself. During their stay in Palestine these messengers — among whom was Anane, Ab- gar's confidant — hearing of the wonders that were wrought by our Saviour, determined to visit Jerusa- lem, in order to gratify their curiosity. " When, therefore, their mission was concluded, they proceeded thither and were filled with wonder at witnessing the miracles performed by Jesus our Lord. " On returning to Armenia they related all the par- ticulars to their master. Abgar, after having listened to their narrative, became satisfied that Jesus was the son of God, and immediately wrote to him as fol- lows : " ' Abgar, son of Arsham, to Jesus, the great healer, who has appeared in the country of Judea at the city of Jerusalem — greeting Lord, — I have heard that thou dost not heal by medicines but only through the Word ; that thou makest the blind to see, the lame to walk ; that thou cleansest the lepers and makest the deaf to hear; that thou castest out devils, raiseth the dead, and healest through the word only. iN"© sooner had the great miracles that thou performest been re- lated to me, than I reflected, and now believe that thou art God and the son of God, descended from heaven to perform these acts of beneficence. For this reason I have written thee this letter, to pray thee to come to me, that I may adore thee and be healed of my sickness by thee, according to my faith in thy power. Moreover, T have heard that the Jews murmur against thee, and seek to slay thee. T pray thee, therefore, come to me ; I have a good little city, which is enough 64 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. for both of us, and there we can peaceably live to- gether.' " The messengers sent with the letter were instructed to offer sacrifices for the King at the temple in Jerusa- lem ; and one of them was a painter, who was to make a portrait of the Saviour, that if he would not come, the king might at least have his features. Jesus re- ceived the letter joyfully, — as it was the day of liis triumphal entry into Jerusalem, the messengers did not venture to approach him, and it was taken to him by the apostles Philip and Andrew, — and dictated the following answer to the apostle Thomas: " Blessed be he who believes in me without having seen me; for thus it is written of me: Those who see me shall not believe in me; and those who do not see me, they shall believe and be saved. Inasmuch as you have written to me to go to you, know that it is necessary I should fulfill here all for which I have been sent. And when I shall have done so, I shall ascend to Him who sent me ; and then I will send you one of my disciples, who shall remove your pain, and shall give life to you and those around you." The painter could not execute his order on account of the multitude; the Saviour at last noticed him, and causing him to approach, passed a handkerchief over his face and miraculously imprinted on it a perfect like- ness of his countenance, and then gave it to him, and bade him take it to his master as a reward for his faith. The king received the letter and portrait with THE ARMENIAN DYNASTIES. 65 great joy, and put them in safe custody, and awaited the fulfillment of our Lord's promise. After the Ascension, Thomas, the disciple, sent Thaddeus, one of the seventy, to Abgar, as our Lord had directed. Thaddeus went to Tobias, a prince of the Pakradoonian tribe, and consequently a Jew by blood, who received the apostle into his house, and be- came a believer. Thaddeus then began to perform many miracles upon sick people, and his fame being spread throughout the city, reached King Abgar, who sent for Prince Tobias and desired him to bring the apostle to him. This was done, and Thaddeus healed the king in his sickness, and instructed him in the faith. He did likewise to all the people of the city, and baptized them, together with the king and his court. All the temples dedicated to idols were shut up, and a large church was built. Thaddeus then created a bishop to rule the new congregation, select- ing a silk-mercer, the king's cap-maker, for that of- fice, and giving him the name of Adde. It is related that upon the principal gate of Edessa was the statue of a Greek idol, which all who entered the city were obliged to reverence. King Abgar ordered this to be taken away, and placed in its stead the sacred portrait of our Lord, with this inscription: " Christ God, he who hopes in thee is not deceived in his hope;" at the same time ordering all those who entered the city to give it divine honor. This conversion of King Abgar and of the Edessians took place in the thirtieth 66 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. year of the Vulgar Era, or in the thirty-third year after the birth of Christ. Shortly after, Thaddeus, desiring to spread the light of the Gospel in other parts of the country, went to Inner Armenia to visit Sanadrug, who then resided in the province of Shavarshan or Ardaz. Sanadrug soon became a Christian and was baptized, together with his daughter Santukht, and a great number of the chiefs and common people. Here Thaddeus also consecrated a bishop, named Zachariah, and then pro- ceeded to Upper Armenia ; but finding the people there unwilling to listen to his preaching, he left them and went to the country of the Aghuans. Abgar, in his zeal for the faith he had just em- braced, wrote to the Emperor Tiberius in favor of Christ, informing him how the Jews unjustly cru- cified him, exhorting him at the same time to believe and command others to adore the Saviour. Many let- ters passed between the two monarchs on the subject of his divine mission. He also wrote to Ardashes, king of Persia, and to his son Nerseh, the young king of Assyria, exhorting them to become believers in Christ. However, before he received replies to these, he died, in the third year of his conversion to Chris- tianity. His death seemed at first to have undone all his work. His son Anane apostatized and tried to make his people do the same ; he reopened the heathen tem- ples, resumed the public worship of the idols, and ordered the sacred handkerchief removed from the THE ARMENIAN DYNASTIES. 67 city gate. Adde the bishop walled up the latter. The king ordered the bishop to make a diadem for him as he had for his father; the bishop refused to make one for a head that would not bow to Christ, and the king liad the bishop's feet cut off while he was preaching, causing his death^ — the first Christian martyr on record. By a just retribution, the savage king met his own death by a marble pillar in his palace fall- ing on him and breaking his legs. Meantime Abgar's nephew, Sanadrug, had set up his standard in Shavarshan or Ardaz, proclaiming himself king of Armenia, — one of the countless chief- tains who took advantage of Armenian anarchy to carve out principalities for themselves. On the death of Anane he marched to Edessa, claiming it as his own inheritance. The people admitted him on his oath not to harm them; but once inside he massacred all the males of the house of Abgar. He spared his aunt, Queen Helena, Abgar's widow, who became widely famed as a Christian philanthropist, and was buried with great pomp before one of the gates of Jerusalem, where a splendid mausoleum was erected over her re- mains. He himself had apostatized, and ordered all his people to do likewise ; but most of them refused to obey, and Thaddeus, hearing of it at Caesarea, in Cap- padocia, started for Edessa to reconvert him. Oh his way he fell in with a Roman embassy to Sanadrug, composed of five patricians headed by one Chrysos ; he converted and baptized them all, conferred priest's or- ders on Chrysos, and they gave up all their property 68 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. and became preachers of Christ. They were known as followers of Chrysos, and all eventually obtained the crown of martyrdom. On the news of these conversions, Sanadrug in- vited Thaddeus to Shavarshan; on his arrival he put him to death, and with him his own daughter, San- tukht, who would not give up her faith in Christ. At her death various miracles were wrought, which caused many conversions to Christianity; among them a notable chief, who was baptized with all his family, was renamed Samuel, and was put to death by the king's order. A princess named Zarmantukht also became a con- vert, with all her household, two hundred people in all; the whole of them suffered martyrdom in con- sequence. Dr. Philip Schaff says: " It is now impossible to decide how much truth there may be in the somewhat mythical stories of correspondence between Christ and Abgarus, and the missionary activity and martyrdom of Thaddeus, Bartholomew, Simon of Cana, and Judas Lebbeus. But it is certain that Christianity was in- troduced very early in Armenia." I, however, con- sider what I have told to be true. After this time, Christianity spread in Armenia as it did in other parts of the Greek Empire; rapidly in the cities, where intelligence was quick, and new ideas were welcomed ; slowly in the country districts, where people did not readily change. Its first result every- where was not so much to make people believe in it THE ARMENIAN DYNASTIES. 69 as to make them disbelieve in Paganism; for every person who actually came to believe in Christ, there were fifty who ceased to believe in Jupiter, or Bel, or Thoth, Venus or Astarte. There would be a flourish- ing Christian church in a great city when most of the people did not have any faith in any religion. But everybody who had a family came gradually to think very well of a religion that gave them the power to teach children righteousness, and enforce it by the command of God; and the respectable classes became more and more Christian. But the fact that till two or three centuries after Christ there was no general attempt on the part of the pagan governments to put down the Christfans by persecution, shows that not till then did they become so numerous as to frighten the governments for fear they would before long have a majority; persecution means fear. The governments let the Christians pretty much alone, except for little fits of anger now and then, till they were afraid the growth of the sect would overthrow themselves or bring on civil war. The Christians had become well established in Armenia within a century or so after the death of Christ; but it was over a century and a half before they seemed an imminent menace to the ruling class. Then a furious persecution began, about the same time as that of Diocletian in the Roman Em- pire, and indeed, part of the same movement. Diocle- tian had set the persecuting King Tiridates on his throne, and Tiridates had passed his life from boyhood almost to old age in the Roman service, and had the 70 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. same ideas as the pagan Roman upper classes. Yet in the providence of God this same Tiridates made Christianity supreme in Armenia, fifteen years before Constantino made it supreme in the Eoman Empire, thus making Armenia the first Christian nation. Gregory the Illuminator and King Dertad. In the continual struggle between Rome and Par- thia for the control of Armenia, the Parthian kings had one great advantage; they were Arsacids, and could put their sons or brothers on the Armenian throne with the good-will of the people, thus strength- ening their dynastic position without much cost in military force. Often, too, the Armenian kingship was obtained by Parthian princes, who fled after a family quarrel, or after deposition or other misfortune. One of these Armenian kings was Chosroes, who reigned in the time of Ardashir, the first king of Per- sia, before spoken of. It is not certain just who he was; some say a brother of Ardvan, the last king of Parthia; some say the son of Ardvan, who fled after his father's death. Anyway, he was a mortal enemy of Ardashir, and was at first supported by the Romans. Ardashir invaded Armenia, but was beaten later. Chosroes quarreled with the Romans, who withdrew their support, and assailed him, but he defeated them; and when Ardashir again invaded the country, Chos- roes again drove him back. The old days of Tigranes seemed to have returned, and Armenia to be on the road again to unity and independence; and Chosroes was called the Great. Ardashir was furious at being THE ARMENIAN DYNASTIES. 71 baffled, and is said to have offered his daughter's hand and a share in the kingdom to any one of his leading nobles who would assassinate Chosroes. An Arsacid named Anag accepted the offer, though he had a wife already, and went with his family to Armenia, pretending to be in flight from Persian troops. Chos- roes gave him a military escort into the province of Ardaz, where he lived for a time in the very place St. Thaddeus' bones were deposited. Later on, Anag removed to Vagharshabad (the present city of Etch- miazin, where the Armenian Catholicos resides), Chos- roes' royal city. Here Anag seizing his opportunity, stabbed Chosroes to the heart. In his flight he was drowned in trying to cross the Aras, and his family were massacred by the soldiery. Ardashir had gotten rid of his unconquerable en- emy, and without having to pay the stipulated price. He at once entered Armenia and put to death every member of Chosroes' family save a boy and a girl, Tiridates and Chosrovitukht, who were somehow smug- gled away, and the old game of Perso-Roman foot-ball over Armenia went on as before. Tiridates entered the Roman army, when grown up, and became dis- tinguished there, evidently inheriting his father's mil- itary ability; and remained in the Roman service cer- tainly to the age of over 45, and perhaps till over 50. That the Romans waited all this time before using him as a candidate for the Armenian throne seems strange; but the reason probably is that the early years of his manhood fell in a time when Rome was 72 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. weak and Persia strong. The great Shahpur, Ar- dasliir's son, reigned in Persia till about 272; the imbe- cile Gallienus of Eome reigned from 260 till 268, and was succeeded by a crowd of emperors able indeed, but too short-lived to carry out any steady policy, or drive the Persians out of their strong places. The first emperor who found himself in a position to re- store the Eoman power in the East. was Diocletian, who came to the Koman throne in 284, and it is sig- nificant that he made Tiridates king of Armenia only two years later. As Diocletian was a soldier of for- tune, probably he had known and respected Tiridates long before. Any^vay, in 286 Rome once more had her turn in Armenian affairs, and with one short in- terval, kept absolute control of the country for over half a century. iN'ow there had been bom in Armenia about 257 a child who had early been taken to Caesarea by Chris- tian relatives, baptized, named Gregory, and reared in the Christian faith. On reaching maturity he mar- ried a Christian girl by whom he had two sons; but after three years they separated by mutual consent. The vnie entered a convent. Gregory, hearing of Ti- ridates' renown in the Roman army, went and obtained service near the prince's person, to be able to have influence with him if he ever regained his kingdom. They became fast friends. When Tiridates was pro- claimed king, he went first to Erija, in the province of Egueghatz, where was a temple of Anahid (Diana), whom the Armenians worshiped as guardian goddess THE ARMENIAN DYNASTIES. 78 of the country; and making offerings to her of gar- hjnds and crowns, asked Gregory to join liim in his idolatry. Gregory refused to worship anything hut the one God. Tiridates ordered him imprisoned for a while, thinking the loathsome dungeon of that time would change his resolution; finding him still firm, he had him tortured in a dozen frightful ways, and at last taken to the fortress of Ardashad and thrown into a deep pit, where criminals were left to starve. There Gregory remained fourteen years, supported all that time by the charity of a pious Christian woman. After about ten years of reign, Tiridates was driven from his throne by Persians, and once more became a w^anderer; but two years later he was reinstated by the Romans, and finished his life on the throne. In grat- itude for this second restoration, he had daily offerings made to the heathen gods all over his kingdom; and on being told that the Christians refused to comply, ordered all recusants to be tortured, and their prop- erty confiscated. About this time Diocletian determined to find and marry the handsomest woman in his empire, and sent officers all over in search of noted beauties. One party, hearing that a nun named Ripsime was very beautiful, entered her convent by force, had a portrait made of her, and carried it to the emperor. Diocle- tian was enchanted with it, and ordered preparations made for the nuptials; but the abbess, Kayane, to save the nun from sin, and the community from dan- ger, broke up the convent, and the inmates with sev- 74 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. eral priests — seventy in all — went to the East, and scattered themselves in different localities. Ripsime and Kayane, with thirty-five companions, reached Ar- dashad in Armenia, and took refuge in a building among the vineyards, where wine vats were stored. Diocletian had search made for his flown bird, and, hearing that her company had gone to Armenia, com- manded Tiridates to send her back to him unless he wished to keep her for his own wife. Tiridates had her hunted out, and the officers bringing a report of her extraordinary beauty, so great that people flocked to admire her, he ordered her brought to him, intend- ing to marry her. Kayane exhorted her not to deny Christ for the sake of earthly honors, and she refused to go. She was carried by force, however, and the king undertook to gain a husband's rights at once; but the virgin, strengthened by divine power, resisted him successfully. Tiridates then had the Abbess Kayane brought to him to overcome the girl's scruples; but instead, she once more exhorted Ripsime to keep her- self pure in spite of all offered grandeur. The king once more endeavored to deflower the maiden, and was once more beaten; and Ripsime, opening the doors and passing out through the astonished guards, walked out of the city, to her companions in the vineyard, went to a high place, and knelt down in prayer. The incensed Tiridates sent a body of guards to put her to death by the most dreadful tortures, which was done, and her body cut into small pieces. Her companions gathered to bury her remains, and were at once THE ARMENIAN DYNASTIES. 75 butchered by the soldiery, as well as a sick one, who had stayed behind in the wine press. The bodies of the thirty-four martyrs were thrown into the fields as food for the beasts of prey. The next day Tiridates had Kayane and two other companions put to death. These events occurred on the 5th and 6th of October, 301. Shortly after, God visited the king and many of his household with a dreadful disease for his perse- cution of the saints. They ran around like mad peo- ple or demoniacs. While they were in this state, the king's virgin sister Chosrovitukht had a divine revela- tion that she should go to Ardashad and release Gre- gory from the pit, and he would heal them all. As he had been thrown there fourteen years ago, and was believed to be long dead, no attention was paid to it; but the next day it was repeated five times with threats, and a chief named Oda was sent, who brought him back alive, to their great amazement and joy. They prostrated themselves before him and asked for- giveness, but he told them to worship only their Cre- ator. Then he demanded to be shown the bodies of the holy martyrs lately just slain for belief in Christ; they were found after nine days and nights untouched, and he gathered them up and put them into the wine press, where he also established himself. First he ordered the king and all the people to fast five days, and commended them to the mercy of God ; and after that for sixty consecutive days he preached the word of God, instructing them in all the mysteries of the 7G ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. ChFistian religion. On the sixty-sixth day they again besought him to heal them, but first he made them build three chapels for the relics of the martyrs, each in a separate coffin, wall in the place where he had seen a vision of the Son of God coming down from heaven, and erect a crucifix before which the people should prostrate themselves. Finally, seeing that they all believed in the true God, St. Gregory bade them kneel down and pray to Him for healing; he himself prayed for them at the same time, and a mira- culous cure was at once effected on all the sufferers. This done, Gregory and Tiridates set about ex- terminating idolatry; they smashed the idols and de- molished the temples, the new converts joyfully as- sisting them. The work of conversion went on rapidly, under the wonderful preaching of the Saint, and the zeal of the king; all the people converted were baptized by immersion. In eight years the majority of the Armenian nation, many millions in number, had be- come Christians. That religion was made the State creed of Armenia in 310, while the Council of Nice, which did the same work for Rome, was not held till 325. Gregory deserves every credit for this magnificent work ; but I cannot help wishing he had been less zeal- ous in destroying the pagan literature, which is a very great loss to the world. However, Christianity is worth it, if we could not have it at a less price. Schools, as well as churches and benevolent in- stitutions, were organized in great numbers under THE ARMENIAN DYNASTIES. 77 Christian auspices during the next two or three cen- turies, and a brilliant band of scholars and preachers went out from them, the equals of any in their age, and perhaps in any age. I will give sketches of some of the principal figures, but first let me briefly tell the history of Armenia during that period. The rivalry between Rome and Persia grew fiercer than ever with the introduction of Christianity, for now religious hate was added to political ambition; and on the side of Persia the Armenian difficulties were doubled, for a considerable part of the Armenians were still Zoroastrians, and sympathized with the Per- sians against their own government, while many of the Persians had become Christian, and opposed their pagan rulers. Thus the Persians felt that they had a civil war on their hands as well as foreign wars, and persecuted their Christians horribly. On the other hand, they had the help of the pagan part of the Ar- menians in invading or controlling that state; still again, the Armenian Christians now favored the Ro- mans much more strongly than they had before, be- cause Rome was now Christian ; while on top of all were the great barons, almost independent of the nominal kings, and who favored neither party but wanted their feudal independence. Yet the Roman control of the kingship, for what it was worth, lasted without a break for over half a century after the victory of Christian- ity, and over three-quarters of a century from the ac- cession of Tiridates; which was due largely to the great ability of the Roman emperors Diocletian and 78 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. Constantine, and the excellent administration and mil- itary organization they left, which saved the eastern provinces from Persia for over a quarter of a century after Constantine's death. Shahpur II, of Persia, won many victories, but he could not hold even the places he captured, and he gained no territory till the death of " Julian the Apostate " in his Persian cam- paign of 363. His weak and frightened successor Jovian surrendered a great section of the Eastern Ro- man territory, and still more disgracefully agreed that the Eomans should not help their ally Arshag (Ar- saces), king of Armenia, against Shahpur. Armenia was at once invaded, but she felt her national existence at stake, and fought with desperation. Though Shah- pur had the help of two apostate Armenian princes, Merujan and Vahan, and other native traitors, who ravaged the country and fought their king because he was a Christian, Arshag held out four years, aided by his heroic though unprincipled wife Parantzem, and his able chief commander Yashag. Vagharshabad, Ardashad, Ervandshad, and many other cities were taken and destroyed ; finally Arshag and Yashag were captured. Arshag's eyes were put out, and he was thrown into a Persian dungeon in Ecbatana; Yashag was flayed alive, and his skin stuffed and set near the king. Queen Parantzem still refused to surrender, and with 11,000 soldiers and 6,000 fugitive women held the fortress of Ardis fourteen months, till nearly all of them were dead from hunger or disease; then she opened the gates herself. Instead of honoring her, THE ARMENIAN DYNASTIES. 79 Shahpur, who was a worthy predecessor of the Turks, had her violated on a public platform by his soldiers, and then impaled (368). Meantime, her and Ashag'a son, Bab (Papa), had escaped to Constantinople and afeked the help of the co-Emperor Valens. That em- peror hated to break the treaty, and involve Rome in a new eastern war; but he could not suffer Persia to be strengthened by the possession of all Armenia, and the Roman statesmen had determined to end the long struggle over Armenia by dividing it between Persia and themselves. Bab was secretly helped by the Ro- mans; he kept up a guerrilla warfare in the mountains, and a large part of the Armenian people were pre- pared to welcome him back to his rightful throne. The Romans tried to keep within the letter of their treaty by not letting him assume the title of king. The Persians considered his support by Greek troops a breach of the treaty, none the less, and Valens al- ternately aided and disavowed him. The matter was not mended by the worthless character of Bab himself, who murdered his best friends on the least suspicion, and had the incredible bareness to hold a secret cor- respondence with Shahpur, the worse than murderer of his parents. Finally the Romans, convinced that he must be under their watch if they were to have any security of him, tolled him down to Cilicia, and pre- vented him from returning by guards of soldiers. He made his escape, and professed his allegiance to the Romans as before; but Yalens resolved to be rid of 80 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. him, and had him murdered by Count Trajan, the Roman commander in the East. Meantime a powerful Roman army under Count Trajan, and the chief Persian host, had actually camped opposite each other on the borders of Armenia (371) ; but neither side wanted a general war just then, — Rome must have her hands free for the Goths, and Persia hers for the Mongols. Finally, in 379, Shah- pur died, and there was an instant and entire change in Persian policy toward Rome, and even toward Chris- tianity for a while. His brother and successor, Ar- dashir, was an old man, and reigned but four years; his successor, Shahpur III, at once sent embassies to Rome, and made a treaty of peace (384). Finally, on the succession of Bahram IV (Kirman Shah), in 390, that monarch arranged a treaty of partition with Theodosius, the Roman emperor, by which Armenia ceased to exist. The western portion became a Ro- man province ; the then reigning sovereign, Arshag IV, was made governor to keep the people contented. The eastern, and much the larger section, was annexed to Persia, under the name of Persarmenia; and to please the people, an Arsacid, Chosroes IV, was made gov- ernor, and the dynasty was continued in its rule over the Armenians till after the great Perso-Roman war of 421-2, and the persecution of Christians by Persia, which was the pretext of it. The persecution and the war led to a movement for Armenian independence; after it was over, Bahram V of Persia (Gor, the Wild Ass, " the mighty hunter ") put a new vassal, Ar- THE AR^IENIAN DYNASTIES. 81 dashes IV, into the governorship; but the great Ar- menian barons would not give up the struggle, and this last of the Arshagoonian dynasty was removed in 428 and Persian governors substituted. Thus ended the rule of the line of Arshag. It was a mighty race, and swarms with brilliant names; but in Persia it was justly displaced by one of better public policy, and in Armenia the position of the country was fatal to it. THE INTERREGNUM. Prominent Men; Litera.ture; The Church and the Clergy. yFrom the time of the partition to the succession of the Pakradoonian dynasty there was not in name an Armenian kingdom; but it must not be supposed that there was not an Armenian nation. No matter how its neighbor nations changed, that country was always called Armenia, and the people held to their Armenian ways and feelings. The national feeling was as strong as before, and above all the feeling of church unity was very intense. No one will ever understand Armenian history, or indeed any Oriental history at all, who does not realize that religious ques- tions come first, and political questions second. The Armenian church was, it is true, a Christian church; but it was the Armenian Christian church, not the Greek church, and the Syrian and African churches had their separate creeds and preferences, and the Greek church, which was the official church of the Greek Empire, was always trying to root out their 6 82 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. " heresies " and make them Greek. ) That was one rea- son why the Mohammedans conquered those countries so easily. The Africans would rather be ruled by the Mohammedans than by the Greek church, the Syrians were angry because the Greek church wanted to take away their own church and give them the Greek. But the Armenians would not take either the Greek or the Mohammedan or the Zoroastrian; they wanted their own. So they were persecuted ter- ribly by the Greek Christians and the Persian fire- worshipers alike. Just as before the partition, each country invaded the other's part of Armenia when- ever they got into war; and whichever won, the Ar- menians were the losers. When the Greeks won, they tortured the Armenians; when the Persians won, they tortured the Armenians; later, when the Mohamme- dans won, they also tortured the Armenians. The mediaeval history of Armenia is that of a battle- ground between contending races — Greeks, Per- sians, Scythians, Arabs, Seljuk Turks, Ottoman Turks, Mongols, and so on. Millions of its people were slain; millions died of famine and disease; millions of its women were forced to embrace Mohammedanism and become the wives and mothers of Mohammedans, — half the blood of those who are called Turks at this day is Armenian; millions of its boys were forced into the Turkish service, so that many of the best-known names in Turkish history, and in the Turkey of to- day, are Armenian names. Yet through all these ca- THE ARMENIAN DYNASTIES. 83 lamities and decimations Armenia has kept its national life and national religion. From 390 to 640 the history of both sections of Armenia is little more than an account of religious persecutions and their results; the persecutors on the one side were Christians, and on the other side Zoroas- trians, but the results to the Armenians were much the same. The Persian atrocities, however, were on the larger scale, and the outcome was a chronic state of revolt, which will be alluded to in the sketch of Vartan the defender. But the rise of the Saracen power changed Armenians greatest foe from the Per- sian to the Arab, from the fire-worshipers to the Mo- hammedans. Persia was invaded by the forces of the caliph Omar in 634, and about 640-2 the decisive battle of ^N^ehavend annihilated the last great Persian army, though scattered places held out much longer. The Armenian highlands at once resumed their inde- pendence, and their chiefs, with those of the western section belonging to the Byzantine Empire, fought for their own hand in lack of a true national chief whom all could look up to, but allied themselves mainly with the Greek power against the barbarians; and for two entire centuries, and more, Armenia was a furious and bloody battle-ground between Greeks and Sar- acens, while internally in a state of feudal anarchy. Then a prince of the family of Pakrad or Bagrat (well- known to students of the last century's history in the form of Bagration), of Jewish descent, as has already been mentioned, which had obtained power over the 84 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. central and northern parts of Armenia, was recognized by the caliph as an independent monarch; and thus founded the Pakradoonian dynasty, which lasted till Armenia's independence was once more extinguished by the Byzantine Empire, — a crime almost immedi- ately punished by the overwhelming of Asia Minor by the Seljuk Turks. PROMINENT MEN OF THE PERIOD. NiERSEs The Great. This was the great creator of Armenian scholar- ship. He was a descendant of St. Gregory; studied in the Greek schools of Caesarea during boyhood ; later in those of Constantinople, where he became famous for learning, married a Greek princess of a distin- guished house, and on his return to Armenia was made pontiff. (All the clergy were married then, as the Greek priests are now.) He founded over 2,000 schools, and benevolent institutions, as well as great numbers of churches, was a powerful and persuasive preacher, and a considerable writer, part of the Church history being his. From these schools went forth a very brilliant band of scholars, preachers and orators, the equals of any in the world. It was during his pontificate that the affairs of Arshag and Bab took place, and he was intimately con- nected with them till his death at the hands of the lat- ter. Previous to the desertion of Armenia by the Eomans in 363, they had quarreled with Arshag, and sent an army to punish him ; but on Merses' interces- sion with Yalens it was recalled, and the Saint obtained THE ARMENIAN DYNASTIES. 85 high favor with the emperor. Arshag's conduct, how- ever, grew too bad for endurance; he had his father and a rehitive named Kuenel (or Gnel) killed, and mar- ried KueneFs wife, Parantzem (who afterwards met such a horrible fate), though his own wife, Olympias, was still alive. Nierses, finding admonition of no avail, quitted Vagharshabad and went into a convent. But Arshag, getting into fresh difficulties with the emperor and his own rebellious vassals, besought the saint to assist him once more, and once more Nierses complied. He first pacified the turbulent nobility; then interceded with the Roman commander to such effect that the general withdrew his army and went to Constantinople to justify himself to the emperor, taking a letter to him from Arshag, and hostages for the latter^s loyalty, and also inducing Nierses to ac- company him. But Valens was enraged at the with- drawal, would neither read the letter nor see the saint, and ordered the hostages killed and INTierses banished. The former sentence was revoked on the general's in- tercession, but Nierses was shipped for his place of exile; on the way a storm wrecked the vessel on a desert island, but he and the crew were saved. It was winter, and they could find no food but the roots of trees, but in a short time the sea miraculously cast abundance of fish on shore, and for eight months they never suffered for sustenance. At the end of that time the saint was set free. After the restoration of Bab to the land, though not the acknowledged throne of his fathers, Nierses 86 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. convened an assembly of Armenian princes and eccle- siastical heads, with the king, and swore them all to mutual concord and good behavior, to unite the land against the Persians; but Bab, like so many Eastern potentates and indeed his father, cared for nothing but to indulge his own passions, and would have sold his country to Shahpur if he could have got his price. Nierses in vain tried to turn him from his evil ways; Bab merely hated him for it, and finally had him pois- oned, in the village of Khakh in the province of Eghue- ghiatz. Nierses had been pontiff eight years, but they were crowded with labors of immense variety and use- fulness. He left one son (Isaac), who eventually be- came pontiff also. Sahag and Mesrob. Isaac was educated at Constantinople like his father, and had at first no thought of being a great churchman, but only of leading the life of a noble. He was always, however, of a very pure and lofty char- acter, a marked contrast to the proud and dissolute no- bility around him; and after the early death of his wife, devoted himself to religious seclusion, into which he was followed by sixty disciples. In 389, a few years after his father's death, he was called out to fill the pontificate, once more vacant. This was the year before the partition of Armenia; but even after that, though the country was divided, the church was not. The Armenian Church was still one, with a single head; but the appointment of that head was of such THE ARMENIAN DYNASTIES. 87 immense political importance that, as the king had be- fore claimed the deciding voice in it, so now each power insisted on being satisfied, — no easy matter. Some of the nobles who opposed Chosroes of Persarmenia now complained to the king of Persia that the ap- pointment of the new pontiif had been made without his consent, in order to foment a rebellion, and make Armenia independent again; and the king deposed Isaac. Shortly after, however, a new king reinstated him; and a new vassal king being put in Chosroes' place, and the country more quiet, St. Isaac began to repair the churches, which had fallen into decay, — entirely rebuilding that of St. Kipsime, destroyed by Shahpur, in the course of which he discovered St. Gregory's urn sealed with his cross-engraven signet. About this time St. Mesrob began to be famous for sanctity. He was a scholar well versed in Greek, Syrian, and Persian, as well as his native tongue ; had been secretary to St. Nierses, and after his death re- mained at court under the patronage of a prince named Aravan, where he became chancellor. Finally he became wearied of earthly glory and court corrup- tions, and entered a convent, whither many disciples were attracted by his learning and sanctity. Hearing of St. Isaac's beneficent deeds, however, he left the convent and attached himself to him; and under his authority preached and taught in all parts of the pro- vince. We are told that by the aid of the chief of Koghten he extirpated a diabolic heathen sect in that province. But his fame is chiefly as having begun 88 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. with Isaac the Golden Age of Armenian- literature; I shall speak of this a little later. Barouyr or Bkoyebios. We must not judge the ability and reputation of men in their own ages solely by the familiarity of their names to us; those that have come down to us are a mere handful, and not by any means always the greatest of their time. Much depends on chance — the preservation of certain works, and the loss of others, or certain men happening to do something dramatic. Great orators are especially likely to be forgotten; they leave no written works of their own, and not being in political life, the common histories do not mention them. The name of Barouyr is wholly unknown to this age; but we have the testimony of a contemporary writer, Eunapius of Sardis, — not a countryman of his, and therefore free from all suspi- cion of patriotic brag, and most unlikely to make out an Armenian greater than he was, — that he was the most wonderful orator of his time, famous all over the Eoman world, and greatly admired even by the em- perors. He was one of those men to whom all languages seem alike to come by nature, and his oratory was as easy and as perfect in one as in the other; in Latin or Greek as in his national Armenian. The only com- parison I can give in modem times is Louis Kossuth. That Barouyr has not the fame of Cicero or Demosthe- nes, Kossuth or Gladstone, is probably because under the circumstances of the time he could not engage in THE ARMENIAN DYNASTIES. B^ political life ; military service or high birth were about the only avenues to that. I will quote in substance what Eunapius says of this brilliant orator, whom he probably knew all about, as our boys know Gladstone, — for he was born in 347, and Barouyr was certainly alive in the time of the Emperor Julian, who came to the throne in 361: — Barouyr lived to be ninety, and was beautiful even in old age, having the vigor of youth in his looks. He was eight feet high. When a boy he left Armenia and went to Antioch, the first seat of the Christians, and entered the school of oratory under the celebrated Albianos, where he shortly became the fore- most pupil. Thence he went to Athens and studied under Julian, the greatest of the teachers of oratory there, — supporting himself by working meantime, as he was very poor; in no long time he was recognized as the leading orator of Athens, and taught the art to the Athenians. The other teachers were so angry that they bribed the governor to banish him; but on the govenior's removal some time after, he was per- mitted to return. The new governor instituted an oratorical competition ; whoever could deliver the best extempore oration on a subject to be given out on the spot, should receive great honors. Barouyr took part on condition that the auditors should take careful notes, and should not cheer; but they were so fascinated that they broke both conditions, listening in rapture and applauding repeatedly. The governor offered him his chair, and honored him as the greatest orator in Athens. 90 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. Later, the Emperor Constans was so struck with his wisdom and oratorical power that he called him first to Gaul and then to Eome, where he delivered his greatest orations, and the Romans erected a bronze monument in his honor, inscribed " Regina Rerum Romae, Regi Eloquentiae " (Rome Queen of Affairs, to the King of Eloquence). From Rome he returned to Athens, and taught there many years with great repute, up to the time of the Emperor Julian, who honored him, and spoke as follows of him : ^' Barouyr was a flowing river of oratory, and in power and per- suasiveness of speech was like Pericles." And I must add that with all this he was a thorough Christian man, — not a priest, but a great Christian layman and teacher. Vartan, Defender of the Faith. Yartan Mamigonian is the most esteemed and be- loved name in Armenian history. Tiridates founded the Christian kingdom; but when the religion was in danger of extermination throughout Persian Armenia at the hands of the fire-worshipers, Vartan saved it, and died for it, a faithful servant of God and his Sav- iour. It was said of him that he was an honest, mod- est, wise, brave, true, pure, childlike, and Christ- like Christian commander, a great soldier of the Cross. He was a lamb in nature, but when he came to defend his religion he was a lion. As a little boy he was so full of grace that the Pontiff Sahag adopted him as his son; and through this companionship of the aged ec- THE ARMENIAN DYNASTIES. ftl clesiastic and the religious boy, the latter developed into a great spiritual light. In 421 he went to Con- stantinople with St. Mesrob, and was much loved and esteemed by the emperor (Theodosius II) and the court; then to Persia, where the king honored him and gave him the title of prince. In 439 Yazdegerd II of Persia succeeded his fa- ther, Bahram V, the destroyer of the Arsacid dynasty, and began a furious persecution of both Jews and Christians, which lasted a dozen years, and ended in a complete victory for religious freedom. The king, like James I of England, fancied himself a great the- ologian, and could always be victorious in a debate by killing his opponent. One specimen will suffice. He called a convocation of Armenian priests and noble- men, and commanded them to embrace fire-worship on pain of death. " Your Christ cannot save you," said he, " for He is crucified and dead." " Oh my gracious king," replied a young nobleman, " why did you not read further about Christ ? He was indeed crucified, but rose again, ascended to Heaven, and is living now and our Saviour." The king in a rage had his head struck off. Finally in 450 the people of Persian Armenia rose in revolt, and determined to fight for their religion. Yartan took command of them, and showed himself the ablest commander of his time. For a year he held at bay the overwhelming forces of the Persian Empire, and was victorious in every battle, even to the last, — a striking parallel to Judas Maccabaeus in historical 92 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. position, as well as military ability. Finally the forces were arrayed for battle on tlie banks of the Dugh- mood river, in the plains of Avarayr, near the present city of Van. Yartan had 66,000 men, the Persians several times as many. Yartan prayed to God for help, and to Christ for his own salvation ; then he made a speech to his soldiers, in substance as follows: — ^* Soldiers, as Christians we are averse from fighting; but to defend the Christian religion and our own free- dom we have to fight. Surely our lives are not as val- uable as Christ's, and if he was willing to die on the cross for us, we ought to be willing to die in battle for him." Then, with his troops, he crossed the river, fell on the enemy's center, and scattered the huge army in rout, killing 3,544 men besides nine great princes, and losing 1,036 of his own; but alas ! one of these was himself, dying from a mortal wound not long after. Nevertheless, he had won the victory he was striving for. Yazdegerd saw it was impossible to conquer the Armenians in a war for religion, and granted entire liberty to the Christians to believe and preach as they pleased. ARMENIAN LITERATURE. Fifth Century. The Armenian schools and universities and their outpour of great scholars and writers have already been spoken of, but of course Armenian youths, eager for the best of the world's learning, did not confine themselves to their own country ; they studied in Con- THE ARMENIAN DYNASTIES. 98 stantinople, Athens, Antioch, Alexandria, and wher- ever great teachers were located. All were zealous Christians, and the books they have left behind were Christian literature, not works of mere enjoyment. A very rich and valuable literature it is, too, in my judg- ment the most so of any single body that exists; though much of it has perished in the recent destruction of everything Christian the Turks can reach. My readers will not credit my opinion of it, because most of it has never been translated, but that makes it all the more valuable now, it has so much that is new to add to the stores of the world. It is not necessary to give them all, but to point out the chief writers. The fifth century is called the Golden Age of Ar- menian literature. First in point of time as well as importance comes the Armenian Bible. The furi- ous opposition of the Church in the Middle Ages to letting the people have the Bible to read in their own tongues seems perfectly ridiculous, when we remem- ber that in the early Christian church every people had it in their own language, and it was thought to be the greatest work for a heathen people that could be done, to translate the Bible for them. It was not thought needful then to keep the word of God in a strange tongue, so that the people could neither read it for themselves nor understand it when it was read to them. There were probably some books of popular tales and songs in Armenia before the fifth century, for we are told that there was an Armenian alphabet to write them in as early as the second, but if so they have 94 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. all perished, and the alphabet was doubtless a poor and meager one. Armenian scholars and writers read Greek or Latin books, and occasionally Hebrew or Syriac ones, and wrote in Greek or Latin themselves; if it was necessary to write Armenian, as in letters, they made the Greek, Syriac, or Persian characters, which of course were insufficient to give the Armenian sounds. They would have got along with this, how- ever, if it had not been for the eagerness of Chris- tian enthusiasm which made them wish to give the Bible to Armenia; it was to spread the word of God, not to write books, that they were anxious. St. Mes- rob set to work and invented a very perfect alphabet of thirty-six letters, to which two have been added since. According to one of his disciples, having vainly sought help from the learned, he prayed to God, and received the new alphabet in a vision. This was about 405. Lie and Saha^ the Pontiff at once began to translate the New Testament and the Book of Pro- verbs from a poor Greek version, the best they had, with the assistance of two pupils, John of Eghueghi- atz and Joseph of Baghin. This was finished in 406. Many years later (seemingly about the time Persian Armenia was made a satrapy), they undertook the translation of the Old Testament; but as the Persians had destroyed all the Greek MSS., it was necessary to use a Syriac version. The same two assistants aided them; but being sent to the Council of Ephesus in 431, they brought back copies of the Greek Septuagint, and the old translation was at once dropped, and a new one THE ARIVLENIAN DYNASTIES. 95 put under way. But all found their knowledge of Greek too imperfect to rely on, and the pupils were sent to Alexandria and Athens to complete their educa- tion ; on their return they seem to have brought a new Alexandrian version, and corrections were made from that, and the work completed, most likely about 435. The Bible completed, they turned to other labors. The Saints Sahag and Mesrob are said to have written six hundred books themselves, all in Christian theology and instruction; and the pupils from the schools St. Nierses and themselves had founded — the chief of their own were at ISToravank, Ayri, and Vochkhoroz — wrote great numbers besides. The first orig- inal work of Sahag was one on Pastoral Theol- ogy, setting forth that the Church of Christ is the Bride of Christ, and the ministers must therefore be holy, pure, and obedient. He wrote many epistles to kings and emperors, all of whom reverenced and were greatly influenced by him. He wrote a large part of the Armenian Church History, composed many hymns, and translated many commentaries and theo- logical works from the Greek. Fortunately during this period the government of Armenia was very good, with the exception of one period of two years or so; even after its partition, for close on forty years it had practically self-government in internal affairs, and for another decade the Chris- tians enjoyed full rights of worship. Bahram lY of Persia (389-899), who helped divide it, was a mon- arch who loved peace above all things, both with for- 96 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. eign countries and his own people; his successor, Yaz- degerd 1 (399-420), went even further, employed the Catholicos or Pontiff on embassies to Constantinople, and as mediator with his own brother, and made his son, Shahpur, governor of Persian Armenia, con- tinuing the Arsacid dynasty. He was murdered by his nobles, instigated by the Zoroastrian priests, for being too tolerant to the Christians, and his successor Bahram V, who got the throne by favor of the re- bellious elements, tried to please them by persecuting the Christians; this involved him in a war with Kome, as I have said, and after a couple of years he made peace and gave toleration again. The turning of Per- sian Armenia into a satrapy in 428 I have already told; but no fresh persecution was undertaken till that of Yazdegerd II, in 439, ending in Yartan's revolt just detailed. Shahpur of Armenia was a prince of great wisdom, generosity, and public spirit; he patronized men of learning, founded schools, made large grants from the treasury for scholarship, and sent scholars to all the great seats of learning to teach and acquire the languages, literature, and history of other nations, after which they wrote and translated hundreds of volumes. Among them were Tavit, Khosrov, Mam- pre, and Zazar; a great historian, Eghishe (Elisaeus), author of the Life of Vartan ; and a great philosopher, Yeznic. These are only a few out of scores worthy of mention. Dr. Philip Schaff says : — " In spite of the unfa- vorable state of political and social affairs in Armenia THE ARMENIAN DYNASTIES. 97 during this epoch, more than six hundred Greek and Syrian works were translated within the first forty years after the translation of the Bible; and as in many cases the original works have perished, while the translations have been preserved, the great im- portance of this whole literary activity is apparent. Among works which in this way have come down to us are several books by Philo-Alexandrinus, on Providence, on reason, commentaries, etc. ; the Chron- icle of Eusebius, nearly complete ; the epistles of Igna- tius, translated from a Syrian version; fifteen Homilies by Severianus; the exegetical writings of Ephraim Syrus, previously completely unknown, on the his- torical books of the Old Testament, the synoptical gos- pels, the parables of Jesus, and the fourteen Pauline epistles; the Hexahemeron of Basil the Great; the Cat- echesis of Cyril of Jerusalem; several homilies by Chrysostom, etc. The period, however, was not char- acterized by translations only. Several of the dis- ciples of Mesrob and Sahak left original works. Es- nik wrote four books against heretics, printed at Venice in 1826, and translated into French by Le Vailliant de Florival, Paris, 1853. A biography of Mesrob by Koriun, homilies by Mambres, and various writings by the Philosopher David, have been pub- lished ; and the works of Moses Chorenensis, published in Venice in 1842, and again in 1864, have acquired a wide celebrity ; his history of Armenia has been trans- lated into Latin, French, Italian, and Russian." Sixth Century. The leading authors in this century are Abraham Mamigonian, who wrote on the Council of Ephesus; and Bedross Sounian, who wrote on the Life of Christ. There are, however, many others of merit. 98 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. Seventh Century. By far the greatest name in this century, and in- deed the best-known and most important name in Ar- menian literature altogether, is the writer who calls himself Movses Khorentzi, well known to all his- torical scholars as Moses of Chorene, author of the History of Armenia. For more than a thousand years, up to this century, indeed, this was practically the only source of Armenian history to the world; the other writers were inaccessible. And it is still very valuable, though not in just the way it was once thought to be. It preserves a vast amount of Ar- menian tradition, stories and ballads, and real history, which have perished except for this work; but he seems not to have had the Greek and Latin histories to draw from, and makes a great many mistakes. He gives a life of himself, and says he is writing in the fifth century, and knew Sahag and Mesrob when he was young; but he really lived in the seventh, and wrote history about the year 640. But still he is a great writer, and one of Armenia's literary lights; and we do not need to claim for him anything more than he deserves. Besides Movses, the chief authors were Gomidas, Yezr, Matossagha, Krikoradour, Hovhannes, Yertanes, and Anania. They wrote chiefly religious books; but Anania Shiragatzi is the author of a valuable work on astronomy. Eighth Century. The leading authors were: Hovhan Imassdasser, THE ARMENIAN DYNASTIES. 99 Sdepannoss Sounetzi, and Levont Yeretz. They wrote hymns, books on oratory, etc. Ninth Century. Zakaria Shabooh, Toonia, Kourken, etc. Tenth Century. The chief authors were Anania, Khasrov, and Krikor ^aregatzi. The latter wrote a prayer book in ninety-five chapters, which one of the missionaries of the American Board thinks the best in the world. He says that only Beecher was able to offer such prayers as Krikor Naregatzi. Eleventh Century. The leading writers were Hovhannes, Krikor, and Aristagues. In this century some of the best com- mentaries were written on the Bible. Twelfth Century. Leading authors: Verses Shinorhali is the fore- most of Armenian poets, and a thoroughly con- verted and consecrated man of God. His hymns were intensely spiritual, and the Armenians still chant them in their churches. They are worthy to be trans- lated into English. Nerses Lampronatzi, the greatest scholar ever born in Armenia, was a distinguished commentator on the Old Testament, and wrote many other books. Another is Yeremia. Again T quote from the Schaff-Herzog Encyclo- paedia: — "Another flourishing period falls in the twelfth century, during the Rubenian dynasty. IN'er- 100 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. ses Klagensis and Nerses Lambronensis belong to this period; also Ignatius, whose commentary to the Gos- pel of St. Luke appeared in Constantinople in 1735 and 1824; Sargis Shnorhali, whose commentary on the Catholic Epistles was published in Constantinople in 1743, and again in 1826; Matthew of Edessa, whose history, comprising the period from 952 to 1132, and continued by Gregory the Priest to 1163, contains many interesting notices concerning the Crusaders; Samuel Aniensis, the chronologist; Michael Syrus, whose history has been edited with a French transla- tion by V. Langlois, Paris, 1864; Mekhitar Kosh, of whom a hundred and ninety fables appeared at Venice, 1780 and 1812. A most powerful impulse the Ar- menian literature received in the eighteenth century by the foundation of the Mekhitarist monastery in Venice, from whose press the treasures of the Ar- menian literature were spread over Europe, and new works, explaining and completing the old, were added. The Armenian liturgy was published in 1826, the breviary in 1845, the ritual in 1831." Thikteenth Century. Leading authors : — Krikor Sguevratzi, Kevork Sguevratzi, Mukhitar Anetzi, Vanagan Vartabed, Var- tan Vartabed, etc. They wrote histories, commen- taries, etc. As the Armenian dynasties ended in the fourteenth century, I will reserve my notes on the later literature till towards the end of the book. The peculiar value of the Armenian literature is not realized as it should be, by European and Ameri- can scholars; the language is well worth learning for what it can give the student. IN'ot alone is the original THE ARMENIAN DYNASTIES. 101 work that conies from the first Ohvi^tma Kation sp^ cially valuable for its bearing oii primitive Chris- tianity, but the Armenian scholah^ translated; ^vMi numbers of works from other languages, and these translations are preserved in Armenian monaste- ries when the originals have been irretrievably lost in the wars, and burnings, and devastations of other countries. Six hundred volumes of this old literature are known to exist now, two hundred in Europe, and four hundred in different places in Armenia. THE ARMENIAN CHURCH. The first thing to remember about this is, that it is an independent and separate body as much as the Greek or the Roman Catholic church, and older than either of them. I often hear such expressions as " the Armenian Catholic Church," and many people think it simply a " branch " of the great Eastern or Greek Church. It would be just as sensible to con- sider the Greek a branch of the Armenian Church. Each of them represents a form of church organization and body of doctrine which best satisfied the repre- sentatives of certain races or nations ; the advantage of the Greek was that that race — or at least its speech and thought — happened to be dominant in the Ro- man Empire at the time when Christianity won the battle, and so had the official backing of the em- pire, and was able to outgrow and crush down the others. It was not any truer, any more the real Church of Christ, than the Syrian or African or Ar- 102 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. menian; It was next the earliest, for the very first Christiaji .Qhurches sprang from the Jews; it was not even the eaaiiest/gTGai: national church body, for the Armenian church has that distinction. It had the most soldiers back of it to put down its opponents, that is all. I have already told the story of the foundation of the Armenian church by St. Gregory and Tiridates. That church has its own head — the Catholicos or Pon- tiff, who is no more a subordinate of either the Pope or the Greek Patriarch than the Grand Llama is, or Dr. Parkhurst — and its own self-subsistent being. - -As to the differences between them, in the first place the Armenian is a purely Trinitarian. There is no room for Unitarianism within its lines. When Gregory the Illuminator was preaching his sermons on the hills and plains of Armenia, he laid the founda- tion of the national church in the Trinity. His first sermon was on the Trinity ; his last sermon was on the Trinity. In all his sermons he asserted the Trinity, — the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Jesus Christ being a perfect Man and a perfect God; in his person we see God in man and man in God; a perfect Emmanuel, God with us. We see in him that man can be united with God. The only possible way of salva- tion is through Jesus Christ. He is the Saviour of the world and none else, and whosoever believeth in Him shall be saved. This is the belief and the only be- lief of the Armenian Church. Its members repeat the Apostolic Creed and the Lord's Prayer every day in their churches. I say every day because Armen- THE ARMENIAN DYNASTIES. 103 ians go to church every day, — twice, morning and evening, and three times on Sunday. Secondly, the Armenian has never been a per- secuting church, and every other one of the great Christian churches has been. The Armenian church, as befits the first and most Christ-like of all the bodies that professed Christ before Luther's time, has always been the broadest, the most inclusive, the most un- technical of churches. It fellowships with all other churches. It demands only that men shall profess and believe in Christ, and live Christian lives ; not that one shall belong to its own church body. Its canons are conversion and regeneration, purity, holiness, being bom again from the Holy Spirit and becoming Christ- like. It holds that Christianity is brotherhood through Jesus Christ, and gives no warrant for op- pression or persecution, curses or anathemas. I need hardly say that it is alone in this of the older churches. The others hold that no one can be saved outside of their own bodies; hence they fulminate anathemas against all others, and have the anathemas read in their churches, and they persecute others to compel them to join themselves, or rid the world of a possible danger that their own members may be tolled outside. The Greek Church, where it has full power, will not even allow people of other creeds to come into its coun- try ; for example, in Croatia a Protestant is not allowed to live there at all, and the people said in the Hungar- ian Diet that " intolerance was the most precious of their rights." The Russian Greek Church will not 104 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. permit a Protestant missionary in Kussia. Where the Koman Catholic power is complete, it is just as intoler- ant. The Armenian church has been repeatedly per- secuted by both, and has always protested against the principle of it, as well as against the pretensions of the Popes to universal sway. It is fairly entitled to be called the first Protestant Church. That the Armenian contention is for freedom of will, freedom of conscience, freedom of worship, and political freedom, is the cause of their being hated both by the Mohammedans and by their so-called Chris- tian neighbors; but it ought to be also a reason why Americans, who believe in these things themselves, should sympathize with us. If the Armenians would accept Mohammedanism, would the Turks persecute them ? Xo. If they would accept Koman Catholic- ism would the Turks persecute them ? No, for the Catholic states would not permit it. If they would accept the Greek Church, would the Turks persecute them ? No, for Eussia would not permit it. But j,s they are an independent church the others are in- terested in persecuting them, and nobody is interested in defending them. If there is any help to come to them it will not be from the old churches of Europe, but from Protestant Anglo-Saxons helping their spirit- ual brethren, the Anglo-Saxons of the East; and it will be found, when the great battle comes, that the Slavonic, Greek, and Catholic churches will be on the side of the Mohammedans against the Armenian Chris- THE ARMENIAN DYNASTIES. 105 tiaiis. But that battle will come, and the victory will be on the side of freedom and righteousness. As to theological questions, the Armenian Church ) fathers did not pay much attention to them. Not be- cause they were not able, but because they were too able, and very far-sighted. They knew well that such questions can never be solved, no matter how many centuries pass away, no matter how great scholars the world produces; therefore they would not enter into the debate. And so every Armenian scholar has his own theology. I confess that the Armenian Church has not a theology, or an especial official doc- trine; and this is a very fortunate thing for the Ar- menians. They care more for righteousness of life than for particular beliefs about the way of getting it. When there was a great controversy in the Coun- cil of Chalcedon, 451 A. D., about the nature of Christ, Armenians did not care about it. Some of the great theologians said Christ had two natures; some said he had only one nature; the Armenian bishops would not give any opinion. They believe in Christ as their Saviour, that is the essential thing; but whether He has two natures or one nature is not essential. Then came the controversy about the Holy Spirit. Whence does the Holy Spirit proceed ? Some say from the Father and the Son, some simply from the Father. When the question came before the Armenian bishops they replied that they did not care whence He pro- ceeds. They know that they need the Holy Spirit for guidance in spiritual life, for regeneration; they 106 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. know that the Holy Spirit is one of the persons in the Trinity; and that is enough for them. No\v I would ask, do the theologians of the nine- teenth century agree on such questions, or any other theological question ? x\re the theologians of the coming centuries going to agree on them ? I leave this to the scholars of Europe and America. I sim- ply state that I studied in three different theological seminaries in America; first in Oberlin, in 1880; sec- ond in Union Theological Seminary, New York, in 1881; and finally I was graduated from the Chicago Theological Seminary. But I never saw a theologian who could agree with any other, and have no hope ever to see any such. President Fairchild of Oberlin differed from Professor Shedd of New York, and Pro- fessor Boardman of Chicago did not agree with either of them; and I never agreed with any of them, and as an Armenian I have my own theology. So every reader of this book will see that the Armenian scholars had the best judgment, far-sightedness, and common sense of those in any or all the communions. In- stead of theological controversies, they preached the gospel and reached the masses, for the Kingdom of Christ. THE ARMENIAN CLERGY. The Armenian clergy are divided into three classes: the pastor, the preacher, and the presiding bishop. The pastor is called Yeretz, the preacher is called Yartabed, and the presiding bishop is called Yebisgobos (Episcopus). The presiding bishop or- - THE ARMENIAN DYNASTIES. 107 (lains the preacher and the teacher. The Armenians believe in apostolic succession, and they believe in immersion. Baptism can be administered both to grown people and to children, if they are the children of members of the church ; but always by immersion, and in the name of the Father, the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. If you unite the present Episcopal church with the Baptist, you will make an Armenian church. All the clergy of the Armenian church, bishops, preachers, and teachers, were married in the early centuries. Gregory the Illuminator, the first bishop of Armenia, was married. His sons were bishops, and were married. There was no church law whatever against marriage of the clergy. At present the bishop and the preacher, or the Yebisgobos and the Vartabed, cannot marry, but the pastor or Yeretz must be married. Xo Armenian pastor can be or- dained if he is not married. Of course I am not writing here an Armenian church history; the main object in writing this book is to inform the American public about the causes of the atrocities, and the atrocities themselves. There- fore I consider the above information about the Ar- menian church enough; but I will add that the Ar- menian church until the twelfth century was as sim- ple in ceremonial as any American Protestant church is to-day. But when their kingdom was coming to an end, and they were in a life-and-death struggle with the Mohammedan powers, Popes Innocent, Benedict, and others promised to help them if they would ac- 108 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. cept some of the Roman doctrines and ritual; and since that time — the twelfth century — there has been more or less similarity in the ceremonial of the two churches. But Armenians have never believed in the Pope, and now they are getting rid of the Roman ritual also, as it is foreign to them. Before I finish this subject, I must give a little information about the Armenian Patriarch in Con- stantinople, and the Armenian Catholicos of Etch- miazin. There are many people in this country who do not know the difference between the Patriarch and the Catholicos. The difference between them is as fol- lows: The Patriarch at Constantinople has nothing to do with religion, though he is a bishop. As a per- sonal bishop, he goes to the church, and occasionally preaches and leads the pastors, but his duty is political. He is the political head of the Armenians in Con- stantinople, and responsible to the Sultan for the Ar- menian nation who live in Turkey. The Armenians are not anxious to have such a political head ; it is sim- ply the wish of the Sultan, or it has been the wishes of the Sultans in centuries gone by. The present Patri- arch, Right Rev. Bishop Izmirlian, is a very learned, experienced, and eloquent bishop. He is very popu- lar; the whole Armenian nation love and esteem him; but the Sultan hates him, because lie is brave, honest, and true. The Sultan ordered him to send out false reports, alleging that the Armenians were not being massacred, but were safe and prospering under Abdul Hamid's reign ; but the Patriarch refused to issue any \ 1 THE ARMENIAN PATRIARCH. THE ARMENIAN DYNASTIES. 109 such documents while in fact the Armenians were being phmdered, tortured, outraged, and killed. The Patriarch's life is consequently in great danger, but the Patriarch says that if it is necessary to sacrifice his life for his beloved nation, he is ready to die. <^ The Armenian Catholicos is the spiritual head of the Armenian church; he has nothing to do with politics. He is considered to be fallible, and he is elected both by bishops and laymen; and if the na- tion is not satisfied with him, they may remove him and elect another. He is a presiding bishop. He lives at Etchmiazin (the former Vagharshabad) north of Mt. Ararat in Russia; it has been the seat of the Pontiff since the time of St. Gregory. The present Catholicos is Rt. Rev. Bishop Mugurditch Kirimian. He is very much esteemed and loved by the Armenians throughout the world. Before he became Catholicos, he was Patriarch in Constantinople, and was the most popular and the ablest of Patriarchs, but the present Sultan of course hated him, and according to stories I heard from good authority, when I was in Constan- tinople, tried repeatedly to kill him. One day he was summoned to the palace to see the Sultan ; but on arriving there, was instead locked into a room w^ith a brazier of burning charcoal, and left to die. Before it was too late, however, the Russian Ambassador, being informed of the attempt, saved his life. Fail- ing to get rid of him that way, the Sultan banished him to Jerusalem, but sent false reports to the news- papers, that he thought highly of the Patriarch, and 110 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. had given him money to go to Jerusalem that he might improve his health and enjoy himself. The Sultan lives and breathes falsehood. While in Jerusalem, Kirimian was shadowed by the Sultan's detectives; but about three years ago he was elected Catholicos by the Armenians, and the Rus- sian Czar (not the present one, but his father, Alex- ander), sanctioned his election. The Armenians are proud of him, for he is worthy of his office. He is a great scholar, and the author of several books which are worthy of translation into English. His book Traghti Endanik (the family of Paradise), is the best book I ever saw or read in any language on family life. In it he describes the first holy family, which was created in the Garden of Eden, in Armenia, and then goes on to describe a holy family, the ideal fam- ily, a true home. It is full of the Holy Spirit. Cath- olicos Kirimian was married and had a family, and really his family was a holy family and he had an ideal home, — therefore Armenians call him Kirimian Hayrig or "father,'' and he is worthy of the title; but his ^vife died. He is also a great ora- tor, preaching fiery gospel sermons as our great- est revivalists preach them. He loved the Am- erican missionaries in Constantinople, and they returned the feeling. Kirimian was born in Van April 16, 1820; therefore he is now T6 years old, but full of life and vigor. I hope he will live longer, to see his beloved nation and country saved from the oppressions of the cruel Turkish Sultan. I could THE ARMENIAN DYNASTIES. HI write a book on the life of Kirimian and his great deeds in Armenia, for the Armenians ; how he opened schools and established printing presses; how he went to the Congress in Berlin and championed the Armen- ian cause; and all his noble works. But this is not the place. THE PAKRADOONIAN DYNASTY. For a century after the Mohammedan conquest of Persia, the fortunes of Armenia were apparently at their lowest ebb, and as a country it almost disappears from history; but by one of the compensations of na- ture, which provides that human force, like other force, cannot be extinguished, but if suppressed will find an outlet elsew^here, its people began a career of brilliancy and power unequaled in its history, and broadened from the rule of a tormented buffer-state to that of the great Byzantine Empire itself. The Saracen torrent flowed over Armenia's lowlands and up to the base of its mountain fortresses, but never overcame them; generation after generation the con- tending forces battled together, surging back and forth, and filling the beautiful valleys with fire and blood, but Armenia proper was never added to the list of Saracen conquests, never made a part of the Moham- medan Empire or strengthened Mohammedanism till four centuries later through Byzantine' greed and folly. Internally it was all in feudal anarchy again so far, as concerned any one central focus of gov- ernment. Even the Persian satraps had gone from the Persian side, and with them the half-control they 112 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. had kept over the turbulent baronage; on the Roman side from early in the seventh century to early in the eighth, the throne of Constantinople was filled with weak and unstable monarchs, fighting for Anatolia against the Saracens, and unable to exercise any ef- fective control over Armenia, to which indeed they looked as a frontier defense against those very foes. But let us not attach too harsh a meaning to ^' an- archy." There were a hundred rulers, it is true, great dukes and barons, each supreme in his own district; but because they held power by the sword against a savage enemy, their subjects had to be a strong, inde- pendent race, with arms in their hands, which they would use against their chiefs as well as the foreign- ers if there was great oppression. In this fiery school, Armenia learned the sternest lessons of self-help and discipline. With no interference from outsiders to fear, and no help from them to be got, it became even more confirmed in its own independent isolated ways, a world to itself as it has been ever since. Its culti- ^ators tilled their fields as they had done for so many centuries, and its scholars read such books as they had, and wrote such as their own minds furnished. 'But vast numbers of its hardy sons took service in the Greek armies, and became the bone and sinew of the defense of Asia Minor against the caliphs ; not only so, but they rose by hundreds to the highest commands in the empire, both civil and military. They formed the best " society " in Constantinople itself; and to crown all, a score of emperors and empresses in four THE ARMENIAN DYNASTIES. 113 different lines, including the most illustrious ones that ever sat on the throne from Constantine down, and who ruled the empire for two hundred and seventy- seven years, were Armenians. It is within the truth, and can be justified from the greatest of English historians, to say that for four centuries the Byzantine Empire was not a Greek but an Armenian empire. Armenians by blood filled all the great offices of state, commanded the armies, occu- pied the throne for nearly three hundred years, pre- served the empire from external invasion and internal disintegration. It was the accession of an Armenian dynasty that turned it from a decaying power to one that expanded steadily for two centuries, from one falling into anarchy to one the glory of the world for scientific organizations; and it was the final overthrow of Armenian influence that ruined the empire, being followed almost at once by the loss of half its territory and the richest part, and the break-up of its system of civil administration. Everywhere in the time of Byzantine glory you find the list full of Armenian names. The appearance of " Bardas " as the name of generals or civil magnates is always proof of Ar- menian blood, and that name is monotonously com- mon; it is the Greek form of " Vartan,*^ though now and then they make it " Bardanes.'' One of the greatest conquerors in Byzantine history, John Kur- kuas, was an Armenian, from a family which sup- plied three generations of statesmen and generals, and two great emperors. And this is part of what the 8 114 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. immortal historian of " Greece Under Foreign Dom- ination/' George Finlay, has to say: — " At the accession of Leo III (717), the Hellenic race occupied a very subordinate position in the em- pire. The predominant influence in the political ad- ministration ^yas in the hands of Asiatics, and par- ticularly of Armenians, who filled the highest mili- tary commands. Of the numerous rebels who as- sumed the title of emperor, the greater part were Ar- menians. Artabasdos, who rebelled against his broth- er, Constantine V, was an Armenian. Alexios Mou- sel, strangled by order of Constantine VI, in the year 790; Bardan called the Turk, who rebelled against Mcephorus I; Arsaber [Arshavir] the father-in-law of Leo V, convicted of treason in 808; and Thomas, who revolted against Mich- ael II, were all Asiatics, and most of them Ar- menians. Many of the Armenians in the Byzan- tine Empire belonged to the oldest and most illustrious families in the Christian world; and their connection mth the remains of Roman society at Constantinople, in which the pride of birth was cherished, was a proof that Asiatic influence had eclipsed Roman and Greek in the government of the empire. An amazing in- stance of the influence of Asiatic prejudices at Con- stantinople will appear in the eagerness displayed by Basil I, a Sclavonian groom from Macedonia, to claim descent from the Armenian royal family." (But I shall show that he was an Armenian.) Let us note the Armenian sovereigns of the Byzantine Empire. First the great Iconoclast house, of Leo the so-called Isaurian, the saviour and restorer of the empire, which reigned from 716 to 797. Leo considered himself an Armenian, and he ought to have THE ARMENIAN DYNASTIES. 115 known best, and he married his daughter to an Ar- menian, lie saved Constantinople from capture by the Saracens, causing the destruction of the linest Mohammedan army ever got together; of its 180,000 men only 30,000 got back home, according to the Mohammedan historians. Twenty-two years later another great Moslem army was annihilated by Leo, and for two centuries the Saracens scarcely troubled the empire again. But not only so, he remodeled the whole administration so effectively that no serious break-down occurred for three centuries, and he put new life into the whole society, so that it began to outgrow its enemies, as well as outfight them. After his able dynasty ended, another Armenian, Leo Y, reigned seven and a half years, from 813 to 820. About half a century later began the Basilian dy- nasty, under which the laws were codified, and Bul- garia destroyed. Basil was born in Macedonia, but the name of his brother, Symbatios, Armenian Simpad, shows that he was of an Armenian family, the col- onies of Armenians having spread all over the civilized world. His line reigned without a break from 867 to 963, when the beautiful widows Theophano was pushed aside for sixteen years by another Armenian house, !N^ikephoros Phokas and his nephew John Zim- iskes, two of the ablest generals and statesmen ever on the throne, descendants of a brother of the great com- mander, John Kurkuas, before spoken of; then Theo- phano's son, Basil II — Boulgaroktonos, the Bulga- rian slayer, and the ultimate destroyer of Armenia as 116 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. well — took the throne, 979, and the dynasty con- tinued till 1057, when it had run to dregs, and had just before finally ruined Armenia, and by so doing ruined the empire. To go back to Armenia itself. The reason a feu- dal anarchy always ends in a military monarchy, no matter how able or self-willed every one of the sepa- rate chiefs may be, is that this very class most in- terested in perpetuating it grow weary of it. The stronger barons oppress and plunder the weaker, who are always superior in numbers, and in united strength if they will act together. A small lord may like to be free from control by the king's officers as well as a great one ; but if he can only have that privilege by letting his overbearing neighbor be free from it too, and rob him, he finds it does not pay, and sighs for a law that will control everyone alike, and a strong ruler to enforce it. So if a chief in such a community comes to be known as having a hard hand and letting no one be above the law but himself, the small landholders flock under his banner; he grows into a prince, and eventually some prince of such a family will make himself king, with the goodwill and help of all but a few great houses, who feel able to take care of them- selves and desirous of taking care of others. This happened in Armenia. In 743, a century after the battle of l^ehavend and four years after Leo's crushing defeat of the second great Saracen army, we find that a chief named A shod, of the family of Pak- rad or Bagrat, claiming descent from the ancient Jews THE ARMENIAN DYNASTIES. 117 (see the Haigian dynasty in this book), had man- aged to win control over central and northern Ar- menia; how long it had been exercised, or what it grew from, no one knows. Ashod I is the first known founder of the Pakradoonian dynasty, though it is counted as beginning from the recognition of its in- dependence by the caliphs over a century later. He recovered some parts of Armenia proper, and fought hard for Lesser Armenia. The family had vigorous blood in it, and somewhere in the ninth century — 885 is the date fixed — it was recognized by the caliphs as an independent house of kings, and Armenia as a king- dom. But it had really been so for over a hundred years before. Ashod II, " the Iron," gained his title from his stern military power; he beat back the Arabs and gave the land peace for a considerable time. He left no son, and his Jbrother Appas succeeded him; another brave and wise ruler, who brought back the Armen- ian captives held in bondage by the Saracens. He made the city of Kars his capital. It is now owned by Russia, having been captured by her forces in the Russo-Turkish war of 1878. He greatly improved the city, and built a beautiful cathedral there. After a reign of twenty-four years he died in peace, and his son succeeded him as Ashod III. This was the glory of the line in prowess and gen- erosity; he reminds one of Alfred the Great, in Eng- land. He was the terror of In's country's enemies; not one of them — Arab, Oroek, or Persian — dared 118 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. to invade Armenia, and they sent presents to conciliate his friendship. It was under him that the country be- came formally independent again. He filled it with fortified places. He gave all his personal income in charity, and established almshouses and state chari- ties. He was so benevolent and so interested in the destitute that he was called The Merciful. He ruled over Armenia twenty-six years, and was succeeded by his son Simpad. This was neither a good man nor good ruler; corrupt, cruel, and ambitious only for selfish purposes. He made the city of Ani, on the north side of Mt. Ararat, the royal capital, built strong walls and lofty towers around it, and is said to have erected 1001 churches in it — which he might do, and still be a bad man. The extent of its still existing ruins of palaces, churches, towers, and castles testifies that it was one of the great cities of the world, like Babylon and Antioch. For more than a century Armenia flourished and grew rich; then it disappeared once more under the hammer and anvil of Byzantine and Saracen, aided by internal disruption — the traitorousness of its great nobles, who hated the kings for controlling their law- lessness. Let us take in just its situation. It included the heart of the Armenian highlands; but it had not the extent of old Armenia, several Armenian districts being independent of it, and either free or tributary to the Byzantine Empire. Ani was its seat; but the dis- trict around Kars, fifty miles northwest, had split off into a separate principality, the boundary between the THE ARMENIAN DYNASTIES. 119 two being the Aras; on the east was Vaspourakan, another princedom; on the west Sebaste, anotlier; on the north Iberia, and Abkhasia or Abasgia or Albania, the reahns of the Georgians; and one or two others not quite certain, — but all these ruled by Armenian princes, mostly of the Pakradoonian house. Though Armenia was in fragments, therefore, the pieces formed a sort of family confederacy, and often acted together, as they did to their eventual ruin. Their folly paved the way for the destruction of Armenian national existence, and the worse folly of a Byzan- tine emperor accomplished it. About 1020 the Sel- juk Turks were pressing so hard on Vaspourakan that the prince, Sennacherib, was unable to hold out, and ceded his dominion to Basil II of Constantinople in return for the sovereignty of Sebaste, which he agreed to hold as a Byzantine governor; great numbers of his subjects went with him. Something about this transaction roused the Armenian national feeling to resentment; for John Simpad, king of Armenia (known at this time as the Kingdom of Ani, from its capital), joined with George the Pakradoonian kinj]j of Iberia, to promise help to a couple of discontented generals, one at least an Armenian, who were to raise the standard of revolt in Cappadocia and call on all Armenians to rise. It was to have been a general re- volt of all eastern Asia Minor. But the mighty Basil, conqueror of Bulgaria, and nearing the end of his half- century's reign, first crushed the rebellion by buying up one of the generals and getting him to assassinate 120 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. the other (the Armenian), and then crushed the league of Bagratian kings. The king of Armenia, as the price of retaining his throne, was compelled to sign a treaty ceding the kingdom to the Byzantine Empire after his death. John Simpad was succeeded by his nephew Kakig, an able ruler and good general. But in 1042 there was placed on the Byzantine throne the fourth husband of the despicable old female (Zoe), whose male crea- tures, married or not married to her, misgoverned the empire for nearly thirty years. The reign of Con- stantine Monomachos stands out black in the history of the world; it not only destroyed Armenia, but it fatally wounded the Greek Empire; it gave Asia Minor to the Turks; it was the first great step towards subjecting Eastern Christianity to the Mohammedans; it began the Eastern Question. The sack of Constan- tinople by the Turks, four centuries later, was directly due to it. Almost never has sheer contemptible neg- ative good-for-nothingness produced such awful re- sults. He was a worthless man and an utterly incap- able statesman; a libertine without decency, a spend- thrift without generosity or taste, a ruler without sense of responsibility. Having spent on debauchery or his favorites, or diversions, or palaces in Constantinople, or other selfish, short-sighted gratifications, or on the church to win its indulgence for them, all the money he could wring from his subjects without risking his throne, he bethought himself of another resource. The provinces on the frontiers of Iberia, Armenia, THE ARMENIAN DYNASTIES. 121 and Syria, were exempted from taxation, and the small dependent states in that region from tribute, in con- sideratioD of maintaining bodies of militia to defend their territories, and save the central government from keeping regular troops there. The emperor ordered the militia disbanded, and the taxes and tribute col- lected and remitted to Constantinople as from other places. This monstrous piece of imbecility laid the southeastern frontier open to the Turks at once; and the money was quickly wasted in the emperor's pleas- ures. But even this was not enough, and he cast his eyes on Armenia as a rich country to squeeze taxes out of, and sent word to Kakig to fulfill his uncle's will, and yield up his kingdom. Kakig refused. Con- stantino formed an alliance with the Saracen emir of Tovin (on the east flank of Armenia), and sent an army to attack Ani; and a number of the great Ar- menian nobles turned traitors and joined the Byzan- tine forces. Kakig could not make head against the three allies with the slender forces left him ; and choos- ing to yield to Christians rather than Saracens, though Constantino evidently had no such scruples, surren- dered Ani to the imperial forces (1045), and went to Constantinople to plead his cause with the emperor. Constantino would not yield, and Kakig resigned his kingship for a magistracy, and large estates in Cappa- docia. The emperor forced the Catholicos to leave Ani and live at Arzen, then at Constantinople; finally the Comnenian house allowed him to settle in Sebaste among his people. The princedom of Kars alone / 122 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. preserved its independence against both. Christians and Saracens, and thus the Armenian life still beat; but as a kingdom, Armenia perished and the Pakra- doonian dynasty with it when Ani surrendered. This piece of wanton foolishness and criminality had its immediate reward; it laid all Asia Minor open to the Turks — for the Armenians after they had lost their independence would not fight for their oppress- ors as they had fought for themselves; and the Turks were ready. Three years before the capture of Ani, a Turkish chief, cousin of Togrul Beg, flying after a defeat, had asked the Byzantine governor of Yas- pourakan to let him pass through that district; on being refused, he attacked the imperial troops, routed them, captured the governor, and on reaching Turkish ground sold him as a slave, and urged Togrul to in- vade the Byzantine territories, as they were of match- less fertility and wealth, and the troops not formid- able. Togrul sent his nephew Ibrahim to do so in _1048;, the timid Byzantine commanders, after defeat- ing a detachment of his troops, waited for reinforce- ments before encountering the main body, and Ibra- him, finding the movable wealth mostly stored up in fortresses, assailed the rich, unfortified city of Arzen, with 300,000 people, who had neglected to transfer' their possessions to Theodosiopolis, the nearest fortress. It was one of the chief seats of Asiatic commerce, full of the warehouses of Armenian and Syrian merchants. They defended themselves for six days with such des- peration that Ibrahim, giving up the hope of plunder, THE ARMENIAN DYNASTIES. 123 and wishing at once to secure bis rear from attack while retreating, and to injure Byzantine resources, set fire to the city, and reduced it to ashes. Few such conflagrations have ever been witnessed on earth ; per- haps Moscow and Chicago are the only things com- parable. It is said that 140,000 persons perished in the fire and in the massacre by the Turks that fol- lowed, and the prisoners taken were such a multi- tude that the slave markets of Asia were filled with ladies and children from Arzen. This was the first of the many such calamities that have dispersed the Ar- menians all over the world, like the Jews, have re- duced one of the richest and most populous countries on the earth to a poor and thinly populated one, and turned Asia Minor practically into a desert. The next year Kars was overrun; but in 1050 an attack on Manzikert failed, and after an unsuccessful invasion again in 1052, the Turks retired for a VA^hile, but only for a more terrible onslaught. Before going on to the next dynasty, I will finish the story of Kakig. In his Cappadocian magistracy he was still called King Kakig and honored as a king. One day he heard that a Greek bishop had called his dog " Armen " to insult the Armenians, and went to his house to make sure, and to exact vengeance if it were true. They drank heavily together, and Kakig ordered the bishop to call his dog; the bishop, too drunk to know what he was about, called him " Here, Armen.'' Kakig, in a rage, ordered his retainers to put the bishop and his dog into a bag together, 124 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. and then beat tlie dog till he bit his master to death. The church was too powerful for even a king to murder a bishop with impunity, and Kakig was hanged on a castle walh This gave rise to the Turkish proverb, " Kart Giavour musliman almaz. Room Ermenie dost almaz " (An infidel never becomes a Moslem, a Greek never loves an Armenian). The Turks have always acted on this, and used the Greeks against the Armenians; but the old hate has died out now under common oppression. THE RUPENIAN DYNASTY. The imbecile policy of the Byzantine Court con- tinued after the suppression of the line of Pakrad, and with even worse results. Having destroyed the in- terest and even the right of Armenia to keep up an army of her own, and confiscated her revenues ap- plied to that purpose, the loss of defenders should have been made good as far as possible, by keeping a large regular army there in their place; but the same cor- rupt and profligate court avarice which had caused the one, prevented the other. Not only did Constan- tine X (1059-67) actually reduce the number of his army, leave it unprovided with arms and ammunition and other supplies, let the frontier fortifications fall out of repair, and leave the garrison unpaid, to save money for his overgrown court of costly favorites (the Byzantine court a little later cost $20,000,000 a year by itself), and let the officers put civilians on the rolls, and made artisans and shop-keepers of their real soldiers to pocket fraudulent pay for themselves, THE ARMENIAN DYNASTIES. 126 as the Persians do now, but he used to disband most of his army after every campaign to save paying them, letting them have free quarters on the citizens. The Seljuks were prompt to take advantage of this. In lOGO Togrul sacked Sebaste. In 1063 his greater nephew Alp Arslan began a series of raids that soon reduced Iberia and Northern Armenia almost to a waste. The systematic policy of the Turks was to make any country they invaded impossible of civilized habitation again, by obliterating all the results and " plant " of civilization which many ages of labor and money had enriched it with. They deliberately cut down all the vineyards, orchards, and olive groves, wrecked the aqueducts, filled up the wells and cisterns, broke up the bridges, and in short made the land (ex- cept for a few fortresses) a mere desert pasture ground to feed their cattle on. They were only nomad shep- herds and cattle-men, despised cities as at best neces- sary evils, and did not care for tilling the soil. What- ever spot the Turk has set his foot on, he has blasted like a breath from hell, turning to naught the laboi*s of thousands of years at a blow ; and he has never put anything of his own in place of what he has destroyed. Where are the Turkish great cities developed by them, the Turkish flourishing agricultural regions, the Turk- ish manufactures, the Turkish literature or art ? At most they have not quite been able to exterminate others' progress, because they must perish themselves in doing it. The Armenian king of Iberia had to submit; the 126 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. Annenian prince of Lorlii close by had to give his daughter's hand to Alp Arslan; and at last the royal city of Ani, though strongly situated on a rocky penin- sula and protected on two sides by a rapid river and a deep ravine, was left without help by the Byzan- tines, and in spite of a heroic defense, was taken by storm, June 6, 1064. This convinced the Armenian prince of Kars (another Kakig), that he could not hold out; he surrendered his province to the Byzan- tine Empire for the appanage of the district of Amas- sia. This removed the last Armenian prince from the old seats of the race, which were now all occupied by the Turks; and the Armenians emigrated in vast numbers to the districts west and south (old Cappado- cia and Cilicia), where their native princes were liv- ing as great Byzantine dukes and governors. A num- ber of semi-independent vassal principalities were soon formed, making as before an Armenian wall between the Turks and the empire ; but only part way, and far weaker, having left its impregnable mountains,' and being much poorer, and having lost heart. The upper part, through Old Armenia, was left wholly open; and the Seljuks poured into Asia Minor like a flood, ruin- ing the country beyond reparation as they went. Within a dozen years from the capture of Ani, the Seljuk dominion reached to N^icaea, fifty miles from Constantinople, and the seat of the first Christian church council. Its lands could be seen from St. So- phia; the Byzantine Empire retained only a strip of Asia Minor along the sea-coast. THE ARMENIAN DYNASTIES. 127 But the Armenian courage and national spirit, and the political and military ability which had gov- erned the Eastern Empire so many centuries, were not extinct. The heart of the nation, forced out of its immemorial lands, still beat strongly, and animated their mass of dukedoms, now forming a compact body in the center of Asia Minor, with a common life and national instinct, which was soon to weld them into a new Armenian kingdom, as true and real a one as the old, Armenians under an Armenian prince, but in a wholly different territory, south and southwest of the former. Among the great barons of this district was one Rupen (Reuben), a relative of the slain Kakig; it is said that he saw him hanged. At any rate, no sooner was the deed accomplished than he retired to the moun- tains of N^ortheastem Cilicia, and raised the standard of Armenian independence, with himself as king. There was absolutely no reason why it should not be gained; the Seljuk conquests had cut the Armenian districts wholly off from the Greek Empire, so that a Greek army could not come upon them to punish them for revolt without traversing at least a hundred miles of Turkish or other Mohammedan territory. The Armenian set- tlements were an island in a sea of Mohammedanism. The new kingdom of Cilicia or Lesser Armenia grew mth a rapidity that would seem miraculous, only it was a mere coalescing of the fragments of Armenia into their old unity; in no long time it had spread east to the Euphrates, taking in Melitene (Malatia), and 128 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. Samosata, north 'fully half way to the Black Sea, and south to the Mediterranean, occupying the coast from Tarsus almost to Antioch. This kingdom played a part of the first importance in the history of Asia Minor for close on three centuries; its territories were gradually whittled away by Turks and Mongols, but it kept the Eastern Mediterranean open for Chris- tian action against the Mohammedans to the last. To their shame, the Byzantine emperors were much more hostile to it than to the Turks, with whom they often allied themselves against it; for some years it was vas- sal to the Byzantine Empire; later it was overwhelmed by the Mameluke deluge from Egypt, and allied itself with Jenghiz Khan's Mongol hordes against them; but the Mongols passed and the Mamelukes remained, and exacted a terrible vengeance, putting an end to the kingdom with the usual horrors of Oriental con- quest in 1375. Rupen's son Constantine succeeded him. It was by his help that the leaders of the first crusade captured Antioch. Constantine was succeeded by his two sons, Leo and Theodore jointly, but finally Leo reigned alone; he was an able prince, fought the Saracens with success, and much enlarged his kingdom, and at last made a naval attack on Isaurian Seleucia, the frontier fortress of the Byzantine Empire in this part, and an important seaport. This brought " Handsome John," the ablest of the Comnenian line of Byzantine Em- perors, into the field ; he stormed the Cilician seaports, and then reduced the chief interior fortresses; Leo fled THE ARMENIAN DYNASTIES. 129 to the Taurus Mountains, but was captured, and died in captivity at Constantinople. His son Rupen had his eyes put out on a charge of treason, and died of it; but his other son, Toros, escaped, and after John's death restored the Cilician kingdom, which had tem- porarily been made vassal by John. Toros is the glory of the whole llupenian line; he was of the first rank, both as a general and a statesman. He scarcely ever suffered a military reverse. He beat the Byzan- tine armies in campaign after campaign, and the Sel- juks as well; under him the new Armenia was almost a match for all its enemies combined, and no one of them dreamed of attacking it single-handed. Levon was another able ruler, who maintained the power and prosperity of the kingdom ; he was an ally of the great Emperor Frederick Barbarossa in the Third Crusade, assisted him in capturing Iconium (1190), and both Frederick and the Greek Emperor Alexius III sent him crowns, — the second no great honor, as Alexius was one of the most contemptible of human beings. In Levon's time the capital of the kingdom was Cis, where there is now a great Armenian mon- astery with rare manuscripts, the residence of a Cath- olicos. The changes in the extent of the kingdom are very curious; perhaps most curious of all (since the Armenians were always a race of inland and high- land farmers, not seamen), the new kingdom was grad- ually crowded down on the north and lost two-thirds of its territory in that direction, but steadily extended along the coast until it came to include not only all 130 ARIVIENIA AND HER PEOPLE. Cilicia but all of old Isauria clear to its western moun- tain barrier; hundreds of miles of seaboard, from close to Antioch on the one side, to far west of Cyprus on tbe other, being indeed a strong maritime power. At the end it had lost these western coast extensions, but still had an area larger than that of the Crimea now, a very considerable power to hold the northeast corner of the Mediterranean. It was during these times that the hard-pressed Armenians received promises from the Popes to help them against their enemies if they would use the Roman ritual and ceremonial, and submit themselves to the papacy. The country never did accept Ro- manism, though some churches introduced the ritual and images, and conformed to the Roman fashion; and of course it never did get any help from the popes, who had nothing to give but recommendations, which the temporal powers paid no attention to. Levon VI was the last of the line. He was a weak, easy-going man, handsome and popular, but not of much ability; perhaps he could not have saved his country if he had been. I have told of the Mamelukes and their invasion; they overran the country, and treated the people as the Turks have done lately, striking terror to them by terrific massacres, satiating their lust on the women, and carrying off many thou- sands of captives for wives or slaves. Levon was taken captive also; after some years in Egypt, he was per- mitted to go free, wandered through Europe for a dozen years, and finally settled in Paris, where he died ^2 ■^, '^*tc-^ ■-:■>■. ft < « . THE ARMENIAN DYNASTIES. 131 in 1393. He was buried by the high altar of the Church of the Celestine; the following epitaph is on his monument, which still exists to-day : Here lies Levon VI, the noble Lousinian Prince, the King of Armenia, who died 1393, A.D., Nov. 23d, in Paris. I have been dealing here with the special kingdom of Armenia, under a regular king; but it must not be forgotten that the older sections, ruled by Greek or Turk, were Armenia still, inhabited largely by Ar- menians, in spite of emigration and Turkish settle- ment, and their fortunes really part of this history. Under both Jenghiz Khan and his successors, and Timour, every horror was let loose on the unhappy lands. For nearly a century the first Tatar invasion cursed and devasted it; hundreds of villages were destroyed, the inhabitants slain or at the mercy of the savages, and vast numbers emigrated in despair. Among others, the cities of Ani and Erzeroum were captured, and every inhabitant put to the sword, each soldier being given his portion to kill, so that none should escape. Timour compelled all whom he spared to become Mohammedans. When he took the city of Van, he threw the inhabitants from the castle walls until the dead bodies reached to the height of the walls. A great famine followed, and many thou- sands died of it; the starving wretches sometimes ate their children or parents to sustain life a little longer. The reader will see later whether the modern Turks have any superiority over the hordes of the thirteenth or fifteenth century. IV. EULEKS OF THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE. SULTANS OF THE PAST. The Ottoman Empire begins with Othman, born 1258 A.D. ; the dynasty is usually counted from the tinie of his being given a local governorship by the last of the Seljuk Sultans, in 1289. The tribe was simply one small group of families when we first hear of it; Othman's father Ertogrul entered the Seljuk dominion not many years before that date with only four hun- dred tents, say two thousand people in all, counting women and children. They had been driven from their homes in Central Asia by the Mongols. The Seljuk Sultan Ala-ed-din III made Othman governor of Karadja-hissar (Melangeia). ^N'ow Othman, though a plundering marauder like other tribal chiefs, turbu- lent and cruel, knew some things that better men never find out. He knew that impartial justice is a greater strength to a state and a greater lure to draw others to it than anything else; he made the fair at Karadja-hissar a model of business equity for all races and religions, it was thronged with traders, and other Turkish tribes soon flocked to the banner of the man who never broke his promises and dealt out even- handed justice. The lying Greeks never learned the lesson in all their history. In a dozen years he was (132) RULERS OF THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE. 138 able to collect an army of 5,000 soldiers, beat a Byzan- tine force sent against him, overrun a large province of Asia Minor, and with the plunder greatly increased his following. He realized too that education and thorough practical training and moral discipline were the foundations of success; most of us know that now, but few understood it then. But the wild and bar- barous Turks could not be educated and disciplined as he wished, — would not stand it and were incapable of profiting by it, — and so he or his son Orkhan de- veloped the terrible system which for centuries made the " Turks " irresistible, which made the '' Turks " seem to increase rapidly, and makes the " Turks " to- day appear numerous while in fact not one drop in ten of the blood in their veins is Turkish at all. This was to exact from the Christian population — Greek or Armenian chiefly — a regular tribute of boys as well as money. These were taken from their parents at about eight years old, educated and trained in the household of the Ottoman Sultan himself, of course drilled in the Mohammedan religion, and gradually inducted into the highest posts, civil or military, if fit for them, or made into a special body guard for the Sultan. These were called " yeni cheri " (new soldiers), which is familiar to everybody in the form " Janissaries." From that day to this, the Turkish system has been built up by foreign blood, and outside of the Sultanate pretty much entirely by foreign brains; it was the constant infusion of fresh civilized Christian ability and moral character into it that kept 134 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. its inherent defects and vices from bringing it to an end long ago. Finally the system partly rotted out and partly became impossible to enforce for fear of revolution (Sultan Mahmoud ended it in 1826); but never outside of this has a tribe of barbarians ever succeeded so completely in impressing into its own service the powers of a higher race. It is as though horses should have regularly broken and driven teams of men for centuries ; even more usefully to the Turks, because intermarriage (largely by force on their part) has filled their own veins with civilized Armenian and other blood. As soon as this reinforcement stopped, the Turks began to decay. I cannot enter even in outline into the political history of the Armenians during the next few cen- turies. The country has been torn into fragments, and each fragment has a history so separate that there would be no unity between them. One section of what was once Armenia would be governed by Per- sian officials; another occupied by the savage Kurds; another mis-governed and oppressed by the Turks; another under the rule of Russia; and so on. Persia, when she recovered her national being, held and still holds a small part of the eastern section, as I stated earlier in the book, Russia the north; but the heart of old Armenia is in Turkish hands. The Sultans have succeeded in mixing themselves with the natives and occupying their confiscated lands till the Armen- ians are put in a minority in their own country. I must correct here a notion fostered by historical RULERS OF THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE. 135 writers, that the Turks are very brave. They may have been once, though I doubt it and there is no proof of it; but they certainly have gotten over it now. In the last Turko-Russian war (1878), they ran by thous- ands to Christian houses for protection. They are just like wild dogs: savage and ferocious, but not brave. Nor are they wise: they have some low cun- ning, but no practical sagacity — that too is a thing of the past. As to industrial talents they have simply none whatever; they depend on foreigners for every- thing: they will not learn and indeed cannot learn, and never try to learn. They have never made a cannon or even a gun, they never built a war vessel and very few if any other kinds, they make neither powder nor shot; all come from Europe or America. Nor have they even decent military talent, the very thing they pretend is their special business: their best generals are Germans, their admiral for a long time was the Englishman Hobart, I think the Englishman Woods is so now. As to civil ability, their best administrators have always been Armenians. Bezjian Amira was Sultan Mahmoud's adviser; Haroun Dadian, another Armenian, is the chief adviser in foreign affairs of the present Sultan. His personal treasurer is an Ar- menian, Portucalian Pasha. Is this inconsistent with what I have said of his hating the Armenians for their intelligence ? Not in the least: he employs them in spite of his hatred, because he can trust no others: the Turks are too stupid and all others too unsafe. 136 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. List of Ottoman Sultans and date of accession. A.D. 1. Othman I, gazi, 1299 2. Orkhan I, gazi, 1327 3. Murad I, gazi, 1360 4. Bayazid I, yelderim, 1389 5. Mohammed I, chelebi, 1413 6. Murad II, gazi, 1421 7. Mohammed II, fatih, 1451 8. Bayazid II, gazi, 1481 9. Selim I, yavouz, 1512 10. Suleyman I, kanooni, 1520 11. Selim II, gazi, 1566 12. Murad III, gazi, 1574 13. Mohammed III, gazi, 1595 14. Ahmed I, gazi, 1603 15. Mustafa I, 1617 16. Othman II, guendj, 1618 17. Murad lY, gazi, 1622 18. Ibrahim I, 1640 19. Mohammed TV, 1648 20. Suleyman II, 1687 21. Ahmed II, 1691 22. Mustafa II, 1695 23. Ahmed III, gazi, 1702 24. Mahmud I, gazi, 1730 25. Othman III, 1754 26. Mustafa III, gazi, 1757 27. Abdul Hamid I, gazi, 1773 28. Selim III, 1789 29. Mustafa IV, 1807 30. Mahmud II, adil, 1808 31. Abdul Mejid I, gazi, 1839 32. Abdul Aziz I, 1861 33. Murad Y, 1876 34. Abdul Hamid II, gazi, .... 1876 RULERS OP^ THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE. 137 Some of the above Sultans have special titles, like our '' William the Conqueror," '' Charles the Bold," ** Henry Beauclerk," etc. Thus, gazi and fatih mean conqueror; adil, righteous; guendj, young; yavouz, brave; kanooni, law-giver; yelderim, lightning; che- lebi, gentleman. Most of them have the title gazi, or conqueror; the present Sultan bears it because he fought with Russia. He was beaten, to be sure, but he took the title all the same. Sultan Mohammed II, who captured the city of Constantinople, established an Armenian Patriarchate there in 1461 A. D. The first Patriarch was Hova- guem, the Bishop of Broosa, a friend of the Sultan. Mohammed II had two motives in this: first, to have an Armenian ecclesiastical center in Constantinople for the nucleus of a strong Armenian settlement there, to play oif against the Greeks from whom the city was taken and who might be dangerous, whereas the feud between Armenians and Greeks would make each weaken the other; second, to have a hostage for the Armenians, responsible for their not breaking into revolt; not at all for the benefit of the Armenians, but for that of the Sultan. The same reason obtains to this day. If there was no Patriarch, their cause would be much better oif. After the establishment of this Patriarchate the Armenians had no more kings or princes; their political head was the Patriarch. Even after the Patriarchate was established they were not safe. They yielded to the Sultans, they became slaves to the Sultans, but the Persian Mohammedans 188 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. were foes of the Turkish Mohammedans, and Armenia, as of old in Koman times, was the battle-ground. In the time of Sultan Ahmed and Shah Appas, the latter overran Armenia and carried away the people to cap- tivity, besides killing hundreds of thousands. Then it was retaken by the Turks. Then a part of it was captured by the Russians. Historians write of the Huguenots and their sufferings; of the conflicts in Europe between the Catholics and the Protestants. How many centuries were the Protestants persecuted and martyred? How many millions were killed by the Eoman Catholics? Do all the Protestant martyrs in Europe number as many as the Armenian martyrs ? I doubt it. And let it not be said that these were not religious martyrs, but merely victims of the fortunes of war or political conflicts. The wars were three times out of four based on real if not nominal grounds of religious antagonism, — Mohammedan or Zoroastrian against Christian, — or claims of religious protectorate, as Russia over the Armenian Christians; the political exigencies which called or formed a pretext for the massacre of myriads of men and old women, the out- rage of the young brides and maidens, the enslavement of the children, were without a single exception created by the resistance of Christians to forced conversion, or the fear of Mohammedan rulers that as Christians they meant to revolt, or sheer blind hatred to men of another creed. The victims were truly martyrs to Christianity. • »»_»- • ». •M l/l «4f • *fCHE:srLTAN« FROM A RECENT PORTRAIT. (By permission of "The Youths Companion.") RULERS OF THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE. 130 THE PRESENT SULTAN, HAMID IL This is the thirty-fourth Sultan in the Ottoman line, and probably the worst, the least, and the last. It is not likely the Turks will ever have another Sul- tan, for this one is pretty sure to bring the Sultanate to an end. His days are numbered, he knows it well, and the Turks know it well too. Before his life and his kingdom are finished, he has resolved to end the Armenian nation; that, however, will not be ended, the people will not be exterminated ; when the Turkish Empire is abolished the remaining Armenians will have freedom. Hamid II was bom September 22, 1842, second son of Abdul Mejid, and wrested the throne from his brother Mourad August 31, 1876. He is not a legiti- mate Sultan, but a usurper. When but a little boy he manifested a savage and cruel spirit. While the Dalma Bagsh Palace, the largest in Constantinople, perhaps in the world — was going up, he went to visit it; seeing it unfinished, he called the Armenian architect and told him it must be finished by the next day. " My dear prince and lord," said the architect, " I wish I could finish it, but it is impossible ; and es- pecially not to-morrow, since it is Sunday, and we Christians do not work on Sundays." " You heathen dog, you Armenian," said the boy Hamid, " if I grow up, and some day become a Sultan, I will force all the Armenians to break the Sabbath, and if they do not, I will order the soldiers to kill them all." He is carry- 140 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. ing out his threat. He grew to manhood without be- coming any milder, and is morally corrupt besides* He has drunken bouts with worthless associates, and spent his time in all sorts of monstrous debauch- ery and brutality. He was such a miserable wretch that it is impossible to describe his beastly life on paper. There is no humanity in him, no grace, no sympathy, no brains, no strength; he is pale and sick, well worthy to be called the " sick man of Turkey.'^ This is a very different description of him from that given by General Lew Wallace and Mr. Terrell. I can only say that I know what I am talking about, and they do not. I lived in Constantinople, as a native of Turkey, and with means of knowing, seeing him often, and hear authentic stories of his doings day by day. General "Wallace was invited to the palace, feasted and flattered, and his wife decorated with jewels; naturally, he thinks no ill of a man who treated him so well, and with whom he hopes for more good times when he goes back. He has done infinite harm to the cause of Armenia by his popular lectures, declaring the atrocities " exaggerated " (he evidently thinks that if a newspaper report gives ten thousand men mur- dered when there were only five, and all the women of a city violated when a dozen of them got away, you are entitled to dismiss the whole thing from your mind as of little account), and the Sultan a good man, incapable of such things. People are bewildered, and ask, " How can we doubt a good American who was minister there ? " Why, good people, what has his RULERS OF THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE. 141 ministry got to do with it ? He was hundreds of miles from Armenia, and did not know any of the chief lan- guages of Constantinople, — either Armenian, Turk- ish, or Romanic ; and what could he tell of his host, ex- cept of the quality of his hospitality ? A man usually shows his best side to tli<%e he entertains; did he sup- pose the Sultan was going to amuse his guests by having one Armenian disemboweled, and another emasculated or impaled on red-hot iron rods, and a couple of women ravished, as a light and playful inter- lude between the main dishes and the dessert ? His praise of the Sultan is as valuable as his praise of the Grand Llama would be, — he knows nothing of either; and his inference from the Sultanas pleasant talk that he could not order a nation extirpated with hideous cruelties, is simply imbecile. And since he has given all this loose talk, the consular reports, from English residents among the very scenes, have been published, showing that the atrocities have not only not been ex- aggerated, but are even worse than reported. In this case, even the newspapers were unable to come up to the truth ; their rhetoric fell short of the full meas- ure of the awful truth. To go back a little: Twenty years ago Abdul Aziz, uncle of the present Sultan, was the ruler of the Ottoman Empire. He cared little for the country or the people; he wanted only to eat and drink, and have good times. He w^as a very strong and hearty man, and I was told he could eat a whole roast lamb for dinner, and think it probable. He had the innate 142 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. cruelty of his family, their love of blood for its Own sake, lie had tigers and lions fight together; he would order a live lamb flung to a lion, and laugh to see the lion tear and devour it. He married all the hand- some girls he could find, but for pure animality; he cared nothing for their education or virtue, and his several hundred wives were what you might expect. One of them fell in love with the commander-in-chief, or Minister of War, Heussein Avni Pasha, a very ambitious and daring adventurer, who had gained the confidence of the Sultan, and went often to the palace. The Sultan heard of the intrigue, went to the woman's room, kicked her fatally, and threw her out of the window. But before her death, she sent word to Heussein to avenge her on the Sultan. Heussein's position was very critical; evidently it was a race be- tween him and the Sultan which should kill the other first. He went to Midhad, the Grand Vezir, and to Kaysereli Ahmed, the admiral, both liberal-minded pashas, in favor of establishing a constitutional (or even if they could, a republican) government, and without telling them his relations to and fears from the Sultan, persuaded them that now was the time to depose the Sultan, and establish liberal institutions, and told them it must be done that night, or the Sultan would get wind of it, and then good-by to all of them. And he clinched the argument by telling them he would order his soldiers to kill both of them if they refused to join him, and then depose the Sultan just the same; " as commander-in-chief," he said, " I can PRESENT SULTAN, HAMID II. From an early portrait. RULERS OF THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE. I43 compel obedience, and I am in earnest." They con- sented, and while the Sultan was asleep that night the commander's soldiers and the admiral's sailors sur- rounded the palace by the land and sea. This was the Dalma Bagsh, the largest and handsomest palace in Constantinople. Heussein entered, saying he had important news for the Sultan. Going to the chamber where Aziz was sleeping, he awakened him, and said, "In the name of your nephew. Sultan Murad, I de- pose you." Then he compelled him to go down-stairs to a boat in waiting, filled with soldiers, carried him to Cheragan Palace, and imprisoned him there; after which he informed the Sultan's nephew, then Prince Murad, that his uncle had been deposed because the people would not endure him, and added, "As the oldest in the royal family you succeed him, and I, as commander-in-chief, have the honor and privilege of humbly serving my master, and leading your majesty to the throne of the Ottoman Empire." Murad was too astonished to know what to do or say; but Heussein was resolute, and Murad reluctantly followed him to the Dalma Bagsh; there the com- mander ordered the soldiers to cry out three times " Padishahum chock yasa " (Long live the Sultan). All this was about midnight; and meantime printed notices were prepared and scattered throughout Con- stantinople that Sultan Aziz was deposed and Sultan Murad was on the throne. After a few days the commander-in-chief sent a eunuch and a physician to Cheragan Palace, with orders to put Aziz to death. 144 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. They did so by chloroforming him and cutting his blood-vessels with scissors. Heussein prepared a false report stating that he had committed suicide, and brought it to Sultan Murad. The latter did not be- lieve it, and said, " you killed my uncle." Heussein left the Sultan's presence in great anger, and went to Midhad's palace to confer with him, calling in also Kaysereli Ahmed and other officers. While they were together, another officer, Cherkez Hassan by name, brother-in-law of the dead Sultan, came to the palace, informing the guard that he had a message from the Sultan to the pashas, who were in conference. The guard admitted him, and he went to the parlor. After the usual salutations the commander asked him, " Has- san, w^hy did you come here ? '' Hassan replied, " I came to kill you, dog," and fired three shots at him from his revolver, stretching him dead on the floor. Then, before the others could assail him, he killed every one present, except Midhad, who escaped. Has- san was finally captured and hanged, but Murad was established on the throne. He was a good-natured and liberal-minded man; he believed in constitutional gov- ernment, and organized a working system. There was to be a parliament, one-third Christians and two-thirds Mohammedans, elected by the people of the provinces or vilayets. Each vilayet furnished three members, two Mohammedans and one Christian, all indorsed by the clergymen. During the elections I was pastor of Adana in Armenia Minor, and had to endorse our members. The Adana member was an Armenian RULERS OF THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE. I45 named Krikor Bizdigian, the richest man of that city, perhaps in Turkey; if still living, he must be ninety. When the parliament was opened in Constantinople, Sultan Murad presided, and told the members to dis- cuss any questions freely. He said, " We are here for the good of the country, and the empire needs to be re- formed ; how can we reform it ? " This was an entire novelty; " government by discussion '^ is not the Orien- tal way, and not the Oriental liking either. The Mo- hammedan members were astonished, and they were wrathful at the Christian members when the latter be- gan to make free and able speeches. They said, " Are we going to be governed by these heathen dogs, the Christian hogs ? We will have no parliament where every dog is free to open his mouth. We want the good old ways of Mohammed." They were like mad dogs, ready to bite. They hated the Christians, and they hated the Sultan. They went to his younger brother, the present Sultan, and told him his brother Murad was insane. " He makes Christian dogs equal to Mussulmen; he will ruin the country; you must become Sultan to save the Turkish Empire." This suited Abdul Aziz exactly ; he headed a revolt, deposed his good brother, dissolved the parliament, imprisoned Murad in the palace where his uncle was assassinated, and since then has been carrying the country to de- struction. He is a perfect devil in all respects. A devil can take the guise of an angel, and the Sultan has the cunning to make himself appear a perfect gentle- man, a benevolent and humane person. The devil 146 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. can cheat most people, and so can the Sultan, all but the native Christians in Turkey, to whom he shows his horns, and hoofs, and tail. The nauseous praise of the Sultan from travelers and ministers reminds me of a Turkish brigand named Guro, who infested Asia Minor a quarter of a century ago. He robbed year after year all travelers who had anything worth taking; but when he met tramps he gave them money, and even a roasted lamb to eat now and then. The tramps all praised him; he was a benevolent, humane, kind-hearted man ; they had never seen anything cruel or dishonest about him. So the Sultan robs the Armenians, and uses their money to feast the American ministers and decorate their wives. Oh, but the Sultan sent money to the sufferers from famine in the Western States of America; so generous of him ! I am glad to say the money was refused. All Americans who praise the Sultan are like the tramps and the brigand. They are either ignorant or in effect bribed. And then there is the affectation of impartiality, so easy a cover for ignorance, coldness, and laziness. You must say some good things about a scoundrel, and some ill ones about a saint, or you will be considered a partisan. You must not tell even the truth, if the truth is all on one side. If the Sul- tan massacres all the Christians in Turkey, why, there are two sides to the question; perhaps the Christians were not agreeable people, and if so, you cannot won- der he has them exterminated by sword, and fire, and torture, and rape; it is really the only way he could get RULERS OF THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE. 147 rid of them. And then, he is king, and has a right to do what he pleases with his own ; nobody has any busi- ness to interfere. Of course a President could not order three millions of people put to death by letting loose all the savage Indians of the West on them to do as they pleased with them, for the sake of making them worship the Big Manitou ; but a Sultan — that is dif- ferent, even though a Kurd is exactly as bad as an Indian, and an Indian's knife does not cut throats any more effectively, nor an Indian's tortures inflict more unnamable horrors of suffering, nor an Indian's torch burn houses any better, nor an Indian's beastly lust defile women any worse. Are all the writers, then, who have praised him ignorant or silly ? Yes; the Sultan's deeds, proved by countless thousands of wit- nesses, set forth in the consular reports, show that they are. As soon as Abdul Hamid had seized the throne, he girded on the sword of Osman, which I will explain later is equivalent to coronation. The keys of the palace where Murad was imprisoned he keeps in his pocket. The nominal ground of his imprisonment is insanity, but he was not insane; it was his liberality of mind, his greatness of heart, and his mild and kind spirit. He was an exceptional Turk. Then Hamid called Midhad Pasha to him, gave him $25,000, and told him to leave the country and never come back. The country was thus left without a single man of any force of character and a large position combined. After the death of Aziz the two greatest Turks were 148 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. Sultan Murad and Midhad Pasha, and had Murad not been imprisoned, and Midhad banished, the Turkish Empire would be an entirely different country, and have a different future. Midhad was finally recalled, but only to be mur- dered. As the Sultan felt his position secure, he be- gan to get rid of all men of superior character and ed- ucation. Some he banished, some he imprisoned, some he killed. But Midhad, as the greatest, was the most obnoxious. He was of course not dispatched at once. He was invited back, made governor of Smyrna, given the highest emoluments, paid the greatest honors ; then one night he was suddenly sum- moned to Constantinople by the Sultan. He knew it was the death-call, and fled to the French consulate for shelter, but the consul was afraid to protect him. Finally he was taken by force to Constantinople, tried before a tribunal of course packed by the Sultan, and condemned to death. But the kind-hearted Sultan commuted the death sentence to banishment and hard labor for life, and quietly ordered the officers who were going to take him to banishment to kill him in- stead, which they did. After he had got rid of all the great Turks, he ap- pointed a host of ignorant and cruel ruffians as gov- ernors, sub-governors, and generals; like Hadjii Has- san Pasha, governor of Beshick-Tash near the Sultanas palace, and whose business is to watch over the Sultan, and who cannot read or write. He prefers ignorance, because it means fanaticism, and he thinks cannot RULERS OF THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE. 149 plot against him. He dreads and hates education and the educated, though he makes a show of en- couraging them. He taxed the people for public schools and put up magnificent buildings, but there are few if any scholars in them; they were not built for educational purposes, but for a show, and if neces- sary, for barracks in the future. All the same, he has his agents in Europe and America chant his praises as a lover of learning. Parents will not send their children to them anyw^ay, for there are not com- petent teachers in them ; there are a very few ignorant Mohammedan teachers, but even they are so corrupt morally that no one dares trust his boy or girl with them. The Sultan professed that people of all nation- alities and religions would have equal privileges in his public schools, therefore he ordered all to contribute money for them. He raised the farmers' tax from one- tenth to one-eighth of the crops on pretense of support- ing the public schools. Of course he got most of it from the Armenians, but there is not an Armenian teacher or child in them. Abdul Hamid is a stupendous hypocrite and char- latan; he makes a great pretense of wisdom, religion, and morality, and he has not a spark of either one. His wisdom is only the animal cunning of a jealous, cruel, suspicious brute, his morals simply do not exist, and his religion is pure sham. It is often reported that he is very religious. All that it amounts to is that every Friday (the Mohammedan Sunday) he goes to the mosque to worship (a ceremony called selamlik). 150 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. with several thousand soldiers lining the roads from the palace to the mosque to prevent his assassination, of which he is in hourly fear; that once a year he goes to the old Seraglio and pays tribute to the mantle of Mohammed and other relics, kissing the slipper, coat, and beard of the prophet; and he worships in the mosque of St. Sophia as a conqueror. All this is merely for show, to please the fanatic Mohammedans. He advertises himself as a temperance man, too, but he drinks to excess privately. In a word, he is thoroughly false from top to bottom, pretending all good, and doing all evil. His officers of course imitate him; most of them are absolute infidels, believing in nothing, but pro- fessing great devotion. I knew a governor of this stamp. He used to worship at the mosque, and even ordered a hair of Mohammed's whiskers to be brought from Constantinople to please the Mohammedan pop- ulation. He never drank a drop of liquor in public, but privately drank all he could hold. He had plenty of fellows. For instance, Khalil Rifat Pasha, the present Grand Yezir, appointed a few months ago, has been governor of several different provinces, and notorious in all as a great hypocrite and a thoroughly corrupt man, full of lust and profligacy. When a European or a native Christian of high position called on him, he would treat the visitor with great polite- ness, promise anything he asked, say, " take my word of honor," and assure him of his entire sincerity; as soon as he was gone, Khalil would curse him, and call RULERS OF THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE. 151 him a heathen dog, say to another Mohammedan, " See how that Christian hog believed what I said 1 " and keep not a word of his promises. The Sultan is just the same. He is outwardly very pleasant, very gentlemanly, very humane. He will promise almost anything, but he will do nothing, and he calls his enraptured guests dogs and hogs behind their backs. Who knows how many times he has called Lord Salisbury, the German 'Emperor, or the Russian Czar, who are helping him to kill the Ar- menians, heathen dogs ? See the promises of the Sultan in 1878, in the Berlin Treaty, Article 61: — " The Sublime Porte undertakes to carry out without further delay the improvements and reforms de- manded by local requirements in the provinces in- habited by the Armenians, and to guarantee their security against Circassians and Kurds. It will periodically make known the steps taken to this ef- fect to the powers, who will superintend their applica- tion." These promises were made eighteen years ago, and the reforms were to be made " without further delay." His reforms have consisted in ordering Circas- sians and Kurds to murder and plunder them. Since the Berlin Treaty, the Sultan, calling the European kings, emperors, and princes heathen hogs and Chris- tian dogs, directly and indirectly has killed 200,000 Armenians. That was his reform. When he seized the throne, Turkey had 40,000,000 people, and the Sultan thought his power was irresis- tible. He let loose a horde of Circassians to massacre 152 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. the Bulgarians, just as he has let loose the Kurds to massacre the Armenians. But the Bulgarians are Slavs, and belong to the Greek Church, and the Rus- sian Czar, Alexander, grandfather of the present Czar, interfered in their favor. This excited the fears of the other powers, and a Congress was held in Con- stantinople to settle the question. Lord Salisbury came from England, Count Ignatieff from Russia, and others from other parts of Europe, gathered in a beauti- ful palace (now the admiralty) on the shores of the Golden Horn of sweet waters, discussed the question, and decided that the Bulgarian atrocities must stop, Bulgaria be reformed and allowed to govern itself in- ternally, and that Turkey must not fight Russia be- cause it w^as too weak. This decision was communi- cated to the Sultan, and he w^as furious: he would not grant freedom or a government to Bulgaria, and he was quite able to fight Russia. Finally he refused flatly to accept the decision, and called a Turkish Con- gress to give their " opinion." Of course they gave what Avas wanted, and pronounced in favor of a war with Russia. A few were bold enough to disfavor it, and the Sultan punished them. One of these was Hagop Efendi Madteosian, the representative of the Protes- tant Armenian community. Another was a thought- ful, experienced Turk, and when the Sultan asked him his reason for opposing the war, he related the follow- ing parable: " There was once a miser whom the king gave his choice of three things : to eat five pounds of raw onions RULERS OF THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE. 153 without bread at one meal, to receive five hundred lashes on the bare back, or to pay $5,000. The miser could not bear to lose so much money; he could not endure such a flogging; and he chose to eat the onions. After eating a pound or so their bitterness and rank- ness nauseated him, and he concluded to take the whipping. He stood about a hundred lashes, and saw that he should die under it; and decided to pay the $5,000 after all." " [NTow," said the wise Turk, " this illustrates what I mean. If you go to war with Russia, you will sacrifice many thousands of soldiers, which is a very bitter thing to digest ; then you will lose Euro- pean Turkey, and finally you will have to pay millions of dollars indemnity and ruin the country. I cannot approve the war." The Sultan cried out in rage, " Begone, you old crank! I will not listen to any more foolish words from you. I shall conquer the Czar, enlarge the country, and strengthen my kingdom." He did go to war in 1876, was whipped by the Czar, and lost almost the whole of European Turkey and other parts of the empire, with 22,000,000 people: Roumania, Bulgaria, Servia, Bosnia, Herzegovina, part of Macedonia, part of Armenia, Cyprus, and after- wards Egypt. He lost many thousands of soldiers and millions of dollars, and besides has had to pay mil- lions of dollars indemnity to Russia. And the Sultan is called an " able man " and " wise ruler " ! These things look like it. After the war and the loss of the provinces, he en- couraged the Mohammedan population of European 154 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. Turkey to emigrate to Asiatic Turkey, that they might not live under Christians, and that they might increase the number of Mohammedans in the Asiatic part. The slaughter of the Armenians and the con- fiscation of their property forms part of the scheme to make room for them. Before his time the Arme- nians in Armenia outnumbered the Turks; but the massacres, the occupation of the farms and houses by the savages let loose on them, and the emigration of many more Armenians to Persia and Russia, have greatly diminished their numbers. Of course they are not permitted to emigrate, they simply fly. About 200,000 have actually perished. As to the forced conversions, the Sultan does not care a particle for Islamism, but wants to please the Moslem and finds this an agreeable way to do it. As to the converts from Islamism to Christianity, they are ordered to go to Constantinople and are killed there. Hundreds and thousands of the Mohammedan Turks are Chris- tians in secret, but do not dare to confess it. These are the ones who helped and protected the Armenians during the recent atrocities. Some six years ago a number of such professed the Christian religion pub- licly ; they were at once ordered to go to Constantinople and every one of them was murdered by order of the Sultan. When the representatives of the Christian powers asked about them the Sultan denied that they had come there at all. This was the method of their assassination: The Sultan has several pleasure boats, and in one of these boats he fitted up an air-tight room RULERS OF THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE. 165 with an air-pump; each night one of the converts was taken from prison and put into this room, the air was pumped out, and he was suffocated ; then an iron chain was hooked round him, and he was thrown into the Bosphorus. One by one all of them were so mur- dered. How did the author of this book discover the secret ? Well, when in Constantinople, I had an in- timate friend among the engineers; the engineer of this death boat told my friend about it, and he told me. And the Sultan is not simply a murderer by proxy and official order; he is a murderer himself personally. When in Constantinople, I learned from several au- thoritative sources that he killed with his own revolver several of his servants, for no cause whatever, but merely from suspicion or rage. He always keeps a revolver in his pocket, and whomever in the palace he suspects, he shoots. He is a great coward. I heard there that he has more than 10,000 detectives, at a cost of several hundred thousand dollars a year. He lives in Yildiz Palace, about two miles from the Bos- phorus, on a hill on the European shore; he has built new barracks, and keeps a large army around the palace to protect him from assassination. His " wis- dom " is merely care for his skin. He cares nothing for the prosperity of the country; it is steadily growins^ poorer, while he is personally growing very rich. That is one reason why he keeps an Armenian treas- urer, that the Turks may not know his secrets. Even the Turks are disgusted with him. I often used to hear the Turks say, " God deliver us from the Sultan 156 ARI^IENIA AND HER PEOPLE. and send another master, even if he is the Czar of Russia.'' His immense family costs him from $10,- 000,000 to $15,000,000 a year; it is the largest in the world. I was told that it consists of 5,000 persons, counting the eunuchs, the servants, and all. He has about 500 wives; he did not marry them all; he in- herited, most of them. When a Sultan dies, his suc- cessor has everything that belonged to him, including his wives. And besides, he has to marry a new wife every year, by the Mohammedan and governmental law; he has no choice in the matter. That makes twenty wives in the twenty years of Abdul Hamid's reign. This is the system: He has at present nearly one hundred young girls in the harem, supposed to be the most beautiful in the world; they are presented to him by the governor-generals, who get them from the local governors, who get their offices by sending their superiors the finest looking girls, or the best Arabian horses, and the governor-generals get theirs by pass- ing the gifts on to the Sultan. That is the way to get office in Turkey. You may be a murderer, a thief, or an ignoramus, but you can be sure of an office if you can furnish a handsome girl, or a fine stallion, or a few thousand dollars. When I was pastor in Marsovan, the local governor, Sudduc Bey, bought a very pretty girl, and sent her to the governor-general of Beshick-Tash in Constantinople, Hadji Hassan Pash, the Sultan's special guard ; he had got his office from that functionary. As to how the girls are got, it depends; if they are Mohammedan, they are bought; RULERS OF THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE. 167 if they are Christian they are seized by force, for the Christians will not sell their daughters. Several months ago Bahri Pasha, the governor-general of Van, carried off several Armenian girls and presented them to the Sultan, who decorated him for the service, and appointed him Vali or governor-general of Adana, in Armenia Minor. These girls are kept in the harem of the Sultan. When the time comes to marry another wife, he has the girls stand in a row, and chooses one of them by covering her face with a silk handkerchief; then she is taken by the eunuchs to the quarters allotted to the Sultanas, and can have separate servants, carriages, and eunuchs. The life of the Sultan and his big family is the most miserable in the world. The palace is a focus of discontent, quarrels, jealousy, lust, and cruelty ; in a word, it is a perfect hell. The women have nothing to do, and nothing to think of; they do not read, they have no work, and no share even in household management; they are idle, and unspeakably bored, and they do what most idle people of both sexes do all over the world — excite their nerves with sensual cravings, and then try to satisfy them. They often manage to bring boys to their quarters by stealth, and keep them there for weeks for purposes of lust, and the Sultan knows nothing about it; often they bribe their eunuchs, and go to other places to satisfy their desires, and the Sul- tan never hears of it. Aziz lost his life through an intrigue of one of his wives. With so large and exacting a family, it is no wonder the Sultan has no 158 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. time or energy left for improving his administration. He only finds a little time to send telegrams to the governors to exterminate the Armenians. THE SULTANATE AND ITS POWERS. There is no coronation in Turkey; instead the Sultans gird on the sword of Osman, the founder of the Ottoman Dynasty, which is kept in the mosque of Ayoob, in Constantinople. "When a Sultan is pro- claimed, he goes to that mosque with great pomp, and all the members of the Sublime Porte, the civil of- ficers, the generals, commanders, soldiers, patriarchs of different religions, and the Sheik-ul-Islam, the Mohammedan religious head, follow him. But no Christians enter that holy place, as it is forbidden them. After impressive service, the chief of the der- vishes of the order of Mevlair girds the Sultan with the sword; then he is officially recognized as emperor. Then, as God's will be done. Sultan's will be done, because the Sultan represents God in heaven, Moham- med in Paradise, Osman on the earth. He has three offices, God's office, Mohammed's office, Osman's of- fice. He is as infallible as the Pope of Rome, and temporally everything belongs to him without excep- tion, men, women, children, money, property, just as everything belongs to God. A Turkish proverb says, "Mai, jan, erz, Padishahin dir " (Property, soul, and virtue belong to the Sultan). He can claim any man's wife for his enjoyment at any time ; his son, or his daughter, or his money, or his property of any sort; there is no use refusing — a man does not own RULERS OF THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE. 169 fiimself, or his wife, or his children; the Sultan owns them all, and it is only by his grace that he permits his subjects to have anything, and he can resume it at any time, for half an hour, or forever. Besides, any- body's head would come off that refused. If the Sul- tan asks a millionaire in Constantinople to send him half his wealth, the millionaire must not refuse; he himself is simply a steward; if the Sultan wants it all it must go to him, and the millionaire must beg bread for a living. At the same time he must praise the Sultan, because the Sultan is God on earth. If he refuses to send his wife or daughter to the Sultan's bed, or his son or money for whatever uses they are wanted to supply, the Sultan has a right to kill him, and take all his possessions by force, because the man was not a faithful slave. " But I cannot believe this," says the American in his free, peaceful country. " It is not natural. How can a man be considered as God, owning everything, not in a spiritual sense, but in a very material, pecun- iary, and male sense ? " Go to Turkey, get naturalized there, become a Turkish subject, and you will understand it fully, and perhaps shockingly. Of course, if you go as an Amer- ican citizen, with plenty of money, travel under the escort of soldiers, or Zapties, get presented by the American minister to the Sultan, are entertained in the palace, and receive handsome presents, you will not understand it at all ; very likely not believe it ; you may come home and praise the Sultan like the rest. 160 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. The natural question is, I know, " Do the Sultans, any of them, carry this theory into practice ? Has the present Sultan ? '' Yes; and not once or twice, but thousands of times. To be sure, they do not go in person on such errands; they depute their officers and soldiers to do what they wish. I have shown how the history of the Armenians illustrates it, in the seizure of their property, the forced conversion of their boys into troops to fight against their parents, the appropriation of their wives and daughters, to be given to the Sultan. As to the present Sultan, I have already spoken of Bahri Pasha's exploit in carrying off by force several Armenian young brides, and girls, and presenting them to the Sultan, and his being dec- orated and promoted for it. While on his way, he had to pass through Trebizond, and the Armenians fired on him to rescue the women, but failed. They forgot that all women belong to the Sultan, and they made a mistake in firing on one of his officers. He at once ordered all the Armenians in Trebizond to be slaughtered. Some of the richest of the nation lived there; every penny was taken from them, most of them were killed, and their wives and children, and those of them who survived are begging bread. And all through Armenia the girls and young brides are being looked over to pick out the best looking ones for the Sultan's harem. Once for all, Armenia is not America. The Turks, the Kurds, the Circassians, the Georgians, though they may be like Americans, are like RULERS OF THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE. 161 American Indians only. The Sultan is not a president, and his divine right to kill any man, appro- priate any property, or enjoy any woman, is not like the Constitution of the United States. People who think that the Sultan would not do or be allowed to do such things because no ruler they are familiar with does them, that it is impossible they can happen in Ar- menia because they could not happen in America, that the Armenians must have provoked them in some way, because it is hard to believe any ruler could do so in pure wantonness or from deliberate policy, are reason- ing from wrong premises. They did happen, and are happening, — see the consular reports; were perfectly unprovoked, — see the plentiful proofs that the Ar- menians carry no arms, and cannot even defend them- selves from murder, or their wives from dishonor before their eyes. Why it is done, and how much more is to be done, I have explained repeatedly. THE SUBLIME PORTE AND THE MOHAMMEDAN RELIGION. The Sublime Porte, or in Turkish Babi-Ali, is the cabinet of the Turkish government, as follows: — 1. The Grand Vezir, or Prime Minister. 2. The Minister of the Interior. 3. The Minister of Foreign Affairs. 4. The Superintendent of the Cabinet Council. 5. The Commander-in-chief, or Minister of War. 6. The Minister of the T^avy. 7. The Minister of Finance. 11 162 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. 8. The Minister of Commerce and Public Buildings. 9. The Minister of Sacred Properties. 10. The Minister of Education. 11. The Sheik-ul-Islam, or religious head. There is no election in Turkey; all officers are appointed by the Sultan, who can dismiss any of them at any time, and appoint some one else, and I have already explained why he almost always appoints bad ones. The Sublime Porte has no power to decide any- thing; it is simply a farce council to cheat the Euro- pean powers; a dumb tool in the hands of the Sultan. For instance, the Sultan calls the Grand Yezir, the president of the Sublime Porte, into his presence, and tells him such a question is to be discussed in such a way, and this or that conclusion reached. ^^ Very well, my Lord and Master," says the Grand Vezir; he goes to the Sublime Porte palace, and says to the council: " To-day I was permitted to come into the presence of His Majesty the Sultan, and he instructed me that I must bring such a question before you, and after we discuss it in such a manner, we must come to such a decision." Then all of them stand up and say, " Sultan's will be done," and that is all; their " decision " is announced to the Sultan, and he " sanctions " it. There is no discussion for days or weeks, as in England or here; it is all cut short. The Sublime Porte can decide any question in a few min- utes. This is the sort of thing Mr. Carlyle wanted. You have seen the beautiful effects of it. The question naturally arises. Why does the Sul- RULERS OF THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE. 163 tan keep a Sublime Porte, since he decides everything himself ? There are three reasons. First, it is the old custom. All the other Sultans have had one, and he might offend the Turks if he abolished it. Second, as the Sultan can do no wrong, there must be somebody else to lay blame on. He is the repre- sentative of God and Prophet Mohammed. If there is any mistake in any decision, he is not responsible for it : the Sublime Porte is responsible. Third, because he has relations with the European powers, and if any decision needs to be reversed, it can be if it is that of the Sublime Porte; but if it were the personal decision of the Sultan it could not be changed, because he is considered immutable, just as God is. When people read about the Sublime Porte after this, I hope they will understand that there is not really any Sublime Porte; that it is a mere name, an echo, a farce, a show to bunco the world with. Some newspaper and other writers think it is " impartial '' to say that the Sultan means well, but he has a " corrupt ministry "; that it is the Sublime Porte that ruins the Turkish Empire; if it were left to the Sultan, he would reform the country; he would not let the Armenians be massacred. Put no faith in such ignorant rubbish. The Sultan dictates everything; and if any minister has the sense and courage to sug- gest any improvement, the Sultan dismisses him, say- 164 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. ing that it is his own business to consider the improve- ments of the country and not that of any one else. The governors would not dare to order the Kurds and the Turks to wreak their worst and vilest will on the Ar- menians without direct orders from the Sultan. The Sultan originates all these cruelties. The recent Grand Yezir, Said Pasha, at one time was a very decent Turk. When he differed with the Sultan about massacreing the Armenians, the Sultan threat- ened to kill him, and he had to fly to the English embassy for protection. Murad Bey was another good Turk who remonstrated against the cruelties ; his life was threatened, and he fled to Europe; now he is in Egypt, denouncing the Sultan in the press and in letters. The Sultan sentenced him to death, and asked the British government to hand him over to the Turkish officers; but the representative of the Brit- ish government in Cairo refused. Just before the Armenian atrocities in Constantinople, the members of the Sublime Porte tried to have the Armenian grievances redressed, and the people pacified ; the Sul- tan would have no such pottering, and ordered the sol- diers to kill the Armenians in the streets. But this was a rare piece of virtue in the Porte. Mostly they are as bad as the Sultan himself, for he appoints men of his own stripe. Good men would not be useful tools. The Sultan has another trick of management; before making any one a member of the Porte, he tries to find out whether he is a friend to any of the ministers already in; if so, he will not appoint him. RULERS OP THE OTTOMAN EiMPIRE. 166 On the other hand, if the man happens to be an enemy to one of the members, he is ahnost sure of appointment. The Sublime Porte, therefore, is a group of mutual enemies, hating one another, and ready to betray one another at any time. He thinks if they are friendly, they may unite and depose him some day. Besides this, there are more detectives in the Sublime Porte, watching the ministers on behalf of the Sultan, than there are members. They keep the Sultan informed about the situation. If any min- ister or officer acts contrary to the wishes of the Sul- tan, he is marked for death. THE SHEIK-UL-ISLAM. Sheik-ul-Islam means chief of Islam — the Mo- hammedan religion. His office is solely religious; he has nothing to do with politics. He sees that the mosques and priests are kept in order, and the reli- gious services properly conducted ; and there are many questions among the Mohammedans which are set- tled without going to a magistrate, by the Sheik-ul- Islam, or by his deputies, called Muf tees. These Muf- tees can be found in every city in Turkey. The Sheik- ul-Islam and his representatives issue Fetvas (religious decrees) according to the Koran. There is no inconsistency between this and what I have said before about the Sultan being the repre- sentative of Mohammed, and therefore the chief of his religion. Both the Sultan and the Sheik-ul-Islam are the heads of it, just as the Greek emperor and the Patriarch were of the Greek church, and the relative 166 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. position is about the same. The Sheik-ul-Islam is the special head of the ecclesiastical organization. The Sultan appoints him, but once appointed, if he is insubordinate and opposes the Sultan, the latter can- not suppress or replace him without grave scandal to the Mohammedan world. It is like Henry II and Becket; it is easier to make a head of a church than to rule him afterwards. It is like the Emperors and the Popes in the Middle Ages; and as with them, some- times the Sheik-ul-Islam joins with political officers to depose the Sultan, and his fetva, or decree, makes it legal. When Abdul Aziz was deposed, the then Sheik-ul-Islam, Khairollah Effendi, issued the fetva for it, reluctantly, for Heussein Avni Pasha forced him to do it under threat of death. As Heussein's own head was in immediate peril, he had no scruples about the Sheik-ul-Islam's. Every fetva has two questions and one answer. A case is set forth; after a brief discussion the question Olourni (To be ?) and Olmazmi (Not to be ?) are asked, and the answer is given as either Olour or Olmaz (To be, or ^ot to be). The fetva which Heussein forced the Sheik-ul- Islam to sign was something like this: — " If a Sultan should prove to be unworthy to govern his people, is it necessary to uphold him or not ? " The answer was Olmaz, and Abdul Aziz was deposed. MOHAMMEDANISM AND THE INTERNAL STATE OF TURKEY. l^obody who has not lived in Turkey can realize how hopeless, almost self-contradictory, it is to talk RULERS OP THE OTTOMAN EiMPIRE. 167 of " reforming " Turkey. It could not be reformed and be Mohammedan Turkey; the lack of reform or power of reform is just what makes it what it is. The root of the evil is Mohammedanism itself; it is em- bodied social stagnation, corruption, ultimate ruin. Neither the Sultan nor the Turks can improve the state of the Empire, even if they wished. The usual *'* broad-minded " statements about Mohammed and his religion are simply elaborations of ignorance, made up out of men's own minds, and what they think must be true. It is customary for wTiters to talk in this fashion : — " Mohammedanism is a half-way house to Christianity; Mohammed converted the hea- then Arabs to a belief in the true God. Mohammed established a great religion and a great Empire," etc., etc. There is no truth in this, for all its plausible sound. Mohammedanism is not even on the road to Christianity; and Arabia, Asia Minor, and Pales- tine were all much better off before the Mohammedan conquest than after it. Buddhism and Brahmanism are better religions than Mohammedanism. The Chinese, the Japanese, the people of India are much better than the Turks. The Chinese Emperor and the Japanese Mikado are far better men than the Mo- hammedan Sultan. The heathen religions rear bet- ter men than Mohammedanism. The Mongols are more humane and sympathetic than the Turks. Hea- thenism at its worst, though a low form of religion, is really a form of religion; but Mohammedanism is not a religion at all. Then what is it ? It is a svstem 168 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. of imposture and false pretense, and of lives of human lust and cruelty. Mohammed practiced all these, and his successors have done the same, and taught the same ever since; and the system means just that now, and nothing else. There is neither love nor sympa- thy, manliness nor humanity in Mohammedanism. Can a system lacking all these be considered a religion? This is the substance of Mohammed's teachings: — '* Love your fellow believers, hate and slay all who refuse to accept your religion. Marry as many wives as you can afford; if you can afford but one do not repine, for you shall have seven thousand to enjoy in Paradise. If you conquer a country, show no mercy to the people unless they embrace Islam; if they refuse, either kill them or make slaves of them." What sort of reforms can you expect in Armenia, or in Turkey, when the very religion that is to make people better, inculcates such principles ? If one does not know a language he cannot speak it; if he has not a principle he will not practice it; how can the Sultan, a vicious man to begin with, trained in a religion cal- culated to make a cruel and licentious animal even out of a decent man, reform anything ? His very religion forbids it; he cares nothing for the religion when it stands in his way, but he will follow its injunctions to please the Mohammedans, especially when they grat- ify and justify his worst passions. I shall be asked if the Mohammedans do not be- lieve in one God, and the same God as the Christian; and if that does not make it a religion, and very near RULERS OF THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE. 1G9 that oi Christians. Yes, they do; and so do the devils. That is what Mohammedanism is, the religion of devils. Host of the Turkish conversation consists of oaths and smut. I do not mean among the common people — theirs is nothing else — but of the ed\icated upper classes, dieir scholars, teachers, governors, and priests. I came in contact with them for years, and I hated to listen to them, their talk was so full of curs- ing and filth. You never see the fruits of the spirit in them; only the fruits of the flesh. They do not understand what spiritual life is ; with them all is sense, — eating and drinking, finery and lust, — lust above all, everywhere and always, like cattle. They seem never able to forget sex and its uses. Some people think the climate makes the Turks lazy; it is enough on that point to say that Constantinople is almost exactly in the same latitude as New York, and Smyrna as St. Louis. The Turkish climate is a tem- perate and salubrious one, with no greater extremes of temperature than the United States; not tropical or enervating. Nor is it their race that makes the Turks lazy; they were not so at the outset. It is their reli- gion and the habits it breeds. Their minds and bodies are enervated by the unwholesome nervous excitation of lust, their energies further sapped by a falsehood that leaves no room for aspiration, their vanity as a military caste in not working takes all the spirit of manly enterprise out of them. If the cli- mate enervates the Turks, why does it not the Chris- tians ? In the very same cities you find the Chris- 170 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. tians rich, enterprising, full of energy; the Turlts poor, ignorant, unambitious, and lazy. The religion makes all the difference. Christianity teaches purity, sym- pathy, and industry; Mohammedanism teaches im- purity, hate, and sloth. The pure life of the Chris- tian conserves all the energies; the hopes of Christian- ity give vigor and endurance. The promise of each for the future gives the clue to the history of each; the Christian heaven of unity with God, the Moham- medan heaven of a lot of street dogs and sluts. Here I must comment on the extraordinary state- ment of Alexander Webb, at the Parliament of Ee- ligions in Chicago. Mr. Webb was an American consul in the East, and became a convert to Moham- medanism, or professes to have done so; it is not very hard to guess what part of that so-called religion at- tracted him. He said the religion of Mohammed teaches the Fatherhood of God, and the Brotherhood of Humanity. Now, as a fact, Mohammedans believe in neither one. As to God, they believe he is a mon- arch, and that no one can approach him ; they have the same idea the Jews had. " Our Father who art in Heaven " is a purely Christian aspiration, not that of any other religion on earth ; it is Christianity alone that teaches the Fatherhood of God. And Moham- medans directly ridicule the idea of God the Father, or of a Son of God. They say God is not married, and cannot be a father; and that when they go to heaven they will not be in his presence, nor wish to be, but will have a separate heaven, to enjoy their wives in. They RULERS OF THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE. 171 look at everything from a sexual or sensual stand- point. As to brotherhood, there is no such thing in Mohammedanism; even sons of the same mother are not brothers in feeling. A Mohammedan has not con- fidence enough, even in his brother, to show his wives to him, and even in heaven they will have to live in dif- ferent places on account of their wives. How can there be brotherhood without love or purity ? And we have seen and know what the '' brotherhood " of Mohammedans to other nations and religions is; there can be no relations whatever but of master and slave, or murderer and corpse, or violator and victim. The impudence of this talk of brotherhood is fathomless. And then he said he was proud to be a convert to Islam, because that meant believing in purity ! This is more outrageously impudent still. His ideal of purity must be a curious one if he finds more in Mo- hammedanism than in Christianity; in a religion with a heaven stuffed with concubines than in one where even earth is sprinkled with nuns; in one that makes Titanic lust its crowning reward, as if men were so feeble in sexual desires that they needed to be stim- ulated, than in one which makes chastity its key-note, and pronounces the very coveting of more than one wife a spiritual adultery; in one that prescribes poly- gamy (that is, keeping erotic turbulence stirred up much oftener and longer than it naturally would be), than in one that allows but one wife, and smiles on getting along without that ; in one whose devotees are ashamed of foul language, and even of foul thoughts, 172 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. than in one whose devotees are rank and rotten with lustful ideas and talk to correspond. The whole Mohammedan system is designed to make the gratification of lust as easy and plentiful as possible short of a promiscuity that would lead to civil anarchy. A Mohammedan can divorce his wife any time he pleases by paying back her dower, and marry another and do likewise; every week, or day if he sees fit, and he can remarry and redivorce the first one as often as he pleases. It is like trading horses; as little sentiment or morality in one as the other; the slightest possible regulation of sheer animal desire. There is, however, one form or divorce which is complete, and does not allow of remarriage until another marriage has intervened; that is called the achden docuza (three to nine) divorce, from the terms the husband uses in doing it, "I divorce you three to nine." Nobody knows what it means or meant. After this, if he wants his wife back, he must get somebody else to marry and divorce her regularly; and as this is perilous, because the second husband after marrying her may take a notion to keep her, or any- way keep her much longer than the first one relishes, or demand a large sum of money, the usual plan is to fix on a very poor man, or a blind beggar (preferably blind, so that he cannot see the wife, and be so charmed by her beauties that he will wish to keep her), get him to become the woman's husband for a few days, and then pay him something to divorce her. Then the first can marry her again if he chooses. RULERS OF THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE. 173 There are many more specimens of Mohamme- dan " purity " too shameful to write, and too shame- ful to read ; I cannot soil the paper with them. Doubt- less they are part of Mr. Webb's pride in being a Mo- hammedan. But I must mention one more engine of corruption which lies at the very root of Mohamme- danism itself: the pilgrimage to Mecca, to the birth- place of Mohammed in Arabia. Once a year Mo- hammedan pilgrims from every quarter of the world go to Mecca to pay homage to their beloved prophet; averaging a million a year. It is their duty to sac- rifice animals there, and about a million are so sac- rificed. This is done on the hills which surround the great temple, the greatest mosque in the world. It is a square building, which covers several acres of land. Just in the cluster is the Holy Well, called Zemzem. Mohammedans believe that if they drink of that water, hell-fire cannot burn them, and every pilgrim does so; then they begin to die from cholera to the tune of fifty thousand a year or so, for the well is a mere cesspool. You see, after cutting the throats of the animals, they leave the filth and blood just as they are, for the Mohammedan religion does not allow the sacrifice to be touched. The sandy soil absorbs this putrid filth, which leaches into the well. But it is a great merit to die on the spot where Mohammed was born ; one goes straight to heaven if he does. That is not the worst, however; they fill bottles with that water, and carr}^ it to their families, and friends throughout the Turkish Empire, Persia, and India, from which cholera is spread abroad over the world. 174 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. The pilgrims do not take their wives as far as tlie birthplace of Mohammed, but leave them half-way, and on reaching Mecca they marry temporarily. About 20,000 prostitutes there make a business of being short-term wives of the pilgrims, getting $5 to $25 from each, and being his wife for anywhere from a day to a fortnight, so that each woman marries from fifty to a hundred pilgrims a year. This is not prostitution; it is religion — and Mohammedan '' purity." Mecca is considered the most holy spot on earth by ^lohammedans; but it is the most corrupt spot. It is a hell. And the Mohammedan Paradise is worse than Mecca. In one word, Mohammedans have no right to exist, politically, socially, or religiously. In the first they have wrought nothing but ruin ; in the second nothing but corruption; in the third nothing but devilishness. They are working nothing else now in either of the three. They have never built up anything ; they are pure destroyers. Anything which is built in any Mo- hammedan country is built both by Christian money and by Christian architects; Mohammedans have nei- ther the money, the architects, nor the sense. The day one becomes a Mohammedan he loses his intellect, his skill, and his common sense. Mohammedanism is a poison fatal to any good gifts or graces ; it cultivates in him falsehood, cruelty, and lust. It was sent by God for a curse to the Christians; as a punishment, just as the Philistines were sent to the people of Israel. THE GREAT POWERS AND THE ARME- NIAN QUESTION. There was no Armenian question till the time of the present Sultan; under Abdul Aziz, whatever his faults as a ruler or a man, the Armenians prospered well, and though the whole system of administration is bad, corrupt, and uncertain, they had no special grievance as a race to complain of. I have already referred to Abdul Hamid's usurpation, his Bulgarian atrocities, his famous war against Russia, and the Congress in Berlin in which the powers ordered him to execute reforms in Armenia, and report to them, and the Sultan signed the treaty promising to do it. This was in 1878. The Sultan lost no time in violat- ing the treaty, and not only so, but in acting grossly contrary to it. He called in Circassians and Kurds to settle in the midst of Armenians, and confiscated Ar- menian lands for them to settle on. The Armenians were far worse off than before the treaty; but foolishly depending on the powers, they did not try to arm themselves for the future. They have had plenty of chance to repent in blood and tears, agony and shame, their faith that Christian nations would not ignore a solemn obligation, voluntarily entered into, to save (175) 176 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. a whole people from being exterminated by fire and sword. England was the worst of these sinners, for she had taken on special obligations by a separate treaty, and forced those who would have taken the Sultan by the throat to let go. THE ANGLO-TURKISH CONVENTION. This took place at the same time as the Berlin Congress; it was simply between Turkey and Eng- land. Article I. " If Batoum, Ardahan, Kars, or any of them shall be retained by Russia, and if any attempt shall be made at any future time by Russia to take possession of any further territory of His Imperial Majesty, the Sultan, in Asia, as fixed by the Definitive Treaty of Peace, England engages to join His Imperial Majesty, the Sultan, in defend- ing them by force of arms. " In return, His Imperial Majesty, the Sultan, promises England to introduce necessary reforms, to be agreed upon later between the two powers, into the government and for the protection of the Christian and other subjects of the Porte in these territories; and in order to enable England to make necossaiT provisions for executing her engagement. His Imperial Majesty, the Sultan, further consents to assign the Island of Cyprus to be occupied and administered by England. Article VIL " If Rissia restores to Turkey Kars and the other conquests made by her in Armenia during the last war, the Island of Cyprus will be evacuated by England, and the convention of the 4th of June, 1878, will be at an end." When England was preparing this private treaty, the English fleet was on the Sea of Marmora, at the gate of the Bosphorus, threatening Russia, to make her withdraw her soldiers from the gates of Constanti- THE GREAT POWERS AND ARMENIA. 177 nople, for the conquering Russian army had reached the suburbs, and encamped at San Stefano, only eight or ten miles away. But for England, Russ ia would have captured Constantinople, and ke2)t it. But Eng- land backed Turkey, and the other powers backed England, and Russia reluctantly withdrew her troops. But Russia has never forciven England for it; and if England wishes to help tlie Armenians, no matter how many are massacred, Russia will help Turkey, while the others side with neither. As to there ever being a European concert to reform Armenia, a pleas- ant dream which has deluded many thousands, I have always laughed at it, and I laugh at it still. The powers will never act together for any such purpose. It is not " practical politics " to think of it. The real center of action is not Germany or Russia, but Eng- land, for several reasons. One is that London is the money capital of the world. Money rules; money buys force. The richest nation is the strongest. What does Lombard street say ? is the vital question. The second is her navy, the strongest in the world; stronger that that of any other two nations combined ; perhaps in actual fight a match for all combined. The third is that her possessions are everywhere; she is a local power in every quarter of the globe; she has to pass by everybody's doors in managing her colonies. So I will begin with England. ENGLAND AND THE ARMENIAN QUESTION. If England had wished to solve this question, she could have done it long ago; but she never cared to. 12 178 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. When Mr. Gladstone was in power, he tried to do it, but his Cabinet overbore him. He did, however, show by isolated cases what power England had if she chose to exercise it. After I was banished by the Turkish government, two native Christian ministers supplied my pulpit. They were sentenced to death on a false charge, but Gladstone threatened the Sul- tan, and the latter commuted the sentence to ban- ishment. These ministers were Professors Thoum- aian and Kayayian, who are now in England with their families. What could be done on a small scale could be done on a large one. I will give here some of the speeches of Gladstone on the Armenian ques- tion; then compare Lord Salisbury with him and his policy. W. E. Gladstone. He assails Turkey's Intolerable Misgovemment and BmpTiasizes the Value of Impartial American Testimony. [By Cable to The New York Herald.] London, Aug. 6, 1895. — A pro-American meet- ing, presided over by the Duke of Westminster, was held at Chester this afternoon. Mr. Gladstone was among those present, and upon entering the hall was received with great enthusiasm. In addressing the meeting, Mr. Gladstone said he had attended rather to meet the expectation that he would be present than because he had any important contribution to make to the discussion of the subject under consideration. The question before the meet- ing, he said, was not a party question, neither was it strictly a religious question, although the sufferers, on whose behalf the meeting was called, were Christians. THE GREAT POWERS AND ARMENIA. 179 The evil arose from the fact that the sufferers were under an intolerably bad government — one of the worst, in fact, that ever existed. A resolution would be proposed presenting, with justice and firmness, the true view of the matter. Mr. Gladstone added that as America had no political interest in the Levant her witnesses were doubly entitled to credit. Important Treaty Promsiom. The treaty of 1856, Mr. Gladstone continued, gave the powers the right to march into Armenia and take the government of the country out of the hands of Turkey, and under the treaty of 1878 the Sultan was bound to carry out reforms. The ex-Premier made three proposals: — First, that the demands of the powers should be moderate ; second, that no prom- ises of the Turkish authorities should be accepted ; and third, that the powers should not fear the word " coer- cion." " We have reached a critical position," said Mr. Gladstone, in conclusion, " and the honor of the pow- ers is pledged to the institution of reforms in Ar- menia." A resolution was then proposed expressing the conviction that the government would have the sup- port of the entire nation in any measures it might adopt to secure in Armenia reforms guaranteeing to the inhabitants safety of life, honor, religion, and property, and that no reforms can be effected which are not placed under the continuous control of the great powers of Europe. The resolution was sec- onded by the Kev. Canon Malcolm MacColl, and was adopted. 180 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. Says Baseness and Villany Have Beached a Climax in Turkey's Treatment of Aiifnenia. [From The New York Herald.] London, Dec. 27, 1895. — Murad Bey, formerly Ottoman Commissioner of the Turkish debt, who re- cently fled from Constantinople to Paris, sent to Mr. Gladstone a few days ago a pamphlet which he had published in Paris, entitled " The Yildiz Palace and the Sublime Porte," with a view to enlightening public opinion on Turkish affairs. In the course of his reply acknowledging the receipt of the pamphlet, Mr. Gladstone disavowed any feeling of enmity toward the Turks and Mussulmans generally. He said: — "I have felt it my duty to make it known that the Mo- hammedans, including the Turks, suffer from the bad government of the Sultan. I have heartily wished success to every effort made toward ending the great evil. Still, Turks and other Mohammedans are not, so far as I know, plundered, raped, murdered, starved, and burned; but this is the treatment that the Sultan knowingly deals out to his Armenian subjects daily. There are degrees of suffering, degrees of baseness and villany among men, and both seem to have reached their climax in the case of Armenia." His Masterly Speech in Chester Be-enforced with a letter to a Turk. [From The New York Sun.] London, Aug. 10. — Once more have the wonder- ful power and the true greatness of England's Grand Old Man been demonstrated in the remarkable re- vival of popular interest in the fate of Armenia. The whole nation is marveling over his great speech at Chester, and there are no words, even among those who have always been his political opponents, save THE GREAT POWERS AND AR:^rENIA. 181 those of sympathy and admiration. Nobody is any longer foolish enough to deny the main features of the fearful atrocities in Armenia, and there is no possi- ble doubt of the accuracy of the latest reports that thousands near the scene of the massacres are per- ishing of starvation. Tlie only protest against Mr. Gladstone's speech has been a long letter from Khalef Khalid, a con- spicuous Turk, who asks the Grand Old Man why he hates and denounces the Turks so indiscriminately, when as many and as great outrages against the Mo- hammedans have been perpetrated by Christians as were ever committed by the subjects of Islam. Mr. Gladstone's reply was made public to-day. It is one of the most pointed epistles the old man ever wrote. He says: — " I entirely disclaim the hatred and hostility to the Turks, or any race of men, which you ascribe to me. I do not doubt that you write in entire good faith, but your statements of facts are unauthenticated. I proceed only upon authenticated statements. I make no charge against the Turks at large, but against a Turkish government. I make the charges which they have been proved guilty of by public authority. In my opinion, I have been a far better friend to the Ottoman Empire than have the Sultan and his advisers. I have always recom- mended the granting of reasonable powers of local self- government, which would have saved Turkey from ter- rible losses. This good advice has been spurned, and in consequence Turkey has lost 18,000,000 of people, and may lose more. Pray weigh these words." — The birthday of the Ex-Premier was made the oc- casion for an anti-Turkish demonstration. 182 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. Outrages and Abominations of 1876 in Bulgaria Repeated in Armenia in 1894. [From The New York Herald.] London, Dec. 29, 1894. — Mr. Gladstone cele- brated his eighty-fifth birthday to-day, and was the recipient of hundreds of letters and telegrams of con- gratulation and parcels containing birthday gifts. Mr. Gladstone was in remarkably good health and spirits, and, despite the stormy weather, drove through the village of Hawarden to the church, where he met a deputation of Armenian Christians from Paris and London. The deputation presented a silver chalice to •the church. The chalice was presented to the Rev. Stephen Gladstone, son of the ex-Premier, and rector of the Hawarden church, in recognition of the interest his father has taken in the Armenian outrages. Mr. Gladstone, in his reply to the deputation's address, said that it was not their duty to assume that all the allega- tions of outrages were true, but rather to .await the re- sult of the inquiry which had been instituted. How- ever, he said, the published accounts pointed strongly to the conclusion that the outrages, sins, and abomina- tions committed in 1876 in Bulgaria had been repeated in 1894 in Armenia. Continuing, Mr. Gladstone said: " Don't let me be told that one nation has no authority over another. Every nation, aye, every human being, has authority in behalf of humanity and justice." He had been silent, he said, because he had full confidence that the government knew its duty. If the allegations made should prove to be true, it was time that the execration of humanity should force itself upon the ears of the Sultan of Turkey, and make him sensible of the madness of such a course as was being pursued. Mr. Gladstone, in conclusion, said: — "The history of Turkey is a sad and painful one. The Turkish race has not been without remarkable, even fine qualities, THE GREAT POWERS AND ARMENIA. 183 but from too many points of view it has been a scourge which has been made use of by a wise Providence for the sins of the world. If these tales of murder, viola- tion, and outrage be true, well, then, they cannot be overlooked, nor can they be made light of. I have lived to see the Empire of Turkey in Europe reduced to less than one-half of what it was when I was born. And why ? Simply because of its misdeeds, and the great record written by the hand of Almighty God against its injustice, lust, and most abominable cruelty. I hope and feel sure that the government of Great Britain will do everything that can be done to pierce to the bottom of this mystery, and make the facts known to the world. " If happily (I speak hoping against hope) the re- ports be disproved or mitigated, let us thank God. If, on the other hand, they be established, it will more than ever stand before the world that there is a lesson, however severe it may be, that can teach certain people the duty of prudence, and the necessity of observing the laws of decency, humanity, and justice. If the allegations are true, it is time that there should be one general shout of execration against these deeds of wick- edness from outraged humanity. If the facts are well established, it should be written in letters of iron upon the records of the world that a government which could be guilty of countenancing and covering up such atrocities is a disgrace to Mohammed the prophet, a disgrace to civilization at large, and a disgrace to mankind. Now that is strong language, but strong language ought to be used when the facts are strong. But strong language ought not to be used without the strength of facts. " I have counseled you to be still and keep your judgment in suspense; but as the evidence grows, the case darkens, and my hopes dwindle and decline, and 184 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. as long as I have voice it will be uttered in behalf of humanity and truth. I wish you heartily every bless- ing, and also wish with every heartiness prosperity to your nation, however dark the present may. seem." Lord Salisbury. "Now we come to the present Prime Minister, Lord Salisbury. He is reputed a great statesman. That should mean that he has accomplished something great. Well, what ? I know of nothing, have heard of nothing. Has he saved any country ? Has he elevated any ? Has he done any public action that can be set down to his credit ? He has hindered some good ones, that is all. On the Armenian question he has done enormous harm. If he is not a great hypo- crite, there is no use comparing a man's words with his actions. I have always told my friends that nothing good could be hoped for from him, for morally he is worse than the Sultan. An eminent English clergy- man told me that Lord Salisbury is another Sultan, and I believe him. Here are a few of Lord Salis- bury's deliverances; see how they agree: — [From The New York World, August 16, 1895.] Lord Salisbury to Sir Philip Currie, the British Ambassador to Constantinople: — "The Porte must accept the proposals of the Powers unconditionally, or England would use sharper means than those adopted by Lord Rosebery to settle affairs in Armenia." — [July 80, 1895. Lord Salisbury, in a speech in London about the time of the above, said, " The concert of Europe on the Armenian question is complete, and England THE GREAT POWERS AND ARMENIA. 186 has the loyal support of other powers to reform Ar- menia." At another time we note: — " There is every rea- son to believe that the Chinese government is sincerely desirous of punishing the perpetrators of the outrages and those who connived at them. Should any luke- warmness become discernible, it will become our duty to supply its defect. " With respect to Armenia, we have accepted the policy which our predecessors initiated, and our efforts will be directed to obtaining an adequate guarantee for the carrying out of reform. We have received the most loyal support from both France and Russia. The permanence of the Sultan's rule is involved in the con- duct he pursues. If the cries of misery continue, the Sultan must realize that Europe will become weary of appeals, and. the fictitious strength which the pow- ers have given the empire will fail it. The Sultan will make a calamitous mistake if he refuses to accept the advice of the European powers relative to the re- forms." The House of Lords adopted the address in reply to the Queen's speech. After the above strong worda, Lord Salisbury backed down and sneaked out of his bold attitude in this way. (Jan. 31, 1896.) See how he asserts, first that England cannot do anything for the Armenians, and second that it is not her duty to do anything : — [From The New York Tribune.] " The Prime Minister expressed sympathy with the Armenians, but denied that Great Britain was under obligation to declare war against the Sultan of Turkey in order to compel him to govern justly, and cited the treaties in proof of his contention. He ascribed the atrocities to the passions of race and creed. 186 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. / He believed that the Sultan's government was wretched and impotent, but there was no ground for im- agining that the Sultan had instigated the massacres. It might be asked why Europe did not interfere. He could only answer for England. She had lacked the power to do the only thing necessary to end the trou- bles, namely, to militarily occupy Turkish provinces. None of the powers wished so to occupy them. '^ Lord Salisbury said he concurred in the belief that the only authority, albeit it was an evil one, in that country was the prestige of the Sultan's name. Patience must be exercised, and time must be given to His Majesty to enforce the reforms he had prom- ised; He remarked upon the gradual return of order in Anatolia during the last few weeks, although he admitted that these signs should not be trusted too much. He concluded by declaring that if Great Britain did not co-operate with the other powers, she must act against them, which would lead to calamities far more awful than the Armenian massacres." Ambassador Currie instructed -not to exert Undue Pressure on the Sultan. [From The New York World, 1895.] London, Nov. 23, 1895. — It can be authoritatively stated that Lord Salisbury's instructions to Sir Philip Currie, the British Ambassador to Turkey, who left England a few" days ago on his return to his post of duty, are to refrain from exerting undue pressure on the Sultan for the execution of the reforms in Ar- menia, and to give the JPorte time to recover from the existing administrative anarchy, and appoint au- thorities through whom the reforms must be effected. Sir Philip has taken with him an autograph letter from the Queen to the Sultan. This is supposed to be a reply to a letter the Sultan sent to her with the THE GREAT POWERS AND ARMENIA. 187 communication he sent to Lord Salisbury, which the latter read at the meeting of the National Union of Conservatives at Brighton, on Tuesday night last. It is reported that the Queen will invite the Sul- tan to visit England, when the time shall be auspi- cious. The anxiety at the Foreign Office in regard to the East has greatly lessened during the week. England possessed the Island of Cyprus, and it be- came her duty to look after the reforms in Turkey. But now Salisbury denies it, saying that it is not her duty, and meantime says that time must be given to the Sultan of Turkey, as if all the time had not been given him since the Berlin treaty of 1878. Salisbury used another silly trick, persuading the Queen of England to write a letter to the Sultan and appeal to his good nature; as if the Sultan had a good nature; but the Queen wrote the letter. A strong criticism by the editor of the New York " Press " on Lord Salisbury's speech. February 3, 1896. " We confess that we are at a loss to comprehend the meaning of Lord Salisbury's Armenian speech. We do not know what to make of it when he says that the Berlin Treaty " bound the signatory powers; that, if the Sultan promulgated certain reforms, they would watch over tlie progress of these reforms. Nothing more." We cannot understand him when he de- clares that the Cyprus Convention ^ contains no trace of an understanding to interfere in behalf of the Sul- tan's subjects.' When Russia made, in March, 1878, a treaty with Turkey, called the treaty of San Stefano, Great Britain became alarmed lest Russia should se- 188 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. cure too much influence in Constantinople. Kussia then held some Armenian provinces bordering on her territory, and it seemed clear that it was her purpose to seize others. England protested to the Sultan against the treaty of San Stefano, but the government of the Ottoman Porte was helpless against the Czar, and the Sultan declared that he must adhere to the treaty. Great Britain then secretly bound herself to aid Tur- key by force of arms in preventing Russia from ap- propriating further Armenian provinces, Turkey agreeing, on her part, to reform her local administra- tion in her remaining Armenian provinces and as- signing the island of Cyprus to be occupied and ad- ministered by Great Britain. " Great Britain, meanwhile, had incited the other powers of Europe to take action against the treaty of San Stefano. Austria was induced to suggest a Euro- pean Congress. Russia at first refused to go into this Congress; but, seeing that all the great powers were uniting against her, she consented to attend. The re- sult of this Congress was the Treaty of Berlin, signed by the six powers, — England, Russia, Germany, France, Austria, and Italy. By this treaty Turkey was stripped of Bulgaria, Servia, and Roumania, and Russia was deprived of all she had won during the Turko-Russian w^ar, except the Armenian pro- vinces which she still controls. By this treaty, also, the signatory powers became guardians and trustees of the Ottoman Porte, pledging themselves that religious freedom should be secured in the Turkish Empire, and that Armenian Christians should be protected against the Circassians and Kurds. " We are puzzled, therefore, to understand Lord Salisbury when he says that all these promises did not mean anything. Certainly he ought to know, for, as the agent of the Disraeli government, it was Lord THE GREAT P0WJ)U8 AND ARMENIA. 189 Salisbury who drafted the agreements and drew up the promises. For eighteen years Christian civiliza- tion has supposed that they did mean something. But Lord Salisbury says not. He says that all the powers agreed to do was to ^ watch over the execution of those reforms ' if they were promulgated. " What does that mean, anyway ? Does it mean, as the Christian world has all along supposed, that the six powers would engage themselves to see that these reforms were carried out by Turkey, or does it mean that if the reforms were carried out they would simply look on; and if the reforms were not carried out, if ten thousand Armenian homes were destroyed, and four times ten thousand Armenian citizens were butchered, they would still simply look on ? " I^or do we understand Lord Salisbury w^hen he pleads that it requires time for the Turkish govern- ment to carry out the reforms ^ which the Sultan re- cently has accepted.' Why the Turkish govern- ment ? There is no Turkish government. There is a Mohammedan administration, but the government of the Ottoman Porte expired mth the Treaty of Ber- lin. The Turkish government is vested de facto in the six signatory powers of the Berlin Congress. Even the local government of Constantinople itself lies in the hands of these powers. The capital is divided into six sections, each controlled by a treaty power. Each has its own courts, its own military, even its own police. When Englishmen wish a wrong to be righted in the Turkish Empire, or a reform to be executed, they do not request the ' Turkish government ' to listen to their appeal. The British Minister summons the Grand Yezir and orders him to do what is wished. And he does it forthwith, so far as he is permitted by the orders of the representatives of the other treaty powers. It is in London, in Berlin, in St. Petersburg, 190 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. in Paris, in Vienna, and in Eome that the Turkish government rests. " It is for these reasons that Ave are unable to un- derstand what Lord Salisbury means when he says that the Berlin Treaty and the Cyprus Convention impose no responsibility for Armenian reforms upon any one save the Sultan. The Cyprus Convention specifies: — " Treaty of Defensive Alliance between the British Government and the Sublime Porte, signed on June 4, 1878:— Article I. If Batoum, Ardahau, Kars, or any of them shall be retained by Russia, and if any attempt shall be made at any future time by Russia to take possession of any further territories of his imperial Majesty, the Sultan, in Asia, as fixed by the definitive treaty of peace, England engages to join His Imperial Majesty, the Sultan, in defend- ing them by force of arms. In return. His Imperial Majesty, the Sultan, promises to England to introduce necessary reforms, to be agreed upon later between the two powers, into the government, and for the protection of Christian and other subjects of the Porte in these territories; and in order to enable England to make necessai*y provision for executing her engagement. His Imperial Majesty, the Sultan, further consents to assign the Island of Cyprus, to be occupied and administered by England. " Why, then, does not Lord Salisbury carry out England's pledges, for which he is directly responsi- ble, since he made them in her name ? ^•' England must be held to an accounting for the disorders in Armenia. There are no such disorders in the provinces administered by the Czar, provinces adjoining those where for the last six years pillage, destruction, and murder have swept away every sign of government. In the provinces controlled by the Czar the Armenians have been so well treated, enjoy- THE GREAT POWERS AND ARMENIA. 191 ing unquestioned religious freedom and rights, that there have been not the slightest disorders. But in the provinces where England pledged reform, the Ar- menian is butchered daily. " Does Lord Salisbury mean that so long as Great Britain occupies Cyprus, pending the execution of re- forms, it is better for England that the reforms should not be executed and that England should * watch over them ; nothing more ' ? " Note carefully what Salisbury says first; then what he says afterward. First he says there is complete concert among the powers, then he says there is not; fii-st he threatens the Sultan, then he is' friendly. First he seems to be a brave and noble statesman, then a cowardly politician. Sir Philip Currie, the British Ambassador at Con- stantinople, is a brave and noble gentleman. He was sent there by the Liberal government, before Salis- bury's accession. He has done a great deal for the Armenian cause. But after Lord Salisbury became Prime Minister, he called him to London and in- structed him to have cordial relations with the Sultan, and now he can do nothing. Finally there appear to be two Englands, con- servative England and liberal England, slave Eng- land and free England, selfish England and noble and sympathetic England, false England and true England. The head of conservative, selfish, false, op- pressive England is Lord Salisbury. The head of liberal, free, noble, and true England is Mr. Glad- stone. Therefore nothing for Armenia can be ex- 192 AR^lENIA AND HER PEOPLE. pected from the Conservatives, while much may be hoped from the Liberals. Gladstone is an old man, but God will raise a Joshua to succeed Moses; Glad- stone will see the Armenian nation free, and then he will die. GERMANY AND THE ARMENIAN QUESTION. Listen to what the haughty young ruler of Ger- many says: — '^ It is better that the Armenians be killed than the peace of Europe be disturbed." The explanation is easy enough. When he visited Con- stantinople half a dozen years ago, the Sultan pre- sented him with Arabian horses, jewelry of massive gold, and many other valuable articles, worth in all several hundred thousand dollars; and last summer sent him a beautiful and valuable sword made in Con- stantinople by Armenians, which was carried to him by Shakir Pasha, the butcher who was afterwards appointed by the Sultan to reform Armenia, — the commander of the " Hamidieh Cavalry," whose work I tell of later on. This embassy was to secure the al- liance of Germany against molestation by Russia. The German Emperor has three motives in his present action. One is to show gratitude for the Sul- tan's generosity — as though it were not the easiest thing in the world to be munificent when it all comes out of other people. The second is to punish Lord Salisbury for not getting England to join the Triple Alliance, when the Emperor asked him in person on his journey to England. When Salisbury threat- ened the Sultan in the interest of Armenia, the Ger- THE GREAT POWERS AND ARMENIA. 193 man Emperor said, " The English government has no right to interfere with the Turkish Empire. Every sovereign must have the right to govern as he thinks necessary, or he is no sovereign." He afterwards sent his Chancellor, Prince Hohenlohe, to the Czar to arrange united resistance to England, and after- wards sent Count Von Moltke on the same errand. And the Czar instructed his Ambassador at Con- stantinople, M. I^elido£F, to inform the Sultan that he would not support the English government in coercing Turkey. The Sultan therefore refused Sal- isbury's demands, and he dared not go on alone. The Emperor's third motive was to gain the friendship of the Czar against France, which had lately been taking up the Russian alliance with great fervor. Another reason is that he hates the Armenians for having bought the German factories and property in Amas- sia. He is very anxious to plant German colonies in Turkey, of all places in the world, for profit. There are about fifty families in Amassia, near Marsovan, and they had started various kinds of factories there ; but the shrewd and wealthy Armenians bought them out. The Emperor is angry because his colony was not successful. For all these reasons the German Emperor refused to send gunboats to the Bosphorus when the other powers did; he said he saw no need of it. He was right so far as Germans were concerned; the Sultan was not going to allow his ally's subjects to be slaugh- tered and the ally turned into an enemy. And if he 13 194 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. could stop the massacre of one sort of people, he could of another; nothing shows the Sultan's deliberate purpose in the massacres better than the fact that when he chose not to let any particular sort of people be harmed, that sort were not harmed. But as to Germany, what hope for Armenia is there from it ? The Emperor has his own interests, and the Armen- ians might be tortured or outraged to death, and he would not stir a finger. RUSSIA AND THE ARMENIANS. The present Czar, Nicholas II, is a corrupt weak- ling, who is on the throne by the law of heredity, against the will of his father. Morally he is as bad as the Sultan; not so cruel yet, though he may de- velop that in time, but fully as sensual and de- void of principle. I have had it from good Russian authority that his life before his marriage was so bad that it has rendered him entirely impotent. " Birds of a feather flock together." No wonder he helps the Sultan. His political aims and character are wholly selfish. He, too, like the German Emperor, is continually exchanging presents with the Sultan. Here is a press notice of Feb. 26, 1896: — " M. Nelidoff, the Russian Ambassador, has presented to the Sultan a pair of jasper vases from the Czar, together with an autograph letter from His Ma- jesty thanking the Sultan for the gifts sent to him." Not only so, but they have concluded an alliance. Read the following dispatch of Jan. 23, 1896: — THE GREAT POWERS AND ARMENIA. 195 " London, Jan. 23, 1896.— A dispatch to the Pall Mall Gazette from Constantinople, dated yesterday, savs that an offensive and defensive alliance has been concluded between Russia and Turkey. The Pall Mall Gazette correspondent adds that the treaty was signed at Constantinople, and that the ratifications were ex- changed at St. Petersburg between Arifi Pasha and the Czar. " The basis of the treaty is declared to be on the lines of the Unkiarskelessi agreement of 1833, by which Turkey agreed, in the event of Russia going to war, to close the Dardanelles to war-ships of all nations. The Pall Mall Gazette's correspondent then says the treaty will soon be abandoned, owing to the refusal of the powers to recognize it. He also says that the French Ambassador, M. Cambon, conferred with the Sultan yesterday, and that it is probable France will be included in the new alliance. "The Pall Mall Gazette says: MVe regard the news as true, and the result of the treaty is that the Dardanelles is now the Southern outpost of Russia, and Turkey is Russia's vassal. AVe presume the British government wdll protest against the treaty for all it is worth. " ^ The information is plainly of the very gravest importance. The first intimation reached us four days ago; but we withheld it until the arrival of strong confirmation, which we received this morning. This brings Russia into the Mediterranean with a ven- geance, and may necessitate the strengthening of our fleet in those waters. Politically, the effect will be far greater. The treaty means that Turkey has real- ized her own impotence against disorders both from within and without, and has decided to throw herself for safety into the arms of Russia. She is now Rus- sia's vassal, and Russia is entitled to dispatch troops 196 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. to any part of the Sultan's dominions whenever there is the least breach of order — and when is there not ? " ^ We presume the arrangement will give the keen- est satisfaction to the Anglo-American section of our people. With them lies the chief blame for the complete alienation of Turkey, though it must be owned that it has been sedulously fostered by a long term of weak policy at Constantinople.' '' For the present the Czar will do no more mischief, because he is to have his coronation in May, and pre- fers to put on the smoothest outside to every nation; but after that is over he will show his hand. His father and his grandfather favored the Armenians in Russia, and they prospered wonderfully, but this one proposes to persecute them to please the Sultan. The two will join in a common policy toward the unhappy race, till not less than a million are slain. The Czar's motive is not love of the Sultan, whom he hates in spite of their community of character; it is simply that he wishes to get Constantinople peaceably if he can. The Sultan knows this quite well, but he is too weak in military power, and too poor, and owes too large an indemnity to the Czar to be able to help him- self. He is compelled to throw himself on the Czar for protection. Will the Czar succeed in getting Constantinople ? ^o; the attempt will ruin and break up the Russian Empire. All the European powers would resist it; some of them may seem friendly to the Czar now, but when he comes to seize Constantinople every one of them will be against him. He Avill try it, hone the THE GREAT POWERS AND ARMENIA. 197 less. The famous " will " of Peter the Great, though a patent and notorious forgery of Napoleon's, — never seen till 1812, just before the Russian campaign, and circulated then to influence Europe against Russia, — was the most magnificent piece of forgery ever com- mitted, for it has actually become a guiding policy to the country it was aimed against, just as if it had been real. Nothing in history equals this for impu- dence and success combined ; it is a true Xapoleonism. This bogus '' will " has become the " Monroe doc- trine " of Russia; I am not entitled to say whether the latter is as mischievous as the former. That most Russian of all Russian journals, the " Ruskija Yja- domosti," has lately been having one of its periodical spasms of hysterical hatred toward all policy not "^ good Russian," and boldly proclaims that Russia must follow the precepts laid down in this will ! Since, therefore, it is just as important as if it were not the greatest of all " fakes," I give it here that the reader may know what Russian policy is to be : — Will of Peter the Great. In the name of the most holy and indivisible Trinity, we, Peter the Great, unto all our descendants and succes- sors to the throne and f?overnment of the Russian nation: the All-Powerful. from whom we hold our life and our throne, after having: i-evealed unto us his wishes and intentions, and after bein^ our support, permits us to look upon Russia as called upon to establish her rule over all Europe. This idea is based upon the fact that all nations of this portion of the globe are fast approaching: a state of utter decrepi- tude. From this it results that they can be easily conquered by a new race of people when it has attained full power and strength. We look upon our invasion of the West and 198 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. East as a decree of divine providence, which has already once regenerated the Roman Empire by an invasion of "barbarians." The emigration of men from tlie North is lilie the inunda- tion of tlie Nile, which, at certain seasons, enriches with its waters the arid plains of Egypt. We found Russia a small rivulet; we leave it an immense river. Our successor will make it an ocean, destined to fertilize the whole of Europe if they know how to guide its waves. We leave them, then, the following iusti lutions, which we earnestly recommend to their constant meditation. I. To keep the Prussian nation in constant warfare, in order always to have good soldiers. Peace must only be permitted to recuperate tinance, to recruit the army, to choose the moment favorable for attack. Thus peace will advance your projects of war, and war those of peace, for obtaining the enlargement and prosperity of Russia. II. Draw unto you by all possible means, from the civilized nations of Europe, captains during war and learned men during peace, so that Russia may benefit by the ad- vantages of other nations. III. Take care to mix in the affairs of all Europe, and in particular of Germany, which, being the nearest nation to you, deserves your chief attention. IV. Divide Poland by raising up continual disorders and jealousies within its bosom. Gain over its rulers with gold influence and corrupt the Diet, in order to have a voice in the election of the kings. Make partisans and pro- tect them; if neighboring powers raise objections and op- position, surmount the obstacles by stirring up discord within their countries. V. Take all you can from Sweden, and to this effect isolate her from Denmark, and vice versa. Be careful to rouse their mutual jealousy. VI. Marry Russian princes to German Princesses; multiply these alliances, unite these interests, and by the in- crease of our influence attach Germany to our cause. VII. Seek the alliance with England on account of our commerce, as being the country most useful for the develop- ment of our navy, merchants, etc., and for the exchange ot THE GREAT POWERS AND ARMENIA. 199 our produce against hor gold. Keep up continual communi- cation with her merchants and sailors, so that ours may ac- quire experience in commerce and navigation. VIII. Constantly extend yourselves along the shores of the Baltic and the borders of the Euxine. IX. Do all in your power to approach closely Constan- tinople and India. Remember that he who rules over these countries is the real sovereign of the world. Keep up con- tinued wars with Turkey and with Persia. Establish dock- yards in the Black Sea. Gradually obtain the command of this sea as well as of the Baltic. This is necessary for the entire success of our projects. Hasten the fall of Persia. Open for yourself a route toward the Persian Gulf. Re-establish as much as possible, by means of Syria, the ancient commerce of the Levant, and thus advance toward India. Once there you will not require English gold. X. Carefully seek the alliance of Austria. Make her believe that you will second her in her projects for dominion over Germany, but secretly stir up other princes against her, and manage so that each be disposed to claim the assistance of Russia; and exercise over each a sort of pro- tection, which will lead the way to a future dominion over them. XI. Make Austria drive the Turks out of Europe, and neutmlize her jealousy by offering to her a portion of your conquests, which you will further on take back. XII. Above all, recall around you the schismatic Greeks who are spread over Hungary and Poland. Become their center, and support a universal dominion over them by a kind of sacerdotal autocracy; by this you will have many friends among your enemies. XIII. Sweden dismembered, Persia conquered, Poland subjugated, Turkey beaten, our armies united, the Black and Baltic seas guarded by our vessels, prepare, separately and secretly, first the court of Versailles, then that of Vienna, to share the empire of the universe with Russia. If one accept, flatter her ambition and vanity, and make use of one to crush the other by engaging them in war. The result cannot be doubted; Russia will be possessed of the whole of the East and a great portion of Europe. 200 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. XIV. If, which is not probable, both should refuse the offer of Russia, raise a quarrel between them, and one which will ruin them both; then Russia, profiting by this decisive movement, will inundate Germany with the troops which she will have assembled beforehand. At the same time two fleets full of soldiers will leave the Baltic and the Black Sea, will advance along the Mediterranean and the ocean, keeping France in check with the one and Germany with the other. And these two countries conquered, the re- mainder of Europe will fall under our yoke. Thus can Europe be subjugated. But aside from this, no help could be expected from Kussia in any event, because she needs all her strength to save herself from destruction by her own internal decay. She is a great tree, hollow in the in- side. The Nihilists and the Constitutional Reform- ers are both against her, and, in my belief, she will go to pieces in the present Czar's lifetime. The Sul- tan's days are numbered, but the Czar's and the Em- peror's are too; their own people will rise and depose them. It is against Socialists and Nihilists that they are massing such great armies. How can they spare any service for a people being murdered off the earth ? FRANCE AND ARMENIA. Of the other powers, little need be said. France has lost all her great men, and become a tail to Rus- sia, and is ready to be moved blindly, as Russia may direct. And as part of the people are infidels, and the rest fanatical Catholics, there is no religious mo- tive to prompt them to come to the rescue. France, in a word, can or will do nothing directly; all it can do is to threaten the haughty Emperor of Germany. THE GREAT POWERS AND ARMENIA. 201 Italy is bankrupt, and ovon the throne of King Hum- bert is in danger, and that country will follow in the wake of Austria. THE POPE OF ROME AND THE ARMENIANS. Pope Leo XIII sent 70,000 lire to the Armenian sufferers; probably to the Catholics alone, for there are about 100,000 Catholic Armenians in Turkey. But the Armenians can expect no help from the Pope ; he has no troops ; he has no great fund of spare money, and he would be very unlikely to use either if he had them. The motive of all the Popes has been to con- vert the Protestant Armenian Church to become a part of the Roman Catholic Church, — to acknowledge the Papacy. I say Protestant, for before Martin Lu- ther was born, the Armenian Church protested against the popes of Rome age after age, and was persecuted by them. The Armenians offer their thanks to the Pope for his gifts, but they cannot accept his domin- ion. [Press dispatch, N. Y. Herald. 1 Rome, Dec. 16, 1895.— The Pope has sent 20,- 000 lire for the relief of the sufferers from Turkish misrule in Anatolia, in addition to the 50,000 lire previously given by him for the same purpose." The European edition published recently in a dispatch from Rome the following passage dealing with the Eastern question in the allocution delivered by Leo XIII at the consistory on November 29 : — " The whole of Europe in anxious expectation looks toward its eastern neighbor, troubled by griev- 202 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. ons events and internal conflicts. The sight of towns and villages defiled by scenes of blood and of vast ex- tents of territory ravaged by fire and sword is a cruel and lamentable spectacle. '' While the powers are taking counsel together in the laudable effort to find means of putting an end to the carnage and restore quiet, we have not omitted to defend this noble and just cause to the extent of our power. Long before these recent events, we vol- untarily intervened in favor of the Armenian nation. We advised concord, quiet, and equity. '' Our counsels did not appear to give offense. We mean to pursue the work we have begun, for we desire nothing so much as to see the security of persons and all rights safeguarded throughout the immense em- pire. " In the meantime we have decided to send help to the most tried and the most needy of the Armen- AMERICA AND ARMENIA. !N^ow we cross the ocean and come to the United States. Everywhere here the people have shown the greatest sympathy for us; and the Armenians are deeply moved and exceedingly grateful for it. The newspapers have almost uniformly been on our side also; the only exception of any moment has been the !N'ew York " Herald," which has steadily favored the Sultan. The reason is the same as for General Wal- lace's like opinion of that worthless animal, — mis- taking his entertainments and gifts for proofs of good character, humanity, and statesmanship. Mr. Ben- nett, too, knows the taste of the dinners at the palace, and perhaps the weight of the golden ornaments he THE GREAT POWERS AND ARMENIA. 203 gives out. Fortunately his paper has very little in- lluence on public opinion; and the real leaders of it have remained true. I believe it will be the Americans who will finally put an end to the Ariuonian atrocities; but the time has not come yet. It will take two years more, then this 70,000,000 of people will be aroused as one man and stop them. I should like here to give an account of the many mass meetings held here for our cause; but I can only take space for two, one which I organ- ized in Baltimore, and one held in New York, at which I was present. Mass-Meeting at Levering Hall, Baltimore [Report from Baltimore Sun.] December 11, 1894. — An enthusiastic meeting of Baltimoreans was held last night at Levering Hall, Johns Hopkins University, to make an emphatic pro- test against the Turkish outrages upon Christian Ar- menians, and to urge the United States government to do all in its power to remedy the existing evils. The meeting was called by a committee of Balti- more ministers. It was presided over by Attorney- General John P. Poe, and the Rev. T. M. Beadenkoff was the secretary. Addresses were made by Mr. Poe, Rev. George H. Filian, an exiled Armenian Christian Minister, Rabbi Wm. Rosenan, and Rev. Dr. F. M. Ellis. Cardinal Gibbons and Judge Harlan sent letters regretting their inability to be present, and express- ing sympathy with the object of the gathering. Mr. Poe, in taking the chair, said: — "The ac- counts which have reached us of the indescribable atrocities recently committed upon the Christians in 204 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. Armenia have stirred the indignation and aroused the sympathy of the whole country. '' At first the nameless outrages inflicted upon them were received with incredulity, for it seemed al- most impossible that they could be true. But there is now no reason to discredit the harrowing details. In- deed, denial is hardly any longer attempted, nor is it claimed that the reports of the cruelties of which these helpless people are the victims have been exaggerated. *' Conscious that the facts cannot be suppressed or belittled, the representatives and apologists of the ruthless perpetrators of these atrocities are endeavor- ing to palliate and excuse the enormities which they cannot truthfully deny. In order to shield them- selves and their governments from universal execra- tion, the world is asked to believe that the Christians of Armenia were themselves the aggressors, and that the horrors of massacre and rapine which have been visited upon them with such relentless fury were but necessary and pardonable measures of pimishment and repression. The long record of the patient and sub- missive sufferers is a silent yet unanswerable refuta- tion of this falsehood. " In their misery and woe these sufferers lift their eyes to us, and ask us to extend to them such sympathy and assistance as will rescue them from total ruin. " We are met here to-night to express these feel- ings — to declare that we cannot look unmoved upon the calamities of our Christian brethren, though sep- arated from us by thousands of miles, and to recom- mend to Congress the adoption of such measures as, without departure from the well-settled policy of our government, will bring; to them speedy and effectual deliverance, safety, and peace." Cardinal Gibbons' letter sent to the meeting was as follows: THE GREAT POWERS AND ARMENIA. 205 " I regret my inability to attend the meeting to protest against the alleged outrages recently com- mitted in Armenia. " The reports of these outrages have been pub- lished with harrowing details throughout the civilized world, and I am not aware that these circumstantial details have been successfully denied. " The Christians of Armenia have been conspicu- ous among their Oriental co-religioni§ts for their en- lightened and progressive spirit. "It is earnestly to be hoped that these alleged deeds of lawless violence will be thoroughly investi- gated in a calm and dispassionate spirit, so that the whole truth may be brought to light, and that out- raged law may be vindicated. The recital of these in- human cruelties is calculated to fill every generous heart with righteous indignation. " The commercial and social ties that now bind together the human family quicken our sympathy for- our suffering brethren, though separated from us by ocean and mountains, and this sympathy is deepened by the consideration that many of their countrymen have cast their lot among us, and that they and their persecuted brethren are united to us in the sacred bonds of a common Christian faith. " It is gratifying to note, from recent publications, that a mixed commission, to make thorough investiga- tion, has been appointed by the Sublime Porte." Dr. Cyrus Hamlin of Lexington, Mass., whose article on the outrages in Armenia, published in the "Congregationalist," has been used by the Turkish gov- ernment as a defense of the recent actions of the sol- diers of the Porte, was asked to be present at the meet- ing, and was also asked to define his position as to the probable accuracy of the reports from Armenia, and as 206 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. to the responsibility of the Sultan for the occurrence of the massacre. His letter of reply was read at the meeting. Ho stated emphatically that he believed the accounts of the horrible atrocities to be in the main true, and added that he believed the Sultan of Turkey was per- fectly cognizant of them, and should be held respon- sible for them. Extracts were also read from a letter from some Congregational missionaries now near the seat of the massacres. The stories which they told, having been written nearly a month after the occurrences, showed that the earlier dispatches did not enlarge upon or ex- aggerate the horror of the scenes. Much interest was manifested in the address of Mr. Filian, who feelingly described the pitiable con- dition of his country and his countrymen, and graph- ically portrayed the extent of the recent massacres, illustrating his talk with references to a large map of Turkey and Armenia. " Armenia,'' he said, " was mentioned in the Bible 700 years before Chris!. It then had an area of 1,- 000,000 square miles, and it was in that land that the Garden of Eden was situated. Adam was created there, and within its confines, upon Mt. Ararat, the ark of Noah found a resting place after the flood. Ar- menia was named after Armen, the great-grandson of Japhet, one of the three sons of Noah. In the time of Christ the population of the country was 40,000,- 000. It was fully Christianized in 310 A. D., and was not only the first Christian nation of the earth, but the first civilized nation. And now, from all these glories, the people of Armenia have dwindled to 4,000,000." He concluded by citing the cause of the massacre THE GREAT POWERS AND ARMENIA. 207 as the desire of the Turks to check the rapid growth and improvement of the Armenians. The following resolutions, which had been pre- pared by a committee composed of Rev. Dr. Conrad Clever, Rev. W. T. McKenney, Rev. F. T. Tagg, and Rev. C. A. Fulton, were, after some discussion, passed: " It has come to our knowledge through sources that cannot be disputed that an outrageous massacre of Ar- menians has been executed within the boundaries of the Turkish empire. " These outrages have been committed by soldiers who are in the employ and under the direction of the Sultan at Constantinople. " The thousands who have been murdered were Chris- tians and peaceably disposed citizens. " We, representatives of the citizens of Baltimore, prompted by motives of Christianity and common brother- hood, do call upon our government to use every power in its control, in harmony with that international law which governs nations in their relationship with each other, to aid these sufferers, and if possible to bring such influence to bear upon the Turkish government as will render justice to those who have been deprived of their rightful liberties as honest and industrious citizens of one of the recognized em- pires of the earth." It was also resolved that a committee of five, with Mr. John P. Poe chairman, should be appointed to present the resolutions to the president at the earliest opportunity, and " to gratefully acknowledge the steps already taken in the appointment of an American member of the committee of investigation." Mass Meeting In Dr. Greer's Church. [Report from N. Y. Tribane.] The interest which the American Christian feels in the Armenian question was show^n by the large at- tendance at St. Bartholomew's Church, last night, when a special service was held under the direction of Rev. Dr. David H. Greer. The object was to express 208 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. indignation at Turkey's acts of violence toward Ar- menians, and to enter a protest against a course of con- duct which is not in keeping with the spirit of the nineteenth century. The main body of the church was reserved for Armenians, of whom there were about 500 present. After the processional hymn, " The Son of God Goes Forth," had been given, the full choir sang the anthem, " I Will Mention the Loving Kindnesses of the Lord." Dr. Greer then spoke of the outrages committed last September in Armenia, the particulars of which had only recently become known. He said in part: " The purpose of this meeting is not only to ex- press sympathy with those who have suffered, and are suffering now from the atrocities and barbarious cruel- ties inflicted by Turkish soldiers, but for protesting against the further infliction of such atrocities. What has been done is done, and cannot be undone; but if it is possible to prevent in any measure a repetition of it in the future, it should become everyone who is not a Christian merely, but a man, to exert himself to the utmost in that direction." The speaker told of the untrustworthiness of re- ports from Turkey, and said that letters recently re- ceived from good sources give the following details: Early in September some Kurds — the brigands of that region — robbed some Armenian villages of their flocks. The Armenians tried to recover their property, and about a dozen Kurds were killed. The authorities then telegraphed to the Sultan that the Armenians had killed some of the Sultan's troops. The Sultan on hearing this ordered the army, infan- try, and cavalry, to put down the rebellion; and not finding any rebellion to put down, they cleared the country so that none should occur in the future. A THE GREAT POWERS AND ARMENIA. 200 number of towns and villages — the estimate varying from twenty-four to forty-eight — were destroyed. Men, women, and children were put to the sword, and from six to ten thousand persons massacred in the dis- trict of Sassoun. As the result of this wholesale butchery and slaughter, an epidemic of cholera has broken out, which is still ravaging the country. The Turk has always been a cruel force, and has practiced his cruelties hitherto with impunity. But he cannot do so now. An enlightened public opinion is to-day the governing power of the world. It is to that we have to trust to accomplish moral reforms, not only here, but everywhere. It is stronger than states; it is mightier than empires, and the most ar- bitrary and autocratic of despots feel its controlling force. It is the force that moves the world. If meet- ings similar to this are held in different parts of the country and public sentiment aroused, even the Turkish authorities will not be impervious to it. Dr. Greer read a letter from Bishop Potter, in which he expressed his regret at being imable to be present at the meeting. " I am," he wrote, " A Mon- roe-doctrine disciple, first, last, and all time, but I am a human being also, and while I think our com- petency as a nation to send a commissioner to Turk- ish-Armenia is open to question, I am quite clear that our duty as something else than savages is to protest against barbarism wherever it is to be found." The Rev. Abraham Johannan then spoke in Ar- menian, and was followed by the Rev. Dr. George 11. McGrew, who, during years of missionary work in Armenia, had become familiar with the people and their customs, and gave vivid pictures of the hatred of the Turks toward any who acknowledges Christ as the Son of God. 14 210 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. Mr. Depew'8 Speech, Chauncey M. Depew was then introduced, and made an eloquent appeal for the Armenians. He said in part: '' The closing days of 1894 could not be passed more appropriately than in a protest by the Christian peoples of the world against the outrages upon human- ity which will be the ever-living disgrace of the dying year. The industrial and financial disturbances which have convulsed the world, and caused such widespread distress during the last twelve months, are of tem- porary and passing importance compared with the merciless persecutions of a people because of their religious faith. '^ It is a criticism upon the boastfulness of the nineteenth century that there should be any occasion for this meeting, but it is also a tribute to the spirit of the century that this meeting is held. There have been religious wars and persecutions, and bloody re- prisals, in all ages of modern times. They arouse our indignation and our horror, but they excited little at- tention beyond the countries where they occurred from the twelfth to the nineteenth centuries. The distinguishing feature of our period is an internation- al public opinion. It came with steam and electricity; it is the child of liberty of conscience. The Turkish government, founded by the sword of Islam, is a hier- archv and a creed, and not a government of liberty and law." Mr. Depew then described the disadvantages under which Christians dwell in Turkey, and how their standing before the law amounts to nothing. " It was the atrocities incident to such institutions," he said, " which aroused Europe and liberated Greece, which caused the other nations to stand still and risk the balance of power, while Russia freed Bulgaria, THE GREAT POWERS AND AHxMENlA. 211 Roumania, and Servia, and made them practically in- dependent states. It was to assure religious liberty that the treaty of Berlin recognized the autonomy of the states, and bound the Christian nations of Eu- rope to protect the Christian people still within the Turkish dominion." After holding up to ridicule the European " peace " which is being maintained with continually growing armies, Mr. Depew said: *' The Armenians are the Kew Englanders of the East. Their intel- lect, industry, and thrift make them prosperous." He spoke of their being the oldest Christian people, and of the sacrifices which they have made and which they daily make in the cause of their faith. The horrible outrages committed against the peasants in Armenia were graphically described, and in this connection Mr. Depew said: " The story of the attacks of these savage hordes and no less savage troops reads as if fourteenth-cen- tury conditions, repeated with all their horrors in 1894, were the means adopted by Providence to shame the civilized world into the performance of its duty, and to stir the Christian conscience to a sense of its neglect of it." Mr. Depew's description of the heroism of the Ar- menian women who, rather than be captured by the Turks and suffer defilement, threw themselves into the ravine which surrounded their village, moved the audience deeply. He went on: " The world has taken little note of this supreme tragedy. Fifty years from now, and some painter wall become immortal by putting it upon canvas. A few years, and some novelist will mount to enduring fame by a romance, of which it will be the center. A few years, and some poet will embalm it in verse which will stand in literature alongside of the battle 212 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. lyrics of Campbell, Macaulay, and Tennyson. Some orator will give to the narrative and its lesson a setting and an inspiration, so that from the stage of the school and the academy, from the lips of the boys and the girls, it will teach down the centuries the triumphs of patriotism and faith. '^ Yesterday an old man of world-wide fame cel- ebrated his eighty-fifth birthday. He had been the ruler of the British Empire — he is a private citizen. Among the utterances which he deemed appropriate, in reply to the congratulations which came to him from every land, was an indignant protest against the outrages against the Armenian Christians, and a demand upon the Christian people of the earth* to compel their governments to call upon Turkey for a halt. " This warning and appeal from the lips of Mr. Gladstone was flashed across continents and under oceans; it penetrated cabinets, it thundered in the ears of sovereigns, and through the great journals it thrilled every household and every church of every race and of every tongue. " To-morrow — aye, to-day — Rosebery is con- sulting with the French Premier, and France and Eng- land are speaking to the Emperor of Germany, and the young Czar and the King of Italy, and the Em- peror of Austria for united action, which will bring the Turk to mercy, peace, and liberty for the Armenian Christian without destroying the equili- brium of Europe. " We seek no foreign alliances, we court no inter- national complications, but we claim the right under the Fatherhood of God to demand for our brother and our sister in the distant East, law, justice, and the exercise of conscience.'' Dr. Greer then read resolutions expressing sympa- THE GREAT POWERS AND ARMENIA. 213 thy for the Armenians, and protesting against further outrages. The document closes as follows; " Resolved, That we hereby extend our deeiiest sympathy to the Armeuiau people who, for their Christian faith, have repeatedly suffered unsijeakable cruelties from their Turkish rulers and Kurdish neijjlihors; ** Resolved, Tliat we hereby express to our Christian brethren in England and on the continent, who are en- deavoring to investigate these outrages and to bring the perpetrators of them to justice, our hearty good-will and godspeed. We hope and believe that they will not pause until the extent of these atrocities is clearly ascertained and the responsibility for them finally fixed; " Resolved, That in their efforts to provide against the re- currence of similar acts of oppression in the future, they shall receive our hearty and unwavering moral support; " Resolved, That we earnestly call upon our Cliristian fellow-citizens everywhere throughout the country to organ- ize and express an indignant and universal protest against the continuance of a state of affair* under which it is possible for women and children to be murdered simply be- cause they are Christians." The resolutions were adopted by a rising vote, and the Rev. Dr. Tiffany, Archdeacon of New York, pronounced the benediction. Very many such mass meetings were held in dif- ferent cities of the United States. The U. S. Senate discussed the question and made similar resolutions. Mr. Call submitted the following as a substitute for the committee resolutions: ** 'That humanity and religion, and the principles on which all civilization rests, demand that the civilized governments shall, by peaceful negotiations, or, if necessary, by force of arms, prevent and suppress the cruelties and massacres in- flicted on the Armenian subjects of Turkey, by the establish- ment of a government of their own people, with such guaran- tees by the civilized powers of its authority and permanence as shall be adequate to that end.' " All these resolutions, both of the people and the Senate, went to President Cleveland, but he has not seen fit to act on them. It would be absurd to impute this to weakness or unwillingness to decide a new ques- 214 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. tion: Mr. Cleveland, whatever his limitations, has never lacked firmness or decision. Doubtless it is be- cause he thinks this country ought not to break away from its old traditions and involve itself with Euro- pean concerns. But this is not a European concern; it is European, Asiatic, American, the world's; the concern of all humanity, not to say Christianity. It concerns the lives and result of sixty years' work of American missionaries; the government can- not wash its hands of all concern or responsibility for them, and alone of all great powers declare that its Christian citizens may not spread Christianity. And a great and rich nation has no more right to go off with its hands in its pockets, and declare that it has no obligation to the well-being of the world, than a great, rich man has a right to declare that he has no obligation to society. The rich man only keeps his money because there is a civilized society with laws and policemen to protect him in it; this nation only keeps at peace because other nations' civilization and international law prevent a great combination to plun- der it. It ought to accept its share of the general social duty — man the fire pumps, and do police work if needed; arid not let a thug murder one of its com- panions — nay, relatives — before its eyes. It is bound as a Christian state not to let a bloody and sensual Mohammedan barbarism extinguish the light of a sister Christian community; it is bound as a na- tion of civilized beings not to let a horde of savages like its own Indians stamp out a civilized nation mil- THE GREAT POWEUS AND AUMKNIA. 215 lions in number by horrors unspeakable, every atroc- ity of butchery, and rape, and torture that ever sprung from the cruelty or the lust of man. These things are as awful, as hideous to the Armenians as they would be to you if fifty thousand Indians overflowed (yolorado and inflicted them on your American fam- ilies. What would you feel and do if most of that State were turned into a burnt desolation, with here and there a cabin standing, Denver half obliterated and ten thousand of its inhabitants slaughtered in cold blood, himdreds impaled, or burnt, or flayed alive, the sisters and daughters of your own house- holds by thousands violated over and over, thousands made slaves and concubines in the wigwams of dirty Indian brutes, and others wandering as naked beggars in the wintry snows about the ruins of their once happy homes ? Yet this is a picture of what happened over part of Armenia ; can you think it is of no concern to you ? Ought Congress and the President to think it of no concern to them ? Surely there are some things where national lines ought not to count. Mr. Cleveland has been unfortunate in his advisers, partly chosen by himself, and partly inherited. Min- ister Terrill has taken the word of the Sultan and the palace clique, and made no attempt to investigate for himself; consequently he is full of respect for the Mohammedans, and scorn for the Armenians. Ad- miral Kirtland visited a few seaports, found the Ar- menians there working as usual (of course — the mas- sacres were carried on where news could be inter- 216 ARI^IENIA AND HER PEOPLE. cepted and suppressed by the Turks), and reports that he didn't find any evidence of outrages or disorders, and considers the stories false, or much exaggerated. And such lazy or prejudiced negatives as these are to be counted as outweighing the sworn official re- ports of consuls on the spot, and of pitiful letters from the survivors among the very victims themselves ! I have said that Mr. Cleveland does not lack firm- ness. He does not in internal policy, but he cer- tainly did not show enough in the matter of these atrocities. The Sultan asked him to nominate a com- missioner to join those of other powers in inves- tigating the Sassoun massacres. He appointed Milo A. Jewett, consul at Sivas; but Mr. Jewett was much too keen and forcible a man for the Sultan, who re- fused to let him take his place on the commission. Mr. ClcA^eland did not insist, as he ought. The very fact that the Sultan did not want it, was the best of reasons for persisting. Again, last year, the Senate voted to send two more consuls to Armenia; Mr. Cleveland appointed Messrs. Chilton and Hunter to go to Erzeroum and Harpoot respectively, but the Sultan refused to accept them, and they had to come back. To consent to this was wrong and weak; the American government should firmly declare its right to protect its own in- terests in its own way. But the President will act if the American people will stand at his back. When will they send forth a mandate that these horrors must stop ? i I ^. ' '. -«-.'% tit'-' ''%i CIUCASSIANS. aEOllOlAXS. VI. THE CAUSES OF THE ATROCITIES. THE GREAT QUESTION. The Armenian atrocities can never be fully under- stood by those who may be born in a free land, where there are no Turks, no Kurds, no Circassians, no Geor- gians, no Zeibecks, and no Mohammedan religion, with its oppressions and persecutions. Why the Sultan orders the Turks, Kurds, or other followers to destroy the Armenians, whereby more than 100,000 of them have recently been killed, and 500,000 been rendered homeless and left to die of star- vation in the streets and fields, or why the Sultan ordered all who are spared to accept the Mohammedan religion, is never referred to with any sort of correct- ness by the newspapers or periodicals in their accounts of the dreadful atrocities taking place in Armenia, and therefore the people are left in ignorance and doubt respecting the true situation both as to the causes and the atrocities themselves. FIRST CAUSE. The first cause is a very simple one. That the Ar- menians are Christians, and the Turks, Kurds, Circas- sians, and Georgians in Turkey are Mohammedans, and the Mohammedan religion urges brutality. It (217) 218 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. / has already been shown to be not a religion, but a system of falsehood, hatred, cruelty, lust, and sensual- ity; of course, these things combined can ocly result in corruption. It would seem that Mohammed must have taken his inspiration from both the domestic fowl and a bull. A rooster is a poly gamist ; he has his hens without limit. So Mohammed, the professed prophet, had wives without limit. He claimed to have received a revelation from Heaven directing him to take to him- self any woman he pleased, no matter whether she was married and had a husband or not; that made no dif- ference with Mohammed. He took any woman he wanted, and if her husband objected he was sure to be put to death. Mohammedans cannot differ from their prophet, they follow him, they strive to imitate him just as much as true Christians strive to follow and imitate Christ. Further, cocks, as a rule, have crowing spells five times in twenty-four hours, and gen- erally mount a high place and do their screaming there. So the Mohammedan priests, who are called Moezzins, ascend a minaret, or a tower, and five times in twenty four hours they call the people to worship. There is so little confidence placed in the priests or criers that the people prefer to have a blind one go on the minaret to give the calls, so that he may not see their women unveiled in their houses. From a bull, because he is not only immoderately lustful, but fierce and destructive; and the farmers say that the older he grows, the worse he is in both re- spects. It is certainly so with Mohammedans^, — THE CAUSES OF THE ATROCITIES. 210 naturally enough, for nothing is so lickerish as an old man who has been sensual all his life, and cruelty is a trait which grows with indulgence. The Sultan grows more of a beast, and more of a fiend as he grows older, and all the Mohammedans are of the same stripe. Armenian men and Armenian women alike dread the approach of an old Turk far more than of a young one. Unless one has witnessed a fight between bulls, he can have little idea of Turkish warfare. No animal fight can approach it in ferocity or insatiability ; when a bull conquers another, he never leaves him until he gores him to death. So when Mohammedans conquer a nation, be sure they will exterminate it. To them mercy means apostasy ; to leave a man alive or a woman unravished is to be false to the precepts of Mohammed. They cannot help it, it is their religion; a religion for wild animals. Their priests go to the mosques and preach to them thus: " Believers in Mohammed, love your fellow believers, but hate and kill all others; they are Giaours, heathen dogs, filthy hogs." To kill a Christian and to kill a hog is all the same to a Moham- medan ; there is as little sin in one as the other. The priests say, " Ask them to accept our religion; if they do, you must not harm them ; but if they will not, kill them, for they have no right to live in a Mohammedan country. It is not only no sin, but a great virtue; the more Christians you kill, the greater reward you will have from Allah and his prophet Mohammed." The Turks are slaughtering the Armenians to earn this re- ward. Of course if the men apostatize they are 220 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. spared; but the Turk lias no notion of losing the grat- ification of his lust on the women in that way. A woman who falls into their hands need not hope to keep her virtue on any terms, even by abjuring her religion ; they violate her first, and force her to become a Mohammedan afterwards. Let it be fully understood throughout the Chris- tian world that the massacre is a religious demand; the Turks have to comply. As a Christian tries to be faithful to Christ and his teachings, so the Turks are trying to be faithful to their prophet and his. They go to the mosques and pray, ^^ Allah, help us; strengthen our hands and sharpen our swords to kill the infidel Armenians.'' Then they come from the mosques and begin to kill, and plunder, and outrage, and commit every sort of indescribable atrocities on the peaceable and defenseless Armenians. And it will grow worse instead of better, since so-called Christian nations have given the Sultan public notice that they will not interfere with him. Do not be deceived by his lying reports; there was no Armenian rebellion; they could not rebel ; they did not kill the Turks, they never dreamed of such madness. This awful fate has fallen on them purely and simply for being Christians. SECOND CAUSE. This seems frivolous and incredible, but it is true; namely, a dream of the Sultan. Some six years ago, a report was circulated in Con- stantinople about this dream. It was, that in his sleep THE CAUSES OF THE ATUOCITIES. 221 the Sultan saw a little tree planted in the center of his kingdom. It began to grow larger and larger, till it covered the whole Turkish Empire, and over- shadowed even the mountains. All the nations of Turkey dwelt under its glorious and majestic shade. Still it grew, till the branches crossed the oceans and covered all the other kingdoms, finally the whole world. He woke, but the dream troubled him deeply, and he called some of the ulemas or wise men, of whom he always has a number in his palace, to interpret it for him. They explained it by saying that the tree was Christianity; Christian missionary work in the heart of his empire. It was a menace to his throne and country, and would grow till it covered the world. The Sultan, alarmed and angry, asked what he should do. The ulemas advised him to cut it down while it was small, and he has been doing his best to follow their advice. He did not dare to kill the missionaries, but he is accomplishing the same result by destroying their churches and schools and forbidding any more to be built, confiscating all religious books, and killing the native Christian ministers. He has employed every device to force the missionaries to depart by paralyzing their work ; if they chose to stay, he would accuse them of inciting the natives to revolt. He has succeeded so far; plunder, burning, torture, murder, violation and forced conversion of Christian women, have practically put an end to missionary work. Now the time has come to kill the missionaries; and he will very likely find some excuse for doing it — he has 222 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. an arsenal of falsehoods always at his command. Quite likely he will say the Armenians killed them, and then murder more Armenians in reprisal. His cun- ning is as infinite as his cruelty. He gives a charter to a missionary institution and destroys ten others. He invites Minister Terrell to the palace, gives him grand receptions, and loads him with promises and flatteries, and all the time goes on obliterating the schools and churches and killing the native pastors. He creates a i-uin; when the European powers protest, he says he will make amends, and he does it by perpetrating a greater one, in which the first is forgotten. He mas- sacres hundreds in a city ; when the powers protest, he says he will restore order, and does it by ordering thou- sands killed in another city, and the first is again for- gotten. His atrocities increase as he finds that he is to be unmolested; he is resolute to cut down that spreading tree, and has already cut thousands of branches from it. And the Christian nations look on and say they cannot help it. They know perfectly well what is going on, but their " interests " of one sort or another will not permit them to remove that awful blot on civilization. THIRD CAUSE. The Mohammedan population in Turkey is decreas- ) ing, and the Christians are increasing. When the present Sultan captured the throne from his brother Murad, Turkey had 40,000,000 people; as soon as he girded the sword of Osman, he began the great battle THE CAUSES OF THE ATROCITIES. 223 with Russia, and after the Turko-Russian war ho found himself with 18,000,000. Who are the lost i Rou- mania, Bulgaria, Servia, Montenegro, Bosnia, Herze- govina, a part of Macedonia, C'yprus, and a part of Armenia. Practically the whole of Europe was lost for Turkey except Constantinople and the district Edirne or Adrianople. Turkey is not an empire any more, but it is a little kingdom; rather a little feudal system, or more accurately still, a little anarchy. If it were not for mutual European jealousy, the Sultan could not keep his anarchism. Yet many still think that the Ottoman Empire is a great one, a powerful government. They look at the Sultan and his domin- ion through a magnifying glass. This shows ignor- ance. The Turks are decayed and are decaying. The sick man of Turkey is the dead man of Turkey, and ought to be buried, but the European powers do not bury him because there are precious stones and jewelry in the coffin; no matter how bad the corpse smells, they will endure it. And the bad smell of the Sultan is killing hundreds of thousands of Christians; but the dead stays where it is, and may stay for some years, but the end will come before many have gone by. AVTien I say that the days of the Sultan are numbered, and the brutal Turkish mis-rule will cease, many Amer- icans will rejoin " that the same has often been said long years since, though the empire remains to-day, and seems likely to remain." The fact is, however, that during my own life more than half of it has gone to pieces, and the fragment which remains will go to 224 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. pieces soon. Permit me to say that all former proph- ecies have been mistaken because those who made them have judged and misjudged the situation from an occidental standpoint; I judge it from that of a native, who knows the realities as only a native can. What can an English ambassador or an American min- ister in Constantinople, staying perhaps two or three years, and entertained and decorated by the crafty Sultan, know about the internal state of Turkey ? Having traveled through the country, lived and preached for years at a time; preached in different cities, including Constantinople, I can see signs of a break-up that a foreigner would not notice. The reason the Turkish population does not in- crease is this: The army has to be made up of Mo- hammedans, partly because the Sultan does not put arms into the hands of the Christians, for obvious rea- sons, since they have no motive to uphold and every motive to fight him, and partly because to be a soldier in Turkey is a holy service, the privilege of Mohamme- dans alone. As there is a large standing army, nearly all the Mohammedan youths have to become soldiers. Their service begins when they are about twenty years old. The shortest term is five years; for many it is ten; and even after that, there are many who cannot escape. If a young Mohammedan is not married at twenty, obviously he cannot marry until twenty-five anyway, and perhaps thirty, — very late for a country population; if he is married his wife is virtually a widow for five to ten years. Now the reader can THE CAUSES OF THE ATROCITIES. 225 see my drift. With marriages so late, and liusbands so long absent, Turkish families are small; they do not make good the deaths. And there is a still plainer cause: The soldiers being very poorly fed, and con- stant fighting going on, ninety per cent, die in the army, and so never have any families; the flower of the nation perishes barren. Those who survive and return are pale and sick, good for nothing, a burden to their families and to the nation. The Armenians have to support the Sultan's army, since they do not furnish it, but they rear families, and are drowning out the Turks. Another cause of decrease is the pilgrimage to Mecca, where Mohammed was born. On an average, a million pilgrims go there every year, — of course not all from Turkey, but most of them, and every year about 50,000 of them die of cholera before reaching home, from the Holy Well (Zemzem sooyi), which is full of unholy foulness; even those who live and return home take that water to their families, and many of the latter die too. Cholera is perpetual in- Tu rkey , and it originates at Mecca. When I was in Marsovan twelve at one time went on the pilgrimage and only four returned. It is a great virtue to die where !Mo- hammed was bom, or to drink that water and die, and they are going to him at a rapid rate. Last year, when the English, Russian, and French consuls at Jiddeh, the seaport of Mecca, established a quarantine to detain those coming from Mecca and bringing cholera,^ they were murdered by the Mohammedan 226 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. Arabs, wlio said they were interfering with the sacred religion, and the Sultan had to pay the in- demnity. Still another reason is the shocking increase of abortions among the wealthy town dwellers. The Mohammedan women are growing to love selfish in- dulgences better than the duties and delights of motherhood. They do not wish to be " bothered " by children, and they take medicine to prevent having them. Where the women come to this, it is better for a race to die out; they have outlived their purpose. A fourth cause is polygamy. People naturally think that marrying more than one wife should increase the number of children; but the facts emphatically prove the reverse. The polygamous Turks do not in- crease as fast as the Christians who have but one wife. For the fifth, the Turks are an exceedingly sensual race, by nature and education, as I have shown. The very religion that should help to make them pure, helps to make them vile. Lust leads them, and they follow; nature prompts, and their religion requires it. I am ti'uly ashamed to tell it, but even when they go to their mosques to worship, they manifest ^heir sensuality. Xot only the relations of male and female are very rank, but between male and male they are worse; be- tween the old Turks and young Turks, the very boys, the relations are too disgusting to describe. All such moral corruptions not only weaken a people's forces morally, but physically as well; they substitute barren THE CAUSES OP THE ATROCITIES. 227 lusts for legitimate gratifications, selfish passions for mutual ones. Hence the Mohammedans are fast decreasing in Turkey, and the Sultan is terrified, and hopes by kill- ing a large part of the Christians, and forcing the sur- vivors to accept Mohammedanism, that their power of nuiltiplication may be the boon of a ^lohammedan people. Out of the 18,000,000 inhabitants of Tur- key, 6,000,000 are native Christians, about half of them Armenians. This leaves only 12,000,000 for the whole Mohammedan population in the present Turkish dominion; and it grows less, while the Chris- tian part grows greater. To check this increase, the Sultan a few years ago made the obtaining of a mar- riage certificate compulsory, and the Turkish authori- ties have understood that they are to make it as hard as possible to get; it has cost great sums of money to ob- tain it. But for many months now, there have been no marriages at all in Armenia; the authorities will not grant certificates on any terms, and to prevent any more Christians being bom, the daughters and young brides of the murdered thousands are made mothers through violation by the Turks and Kurds. The Christians have been increasing not only from within, but from without. Europeans have begim to go wherever railroads go. Hence another reason for massacre and forced conversion. That the Sultan has been planning this massacre ever since the Turko-Rus- sian war is evidenced by the fact that after the war he encouraged or ordered a number of Mohamme- 228 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. dan tribes — Circassians, Georgians, Kurds, and Lazes — to emigrate from Russia to Armenia, con- fiscated masses of Christians' property, and gave it to them, and directed them to reduce the number of Armenian Christians by any way they saw fit, giving them full license to do what they would with Armenians, without penalty. You know what that means with fierce tribes of human wild animals, cruel and foul, and he knew what it meant too, and intended it to mean that. Before his time the Christians far outnumbered the Mohammedans in Armenia proper; but under his ^' government '^ — his deliberate policy of extermination — great numbers fled the country, numbers were killed and their women made concubines to Mohammedans, and now the Mo- hammedans are more numerous in Armenia than the Armenian Christians. And if the Sultan is permitted to go on, he will kill a million more, the rest will be " converted," and then he will call the attention of the European powers to this fact, and say, " See here, you ask me to reform Armenia ; Armenia is reformed. There is no Armenia; there are no Armenians; the people in that part of my empire are Mohammedans, and they are satisfied with my government. What do you want from me ? What right have you to inter- fere with my country and religion ? " That is his plan. When the Berlin Congress was held, the Ar- menians were the majority in their own country, and the Congress decided on reforms for it; the Sultan promised them, with the full intention of depopulating THE CAUSES OF THE ATHOCITIES. 220 and converting it, and then tolling the powers there was no need of reform there, lie is doing this now incessantly, and as remorselessly as a fiend. FOURTH CAUSE. The Armenians are rich and educated, and the Mohammedans are poor and ignorant. The Turks have never cared for money or education. They have always said, '' Let the Christians make the money, and we will take it from them whenever we choose. We will be the rulers, the soldiers, the police ; we will have the sword in our hands. Then their property, and their women too, will be ours at will, and we can force them to become Mohammedans. '^ Such being their reasoning, they took good care of their swords and their guns, which were furnished to them from Europe and the United States. The Christian Ar- menians believing that the great Christian powers w^ould never permit the Turks to wreak their murder- ous and shameful will on them, did not risk the ven- geance of the Turks by secretly buying weapons, nor train themselves in the use of arms. They trained their minds, got education, traveled in Europe and this United States, enlightened themselves in every way they could ; they sharpened their intellects rather than their swords. They learned to make money also ; they established all the business houses in Turkey; all the Turks that get employment in the cities get it from the Armenian merchants. As far as Turkey has any finances, they are in the hands of Armenians. Go 230 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. Avhere yon will in Tnrkey, seaboard or interior, all the money and education belong to the Armenians, pov- erty and ignorance are the portion of the Turks. Ninety per cent, of the Armenians know how to read and write, while ninety per cent, of the Turks do not. Sixty per cent, of the Mohammedan property has been sold to the Christian Armenians within twenty years. When I was in Armenia, the Mohammedans were always selling and the Christians always buying. One day a Turk was going to sell his field to an Armen- ian, and they w^ent to the government office to make the transfer. The officer in charge said he could not transfer the property of a Mohammedan to a Chris- tian. This Avas something new. " Why is that ? " they asked. " The governor forbids it," said the of- ficer, " he told me that hereafter it should not be done." Finally both went to the governor and asked him why he forbade it. The governor replied, ^' Of late the Armenians have bought up the fields of the Mohammedans, till they own the greater part of them; if we let them go on they will own everything, and the Mohammedans will be left without property. There- fore I forbid it; no Mohammedan shall hereafter sell any property to a Christian." He told the Turk he might sell his field to another Mohammedan, but not to a Christian. " All right," said the Turk, '' I will sell it to you, then, at the same price, or maybe a little less; will you buy it ? I need the money to support my family." '^ I cannot buy it," said the governor; "I have no money." " I know that," replied the Turk; THE CAUSES OF THE ATROCITIES. 2.31 " and not only you, but all the other Mohammedans have no money either. They are all poor. I cannot find any Turk who has the money to buy my field, and I need money, and I have to sell it to that Christian." Finally the governor was forced to give the permission, and the Armenian bought the field. This is only one case, but it is typical. There are thousands of just such. And this is another cause which aroused the jealousy of the Sultan and his subordinates to order the massacre of the Armenians, and the seizure of their property. I often hear it said in this country, " Let us help the poor Armenians " ; and I feel very indignant. Poor Armenians ! There are poor among the Ar- menians, as among all nations; but the Armenians as a body are not poor. They are the riclu^t pc-.plc in Turkey. That is one reason why they are plundered and killed. I do not want the American people to help the Armenians as a poor, ignorant, miserable peo- ple, but because they deserve help as a rich, noble, Christian nation being rooted out by plunder and murder, for the benefit of, and by means of a horde of savages. I will illustrate by a very little story. When Alexander the Great reached the moun- tains of Afghanistan on his way to India," the Afghan king refused to let him pass through his country. After a great battle, and the slaughter of thousands on both sides, Alexander was victorious. The king himself was captured, and brought before Alexander, \vho said to him, *' You are my captive; how shall I 282 ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE. treat you ? '' " As a king/' said the prisoner. Alex- ander was charmed with the dignity of the answer, and replied, " You shall be treated as one, and a brave one. I leave you on your throne; but permit me to pass on to India." So the king kept his royalty as before, and Alexander continued his conquests. Such is the Armenian question. They are a noble people, an enterprising people, but captives in the hands of the Turks. But the Turks have not the mag- nanimity of Alexander. We need a nation which does have it, to say to the Armenians, " Remain where you are, in your ancient home, and rule there; govern yourselves freely as a Christian nation. You have fought centuries after centuries for home and honor, and now we come to your help, to establish you on the old Armenian throne." Do not help the Armenians merely as a poor people, but help them because they were rich, and now they are stripped and poor, with- out fault of their own, from hate of their (and your) religion, and envy of their superiority. FIFTH CAUSE. This is perhaps the greatest of all. It is the Amer- ican missionary work in Armenia. It was in 1831 that the American Board of Foreign Missions estab- lished the first Protestant mission there. Their pur- pose was to send missionaries, not simply to the Ar- menians, but to all classes and sects in Turkey. Those pioneer American missionaries were among the noblest of men, and greatest of teachers, preachers, and or- THE CAUSES OF THE ATROCITIES. 233 ganizers. T will name a few: Dr. Ooo