Islam, Turkey, and Armenia, and How They Happened/Chapter VII
CHAPTER VII.
GEOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ARMENIA.
1. Biblical References of Armenia. Armenia is a high table land on the southern slope of the Caucausus, between the Caspian and Black seas and Mesopotamia. Its boundaries have varied at different times of its history. It is believed by the greatest majority of the Biblical scholars to be the first seat of the human race, and also the cradle of mankind after the deluge. The four rivers mentioned in the second chapter of Genesis: Pison (the present Joruk that runs to the Black Sea), Gihon (the present Arax that runs to the Caspian Sea), Tigris and Euphrates (both run to the Persian Gulf), have their sources in the highlands of Ararat, Armenia. According to the modern critics, Armenia was formerly called Ararat, after the name of that illustrious mountain, about 17,000 feet high, upon which the ark of Noah rested after the abatement of the waters. The fertile soil, the magnificent scenery, the mild and healthy climate, the large rivers, and the "one thousand sources" of pure waters, make it worthy to be called the "Garden of Eden."
Other Biblical references in connection with Armenia: In II. Kings, 19:37, and Isa., 37:38, we notice that the sons of Sennacharib, the Assyrian monarch, after killing their father (681 B. C.), "escaped into the land of Armenia." Again in Ezek., 27:14 and 38:6, Armenia is indicated under the name of Togarmah, the great grandson of Noah, to whom the Armenians carry their descendance, as furnishing Tyre with horses and mules, a product for which it is still noted. Tigranes I., the celebrated Armenian king, is said to have been an ally of Cyrus the Great in overthrowing the Babylonians and thus in liberating the Jews from their seventy years' captivity. A foreshadow of this event is indicated by the prophet Jeremiah (51:27–29; also 50:41, 42): "Call together against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minnie and Ashkanaz," etc.
2. About the Origin of the Armenian Nation there are two different opinions. The one, so long cherished by the Armenians themselves, is that their ancestor, Haig, the son of Togarmah and the fifth generation from Noah, a hero, and a worshiper of the true Jehovah, lived in Babylonia, where one of the giants, coming into power, called himself Bel or Baal and claimed for himself the divine worship. Haig did not recognize him, and after slaying him in a struggle left the country and fled with his men to the mountainous regions on the north, and established there a principality which was named Hal or Haigazian, the title which Armenians still use for themselves. The name Armenian is supposed to be given by foreigners, after the name of the seventh great Armenian ruler, Aram.
The other opinion lately brought forward is that the Armenian nation, belonging to the Aryan race, came from the north, from Caucasia, and did not occupy the country before the seventh century B.C. They followed the track of the Medes, owing to the gradual decline of the Assyrian Empire. The arguments in favor of this theory are the facts that the Armenians in their physiognomy and natural construction and in their traditions and language have close connection and resemblance with other Aryan nations, which would be the contrary if they had an Assyrian or Chaldean origin. The Armenian language has not the slightest resemblance of the Semitic branch, Assyrian, Chaldean, Phœnician, Hebrew and Arabic; while many original words and other characteristics of the language show the evident identity with the Indo-Germanic (European) branch—for instance, Mayer, mother; Douster, daughter; Hair, hair; Vod, foot; Gow, cow; Lure, light; Dour, door; Gadou, cat; Bardes, paradise; Der, day; Ash, ass; Anoun, noun, and many others.
3. Armenia According to the Ancient Foreign Historians. In the famous inscriptions of the Achæmanides (the ancient Persian monarchs, as Darius, Hystaspes, Xerxes, Artaxerxes, and others) in Persepolis (the ancient Persian capital of the said dynasty and afterward ruined by Alexander the Great) the name of Armenia is found written in various forms, and the pictures of Armenian tributaries are represented as marching after the Cappadocians to render homage to the great Persian king; the probable date, six centuries before Christ.
Herodotus, the oldest Greek historian, born 484 B.C., also mentions the absorption of the Armenian kingdom in that of Darius, and the exaction of a tribute of four hundred talents.
Xenophon, the celebrated Greek general, historian and philosopher, born 445 B.C., in his account of the adventurous retreat of the Greeks in the East, known in history as "The Retreat of the Ten Thousand," throws much light upon the ancient Armenians and Kurds.
Armenia was included in the conquests of Alexander the Great, 320 B.C., and after his death at the partition of his kingdom Armenia was submitted to the Seleucidæ of Syria. But in 190 B.C. she revolted against the Syrian King, Antiochus the Great, and gained her independence through the aid of the Parthian king, Mithridates I., who appointed his brother, Valarsaces, over Armenia. This was the beginning of the second period of the Armenian Kingdom.
4. The Four Periods of the Armenian Kingdom. The first period, beginning with Haig and ending at the time of Seleucidæ, embraces about 22 centuries. The first part of this period is legendary, or rather, unknown. The second period begins with Valarsaces, 190 B.C., and goes until 390 A.D., embracing a period of nearly 600 years. The greatest event of this period is the evangelization of the whole nation, about which the reader will find a concise information in the next chapter. The greatest king of this period was Tigranes II., who was able to fight with the Roman rulers. After him Tacitus, the historian, says the Armenians were almost always at war with the Romans through hatred, and with the Parthians through jealousy, until the two great enemies prevailing over Armenia divided it between themselves, 390 A. D.
Between the second and the third periods, about 500 years, the Armenians were subjected partly to the Roman or Greek Empire and partly to the Persian kingdom and Mohametan caliphate.
The third period begins at 859 A.D. and comes to its end at 1045 A.D., thus embracing about 200 years.
The fourth period of the Armenian independence (1045-1393) was confined to Cilicia. Ruben, a relative of the last king of the third period, escaped into Cilicia and established the Rubenian kingdom, having the city of Sis for his capital. The mountainous situation of Cilicia helped the Armenians to keep their independence until 1393, when Leon VI., the last king of this dynasty, an exile by the Mohametan caliphate, died at Paris, France, and was buried in the Cathedral at St. Denis. Zeitoun of the present day is the last spark of this local independence.
According to the above statements the Armenian Kingdom began at twenty-fourth century B.C. and ended at fourteenth century A.D., thus embracing a period of nearly 3,800 years with about 600 years' intervals of subjection, during which time they were governed by provincial system, which can not be called total subjection with the present meaning of the word. During the last centuries Armenia became gradually divided between Turkey, Russia and Persia. The Ottoman Turks nominally conquered Armenia, but until recent times (1847) it was practically under various Kurdish Sheiks, or chiefs.
The present number of the Armenians is supposed to be over four millions: 2,500,00 in Turkey, 1,500,000 in Russia and 150,000 in Persia. It was over twelve millions when subjugated by the Mohametans, but reduced to one-third by unceasing persecutions and frequent massacres, about which read the subsequent chapters.