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diff --git a/59270-0.txt b/59270-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..150d298 --- /dev/null +++ b/59270-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,10840 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 59270 *** + + + + + + + + + + + + + ARMENIA AND HER PEOPLE + + OR + + The Story of Armenia + + + BY AN ARMENIAN + + A description of the land of Armenia: its ancient and + modern history; its physical features; its people, their + religious 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. + + By + Rev. George H. Filian + + A native pastor, banished by the Turkish Government + from the City of Marsovan, Armenia + + + HARTFORD, CONN. + AMERICAN PUBLISHING COMPANY + 1896 + + + + + + + + + DEDICATION + + + IN REMEMBRANCE OF THE MARTYRS OF ARMENIA WHO + SACRIFICED THEIR LIVES FOR CHRIST THIS + VOLUME IS AFFECTIONATELY INSCRIBED + + + + + + + + +CONTENTS. + + + I. PAGE. + + The Land of 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 Armageddon, 350 + + X. + + Poems on the Armenian Question, 362 + + + + + + + + +ILLUSTRATIONS. + + + FACE 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, 49 + 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 + Massacre at Erzeroum, 247 + Massacre 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 + Armenian 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 alongside their own pressing local +issues; everywhere there is not only sympathy and indignation, but a +feeling of real responsibility. 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 destroyed 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 unarmed 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; the doom of Islamism is hanging over their heads. "If +you accept Islam," they are told, "well and good; if you do not, +you shall be killed--or worse--as your fellows have been." + +These are all facts, proved to superfluity, though the Sultan denies +them and instructs his ministers everywhere to deny them. How often +has the Turkish minister in Washington, Mavroyeni Beg, officially +(?) 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 pretended 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 simply deny it, +but charge 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 happened 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 were +invented 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. + +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, I 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 families forced to become Mohammedans, after the women have +been dishonored,--in a word, when all the Armenian Christians are +exterminated, then Armenia will have been reformed. A special chapter +is devoted to the person and doings of this eminent reformer. + + + + + + + + +THE AUTHOR. + +A SKETCH OF HIS LIFE AND BIRTHPLACE. + + +I was born January 20, 1853, in a suburb of Antioch; twelfth child and +youngest son of a family of nine boys and four girls, and therefore +considered the Joseph of the family, 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 the latter a Greek, Jabra Antaki, 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 wealthiest 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 cannot, +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,--Armenian, Arabic, and Turkish,--and of strong reasoning +powers, logical, imaginative, profound, and far-sighted. Moreover, he +was a zealous Christian, greatly respected and liked. In person he was +tall, and very stout, with large, bright eyes, and full, rosy cheeks; +built like my great-grandfather, from whose elephantine figure the +family took its surname. Filian means "Son of an elephant," and his +descendants--about 150 in all, one of the largest single families in +the Orient--have been mostly large-framed men and women. + +At about fifteen I had to go to work. One of my brothers being +a weaver, I learned that trade from him, and kept at it for three +years, weaving both cotton and silk, and not only supporting myself, +but helping support my father. Then I took up shoemaking, which +paid better, but neither my father nor myself was satisfied to have +me remain a common workman. He wanted me to become a banker and +merchant, as he had been, and his old friends, who respected him, +would have given me a chance to start; but I had always been devout +from a little boy, and felt that I had a call to be a minister. While +making shoes, I prayed the Lord to open the way. I often thought, +"Suppose I become the richest shoemaker or even the richest banker in +Antioch, what then? Shall I ever be happy? No. Then Lord, what is my +call?" I believed I heard the answering voice of God in my soul saying, +"I have created thee to become a minister of the gospel." So I went +to a missionary of the American Board in Antioch, and consulted him; +by his encouragement I went to the Theological Seminary at Marash, in +Armenia Minor, and studied there three years in the preparatory course. + +Before taking my theological lessons I was sent by the missionaries +to Caesarea (Kayserieh) to teach in a town near by. On reaching the +city the pastor of the Protestant Church invited me to preach to his +congregation the following Sunday morning. I did so; the missionaries +heard me, changed their minds, said I was better fitted for a preacher +than a teacher, and sent me to preach at a village named Chomakli, +near Mt. Argaeus. The Lord seemed to fill me with eloquence, and +crowds flocked to hear me. Then the missionaries called me to a larger +field, Talas, their central town; the same fortune attended me there, +and steadily followed me in the other places to which I went. I will +not make a long story of it. Enough to say that I always felt utterly +helpless before preaching, empty of matter and words; I went to my room +and cried to my Heavenly Father, and always overflowed with things +to say when the time came. There was no limit to my imagination; +illustrations thronged upon me by hundreds; I felt inspired from +Heaven. I never wrote a sermon before preaching it, but wrote it down +literally as soon as I had finished.--I wrote every Monday.--And they +are all ready to be published in both Armenian and Turkish. + +I was a successful preacher, but I had no theological education (though +I studied my Bible hard), and felt that I needed one. I decided to go +to America for it, but the missionaries opposed the plan bitterly. One +of the ladies told me plainly it was a sin; that I had no right to +give up a successful and useful ministry to go there. I replied that +giving up the ministry would be a sin, but not going away to prepare +for higher usefulness, and coming back to carry it out. Then she said +I had no money to go, and did not understand English. I answered that +I had faith that God would create the means. She laughingly bade me +give her best regards to her friends when I came. She meant it for +a joke, but I carried it out in earnest. + +How I finally came to this country would take too long to tell. I will +only say that I crossed the ocean by faith. When I reached New York in +July, 1879, I had only 15 cents in my pocket. I worked hard day and +night in a rag felt factory in the Bowery, and slept on the rags on +the floor, covering myself with a piece of flannel. But the Lord opened +the way. I went to Oberlin, Ohio, and studied there, supporting myself +by sawing wood for the professors of the Theological Seminary. In six +months I could talk English well enough to lecture, and after that time +I supported myself by lecturing. Finally I was sent to Nebraska as +a home missionary during the summer vacation. On my return I entered +the Chicago Theological Seminary, and graduated there in 1882, after +which I lectured rather widely through the country. Then I went +home, and for a time was pastor of the Constantinople Evangelical +Armenian Church. Later I had a call from Marsovan, accepted it, +and had so large a congregation there that a church with a capacity +of 2,000 was needed. I returned to this country, raised the money, +left it in a Chicago bank (where it still lies in trust), and went +back to build the church. That very success aroused the jealousy of +some wicked men, and they falsely charged me with being the leader of +the revolutionary societies in Turkey. On this charge I was banished, +and now I am here again,--free and happy with my family, but full of +sorrow for my dear people daily martyred by the Turks. + + + + +ANTIOCH. + +The city of Antioch, where the disciples were first called Christians, +(Acts xi. 26.) was built by Seleucus Nicator, 300 B.C., and enlarged +by Antiochus Epiphanes. All the civilized world was then under Roman +rule; Rome, Antioch, and Jerusalem were the leading cities. Jerusalem +being a Jewish city, and Rome being a Roman heathen city, there was +no room in either to preach the gospel freely; nor indeed in any +other--the disciples were persecuted and martyred everywhere. There +was just one exception--the city of Antioch; that was as free as +any American city is to-day. This arose from the fact that when +in the Asiatic campaign of Pompey the Great, he came about 65 +B.C. to Antioch, he was received by the people with great honors; +and was so charmed with the city, and his treatment, that he made +it an absolutely free city for all, for every nation and for every +religion, and the Roman emperors continued its privileges. When +Stephen was martyred in Jerusalem the disciples were scattered; some +of them reached Antioch, 300 miles north, and began to preach freely, +making many converts. Barnabas was in Jerusalem, but hearing of his +brethren's success, he also went to Antioch and began to preach; as +he was a great orator, full of enthusiasm and faith, thousands were +converted. But he was not satisfied. Crossing the Bay of Iskenderoon, +about eighty miles off, he went to Tarsus, where Paul, now a convert, +was living, and induced Paul to return with him to Antioch that they +might preach the gospel together. + +Only scholars have any idea of the greatness and beauty of Antioch at +this time; it was second only to Rome, and was the second largest city +in the world, with nearly a million people; so rich and luxurious as +to be called the Golden City; so lovely and architecturally imposing +as to be called the Queen City. The finest street ran east and west +for several miles; it was of great width, paved from end to end with +vari-colored marble blocks, and with marble pillars on both sides along +its whole extent, on which were magnificent marble palaces of the +Roman officers. In that same grand avenue were theaters, singers of +both sexes, fortune-tellers, great heathen orators and philosophers, +and throngs of people passing along. Paul and Barnabas stood on the +marble pavement month after month for a year, full of the Holy Ghost, +and proclaimed the everlasting gospel. Crowds gathered to hear them; +even the officers and their wives, stretching their heads from the +windows of their palaces, listened to them; they gained disciples +from every rank for Christ and His religion, and the converts there +first received the name of Christians. + +This was my birthplace and my relatives still live there. Since the +time of Christ and his disciples, Antioch has been ten times destroyed +by earthquakes. In the fourth century the whole city was destroyed, +and 250,000 people were buried under the ruins. That beautiful street +and its magnificent palaces are now buried two or three yards below +the surface of the ground. In 1872, when I was there, an earthquake +destroyed the whole city, and almost in a moment several thousand +people perished. Several of my own relatives and many of my friends +were killed. The city has now only 25,000 people, most of them +Mohammedan Turks. There are many Fellahin, and perhaps 2,000 Greeks, +and 500 Armenians, but in the suburbs the Armenians are more numerous, +and are the intellectual heads of the whole. + +Antioch is still a beautiful and stately city, and a great center for +licorice, raw silk, wheat, and soap. The finest soap is manufactured +there. About thirty factories make it, from pure olive oil and daphne +oil, the latter giving it a sweet fragrance. The daphne groves +are very numerous. The city has excellent orchards and vineyards, +orange trees, olive trees, fig trees, yeniduinya trees, palm trees, +pomegranate trees. All sorts of fruits, in every season of the year, +are fresh on the branches. But for occasional earthquakes, it would +be a queen city yet; none could surpass its beauty or fruitfulness. + + +GEORGE H. FILIAN. + + + + + + + + +Translation of a letter (see opposite page) written in 1842 by the +District Catholicos at city of Sis to Kevork Filian (father of the +author) in Antioch: + + +------------+ + | Red Seal | + | of | + | Catholicos.| + +------------| +--------------+ + | Symbol in | ++--------------+ | colors | +| Symbol in | | representing | +| colors | | an Altar. | +| representing | +--------------+ +| the name | Michael Catholicos, The servant of Jesus Christ +| Jesus Christ.| by the grace of our Lord, the supreme father of ++--------------+ all Armenians who live in 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. + + + + + + + + +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 readers 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 contradictions 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 compiler of two centuries later, and that his history 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. + + + + + + + + +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 missionaries of the American Board were organizing the college +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 [1] 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 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 postal authorities recognize +no such address. There is still another cause for the widespread +ignorance concerning Armenia. It has been partitioned between three +different powers, Turkey, Russia, and Persia. 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 Russia; 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 conquest,--Armenia covered about 500,000 square miles, +and stretched from the Black Sea and the Caucasus 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-Irmak) +on the west, but including also old Media and a part of Mesopotamia. + +It is one of the most picturesque of countries; travelers 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 ranges +are 7,000 to 8,000 on the average, while that historic land-mark, +the superb snow-capped Mt. Ararat, is about 18,000,--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 humanity, and all other +lands are her daughters; but she is fairer than any other. Even her +mountain tops of perpetual snow are a crown of glory; the sun kisses +her brow with the smile of morning; and she supplies the beautiful +rivers, 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 finally 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 remote 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 the level of the sea, the highest peak being Mt. Ararat. The +lower portions of the plateau are broken by valleys and glens, +including the fertile valleys of the Euphrates 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 Empire, 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 endures. The Sultan, +it is true, sends an officer from Constantinople under large salary, +to take out the precious 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 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 they 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 Tigris are the largest and sweetest of their kind; two +melons are sometimes a camel's 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 varieties when cured and dried as raisins +exceed in size the plumpest grapes of other lands. Nearly everything +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 peculiar to itself. The products of the North are paralleled by +those of the rugged picturesque highlands of North Turkish and Russian +Armenia, with their cold, snowy winters, short, hot summers, and mild +intervening seasons; those of the South find their counterparts from +the rich upland valleys, or the lowland plains needing irrigation, +of Kurdistan and Persian Armenia (Azerbijan), with its semi-tropical +climate, and alternations of wet and dry seasons. The grain crops +are wheat, Indian corn, barley, and oats. Cotton 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 American 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 important 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 "hickory nuts," but the +"English walnuts" of the groceries. + +In spite of the dreadful roads, and the lack of protection 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, Poti, Baku,--silk and cotton, and fabrics +made from them; 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 threshing floor +near the house, an open platform, not sheltered from the weather; and +there the grain is separated 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 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 ordinary 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 +government 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 government 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 land has gone to the government. I do not know an Armenian +farmer who is not in debt; they work hard, but the products of their +labor go to the government and the Kurds, and any one who complains +is considered a revolutionist, and imprisoned or killed. The simple +unvarnished truth is that an Armenian Christian has no rights of life +or property whatever; and all he keeps of either (not very much) is +what the regularly 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 everything 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 Turkish 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 +unwarlike and would not make good soldiers is ridiculously untrue; +many of the best soldiers and best officers, even commanders-in-chief, +in the Russian service 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 +separately taxed. Suppose an Armenian owns a vineyard. 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 desperate +a remedy that most of them shrink from it. + + + + +THE CLIMATE. + +Armenia, in my belief, is the healthiest country in the 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--the air 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, must have been imported. The +perfect type of physical vigor is to be seen there. Generally the +Armenians are tall, powerful, and ruddy cheeked, full of endurance +and energy. Shrewd and enterprising they are, as reputed; but pure +and honest too. They 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 fun; I have seen her dance at +wedding festivities like a girl of 15. An old gentleman of 125 was my +neighbor; 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 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 missionary 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 were 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 +substantiated 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 indeed he ever died a natural death; some were +taken up to heaven without knowing death; and all these 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 become 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 +gardens, 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 Scriptural descriptions. + + + + +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 macadamized 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 transportation of goods is almost +entirely by camels and donkeys. + +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 sometimes 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 you. If animals are used and the family large, +baskets 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 or 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 outright 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 constant torment. + +There is no safety in traveling; Kurdish, Circassian, 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. Suddenly three men leaped out in front +of us; they were Georgian brigands (Mohammedans), armed from top +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. + +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 export, to any extent, +of Armenian products to foreign countries, and even between neighboring +cities exchange 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 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 emigrants; but none of these roads are in Armenia. + +Plenty of money has always been available from European and even +Armenian sources to build railroads; 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 Armenian 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 improvement of the backward conditions. + + + + + + + + +II. + +THE PEOPLE OF ARMENIA. + + +THEIR LINEAGE. + +Who are the Armenians? The average American 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 barbarians, partially +Christianized. Some think them of Chinese type; most often they are +considered as Turks because the chief portion of Armenia is part of the +Turkish Empire; every Armenian feels justly indignant 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 born +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 disappointed 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, 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 sometimes 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 Haig. He was a powerful +warrior and the founder of the Armenian Kingdom, which began 2350 +B.C., and ended with Levon VI., 1375 A.D.; thus lasting 3725 years, +though with intervals of extinction. 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 themselves 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 North Syria, and derive both from a word meaning "man," most old +names of nations having meant 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 Mountains on the north of Armenia), then +as Indo-European, now as Aryan; the most advanced type of mankind, +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; certainly one of the oldest of them +if there is any difference in the ages of the different branches, +though that really means nothing. It has no relation whatever to the +Semitic tongues like Chaldee or Phoenician, nor the Tataric tongues of +Scythia, though those were 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 shown 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 Erivan. 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 few: Arakaz, Armavir, +Shirag, Ararat. The latter took its name from Ara, the Armenian king +who was the son of Aram, 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 Tuscany 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 difficult, from the number +of particles and participles in it; but modern Armenian is one of the +easiest of languages to learn, very regular in inflection and the +spelling entirely phonetic. There are no exceptions or anomalies; +for instance, to pluralize a noun, you invariably 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. 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 Constantinople, 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 heard." He 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 to it, 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. + + + + + + + + +III. + +THE ARMENIAN DYNASTIES. + + +According to the histories written by native historians 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 succession. + +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. + + + + +1. THE HAIGAZIAN DYNASTY. + +As already mentioned, Haig was the founder of the Armenian kingdom. He +can scarcely be called a king, because in his time there was not a +great Armenian 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 enterprise; +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 inherited +by his posterity, though recent irresistible 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. + +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 +lives, 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 growth. 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 which tell us of Haig, tell us +of his son. After Armen we find his son Armaiss, who built the city +of Armavir. + +I will not enumerate all the names of the dynasty; it would only be a +tedious catalogue without profit. I 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 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 Hayasdan, translated by +the Romans 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. The 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. Not 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 fifty years. + +Aram was succeeded by his son Ara, called "Ara the Beautiful." 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 herself, 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 country till their death. Their descendants were great Armenian +princes, bearing the titles Prince Arziroonian and Prince Kinoonian. + +Armenia comes to view again in connection with Biblical history in the +capture of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, 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 Armenian 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 Haigazian 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 improved public education and morals, removed obstructions to +international commerce, introduced navigation 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 him off his guard married his sister, +Princess Dikranoohi. 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 massacre a few +months since. The most important political 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 prophecy 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 Ashchenaz." (Jer. li. 27.) + +After Dikran's death his son Vahakn succeeded him; he was considered +a god by the people, and worshiped 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 invaded Persia, +Vahe went to Darius' help with 40,000 infantry and 7,000 cavalry; +but Alexander conquered first Darius and then Vahe (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 +Western Roman Empire, and about the time Genseric and his Vandals +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 educated 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 towering 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 numbers, wealth, and consciousness of +national unity, which has enabled the nation to survive and keep its +united being through many centuries of dismemberment, impoverishment, +massacre, and attempts at outright 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. + +During the time between the disappearance of the line of Haig 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 Alexander's death, five years later (323 B.C.), +his generals partitioned the Macedonian Empire among themselves, and +Armenia fell to Neoptolemus. His government was at once so oppressive, +and so contemptuous of native feeling (he and his court were Greeks, +and despised 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 revolts against the Syrian satraps kept it much +of the time in a half-anarchic state. About 210 B.C. Antiochus 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 189 B.C., and having to buy peace by +giving up everything beyond the Halys, each governor proclaimed +his province an independent kingdom. Zadriades (Zadreh), in Lesser +Armenia 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 Romans Arsaces. Mithridates made +Greater Armenia a kingdom for his brother Wagh-arshag (Val-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 +statesmanship which characterized the whole Arsacid line, and the +Mithridates in particular, and its great knowledge 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 succession, 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. Tigranes, however, paid no more blood-money to anybody +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 destroyed the Parthian +Empire itself, not only recovering the seventy valleys he had paid +for his throne, but conquering Media, and annexing Mesopotamia and +Adiabene. 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 Seleucid +Kingdom in its widest extent, the whole heart of Western Asia, had +he not in an evil hour been induced 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 Roman army. Even the great Tigranes was +no match for Rome, and had to surrender. Pompey was not harsh with him, +but left him Armenia (except Sophene and Gordyene, 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 Tigranes' defeat, and restore them to the +latter. On the departure of Pompey the Parthian once more reclaimed +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 Empire were alternately +irresistible in Eastern Anatolia; it was impossible to avoid taking +sides, for neutrality meant invasion by one party or the other; +and whichever 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 allegiance; asked him to +make the invasion by way of Armenia, and offered to help him. Crassus +refused, but the Parthian king, Orodes, invaded Armenia; however, +he made peace, and betrothed his eldest son, Pacorus, to Artavasdes' +daughter, just before news 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 westward, 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 governors, 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 +invasion 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 died of cold and storm in the Armenian mountains, +the wounded died in enormous numbers; but that Artavasdes 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 reason 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 Armenia, 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 Armenia, 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, Artavasdes, who had been +carried to Alexandria by Antony, 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 government, +of able rulers either inside or outside, of some sort of ability to +keep the civil structure of the country 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 during these ages +of woe--indeed, to a large extent during 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,--Parthia, Rome, +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 struggle, +perhaps rather would never have existed; but her territory is so large +and so defensible that her history could have been predicted,--final +dismemberment between 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 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 perished. 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 the 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 impossible that +there should be really firm and orderly government when 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 government 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 +considered 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 Parthia, 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 Parthians 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 Ardashir (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 nation 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 +Abgar 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 government 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 accused him falsely, to the Emperor Tiberius, +of rebellious projects. King Abgar, on being made acquainted with +this accusation, hastened to send messengers 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, Abgar's confidant--hearing +of the wonders that were wrought by our Saviour, determined to visit +Jerusalem, 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 particulars 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 follows: + +"'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. No +sooner had the great miracles that thou performest been related 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, I have heard that the Jews murmur +against thee, and seek to slay thee. I pray thee, therefore, come +to me; I have a good little city, which is enough for both of us, +and there we can peaceably live together.'" + +The messengers sent with the letter were instructed to offer sacrifices +for the King at the temple in Jerusalem; 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 received the letter +joyfully,--as it was the day of his 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 +likeness 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 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 became 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, +selecting a silk-mercer, the king's cap-maker, for that office, 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 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 proceeded +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 embraced, wrote to +the Emperor Tiberius in favor of Christ, informing him how the Jews +unjustly crucified him, exhorting him at the same time to believe +and command others to adore the Saviour. Many letters 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 Christianity. + +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 temples, resumed the public worship of the idols, and ordered +the sacred handkerchief removed from the 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 had 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 falling 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 chieftains 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 remains. 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 Cappadocia, started for Edessa to reconvert him. On 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 orders on Chrysos, and they gave up all their property 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 invited Thaddeus to +Shavarshan; on his arrival he put him to death, and with him his own +daughter, Santukht, 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 convert, with all her +household, two hundred people in all; the whole of them suffered +martyrdom in consequence. + +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 introduced very early in Armenia." I, +however, consider 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 +everywhere was not so much to make people believe in it 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 flourishing +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 +Christians 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 Empire, and +indeed, part of the same movement. Diocletian 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 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 Constantine made it supreme in the Roman Empire, thus making +Armenia the first Christian nation. + + + + +GREGORY THE ILLUMINATOR AND KING DERTAD. + +In the continual struggle between Rome and Parthia 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 strengthening 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 Persia, 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, Chosroes 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 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. Chosroes 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 Etchmiazin, where the Armenian Catholicos resides), +Chosroes' 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 enemy, 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 smuggled 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 distinguished there, +evidently inheriting his father's military ability; and remained in +the Roman service certainly 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 weak and Persia strong. The great Shahpur, Ardashir's son, +reigned in Persia till about 272; the imbecile Gallienus of Rome +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 restore the Roman power in the +East was Diocletian, who came to the Roman throne in 284, and it is +significant that he made Tiridates king of Armenia only two years +later. As Diocletian was a soldier of fortune, probably he had known +and respected Tiridates long before. Anyway, in 286 Rome once more +had her turn in Armenian affairs, and with one short interval, kept +absolute control of the country for over half a century. + +Now there had been born in Armenia about 257 a child who had early +been taken to Caesarea by Christian relatives, baptized, named +Gregory, and reared in the Christian faith. On reaching maturity +he married a Christian girl by whom he had two sons; but after +three years they separated by mutual consent. The wife entered a +convent. Gregory, hearing of Tiridates' 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 proclaimed 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 of the country; +and making offerings to her of garlands and crowns, asked Gregory to +join him in his idolatry. Gregory refused to worship anything but 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 wanderer; but two +years later he was reinstated by the Romans, and finished his life +on the throne. In gratitude 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 property 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. Diocletian 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 danger, broke up the +convent, and the inmates with several priests--seventy in all--went +to the East, and scattered themselves in different localities. Ripsime +and Kayane, with thirty-five companions, reached Ardashad 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, commanded 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, intending 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 herself 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 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 persecution of the saints. They ran around +like mad people or demoniacs. While they were in this state, the +king's virgin sister Chosrovitukht had a divine revelation that she +should go to Ardashad and release Gregory 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 forgiveness, +but he told them to worship only their Creator. 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 Christian 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 miraculous cure was at once effected on all the sufferers. + +This done, Gregory and Tiridates set about exterminating idolatry; +they smashed the idols and demolished the temples, the new converts +joyfully assisting 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 +become 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 zealous 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 institutions, were +organized in great numbers under Christian auspices during the next +two or three centuries, 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 Persians 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 Armenians in invading or controlling that state; +still again, the Armenian Christians now favored the Romans much +more strongly than they had before, because 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 Christianity, and over three-quarters of a +century from the accession of Tiridates; which was due largely to +the great ability of the Roman emperors Diocletian and Constantine, +and the excellent administration and military 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 campaign of 363. His weak and frightened successor +Jovian surrendered a great section of the Eastern Roman territory, +and still more disgracefully agreed that the Romans should not help +their ally Arshag (Arsaces), king of Armenia, against Shahpur. Armenia +was at once invaded, but she felt her national existence at stake, and +fought with desperation. Though Shahpur 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 Vashag. Vagharshabad, +Ardashad, Ervandshad, and many other cities were taken and destroyed; +finally Arshag and Vashag were captured. Arshag's eyes were put out, +and he was thrown into a Persian dungeon in Ecbatana; Vashag 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, 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's +son, Bab (Papa), had escaped to Constantinople and asked the help of +the co-Emperor Valens. That emperor 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 Romans; +he kept up a guerrilla warfare in the mountains, and a large part of +the Armenian people were prepared 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 alternately 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 baseness +to hold a secret correspondence 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 prevented him from returning by guards of soldiers. He +made his escape, and professed his allegiance to the Romans as before; +but Valens resolved to be rid of 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, Shahpur died, and there was an instant +and entire change in Persian policy toward Rome, and even toward +Christianity for a while. His brother and successor, Ardashir, 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 Roman +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 governor, 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, +Ardashes IV, into the governorship; but the great Armenian 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; LITERATURE; THE CHURCH AND THE CLERGY. + +From 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 questions 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 "heresies" and make them Greek. That +was one reason 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 terribly +by the Greek Christians and the Persian fire-worshipers alike. Just +as before the partition, each country invaded the other's part of +Armenia whenever they got into war; and whichever won, the Armenians +were the losers. When the Greeks won, they tortured the Armenians; +when the Persians won, they tortured the Armenians; later, when the +Mohammedans won, they also tortured the Armenians. The mediaeval +history of Armenia is that of a battle-ground between contending +races--Greeks, Persians, 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 calamities 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 Zoroastrians, 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 Armenia's greatest foe from the Persian to the Arab, +from the fire-worshipers to the Mohammedans. Persia was invaded by +the forces of the caliph Omar in 634, and about 640-2 the decisive +battle of Nehavend annihilated the last great Persian army, though +scattered places held out much longer. The Armenian highlands at once +resumed their independence, 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 Saracens, 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 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 immediately 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 scholarship. 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 distinguished 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 connected with them till his death at +the hands of the latter. Previous to the desertion of Armenia by the +Romans in 363, they had quarreled with Arshag, and sent an army to +punish him; but on Nierses' intercession with Valens it was recalled, +and the Saint obtained high favor with the emperor. Arshag's conduct, +however, grew too bad for endurance; he had his father and a relative +named Kuenel (or Gnel) killed, and married Kuenel's 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 accompany him. But Valens was +enraged at the withdrawal, would neither read the letter nor see the +saint, and ordered the hostages killed and Nierses banished. The former +sentence was revoked on the general's intercession, 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 convened an assembly of Armenian princes +and ecclesiastical 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 poisoned, in the village of Khakh in the province +of Eghueghiatz. Nierses had been pontiff eight years, but they were +crowded with labors of immense variety and usefulness. He left one son +(Isaac), who eventually became 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 character, +a marked contrast to the proud and dissolute nobility 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 immense political +importance that, as the king had before 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 appointment of the +new pontiff 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,--rebuilding that of St. Ripsime, 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 remained at court under the patronage of a prince named Aravan, +where he became chancellor. Finally he became wearied of earthly glory +and court corruptions, 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 province. 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 with Isaac the Golden Age of Armenian +literature; I shall speak of this a little later. + + + + +BAROUYR OR BROYERIOS. + +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 suspicion 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 Roman world, +and greatly admired even by the emperors. 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 comparison I can give in modern +times is Louis Kossuth. That Barouyr has not the fame of Cicero or +Demosthenes, Kossuth or Gladstone, is probably because under the +circumstances of the time he could not engage in 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 foremost 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 governor's +removal some time after, he was permitted 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. Later, the Emperor Constans was +so struck with his wisdom and oratorical power that he called him first +to Gaul and then to Rome, 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 persuasiveness 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. + +Vartan Mamigonian is the most esteemed and beloved 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 Saviour. It was said of him that he was an +honest, modest, 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 ecclesiastic +and the religious boy, the latter developed into a great spiritual +light. In 421 he went to Constantinople 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 father, 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 theologian, and could always be +victorious in a debate by killing his opponent. One specimen will +suffice. He called a convocation of Armenian priests and noblemen, +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. Vartan 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 position, as well as military +ability. Finally the forces were arrayed for battle on the banks of +the Dughmood river, in the plains of Avarayr, near the present city of +Van. Vartan had 66,000 men, the Persians several times as many. Vartan +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 freedom we have to fight. Surely our lives are +not as valuable 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 +Constantinople, Athens, Antioch, Alexandria, and wherever 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 +judgment 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 Armenian +literature. First in point of time as well as importance comes the +Armenian Bible. The furious 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 remember 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 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, however, if it had not been for the eagerness of +Christian 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. Mesrob 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. He and Sahag the Pontiff at once began to translate the New +Testament and the Book of Proverbs from a poor Greek version, the best +they had, with the assistance of two pupils, John of Eghueghiatz 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 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 +education; 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 +Noravank, Ayri, and Vochkhoroz--wrote great numbers besides. The first +original work of Sahag was one on Pastoral Theology, 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 theological 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 Christians enjoyed full +rights of worship. Bahram IV of Persia (389-399), who helped divide +it, was a monarch who loved peace above all things, both with foreign +countries and his own people; his successor, Yazdegerd I (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, continuing 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 rebellious elements, +tried to please them by persecuting the Christians; this involved him +in a war with Rome, as I have said, and after a couple of years he +made peace and gave toleration again. The turning of Persian 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 Vartan'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, Mampre, 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 unfavorable state of +political and social affairs in Armenia 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 importance 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 Chronicle of Eusebius, nearly complete; +the epistles of Ignatius, translated from a Syrian version; fifteen +Homilies by Severianus; the exegetical writings of Ephraim Syrus, +previously completely unknown, on the historical books of the Old +Testament, the synoptical gospels, the parables of Jesus, and the +fourteen Pauline epistles; the Hexahemeron of Basil the Great; the +Catechesis of Cyril of Jerusalem; several homilies by Chrysostom, +etc. The period, however, was not characterized by translations +only. Several of the disciples of Mesrob and Sahak left original +works. Esnik 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 published; +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 translated 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. + + + + +SEVENTH CENTURY. + +By far the greatest name in this century, and indeed the best-known +and most important name in Armenian literature altogether, is +the writer who calls himself Movses Khorentzi, well known to all +historical 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 Armenian 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, Vertanes, 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, Sdepannoss Sounetzi, +and Levont Yeretz. They wrote hymns, books on oratory, etc. + + + + +NINTH CENTURY. + +Zakaria Shabooh, Tooma, Kourken, etc. + + + + +TENTH CENTURY. + +The chief authors were Anania, Khasrov, and Krikor Naregatzi. 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 commentaries were written on the Bible. + + + + +TWELFTH CENTURY. + +Leading authors: Nerses Shinorhali is the foremost of Armenian poets, +and a thoroughly converted and consecrated man of God. His hymns were +intensely spiritual, and the Armenians still chant them in their +churches. They are worthy to be translated 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 I quote from the Schaff-Herzog Encyclopaedia:--"Another +nourishing period falls in the twelfth century, during the Rubenian +dynasty. Nerses Klagensis and Nerses Lambronensis belong to this +period; also Ignatius, whose commentary to the Gospel 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 translation 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 Armenian +literature received in the eighteenth century by the foundation of +the Mekhitarist monastery in Venice, from whose press the treasures +of the Armenian 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." + + + + +THIRTEENTH CENTURY. + +Leading authors:-- Krikor Sguevratzi, Kevork Sguevratzi, Mukhitar +Anetzi, Vanagan Vartabed, Vartan Vartabed, etc. They wrote histories, +commentaries, 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 American scholars; the language is well +worth learning for what it can give the student. Not alone is the +original work that comes from the first Christian nation specially +valuable for its bearing on primitive Christianity, but the Armenian +scholars translated great numbers of works from other languages, +and these translations are preserved in Armenian monasteries 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 consider 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 representatives 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 Roman Empire at +the time when Christianity won the battle, and so had the official +backing of the empire, 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 Armenian; it was not the earliest, +for the very first Christian churches sprang from the Jews; it was +not even the earliest great 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 Pontiff, 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 foundation 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 salvation 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 belief 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 Armenians go to church every day,--twice, +morning and evening, and three times on Sunday. + +Secondly, the Armenian has never been a persecuting 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 untechnical 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 born again from the Holy Spirit and becoming +Christ-like. It holds that Christianity is brotherhood through Jesus +Christ, and gives no warrant for oppression 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 country; for example, in Croatia a +Protestant is not allowed to live there at all, and the people said +in the Hungarian Diet that "intolerance was the most precious of +their rights." The Russian Greek Church will not permit a Protestant +missionary in Russia. Where the Roman Catholic power is complete, +it is just as intolerant. The Armenian church has been repeatedly +persecuted 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 +Christian 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? No. If they would accept Roman Catholicism 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 Russia would not permit it. But as they are an independent church +the others are interested 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 spiritual 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 Christians. 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 because 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 doctrine; and this is a very fortunate thing for the +Armenians. 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 Council 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 proceeds. They know that they need the Holy Spirit for guidance +in spiritual life, for regeneration; they know that the Holy Spirit +is one of the persons in the Trinity; and that is enough for them. + +Now I would ask, do the theologians of the nineteenth century agree on +such questions, or any other theological question? Are the theologians +of the coming centuries going to agree on them? I leave this to the +scholars of Europe and America. I simply state that I studied in three +different theological seminaries in America; first in Oberlin, in 1880; +second 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 Professor 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. Instead 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 Vartabed, and the presiding bishop is called +Yebisgobos (Episcopus). The presiding bishop ordains 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. No Armenian pastor +can be ordained 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. Therefore +I consider the above information about the Armenian church enough; +but I will add that the Armenian church until the twelfth century +was as simple 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 accept 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 Constantinople, and the Armenian Catholicos +of Etchmiazin. 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 follows: The Patriarch at Constantinople has nothing +to do with religion, though he is a bishop. As a personal 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 Constantinople, and responsible to the Sultan for the Armenian +nation who live in Turkey. The Armenians are not anxious to have +such a political head; it is simply the wish of the Sultan, or it +has been the wishes of the Sultans in centuries gone by. The present +Patriarch, Right Rev. Bishop Izmirlian, is a very learned, experienced, +and eloquent bishop. He is very popular; the whole Armenian nation +love and esteem him; but the Sultan hates him, because he 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 such documents while in fact the Armenians were being +plundered, 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 nation 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 Constantinople, 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 with 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. Failing to get rid of +him that way, the Sultan banished him to Jerusalem, but sent false +reports to the newspapers, that he thought highly of the Patriarch, +and 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 Russian Czar (not the present one, but his father, Alexander), +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 family, a true +home. It is full of the Holy Spirit. Catholicos 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 wife died. He is also a great +orator, preaching fiery gospel sermons as our greatest revivalists +preach them. He loved the American missionaries in Constantinople, +and they returned the feeling. Kirimian was born in Van April 16, +1820; therefore he is now 76 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 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 Armenian +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 +nature, which provides that human force, like other force, cannot be +extinguished, but if suppressed will find an outlet elsewhere, 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 contending 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 Mohammedan +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 government. Even +the Persian satraps had gone from the Persian side, and with them the +half-control they 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 effective 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 "anarchy." 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, independent race, +with arms in their hands, which they would use against their chiefs +as well as the foreigners 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 cultivators 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 +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, occupied +the throne for nearly three hundred years, preserved 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 Armenian blood, and that +name is monotonously common; it is the Greek form of "Vartan," though +now and then they make it "Bardanes." One of the greatest conquerors +in Byzantine history, John Kurkuas, was an Armenian, from a family +which supplied three generations of statesmen and generals, and two +great emperors. And this is part of what the immortal historian of +"Greece Under Foreign Domination," George Finlay, has to say:-- + + +"At the accession of Leo III (717), the Hellenic race occupied a +very subordinate position in the empire. The predominant influence +in the political administration was in the hands of Asiatics, +and particularly of Armenians, who filled the highest military +commands. Of the numerous rebels who assumed the title of emperor, +the greater part were Armenians. Artabasdos, who rebelled against his +brother, Constantine V, was an Armenian. Alexios Mousel, strangled +by order of Constantine VI, in the year 790; Bardan called the +Turk, who rebelled against Nicephorus I; Arsaber [Arshavir] the +father-in-law of Leo V, convicted of treason in 808; and Thomas, +who revolted against Michael II, were all Asiatics, and most of them +Armenians. Many of the Armenians in the Byzantine Empire belonged to +the oldest and most illustrious families in the Christian world; and +their connection with 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 instance of the influence of Asiatic prejudices +at Constantinople 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 known best, and he married +his daughter to an Armenian. He saved Constantinople from capture +by the Saracens, causing the destruction of the finest 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 V, +reigned seven and a half years, from 813 to 820. About half a century +later began the Basilian dynasty, under which the laws were codified, +and Bulgaria destroyed. Basil was born in Macedonia, but the name +of his brother, Symbatios, Armenian Simpad, shows that he was of an +Armenian family, the colonies of Armenians having spread all over the +civilized world. His line reigned without a break from 867 to 963, +when the beautiful widow Theophano was pushed aside for sixteen +years by another Armenian house, Nikephoros Phokas and his nephew +John Zimiskes, two of the ablest generals and statesmen ever on the +throne, descendants of a brother of the great commander, John Kurkuas, +before spoken of; then Theophano's son, Basil II--Boulgaroktonos, +the Bulgarian slayer, and the ultimate destroyer of Armenia as +well--took the throne, 979, and the dynasty continued 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 feudal anarchy always ends +in a military monarchy, no matter how able or self-willed every one of +the separate chiefs may be, is that this very class most interested +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 themselves and desirous of taking care of others. + +This happened in Armenia. In 743, a century after the battle of +Nehavend and four years after Leo's crushing defeat of the second +great Saracen army, we find that a chief named Ashod, of the family +of Pakrad or Bagrat, claiming descent from the ancient Jews (see +the Haigian dynasty in this book), had managed to win control over +central and northern Armenia; 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 independence 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 kingdom. 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 brother Appas succeeded him; another +brave and wise ruler, who brought back the Armenian 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 generosity; he reminds +one of Alfred the Great, in England. He was the terror of his country's +enemies; not one of them--Arab, Greek, or Persian--dared to invade +Armenia, and they sent presents to conciliate his friendship. It was +under him that the country became formally independent again. He filled +it with fortified places. He gave all his personal income in charity, +and established almshouses and state charities. 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 lawlessness. 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 district around Kars, +fifty miles northwest, had split off into a separate principality, the +boundary between the two being the Aras; on the east was Vaspourakan, +another princedom; on the west Sebaste, another; on the north Iberia, +and Abkhasia or Abasgia or Albania, the realms 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 Byzantine emperor accomplished it. About +1020 the Seljuk 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 king; 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 revolt 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 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 +creatures, married or not married to her, misgoverned the empire for +nearly thirty years. The reign of Constantine 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 Constantinople by the Turks, four centuries later, was +directly due to it. Almost never has sheer contemptible negative +good-for-nothingness produced such awful results. He was a worthless +man and an utterly incapable 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, and Syria, were exempted +from taxation, and the small dependent states in that region from +tribute, in consideration 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 collected 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 pleasures. 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. Constantine 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 Armenian +nobles turned traitors and joined the Byzantine forces. Kakig could +not make head against the three allies with the slender forces left +him; and choosing to yield to Christians rather than Saracens, though +Constantine evidently had no such scruples, surrendered Ani to the +imperial forces (1045), and went to Constantinople to plead his cause +with the emperor. Constantine would not yield, and Kakig resigned +his kingship for a magistracy, and large estates in Cappadocia. 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 preserved +its independence against both Christians and Saracens, and thus the +Armenian life still beat; but as a kingdom, Armenia perished and the +Pakradoonian 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 +oppressors 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 Vaspourakan 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 invade the Byzantine territories, as they were of matchless +fertility and wealth, and the troops not formidable. Togrul sent +his nephew Ibrahim to do so in 1048; the timid Byzantine commanders, +after defeating a detachment of his troops, waited for reinforcements +before encountering the main body, and Ibrahim, 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 desperation that Ibrahim, giving up the hope of plunder, +and wishing at once to secure his 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; +perhaps Moscow and Chicago are the only things comparable. It is said +that 140,000 persons perished in the fire and in the massacre by the +Turks that followed, and the prisoners taken were such a multitude +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 Armenians all over the world, like the Jews, have +reduced 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 while, 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, and then beat the 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 +wall. 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 continued after the +suppression of the line of Pakrad, and with even worse results. Having +destroyed the interest and even the right of Armenia to keep up +an army of her own, and confiscated her revenues applied 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 corrupt and profligate court avarice which had caused +the one, prevented the other. Not only did Constantine 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, 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 1060 +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 (except for a few fortresses) a mere +desert pasture ground to feed their cattle on. They were only nomad +shepherds and cattle-men, despised cities as at best necessary evils, +and did not care for tilling the soil. Whatever spot the Turk has +set his foot on, he has blasted like a breath from hell, turning to +naught the labors 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 Turkish 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 Armenian prince of +Lorhi 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 +peninsula and protected on two sides by a rapid river and a deep +ravine, was left without help by the Byzantines, 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 Byzantine Empire for the appanage of +the district of Amassia. 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 Cappadocia and Cilicia), where their native princes were living +as great Byzantine dukes and governors. A number 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, +ruining the country beyond reparation as they went. Within a dozen +years from the capture of Ani, the Seljuk dominion reached to Nicaea, +fifty miles from Constantinople, and the seat of the first Christian +church council. Its lands could be seen from St. Sophia; the Byzantine +Empire retained only a strip of Asia Minor along the sea-coast. + +But the Armenian courage and national spirit, and the political +and military ability which had governed 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 mountains of Northeastern 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 settlements +were an island in a sea of Mohammedanism. The new kingdom of Cilicia +or Lesser Armenia grew with 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 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 Christian 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 vassal 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 conquest 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 Emperors, into +the field; he stormed the Cilician seaports, and then reduced the +chief interior fortresses; Leo fled 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 temporarily been made vassal by John. Toros is +the glory of the whole Rupenian line; he was of the first rank, both +as a general and a statesman. He scarcely ever suffered a military +reverse. He beat the Byzantine armies in campaign after campaign, and +the Seljuks 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 monastery +with rare manuscripts, the residence of a Catholicos. 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 highland +farmers, not seamen), the new kingdom was gradually 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 Cilicia but all of old Isauria clear to its western mountain +barrier; hundreds of miles of seaboard, from close to Antioch on the +one side, to far west of Cyprus on the 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 Romanism, 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 thousands of +captives for wives or slaves. Levon was taken captive also; after some +years in Egypt, he was permitted to go free, wandered through Europe +for a dozen years, and finally settled in Paris, where he died 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 +Armenians, in spite of emigration and Turkish settlement, 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 +devastated 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 thousands 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. + +RULERS 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 time 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 hundred 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). Now Othman, +though a plundering marauder like other tribal chiefs, turbulent +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 able to collect +an army of 5,000 soldiers, beat a Byzantine 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 barbarous 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 developed 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 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 centuries. 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 Persian 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 Armenians are put in a minority in their own country. + +I must correct here a notion fostered by historical 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 thousands 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 +cunning, 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 everything: 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 Armenian, +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. + + + LIST OF OTTOMAN SULTANS AND DATE OF ACCESSION. + + A.D. | A.D. + 1. Othman I, gazi, 1299 | 18. Ibrahim I, 1640 + 2. Orkhan I, gazi, 1327 | 19. Mohammed IV, 1648 + 3. Murad I, gazi, 1360 | 20. Suleyman II, 1687 + 4. Bayazid I, yelderim, 1389 | 21. Ahmed II, 1691 + 5. Mohammed I, chelebi, 1413 | 22. Mustafa II, 1695 + 6. Murad II, gazi, 1421 | 23. Ahmed III, gazi, 1702 + 7. Mohammed II, fatih, 1451 | 24. Mahmud I, gazi, 1730 + 8. Bayazid II, gazi, 1481 | 25. Othman III, 1754 + 9. Selim I, yavouz, 1512 | 26. Mustafa III, gazi, 1757 +10. Suleyman I, kanooni, 1520 | 27. Abdul Hamid I, gazi, 1773 +11. Selim II, gazi, 1566 | 28. Selim III, 1789 +12. Murad III, gazi, 1574 | 29. Mustafa IV, 1807 +13. Mohammed III, gazi, 1595 | 30. Mahmud II, adil, 1808 +14. Ahmed I, gazi, 1603 | 31. Abdul Mejid I, gazi, 1839 +15. Mustafa I, 1617 | 32. Abdul Aziz I, 1861 +16. Othman II, guendj, 1618 | 33. Murad V, 1876 +17. Murad IV, gazi, 1622 | 34. Abdul Hamid II, gazi, 1876 + + +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; chelebi, 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 Hovaguem, 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 off 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 off. 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 were foes of the Turkish Mohammedans, and Armenia, as +of old in Roman times, was the battle-ground. In the time of Sultan +Ahmed and Shah Appas, the latter overran Armenia and carried away +the people to captivity, 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 Roman 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 outrage 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. + + + + +THE PRESENT SULTAN, HAMID II. + +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 Sultan, 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 born September 22, 1842, second son of Abdul Mejid, +and wrested the throne from his brother Mourad August 31, 1876. He +is not a legitimate 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 especially 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 carrying +out his threat. He grew to manhood without becoming any milder, +and is morally corrupt besides. He has drunken bouts with worthless +associates, and spent his time in all sorts of monstrous debauchery +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 murdered 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 +ministry got to do with it? He was hundreds of miles from Armenia, +and did not know any of the chief languages of Constantinople,--either +Armenian, Turkish, or Romanic; and what could he tell of his host, +except of the quality of his hospitality? A man usually shows his +best side to those he entertains; did he suppose 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 interlude 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 Sultan's 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 exaggerated, 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 measure +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 was 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 cruelty of his family, their love of blood for its +own sake. He 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 handsome 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 between 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 compel obedience, and I am +in earnest." They consented, and while the Sultan was asleep that +night the commander's soldiers and the admiral's sailors surrounded +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 depose 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 commander 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 Constantinople 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. 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 believe 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, +"Hassan, why 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. Hassan +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 government, 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 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 discuss any questions freely. He said, "We are +here for the good of the country, and the empire needs to be reformed; +how can we reform it?" This was an entire novelty; "government by +discussion" is not the Oriental way, and not the Oriental liking +either. The Mohammedan members were astonished, and they were wrathful +at the Christian members when the latter began 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 destruction. 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 gentleman, +a benevolent and humane person. The devil 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 Sultan 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 +wonder he has them exterminated by sword, and fire, and torture, and +rape; it is really the only way he could get rid of them. And then, +he is king, and has a right to do what he pleases with his own; nobody +has any business 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 +different, 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 witnesses, 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 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 murdered. As the Sultan +felt his position secure, he began to get rid of all men of superior +character and education. 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 summoned 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 instead, which they did. + +After he had got rid of all the great Turks, he appointed a host +of ignorant and cruel ruffians as governors, sub-governors, and +generals; like Hadjii Hassan Pasha, governor of Beshick-Tash near +the Sultan's 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 plot against him. He dreads and hates +education and the educated, though he makes a show of encouraging +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 necessary, +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 anyway, for there are not competent +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 nationalities +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 supporting 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 charlatan; 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), 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 professing 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 population. 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 Vezir, 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 politeness, 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 him a heathen +dog, say to another Mohammedan, "See how that Christian hog believed +what I said!" 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 Armenians, 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 demanded +by local requirements in the provinces inhabited by the Armenians, +and to guarantee their security against Circassians and Kurds. It +will periodically make known the steps taken to this effect to the +powers, who will superintend their application." These promises were +made eighteen years ago, and the reforms were to be made "without +further delay." His reforms have consisted in ordering Circassians +and Kurds to murder and plunder them. Since the Berlin Treaty, the +Sultan, calling the European kings, emperors, and princes heathen +hogs and Christian 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 irresistible. He let loose a horde of +Circassians to massacre 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 Russian 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 +Constantinople to settle the question. Lord Salisbury came from +England, Count Ignatieff from Russia, and others from other parts +of Europe, gathered in a beautiful 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 internally, and that Turkey must not fight +Russia because it was too weak. This decision was communicated to the +Sultan, and he was 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 Congress to give +their "opinion." Of course they gave what was 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 Protestant Armenian community. Another was +a thoughtful, experienced Turk, and when the Sultan asked him his +reason for opposing the war, he related the following parable: + +"There was once a miser whom the king gave his choice of three +things: to eat five pounds of raw onions 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 rankness 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." "Now," +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 European 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 +afterwards Egypt. He lost many thousands of soldiers and millions of +dollars, and besides has had to pay millions 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 encouraged the +Mohammedan population of European 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 confiscation of their property +forms part of the scheme to make room for them. Before his time the +Armenians 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 Christians 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 publicly; +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 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 murdered. How did the author of this book discover the +secret? Well, when in Constantinople, I had an intimate 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 authoritative 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 Bosphorus, 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 "wisdom" is +merely care for his skin. He cares nothing for the prosperity of the +country; it is steadily growing poorer, while he is personally growing +very rich. That is one reason why he keeps an Armenian treasurer, +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 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 inherited most of them. When a Sultan +dies, his successor 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 passing 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; 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 Sultan 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 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 proclaimed, +he goes to that mosque with great pomp, and all the members of +the Sublime Porte, the civil officers, 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 dervishes 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, Mohammed in Paradise, Osman on the earth. He +has three offices, God's office, Mohammed's office, Osman's office. He +is as infallible as the Pope of Rome, and temporally everything belongs +to him without exception, men, women, children, money, property, +just as everything belongs to God. A Turkish proverb says, "Mal, +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 himself, 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, anybody's head +would come off that refused. If the Sultan 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, +pecuniary, 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 American 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. + +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 decorated 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 +American Indians only. The Sultan is not a president, and his divine +right to kill any man, appropriate 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 Armenia 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 reasoning from wrong premises. They did happen, and are +happening,--see the consular reports; were perfectly unprovoked,--see +the plentiful proofs that the Armenians carry no arms, and cannot +even defend themselves 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 Navy. + 7. The Minister of Finance. + 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 anything; it is simply +a farce council to cheat the European powers; a dumb tool in the +hands of the Sultan. For instance, the Sultan calls the Grand Vezir, +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 minutes. This is the sort of thing Mr. Carlyle +wanted. You have seen the beautiful effects of it. + +The question naturally arises, Why does the Sultan 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 representative 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 suggest +any improvement, the Sultan dismisses him, saying that it is his own +business to consider the improvements 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 Armenians +without direct orders from the Sultan. The Sultan originates all these +cruelties. The recent Grand Vezir, Said Pasha, at one time was a very +decent Turk. When he differed with the Sultan about massacreing the +Armenians, the Sultan threatened 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 British 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 Sultan would have no such pottering, +and ordered the soldiers 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. On the other hand, if the man happens to be +an enemy to one of the members, he is almost 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 minister or officer +acts contrary to the wishes of the Sultan, he is marked for death. + + + + +THE SHEIK-UL-ISLAM. + +Sheik-ul-Islam means chief of Islam--the Mohammedan 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 religious +services properly conducted; and there are many questions among +the Mohammedans which are settled without going to a magistrate, +by the Sheik-ul-Islam, or by his deputies, called Muftees. These +Muftees 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 representative 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 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 cannot +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, sometimes 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 Not 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. + +Nobody who has not lived in Turkey can realize how hopeless, almost +self-contradictory, it is to talk 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 embodied 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 writers to talk in this fashion:--"Mohammedanism is a +half-way house to Christianity; Mohammed converted the heathen 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 Palestine 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 Mohammedan Sultan. The +heathen religions rear better men than Mohammedanism. The Mongols +are more humane and sympathetic than the Turks. Heathenism 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 +system 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 sympathy, +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 +calculated 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 gratify +and justify his worst passions. + +I shall be asked if the Mohammedans do not believe in one God, +and the same God as the Christian; and if that does not make it +a religion, and very near that of Christians. Yes, they do; and +so do the devils. That is what Mohammedanism is, the religion of +devils. Most of the Turkish conversation consists of oaths and smut. I +do not mean among the common people--theirs is nothing else--but +of the educated upper classes, their 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 cursing 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 temperate 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 religion 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 climate +enervates the Turks, why does it not the Christians? In the very same +cities you find the Christians rich, enterprising, full of energy; the +Turks poor, ignorant, unambitious, and lazy. The religion makes all +the difference. Christianity teaches purity, sympathy, and industry; +Mohammedanism teaches impurity, hate, and sloth. The pure life of the +Christian conserves all the energies; the hopes of Christianity 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 Mohammedan heaven of a lot of street dogs and sluts. + +Here I must comment on the extraordinary statement of Alexander +Webb, at the Parliament of Religions in Chicago. Mr. Webb was an +American consul in the East, and became a convert to Mohammedanism, +or professes to have done so; it is not very hard to guess what +part of that so-called religion attracted 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 monarch, 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 Mohammedans 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 look at everything from a sexual or sensual standpoint. 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 +confidence enough, even in his brother, to show his wives to him, and +even in heaven they will have to live in different 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 Mohammedanism 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 stimulated, +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 polygamy (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, 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 anyway 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. + +There are many more specimens of Mohammedan "purity" too shameful +to write, and too shameful to read; I cannot soil the paper with +them. Doubtless they are part of Mr. Webb's pride in being a +Mohammedan. But I must mention one more engine of corruption which +lies at the very root of Mohammedanism itself: the pilgrimage +to Mecca, to the birthplace of Mohammed in Arabia. Once a year +Mohammedan 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 sacrifice animals there, and about a million are +so sacrificed. 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 carry it to +their families, and friends throughout the Turkish Empire, Persia, +and India, from which cholera is spread abroad over the world. + +The pilgrims do not take their wives as far as the 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 Mohammedans; 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 Mohammedan country is built +both by Christian money and by Christian architects; Mohammedans +have neither 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. + + + + + + + + +V. + +THE GREAT POWERS AND THE ARMENIAN 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 violating 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 Armenian 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 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 England. + + + 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 defending 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 necessary 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 VII. "If Russia 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 Constantinople, for the conquering Russian army had reached +the suburbs, and encamped at San Stefano, only eight or ten miles +away. But for England, Russia would have captured Constantinople, +and kept it. But England backed Turkey, and the other powers backed +England, and Russia reluctantly withdrew her troops. But Russia has +never forgiven England for it; and if England wishes to help the +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 pleasant 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 England, 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. 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 Sultan, +and the latter commuted the sentence to banishment. These ministers +were Professors Thoumaian 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 question; then compare Lord Salisbury with him and his policy. + + + + +W. E. Gladstone. + +He assails Turkey's Intolerable Misgovernment and Emphasizes the +Value of Impartial American Testimony. + +[By Cable to The New York Herald.] + + + London, Aug. 6, 1895.--A pro-American meeting, 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 meeting, 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 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 Provisions. + + + 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 promises of the Turkish authorities + should be accepted; and third, that the powers should not fear + the word "coercion." + + "We have reached a critical position," said Mr. Gladstone, + in conclusion, "and the honor of the powers is pledged to the + institution of reforms in Armenia." + + A resolution was then proposed expressing the conviction that + the government would have the support 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 seconded by the Rev. Canon Malcolm MacColl, and was adopted. + + +Says Baseness and Villany Have Reached a Climax in Turkey's Treatment +of Armenia. + +[From The New York Herald.] + + + London, Dec. 27, 1895.--Murad Bey, formerly Ottoman Commissioner + of the Turkish debt, who recently 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 Mohammedans, 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 Re-enforced with a letter to a Turk. + +[From The New York Sun.] + + + London, Aug. 10.--Once more have the wonderful power and the true + greatness of England's Grand Old Man been demonstrated in the + remarkable revival 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 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 possible doubt of + the accuracy of the latest reports that thousands near the scene + of the massacres are perishing of starvation. + + The only protest against Mr. Gladstone's speech has been a long + letter from Khalef Khalid, a conspicuous 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 Mohammedans 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 recommended the granting of reasonable powers of local + self-government, which would have saved Turkey from terrible + 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 occasion for an +anti-Turkish demonstration. + + +Outrages and Abominations of 1876 in Bulgaria Repeated in Armenia +in 1894. + +[From The New York Herald.] + + + London, Dec. 29, 1894.--Mr. Gladstone celebrated his eighty-fifth + birthday to-day, and was the recipient of hundreds of letters + and telegrams of congratulation 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 allegations of outrages were true, but rather to await + the result of the inquiry which had been instituted. However, he + said, the published accounts pointed strongly to the conclusion + that the outrages, sins, and abominations 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, 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, violation, 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 reports 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 wickedness + 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 as long as I have voice it will + be uttered in behalf of humanity and truth. I wish you heartily + every blessing, 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 hypocrite, 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 clergyman told me that +Lord Salisbury is another Sultan, and I believe him. Here are a few +of Lord Salisbury'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 + 30, 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 has the loyal support of other powers to + reform Armenia." + + At another time we note:--"There is every reason to believe that + the Chinese government is sincerely desirous of punishing the + perpetrators of the outrages and those who connived at them. Should + any lukewarmness 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 conduct 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 powers 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 reforms." The House of Lords adopted the address in reply to + the Queen's speech. + + +After the above strong words, 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. He + believed that the Sultan's government was wretched and impotent, + but there was no ground for imagining 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 troubles, 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 + promised. 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 Armenia, and to give + the Porte time to recover from the existing administrative anarchy, + and appoint authorities 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 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 Sultan to visit + England, when the time shall be auspicious. 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 became 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 + the progress of these reforms. Nothing more." We cannot understand + him when he declares that the Cyprus Convention 'contains no + trace of an understanding to interfere in behalf of the Sultan'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 secure too much influence in Constantinople. Russia + 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 Turkey by force of arms + in preventing Russia from appropriating further Armenian provinces, + Turkey agreeing, on her part, to reform her local administration + in her remaining Armenian provinces and assigning the island of + Cyprus to be occupied and administered 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 European 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 result + 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 + war, except the Armenian provinces 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 Salisbury who drafted the agreements and drew up the + promises. For eighteen years Christian civilization 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? + + "Nor do we understand Lord Salisbury when he pleads that + it requires time for the Turkish government to carry out the + reforms 'which the Sultan recently has accepted.' Why the Turkish + government? There is no Turkish government. There is a Mohammedan + administration, but the government of the Ottoman Porte expired + with the Treaty of Berlin. 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 Vezir 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, + in Paris, in Vienna, and in Rome that the Turkish government rests. + + "It is for these reasons that we are unable to understand 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, 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 + 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 defending 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 necessary 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 responsible, 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, enjoying unquestioned religious freedom + and rights, that there have been not the slightest disorders. But + in the provinces where England pledged reform, the Armenian is + butchered daily. + + "Does Lord Salisbury mean that so long as Great Britain occupies + Cyprus, pending the execution of reforms, 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; first 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 Constantinople, is a +brave and noble gentleman. He was sent there by the Liberal government, +before Salisbury'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 instructed him to have cordial relations with the Sultan, +and now he can do nothing. + +Finally there appear to be two Englands, conservative England and +liberal England, slave England and free England, selfish England and +noble and sympathetic England, false England and true England. The +head of conservative, selfish, false, oppressive England is Lord +Salisbury. The head of liberal, free, noble, and true England is +Mr. Gladstone. Therefore nothing for Armenia can be expected 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; Gladstone +will see the Armenian nation free, and then he will die. + + + + +GERMANY AND THE ARMENIAN QUESTION. + +Listen to what the haughty young ruler of Germany says:--"It +is better that the Armenians be killed than the peace of Europe +be disturbed." The explanation is easy enough. When he visited +Constantinople half a dozen years ago, the Sultan presented 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 Constantinople +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 alliance of Germany against +molestation by Russia. + +The German Emperor has three motives in his present action. One is +to show gratitude for the Sultan'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 threatened +the Sultan in the interest of Armenia, the German 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 afterwards sent Count Von Moltke on the same errand. And the +Czar instructed his Ambassador at Constantinople, M. Nelidoff, to +inform the Sultan that he would not support the English government +in coercing Turkey. The Sultan therefore refused Salisbury'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 Amassia. 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 slaughtered and +the ally turned into an enemy. And if he 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 Armenians 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 weakling, 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 develop +that in time, but fully as sensual and devoid 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 Majesty 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:-- + + + "London, Jan. 23, 1896.--A dispatch to the Pall Mall Gazette + from Constantinople, dated yesterday, says 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 + exchanged 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: 'We 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. We presume the + British government will 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 + vengeance, and may necessitate the strengthening of our fleet in + those waters. Politically, the effect will be far greater. The + treaty means that Turkey has realized 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 Russia's + vassal, and Russia is entitled to dispatch troops 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 keenest 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 prefers 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 himself. He is compelled +to throw himself on the Czar for protection. + +Will the Czar succeed in getting Constantinople? No; 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 will try it, none the 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 committed, 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 impudence and success +combined; it is a true Napoleonism. This bogus "will" has become +the "Monroe doctrine" 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 Vjadomosti," 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 successors to the + throne and government of the Russian nation: the All-Powerful, + from whom we hold our life and our throne, after having revealed + unto us his wishes and intentions, and after being 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 decrepitude. 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 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 the North is like the inundation of + the 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 successors 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 instructions, + 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 + finance, 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 advantages 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 protect them; if neighboring powers raise + objections and opposition, 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 increase 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 development of our navy, + merchants, etc., and for the exchange of our produce against + her gold. Keep up continual communication with her merchants + and sailors, so that ours may acquire 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 Constantinople and + India. Remember that he who rules over these countries is the + real sovereign of the world. Keep up continued wars with Turkey + and with Persia. Establish dockyards 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 protection, which will lead the way + to a future dominion over them. + + XI. Make Austria drive the Turks out of Europe, and neutralize + 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. + + 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 remainder + of Europe will fall under our yoke. Thus can Europe be subjugated. + + +But aside from this, no help could be expected from Russia 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 inside. The Nihilists and the Constitutional Reformers are both +against her, and, in my belief, she will go to pieces in the present +Czar's lifetime. The Sultan's days are numbered, but the Czar's and +the Emperor'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 Russia, 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 motive 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. Italy is bankrupt, and even the throne of King Humbert +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 convert the Protestant Armenian Church to become a +part of the Roman Catholic Church,--to acknowledge the Papacy. I say +Protestant, for before Martin Luther 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 dominion. + + +[Press dispatch, N.Y. Herald.] + + + "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 grievous events and internal + conflicts. The sight of towns and villages defiled by scenes of + blood and of vast extents 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 voluntarily 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 empire. + + "In the meantime we have decided to send help to the most tried + and the most needy of the Armenians." + + + + +AMERICA AND ARMENIA. + +Now 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 New York "Herald," which has steadily favored the +Sultan. The reason is the same as for General Wallace's like opinion +of that worthless animal,--mistaking his entertainments and gifts for +proofs of good character, humanity, and statesmanship. Mr. Bennett, +too, knows the taste of the dinners at the palace, and perhaps the +weight of the golden ornaments he gives out. Fortunately his paper +has very little influence 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 Armenian 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 organized 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 protest against the Turkish outrages upon + Christian Armenians, 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 Baltimore 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 expressing sympathy with the object + of the gathering. + + Mr. Poe, in taking the chair, said:--"The accounts which have + reached us of the indescribable atrocities recently committed + upon the Christians in 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 almost impossible that they could + be true. But there is now no reason to discredit the harrowing + details. Indeed, 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 endeavoring to palliate and excuse the + enormities which they cannot truthfully deny. In order to shield + themselves and their governments from universal execration, 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 punishment and + repression. The long record of the patient and submissive sufferers + is a silent yet unanswerable refutation 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 feelings--to declare + that we cannot look unmoved upon the calamities of our Christian + brethren, though separated from us by thousands of miles, and to + recommend 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: + + + "I regret my inability to attend the meeting to protest against + the alleged outrages recently committed in Armenia. + + "The reports of these outrages have been published 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 conspicuous among their + Oriental co-religionists for their enlightened and progressive + spirit. + + "It is earnestly to be hoped that these alleged deeds of + lawless violence will be thoroughly investigated in a calm and + dispassionate spirit, so that the whole truth may be brought + to light, and that outraged law may be vindicated. The recital + of these inhuman 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 investigation, 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 government as a defense of the recent actions of the +soldiers of the Porte, was asked to be present at the meeting, and +was also asked to define his position as to the probable accuracy of +the reports from Armenia, and as to the responsibility of the Sultan +for the occurrence of the massacre. + +His letter of reply was read at the meeting. He 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 +perfectly cognizant of them, and should be held responsible 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 exaggerate +the horror of the scenes. + +Much interest was manifested in the address of Mr. Filian, who +feelingly described the pitiable condition of his country and his +countrymen, and graphically 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 +Christ. 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. Armenia 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 as the desire of +the Turks to check the rapid growth and improvement of the Armenians. + +The following resolutions, which had been prepared by a +committee composed of Rev. Dr. Conrad Clever, Rev. W. T. McKenney, +Rev. Y. 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 Armenians 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 Christians and peaceably + disposed citizens. + + "We, representatives of the citizens of Baltimore, prompted by + motives of Christianity and common brotherhood, 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 empires 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. Tribune.] + +The interest which the American Christian feels in the Armenian +question was shown by the large attendance 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 indignation at +Turkey's acts of violence toward Armenians, and to enter a protest +against a course of conduct 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 express sympathy with +those who have suffered, and are suffering now from the atrocities and +barbarous cruelties 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 reports from Turkey, +and said that letters recently received 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, +infantry, 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 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 district 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 arbitrary and autocratic of despots feel its controlling +force. It is the force that moves the world. If meetings 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 unable to be present at the meeting. "I am," +he wrote, "A Monroe-doctrine disciple, first, last, and all time, +but I am a human being also, and while I think our competency as a +nation to send a commissioner to Turkish-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 Armenian, and was followed by +the Rev. Dr. George H. 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. + + + +Mr. Depew's 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 humanity 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 temporary 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 reprisals, in all ages +of modern times. They arouse our indignation and our horror, but they +excited little attention beyond the countries where they occurred from +the twelfth to the nineteenth centuries. The distinguishing feature +of our period is an international 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 hierarchy 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, +Roumania, and Servia, and made them practically independent states. It +was to assure religious liberty that the treaty of Berlin recognized +the autonomy of the states, and bound the Christian nations of Europe +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 New Englanders of the East. Their intellect, +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-century 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 Armenian 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 will 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 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 celebrated 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 consulting with the French +Premier, and France and England are speaking to the Emperor of Germany, +and the young Czar and the King of Italy, and the Emperor of Austria +for united action, which will bring the Turk to mercy, peace, and +liberty for the Armenian Christian without destroying the equilibrium +of Europe. + +"We seek no foreign alliances, we court no international 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 sympathy for the Armenians, +and protesting against further outrages. The document closes as +follows: + + + "Resolved, That we hereby extend our deepest sympathy to the + Armenian people who, for their Christian faith, have repeatedly + suffered unspeakable cruelties from their Turkish rulers and + Kurdish neighbors; + + "Resolved, That we hereby express to our Christian brethren in + England and on the continent, who are endeavoring 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 recurrence + of similar acts of oppression in the future, they shall receive + our hearty and unwavering moral support; + + "Resolved, That we earnestly call upon our Christian + fellow-citizens everywhere throughout the country to organize and + express an indignant and universal protest against the continuance + of a state of affairs under which it is possible for women and + children to be murdered simply because 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 different 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 inflicted on the + Armenian subjects of Turkey, by the establishment of a government + of their own people, with such guarantees 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 question: Mr. Cleveland, whatever his limitations, has never +lacked firmness or decision. Doubtless it is because he thinks this +country ought not to break away from its old traditions and involve +itself with European 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 cannot 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 plunder it. It +ought to accept its share of the general social duty--man the fire +pumps, and do police work if needed; and not let a thug murder one +of its companions--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 nation of civilized beings not to let a horde of savages like +its own Indians stamp out a civilized nation millions in number +by horrors unspeakable, every atrocity 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 Colorado and inflicted them +on your American families. 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, hundreds impaled, or burnt, or flayed alive, +the sisters and daughters of your own households 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. Minister 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. Admiral Kirtland visited a few seaports, +found the Armenians there working as usual (of course--the massacres +were carried on where news could be intercepted 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 reports 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 firmness. He does not in +internal policy, but he certainly did not show enough in the matter of +these atrocities. The Sultan asked him to nominate a commissioner to +join those of other powers in investigating 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 refused to let him +take his place on the commission. Mr. Cleveland 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 interests 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? + + + + + + + + +VI. + +THE CAUSES OF THE ATROCITIES. + + +THE GREAT QUESTION. + +The Armenian atrocities can never be fully understood by those who +may be born in a free land, where there are no Turks, no Kurds, no +Circassians, no Georgians, 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 +starvation 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 correctness 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 Armenians are +Christians, and the Turks, Kurds, Circassians, and Georgians in Turkey +are Mohammedans, and the Mohammedan religion urges brutality. It has +already been shown to be not a religion, but a system of falsehood, +hatred, cruelty, lust, and sensuality; of course, these things combined +can only 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 polygamist; 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 himself +any woman he pleased, no matter whether she was married and had a +husband or not; that made no difference 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 generally 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 respects. It is certainly so with +Mohammedans,--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 Mohammedan; 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 reward. Of course if the +men apostatize they are spared; but the Turk has no notion of losing +the gratification 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 Christian 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 Constantinople about +this dream. It was, that in his sleep 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 overshadowed 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 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 cunning 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 ruin; 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 massacres hundreds +in a city; when the powers protest, he says he will restore order, +and does it by ordering thousands killed in another city, and the +first is again forgotten. 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 decreasing, 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 with Russia, and after +the Turko-Russian war he found himself with 18,000,000. Who are the +lost? Roumania, Bulgaria, Servia, Montenegro, Bosnia, Herzegovina, +a part of Macedonia, Cyprus, 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 dominion through a magnifying glass. This shows +ignorance. 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. When I say that the days of the Sultan are numbered, and +the brutal Turkish mis-rule will cease, many Americans 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 pieces soon. Permit me to +say that all former prophecies 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 +minister 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 increase is this: The +army has to be made up of Mohammedans, partly because the Sultan does +not put arms into the hands of the Christians, for obvious reasons, +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 Mohammedans 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 +see my drift. With marriages so late, and husbands 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 constant 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 Turkey, 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 Mohammed was +born, 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 Arabs, who said they were interfering with the sacred +religion, and the Sultan had to pay the indemnity. + +Still another reason is the shocking increase of abortions among the +wealthy town dwellers. The Mohammedan women are growing to love selfish +indulgences 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 increase +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 truly ashamed +to tell it, but even when they go to their mosques to worship, they +manifest their sensuality. Not only the relations of male and female +are very rank, but between male and male they are worse; between +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 +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 killing a large part of the Christians, +and forcing the survivors to accept Mohammedanism, that their power +of multiplication may be the boon of a Mohammedan people. Out of the +18,000,000 inhabitants of Turkey, 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 Christian part grows greater. To check +this increase, the Sultan a few years ago made the obtaining of a +marriage certificate compulsory, and the Turkish authorities have +understood that they are to make it as hard as possible to get; it +has cost great sums of money to obtain 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 born, 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 begun 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-Russian war is +evidenced by the fact that after the war he encouraged or ordered +a number of Mohammedan tribes--Circassians, Georgians, Kurds, and +Lazes--to emigrate from Russia to Armenia, confiscated 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 Mohammedans 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 interfere with my country and +religion?" That is his plan. When the Berlin Congress was held, the +Armenians 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 and converting it, and then telling the +powers there was no need of reform there. He 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 Armenians believing that +the great Christian powers would never permit the Turks to wreak their +murderous and shameful will on them, did not risk the vengeance 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 where you will in Turkey, seaboard or +interior, all the money and education belong to the Armenians, poverty +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 Armenian, and +they went to the government office to make the transfer. The officer +in charge said he could not transfer the property of a Mohammedan to +a Christian. This was something new. "Why is that?" they asked. "The +governor forbids it," said the officer, "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. Therefore 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; "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 +Armenians, as among all nations; but the Armenians as a body are not +poor. They are the richest people 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 people, 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 mountains 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, who said to him, "You are my captive; +how shall I treat you?" "As a king," said the prisoner. Alexander +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 magnanimity 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, without 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 American missionary +work in Armenia. It was in 1831 that the American Board of Foreign +Missions established the first Protestant mission there. Their purpose +was to send missionaries, not simply to the Armenians, but to all +classes and sects in Turkey. Those pioneer American missionaries were +among the noblest of men, and greatest of teachers, preachers, and +organizers. I will name a few: Dr. Goodell, Dr. Dwight, Dr. Schaffler, +Dr. Cyrus Hamlin, founder of Robert College, living now at Lexington, +Mass., 86 years old, one of the greatest missionaries ever born, +Dr. H. Van Lennep, another great missionary, greatly beloved by +the Armenians. Books could be written about these Christian chiefs, +to whom, and to the American people who sent them, we Armenians are +grateful. When Dr. Van Lennep died at Great Barrington, Mass., about +six years ago, the author was raising money here to build a church +in Armenia, as already told. He went to condole with Mrs. Van Lennep, +and told her not to put any monument over the doctor's grave. He would +see the other Armenians, and as a grateful people they would erect +him a beautiful one. He kept his word, and his faith was justified; +they raised the funds and put up the monument. It stands in the +cemetery at Great Barrington, with the following inscription:-- + + + Henry John Van Lennep, D.D. + + 1815-1889. + + For Thirty Years Missionary in Turkey. + + This monument is erected by his Armenian friends + in grateful appreciation of his heroic virtues, + and endearing services rendered to their people. + + The beloved Missionary + Van Lennep. + + +When the noble missionaries went to Turkey, the Turks hated them, the +Jews hated them, the Greeks hated them, and these three peoples hate +them still. But the Armenians welcomed them; they loved and esteemed +them, and they love and esteem them more than ever now. The question +is often asked "Are not the Armenians a Christian people? Then why +did the missionaries go there?" Yes, they are; but still they needed +the missionaries, and need them now more than ever. Why? Well, for +two reasons. Their churches and schools having been destroyed by +the long oppression by the Turks, they needed help from a sister +Christian church to help them educate themselves, and build up +churches, schools, and colleges, benevolent institutions, printing +offices. The missionaries have done that great work in Armenia, but +I am sorry to say that some of their creations have been destroyed +by the Turks during the recent atrocities. + +The second reason is that the Armenian church stood in great need of +reformation. I have already explained in this book (see "The Armenian +Church") how in the last desperate struggle for national existence, +a part of the people reluctantly accepted help from the Pope of +Rome, at the price of uniting with the Roman church, and using its +rituals, images, etc. Hence, in many of the Armenian churches there +was no pure gospel preaching; rituals were the leading element of the +services. There was therefore great need that such preaching should be +introduced; the missionaries did so, and the Armenian church has been +greatly reformed. My purpose here is not to write a church history, +nor to give an account of missionary work in Turkey. I mention it +incidentally as a chief cause of the atrocities. + +The missionaries have trained both boys and girls in their schools +for sixty-five years now; many thousands of them. The Turks have +not been permitted to go to them, the Greeks are too proud to +send their children, but the Armenians were hungry for education, +especially for an American education. The new-born baby of the time +when the missionaries arrived is now sixty-five years old, with his +American education, which has wonderfully elevated the Armenians, +and turned Armenia almost into a second America, educationally. The +American colleges in different parts of Turkey are great centers +of light; about ninety per cent. of the students and the leading +native professors and teachers are Armenians. I will mention a few: +Robert College and the Woman's College in Constantinople; the Ladies' +Seminary in Smyrna; Anatolia College, the Ladies' Seminary, and the +Theological Seminary in Marsovan; the writer's pastorate, Central +Turkey College and the Ladies' College at Aintab, Euphrates College +(first called Armenia College, but the name is forbidden by the Turks, +as encouraging Armenian independence) and the Ladies' Department at +Harpoot; the Academy and the Theological Seminary at Marash, where I +studied three years; the colleges both for girls and boys at Beirut; +and many high schools and primary schools throughout Armenia. The +American Bible House is a great depot of Christian literature. These +are all American Christian institutions, and nine-tenths of their +inmates are Armenians. + +The reader can clearly see how the Armenians have become a wholly new +race; they have had the advantage of American education, and it has +revolutionized the nation. It has elevated, refined, and prospered +them. This great improvement among the Armenians aroused the jealousy +of the Sultan and his underlings. He first began to close the schools; +then to imprison the native Armenian teachers and preachers; then to +kill the Armenians and destroy the missionary institutions, that no +Armenian may be left to go to any American school, and that if any +escapes, there may be no American school to receive him. I consider +this missionary education the very greatest cause for the atrocities, +and the Armenian bishops agree with me. Here is what the Armenian +bishop of Oorfa (Edessa), where about 8,000 Armenians were massacred, +has to say: + + + TO THE AMERICANS. March 12, 1896. + + "We have been strenuously opposed to your mission work among us, + but these bloody days have proven that some of our Protestant + brothers have been staunch defenders of our honor and faith. You + at least know that our crime, in the eyes of the Turk, has been + that we have adopted the civilization you commended. Behold + the missions and schools which you planted among us, and which + cost millions of dollars, and hundreds of precious lives, now in + ruins. The Turk is planning to rid himself of missionaries and + teachers by leaving them nobody to labor among." + + +It is very significant that wherever there was a missionary +institution, and especially a missionary Theological Seminary to +train Armenian ministers, there has been the greatest atrocity. This +shows how the Sultan hates Americans, and American education. There +are nearly two hundred American male and female missionaries in +Turkey. They are in great danger. The Turks have determined to kill +them, and the Sultan can no longer control them, for he gave the +order and put the sword into their hands. The Kurds and the Turks +say, "The missionaries have better things than the Armenians had. We +killed the Armenians and got their valuables, and we enjoy them. We +are richer now, and we did not work for it; we did not waste time in +hard labor; the only thing we had to do was to obey the Sultan and +kill the Armenians and get their property. Why not kill the Americans +and get richer?" Reader, keep in your mind that the Turks will kill +the missionaries also. The horrible time is coming, in spite of what +your minister to Turkey says, and partly because he believes Turkish +lies, and says there was no need of sending missionaries there. + +Another point worthy of consideration is this: Russia and Turkey made +an alliance. Russia is as much opposed to the missionaries as Turkey +is, and perhaps the Czar is secretly encouraging the Sultan to get +rid of them. Undoubtedly Russia is trying to get rid of Protestant +influence in Turkey, and therefore sacrifices the old Protestant +Armenian nation to Turkey. In my belief, the time is coming when +the Protestant nations will unite and protest practically against +the outrages of Turkey and Russia. They have no right to persecute +Turks or Russians, but they have a perfect right to protect an old +Protestant church and the American missionaries. No matter how much +it costs, it pays to protect them, and, pay or no pay, it is the duty +of America and England to unite and protect them. And if England and +America should really unite, Turkey and Russia will yield. I do not +at all concur with Americans who favor Russia and hate England. Lord +Salisbury is too timid to do it, but Lord Salisbury is not England. The +English people are a noble people, and if the American noble people +unite with them, they can accomplish a great work for God and humanity, +for peace and liberty, for freedom and happiness in Armenia. + +As far as I can judge, the foregoing are the causes of the atrocities +in Armenia. Perhaps there may be other minor ones, but they are not +worthy of discussion. + + + + + + + + +VII. + +THE TURKISH ATROCITIES IN ARMENIA. + + +THE BEGINNING. + +Turkish atrocities in Armenia are no new thing; they have gone on +for centuries, and left but a fraction of the population it once +had. But let us disregard old history, and come to the subject +of to-day. Practically that begins with Hamid II, the present +Sultan. He began his persecutions nearly twenty years ago, but on a +small scale. He has continually devised new methods of getting rid of +the Armenians without responsibility; finally he hit on the plan of +arming the Kurds and letting them loose with full power to do their +worst. When I was in Constantinople he summoned the Kurdish chiefs, +hundreds of them--I have seen them with my own eyes--entertained them +in the palace, armed them with modern rifles, and sent them to Armenia +on their mission. The pretense under which he did it was worthy of +him: he called them the "Hamidieh Cavalry," and pretended that they +were a sort of mounted police, who were to keep order and protect the +Armenians. This was exactly as though a regiment of red Indians should +be armed and sent to Oregon to protect the inhabitants, and called, +say, the Presidential Guard, and the Armenians knew well what they were +for. But the European travelers and newspaper correspondents took it +all seriously, and talked of his "civilizing the Kurds," etc. Now these +were only the chiefs; each chief had a large following of tribesmen, +so that about 30,000 Kurds in all were given arms and ordered to go +to work exterminating the Armenians. This work began in 1891, but on +a small scale, and in a very crafty way, so that it should not have +the appearance of a premeditated massacre; then it was stopped till +about sixteen months ago, when they were encouraged to begin again, +publicly, and with full swing. It was decided to begin in Sassoun, a +district far from the sea, with no roads and a sparse population; if +successful in escaping report there, he could carry out the massacre +through all Armenia, for which "reforms" were asked and promised. He +ordered Zekii Pasha to have his soldiers ready, and meantime to have +the "Hamidieh Cavalry" the Kurdish chiefs and tribesmen, ready to +attack and kill all the Armenians in Sassoun. This city lies between +Moosh and Bitlis, in a mountainous country, and the Sassounites +are a brave people, as much so as the Zeitoonlis are. The district +had about sixty villages and towns, and about 20,000 people sixteen +months ago, but it has none now. The regular soldiers and the armed +Kurds surrounded the district from all sides, and in about a month +had slaughtered the entire population. It was reported that Zekii +Pasha carried on his breast an order from the Sultan as follows: +"Whoever spares man, woman, or child is disloyal." After he had +finished his task, he received great rewards from the Sultan, and is +now one of his most esteemed commanders. + +Zekii Pasha is said to have had 40,000 Kurds and regular soldiers +under his command when he began the massacre. The people of Sassoun, +knowing that they were doomed, fought desperately. They repulsed the +Kurds several times, and killed many of them; but finally the regular +soldiers took part, pretending to come in aid of the Armenians, +and overbore them, killing all without quarter. The Sultan's order +was to spare neither man, woman, nor child; but as the men met the +enemy first, they were killed first. When the women's turn came, +the Turks and Kurds abused all they could get hold of, and then told +them that if they would deny Christ and accept Mohammed and become +their wives, they should live; but if they refused, every one of them, +according to the Sultan's order, should be killed. "Now," said they, +"choose between Islam and death." These noble Armenian Christian women +said:--"We are Christians, we can never deny Christ. Jesus Christ +is our Saviour. He came down from Heaven and died on the cross for +us. For that dying and loving Christ we are Christians; we are ready +to die for Him who died for us." And they added further, "We are no +better than our husbands were; you killed them, kill us too." Then +the horrible butchery began on those defenseless women. Thousands +of them were slaughtered, and thousands ran to different churches, +hoping that perhaps they might find protection in some way in those +holy walls, or hoping that God in his great mercy might shelter +them. But the ferocious Kurds and Turkish soldiers pursued them, +sword in hand, violated them, even in the churches, and cut their +throats there until the floors were streaming with blood. Then they +poured kerosene on the buildings and burned them. + +They went to one village and killed every man; the women of course, +knowing their fate was soon to be worse than their husbands'. One of +the leading women, named Shaheg, perceiving that the Turks and Kurds +were getting ready to seize and ravish them, called the other women +and said, "Sisters, our husbands are killed, and you know what is in +store for us and our children. Don't let us fall into the hands of +these savage beasts; we have to die anyway, and can die easier, and +without being defiled first, and perhaps tortured. Let us go to the +precipice and jump off." So saying, she took her baby on her arm, ran +to the rock, and threw herself over; the others followed her, and thus +all were killed. The Turks captured many boys and girls, six, or eight, +or ten years of age, held them by an arm or foot, and hacked them to +pieces with their swords. Sometimes they stood the boys in a row and +shot them, to see how many could be killed by a single bullet. They +wrenched babies from their mothers' arms, cut their throats while the +mothers shrieked and pleaded, and boiling them in kettles, forced the +mothers to eat the flesh. They cut open women about to become mothers, +tore out the unborn babes, and marched triumphantly with the ghastly +trophies on their spears--something almost surpassing the savagery of +the Apache Indian. Even their worst horrors they made worse yet by +the way they did them; they took a gloating delight in doubling the +cruelty or the shame by making it torture others too. The husband +was forced to look on while his wife was violated, and she in turn +while he was mutilated, tortured, and murdered; the father while his +daughters, even little girls of ten or twelve, were deflowered and +their throats cut, the son while his parents had every form of shame +and torture inflicted on them, and were killed before him, or saw him +killed first. They tortured their victims like Indians or Inquisitors, +in every fashion of lingering death and torment that makes the heart +sicken and the blood run cold to read of. Crucifying head downward, +and pouring boiling water or ice-cold water on them, leaving them so +till death came; flaying alive; cutting off arms, feet, nose, ears, +and other members, and leaving them to die; thrusting red-hot wires +into and through their bodies. They pulled out the eyes of several +Christian pastors, said, "Now dance for us," poured kerosene on them +and burned them to death. They put a Bible and a cross before others, +and ordered them to first spit and then trample on both, and deny +Christ; on their refusal they were butchered. The handsomest girls +and young matrons were not murdered, but worse; each one was kept as +a spoil of some Turk or Kurd, who carried her to his house, and made +a slave and concubine of her. Many hundreds of them are there to this +day, enduring the awful fate of having been dragged from happy and +virtuous homes, seen their husbands, or parents, or brothers, or all of +them horribly murdered, and passing their lives each in doing menial +labor and serving the lust of a brutal master, and all the other men +he lets have their will of her, without hope, or comfort, or decency, +and a long life of shame and misery yet to look forward to. This is +another specimen of Mohammedan purity, and it all happens because the +Armenians are Christians. If my readers think I am exaggerating, I +refer them to the consular reports. All this was done by the barbarians +con amore, with relish and delight. They boasted of it, they plumed +themselves on it, they praised the Sultan for ordering them to do it, +and he praised them for doing it, and decorated all the officers. + +The condition of those who were murdered out-right was much better +than that of those who were imprisoned and tortured. The following +was written by an Armenian from one of the prisons:-- + + + "Our condition in prison passes description. Only he who sees can + understand it. Most of the occupants of every room are Christians, + but many are Moslems. Life would be a shade more tolerable if the + subject race were not compelled thus to associate with the dominant + race, whose temper, tastes, and habits are so different. Into one + small room twenty persons are crowded. Except for a few Moslems, + not a single person has room enough on the bare floor to stretch + out and lie down. For fully sixteen hours in the night, the doors + of the rooms are all locked. In one of these small rooms, sometimes + twenty cigarettes are smoking at once. Out of the small amount of + food which reaches us, instead of eating themselves, the Christians + are obliged to feed the Moslems confined there. Moslem oppression + continues, even here; it is a tyranny within a tyranny. In + every room there are a few Aghas or principal Moslems, and every + Christian must contribute money to their lordships. Those who + withhold such contributions are not allowed to sit down. + + "Among the inmates of the prison are twenty or thirty rowdies + and bullies, under whom the Christians must serve as menial + slaves. There is no respect, no pity. The horrible blasphemies + cannot be described. There is no book, no Bible, no work, no + sleep. Every man is covered with the swarming vermin with which + the unwashed rooms of the prison teem. To clean ourselves is + impossible. Now and then the rumor sweeps through the prison that + we are all to be put to death, and all our hearts melt like water. + + "The terrible darkness of the night, the curses and stripes + inflicted from time to time, cause us to live in the valley + of the shadow of death. It is a living grave, a visible hell, + a world without God. Out of this throng of prisoners more than a + hundred are in daily suffering from the gnawing of hunger, and + from nakedness, but there is no one to pity. Many praying men + are tempted to cease praying, many are tempted to change over + to the Moslem faith. In truth, all of us are dumb; what to say + we know not. We are wearied of the long silence; our eyes are + strained with watching, our bones ache, our prayers are despised + by the revilers. Night is not night, and day is not day. Our + grief is our food, our sleep is weeping, for how long a time + must we cry? O Lord, wilt Thou hide Thyself forever? How long + will Thy anger burn like fire? And yet some of us are saying: + 'Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him.' + + "When will the Christian statesmen and philanthropists of the world + find a way to cleanse these Augean stables all over Turkey? Long + centuries cry out for redress. Within a month the following + incidents have occurred: A Christian confined in this prison was + ordered to receive 400 stripes. After 300 had been inflicted he + cried out that he could endure no more or he must die. An officer + then presented to him a paper with the names of fifty Christians + in the city who were accused therein of sedition. In his great + agony he signed it, and this is to be used to incriminate others, + wholly regardless of their guilt or innocence. The other victim + of unendurable stripes was an old man. When he could endure no + more of this inhuman treatment, he also was asked to sign a paper + implicating others indiscriminately. + + "Can any one living in a free country for a moment understand what + it is to live under such a government? There is a great flourish + just at present over the reforms that are being instituted in + certain parts of this land. No resident of this country can have + confidence in the superficial operations. What will you do with + a land where lying is the simplest of mental exercises, and where + no one was ever known to blush over it if exposed?" + + +I give here the testimony of a gentleman from Sassoun who escaped the +atrocities. He is an Armenian from Sassoun, and my personal friend. I +quote this from a little pamphlet, entitled "Facts About Armenia." + + + The Massacre of 1894. + + "The Armenians of Sassoun were fully aware of the hostile intention + of the government, but they could not imagine it to be one of + utter extermination. + + "The Porte had prepared its plans, Sassoun was doomed. The Kurds + were to come in much greater number, the government was to furnish + them provision and ammunition, and the regular army was to second + them in case of need. + + "The various tribes received invitations to take part in the + great expedition, and the chiefs, with their men, arrived one + after the other. The total number of the Kurds who took part in + the campaign may be estimated at 30,000. The Armenians believed in + the beginning that they had to do only with the Kurds. They found + out later that an Ottoman regular army, with provisions, rifles, + cannons, and kerosene oil, was standing at the back of the Kurds. + + "The plan was to destroy first Shenig, Semal, Guelliegoozan, + Aliantz, etc., and then to proceed toward Dalvorig. The Kurds, + notwithstanding their immense number, proved to be unequal + to the task. The Armenians held their own, and the Kurds got + worsted. After a two weeks' fight between Kurd and Armenian, the + regular army entered into an active campaign. Mountain pieces + began to thunder. The Armenians, having nearly exhausted their + ammunition, took to flight. Kurd and Turk pursued them, and + massacred men, women, and children. The houses were searched + and then set on fire. From certain villages groups of men, + tax receipts in their hands, went to the camp and asked to be + protected, but were slaughtered. + + "A great number of villages outside of the Dalvorig district, + which had in no wise been concerned in the conflicts of the + previous years, were also attacked, to the unspeakable horror + of the populations. The troops climbed up even the Mount Antok, + where a multitude of fugitives had taken refuge, and massacred + them. A number of women and girls were taken to the church of + Guelliegoozan, and after being frightfully abused, were tortured + to death. + + "When the work of destruction was nearly accomplished in the other + districts, some of the Kurdish armies were set on Dalvorig. The + people defended themselves against the overwhelming number of the + barbarians, but after four or five days they saw other tribes and + regular Turkish troops marching on them from every side, and they + took to flight, but were overtaken and massacred. The scene was + most horrible. The enemy took a special delight in butchering the + Dalvorig people. An immense crowd of Turkish and Kurdish soldiery + fell upon the villages, busily searching the houses and rooting out + hidden treasures, and then setting fire to the village. While the + troops were so occupied, a number of the fugitives fled wildly to + get out of the district, and tried to hide themselves in caves, + between rocks, or among bushes. Three days after the complete + destruction of Dalvorig villages, the Kurds and the regular + soldiers divided among themselves the result of the plunder, + and the Kurds returned to their own mountains." + + +As my use of English is defective, I take the liberty here of quoting +from a long letter by E. J. Dillon to the Contemporary Review, +January, 1896. + +Dr. Dillon is an Englishman who was the special correspondent of the +London "Daily Telegraph," a most accurate and conscientious reporter, +who writes as an eye-witness: + + + "If a detailed description were possible of the horrors which our + exclusive attention to our own mistaken interests let loose upon + Turkish Armenians, there is not a man within the kingdom of Great + Britain whose heart-strings would not be touched and thrilled by + the gruesome stories of which it would be composed. + + "During all those seventeen years, written law, traditional custom, + the fundamental maxims of human and divine justice were suspended + in favor of a Mohammedan saturnalia. The Christians, by whose + toil and thrift the empire was held together, were despoiled, + beggared, chained, beaten, and banished or butchered. First + their movable wealth was seized, then their landed property + was confiscated, next the absolute necessaries of life were + wrested from them, and finally honor, liberty, and life were + taken with as little ado as if these Christian men and women + were wasps or mosquitoes. Thousands of Armenians were thrown + into prison by governors like Tahsin Pasha and Bahri Pasha, and + tortured and terrorized till they delivered up the savings of a + lifetime, and the support of the helpless families, to ruffianly + parasites. Whole villages were attacked in broad daylight by + the Imperial Kurdish cavalry without pretext or warning, the + male inhabitants turned adrift or killed, and their wives and + daughters transformed into instruments to glut the foul lusts + of these bestial murderers. In a few years the provinces were + decimated, Aloghkerd, for instance, being almost entirely 'purged' + of Armenians. Over 20,000 woe-stricken wretches, once healthy + and well-to-do, fled to Russia or Persia in rags and misery, + deformed, diseased, or dying; on the way they were seized over + and over again by the soldiers of the Sultan, who deprived them + of the little money they possessed, nay, of the clothes they were + wearing, outraged the married women in the presence of their sons + and daughters, deflowered the tender girls before the eyes of + their mothers and brothers, and then drove them over the frontier + to starve and die. Those who remained for a time behind were no + better off. Kurdish brigands lifted the last cows and goats of the + peasants, carried away their carpets and their valuables, raped + their daughters and dishonored their wives. Turkish tax-gatherers + followed these, gleaning what the brigands had left, and, lest + anything should escape their avarice, bound the men, flogged + them till their bodies were a bloody, mangled mass, cicatrized + the wounds with red-hot ramrods, plucked out their beards hair by + hair, tore the flesh from their limbs with pincers, and often, even + then, dissatisfied with the financial results of their exertions, + hung the men whom they had thus beggared and maltreated from the + rafters of the room, and kept them there to witness with burning + shame, impotent rage, and incipient madness, the dishonoring of + their wives and the deflowering of their daughters, some of whom + died miserably during the hellish outrage. + + "In accordance with the plan of extermination, which has been + carried out with such signal success during these long years + of Turkish vigor and English sluggishness, all those Armenians + who possessed money, or money's worth were for a time allowed to + purchase immunity from prison, and from all that prison life in + Asia Minor implies. But as soon as terror and summary confiscation + took the place of slow and elaborate extortion, the gloomy dungeons + of Erzeroum, Erzinghan, Marsovan, Hassankaleh, and Van were filled, + till there was no place to sit down, and scarcely sufficient + standing room. And this means more than English people can realize, + or any person believe who has not actually witnessed it. It would + have been a torture for Turkish troopers and Kurdish brigands, + but it was worse than death to the educated school-masters, + missionaries, priests, and physicians who were immured in these + noisome hotbeds of infection, and forced to sleep night after + night standing on their feet, leaning against the foul, reeking + corner of the wall which all the prisoners were compelled to use + as.... The very worst class of Tartar and Kurdish criminals were + turned in here to make these hell-chambers more unbearable to the + Christians. And the experiment was everywhere successful. Human + hatred and diabolical spite, combined with the most disgusting + sights, and sounds, and stenches, with their gnawing hunger and + their putrid food, their parching thirst and the slimy water, fit + only for sewers, rendered their agony maddening. Yet these were + not criminals nor alleged criminals, but upright Christian men, + who were never even accused of an infraction of the law. No man + who has not seen these prisons with his own eyes, and heard these + prisoners with his own ears, can be expected to conceive, much + less realize, the sufferings inflicted and endured. The loathsome + diseases, whose terrible ravages were freely displayed; the still + more loathsome vices, which were continually and openly practiced; + the horrible blasphemies, revolting obscenities, and ribald jests + which alternated with cries of pain, songs of vice, and prayers + to the unseen God, made these prisons, in some respects, nearly + as bad as the Black Hole of Calcutta, and in others infinitely + worse. In one corner of this foul fever-nest a man might be heard + moaning and groaning with the pain of a shattered arm or leg; in + another, a youth is convulsed with the death spasms of cholera + or poison; in the center, a knot of Turks, whose dull eyes are + fired with bestial lust, surround a Christian boy, who pleads for + mercy with heart-harrowing voice while the human fiends actually + outrage him to death. + + "Into these prisons venerable old ministers of religion were + dragged from their churches, teachers from their schools, + missionaries from their meeting-houses, merchants, physicians, + and peasants from their firesides. Those among them who refused + to denounce their friends, or consent to some atrocious crime, + were subjected to horrible agonies. Many a one, for instance, was + put into a sentry-box bristling with sharp spikes, and forced to + stand there motionless, without food or drink, for twenty-four and + even thirty-six hours, was revived with stripes whenever he fell + fainting to the prickly floor, and was carried out unconscious at + the end. It was thus that hundreds of Armenian Christians, whose + names and histories are on record, suffered for refusing to sign + addresses to the Sultan accusing their neighbors and relatives of + high treason. It was thus that Azo was treated by his judges, the + Turkish officials, Talib Effendi, Captain Reshid, and Captain Hadji + Fehim Agha, for declining to swear away the lives of the best men + of his village. A whole night was spent in torturing him. He was + first bastinadoed in a room close to which his female relatives + and friends were shut up so that they could hear his cries. Then + he was stripped naked, two poles extending from his armpits to his + feet were placed on each side of his body and tied tightly. His + arms were next stretched out horizontally and poles arranged to + support his hands. This living cross was then bound to a pillar, + and the flogging began. The whips left livid traces behind. The + wretched man was unable to make the slightest movement to ease + his pain. His features alone, hideously distorted, revealed the + anguish he endured. The louder he cried, the more heavily fell the + whip. Over and over again he entreated his tormentors to put him + out of pain, saying, 'If you want my death, kill me with a bullet, + but for God's sake don't torture me like this!' His head alone + being free, he at last, maddened by excruciating pain, endeavored + to dash out his brains against the pillar, hoping in this way + to end his agony. But this consummation was hindered by the + police. They questioned him again; but in spite of his condition, + Azo replied as before: 'I cannot defile my soul with the blood of + innocent people. I am a Christian.' Enraged at this obstinacy, + Talib Effendi, the Turkish official, ordered the application of + other and more effective tortures. Pincers were fetched to pull + out his teeth, but, Azo remaining firm, this method was not long + persisted in. Then Talib commanded his servants to pluck out the + prisoner's moustachios by the roots, one hair at a time. This order + the gendarmes executed, with roars of infernal laughter. But this + treatment proving equally ineffectual, Talib instructed the men to + cauterize the unfortunate victim's body. A spit was heated in the + fire. Azo's arms were freed from their supports, and two brawny + policemen approached, one on each side and seized him. Meanwhile + another gendarme held to the middle of the wretched man's hands + the glowing spit. While his flesh was thus burning, the victim + shouted out in agony, 'For the love of God kill me at once!' + + "Then the executioners, removing the red-hot spit from his hands, + applied it to his breast, then to his back, his face, his feet, + and other parts. After this, they forced open his mouth, and burned + his tongue with red-hot pincers. During these inhuman operations, + Azo fainted several times, but on recovering consciousness + maintained the same inflexibility of purpose. Meanwhile, in the + adjoining apartment, a heart-rending scene was being enacted. The + women and the children, terrified by the groans and cries of the + tortured man, fainted. When they revived, they endeavored to rush + out to call for help, but the gendarmes, stationed at the door, + barred their passage, and brutally pushed them back. [2] + + "Nights were passed in such hellish orgies and days in inventing + new tortures or refining upon the old; with an ingenuity which + reveals unimagined strata of malignity in the human heart. The + results throw the most sickening horrors of the Middle Ages into + the shade. Some of them cannot be described, nor even hinted + at. The shock to people's sensibilities would be too terrible. And + yet they were not merely described to, but endured by men of + education and refinement, whose sensibilities were as delicate + as ours. + + "And when the prisons in which these and analogous doings were + carried on had no more room for new-comers, some of the least + obnoxious of its actual inmates were released for a bribe, or, + in case of poverty, were expeditiously poisoned off. + + "In the homes of these wretched people the fiendish fanatics were + equally active and equally successful. Family life was poisoned at + its very source. Rape and dishonor, with nameless accompaniments, + menaced almost every girl and woman in the land. They could not + stir out of their houses in broad daylight to visit the bazaars, + or to work in the fields, nor even lie down at night in their + own homes, without fearing the fall of that Damocles' sword ever + suspended over their heads. Tender youth, childhood itself, was no + guarantee. Children were often married at the age of eleven, even + ten, in the vain hope of lessening this danger. But the protection + of a husband proved unavailing; it merely meant one murder more, + and one 'Christian dog' less. A bride would be married in church + yesterday, and her body would be devoured by the beasts and + birds of prey to-morrow,--a band of ruffians, often officials, + having within the intervening forty-eight hours seized her and + outraged her to death. Others would be abducted, and, having for + weeks been subjected to the loathsome lusts of lawless Kurds, + would end by abjuring their God and embracing Islam; not from any + vulgar motive of gain, but to escape the burning shame of returning + home as pariahs and lepers, to be shunned by those near and dear to + them forever. Little girls of five and six were frequently forced + to be present during these horrible scenes of lust, and they, + too, were often sacrificed before the eyes of their mothers, + who would have gladly, madly accepted death, ay, and damnation, + to save their tender offspring from the corroding poison. + + "One of the abducted young women who, having been outraged by the + son of the Deputy-Governor of Khnouss, Hussein Bey, returned, + a pariah, and is now alone in the world, lately appealed to + her English sisters for such aid as a heathen would give to a + brute, and she besought it in the name of our common God. Lucine + Mussegh--this is the name of that outraged young woman whose + Protestant education gave her, as she thought, a special claim to + act as the spokeswoman of Armenian mothers and daughters--Lucine + Mussegh besought, last March, the women of England to obtain for + the women of Armenia the 'privilege' of living a pure and chaste + life! This was the boon which she craved--but did not, could + not obtain. The interests of 'higher politics,' the civilizing + missions of the Christian powers, are, it seems, incompatible + with it! 'For the love of the God whom we worship in common,' + wrote this outraged, but still hopeful, Armenian lady, 'help us, + Christian sisters! Help us before it is too late, and take the + thanks of the mothers, the wives, the sisters, and the daughters + of my people, and with them the gratitude of one for whom, in + spite of her youth, death would come as a happy release.' + + "Neither the Christian sisters nor the Christian brethren + in England have seen their way to comply with this strange + request. But it may perhaps interest Lucine Mussegh to learn + that the six great powers of Europe are quite unanimous, and are + manfully resolved, come what will, to shield His Majesty the Sultan + from harm, to support his rule, and to guarantee his kingdom from + disintegration. These are objects worthy of the attention of the + great powers; as for the privilege of leading pure and chaste + lives--they cannot be importuned about such private matters. + + "In due time they began. Over 60,000 Armenians have been butchered, + and the massacres are not quite ended yet. In Trebizond, Erzeroum, + Erzinghan, Hassankalek, and numberless other places the Christians + were crushed like grapes during the vintage. The frantic mob, + seething and surging in the streets of the cities, swept down upon + the defenseless Armenians, plundered their shops, gutted their + houses, then joked and jested with the terrified victims, as cats + play with mice. As rapid, whirling motion produces apparent rest, + so the wild frenzy of those fierce fanatical crowds resulted in + a condition of seeming calmness, composure, and gentleness which, + taken in connection with the unutterable brutality of their acts, + was of a nature to freeze men's blood with horror. In many cases + they almost caressed their victims, and actually encouraged them + to hope, while preparing the instruments of slaughter." + + +After the horrible scenes at Sassoun, and other places, the Armenian +protests shamed the European powers, who signed the treaty of Berlin, +to send a commission and investigate the atrocities. It found the +stories quite true, laid the facts before the Sultan--and that was +the end of it. The Armenians asked, "Since you admit the truth of +these things, why do you not punish the criminals, stop the outrages, +and compel the payment of indemnity to those who were outraged and +who lost their dear ones and their property?" The powers were deaf to +all this. Then the Armenians prepared an appeal (several months ago) +and carried it to the Sublime Porte, asking it to do them justice. As +soon as the Sultan heard of this, he ordered his soldiers to fire on +them if they presented it. The appeal was presented, and before the +eyes of the European Ambassadors in Constantinople, the brave soldiers +of the kind-hearted Sultan butchered about 3,000 Armenian Christians, +several thousand were imprisoned, and several hundred were murdered +in the Central Prison. Then the cold, wise, and considerate European +powers began to move very slowly, not for the sake of the Armenians, +but for their own, their citizens in Constantinople and elsewhere. + +They ordered the Sultan to reform Armenia, brought their fleets +to the Dardanelles near Constantinople to overawe him, prepared a +scheme of reform for Armenia, and made huge threats to the Sultan +if he did not accept it. But he knew that this pretended concert of +the powers for Armenian reform was a mere trick and sham, as I have +persistently asserted all along in the face of my hopeful European +and American friends; in fact, the Russian government at this very +time was secretly urging him to stand firm and refuse to accept the +reforms. He did so, broached a scheme of his own as a substitute, and +the powers accepted it as such; and then the whole thing was dropped, +the Sultan did nothing whatever about it, as he had never intended +to. The European countries were hoodwinked, and the Armenian massacres +and conflagrations, plundering and deflowering, went on at a greater +pace than ever. Then the powers dropped the Armenian question, and +took up that of gunboats in the Bosphorus, to protect their citizens +against a rising in Constantinople; that they forced the Sultan to +permit, because their own interests were concerned in it,--which shows +that they could have forced him to stop exterminating the Armenians if +they had cared. All joined in this except Germany; the German Emperor +is the Sultan's friend, and backs him up. So now Germany, Russia, and +the Sultan are hand in hand, leagued to prevent any of the miserable +victims of his tyranny from escaping his clutches, and the Sultan has +the best possible encouragement to go on killing the Armenians. The +German Emperor says, "Better that Armenians be killed than have a +war in Europe and lose the lives of some of my soldiers." The Czar +says, "Time must be given to the Sultan to reform his country." Lord +Salisbury says, "The Sultan has promised, and we must wait and see what +he will do." And the Sultan, cursing every Emperor and lord of them all +as a set of Christian hogs, orders the soldiers and the Kurds to go on +with the good work in Armenia. And when we come to America, the Monroe +doctrine obliges it to quarrel over Venezuela, and not only refuse +help itself, but give Lord Salisbury a good excuse to give none either. + +Such is the situation; the massacres are going on in Armenia and the +Armenians in despair are crying, "O Lord, how long, how long!" + +Mass meetings are good as far as they go; raising money and sending +it to relieve the Armenians is good as far as it goes; the Red Cross +Society is good as far as it goes; there are no objections to any of +them; they are all noble and Christian. But, reader, don't you think +all these good movements with good motives will hurt the Armenian +cause, as there is nothing to aid that cause directly? All these +mass-meetings merely irritate the Sultan into carrying on the murders +more strenuously, since there is no force back of them. Don't you think +the Armenian question being discussed in the United States Congress, +and resolutions made without any action, will hurt the Armenians +more than anything else? If you can't tread down the Sultan, don't +stir him up. Miss Clara Barton, that noble woman, is in Armenia to +help the Armenians. The Red Cross Society is there and is feeding +the Armenians. I thank her, every Armenian thanks her. But do you +think that that will relieve the situation? Spring has come, and what +now? Will the Armenians have any crops? Did they, or could they sow any +seed? Is there any farmer left alive? Has any farmer, if he is alive, +any oxen or horses? If he has, will he dare go to his field, sow, reap, +and thresh? Reader, consider all these things, and reconsider them, +and I am sure you will come to the same conclusion I did many years +ago, that Turkey does not need a Red Cross Society, but a Red Cross +crusade, not like the medieval crusades, but a Protestant American +crusade in the nineteenth century. Let me illustrate this Armenian +question by the following parable:-- + +Suppose a lamb is torn by a wolf, and the wolf lies in wait to +finish it. You go to the lamb with a bundle of grass in your hand, +pat it and say, "Here, poor lamb, I pity you, I give you grass; take +it and eat it." Then you leave the lamb and go away. Do you think +you have helped the lamb? As soon as you have gone, the wolf will +come and tear the lamb to pieces. If you are going to help the lamb, +you must kill the wolf, else no matter how much grass you give the +wounded lamb, it will do it no good. You will do no good by sending +Red Cross societies to Armenia to feed the Armenians if you have not +the power or the will to keep the wild beasts off. You will feed them, +and then the wolves will kill them. + +Now I will pass in review some of the leading cities in Armenia +where there have been great persecutions. Before beginning, however, +I must state that it is impossible to give an accurate census of +the population in the Armenian cities, or the number who have been +massacred; for the Turkish government never takes a correct census, and +never gives or will give the true number of those it has murdered. But +I think I can make a fair approximation of both. I will begin with +the city of Harpoot. [3] + + + + +HARPOOT AND ITS VICINITY. + +This is one of the most important Armenian districts, because the +Armenians outnumber the Mohammedans there; in the city the Turks are +the more numerous, but there are many Armenian towns and villages which +make up. The district has about 150,000 people, most of them Armenians, +and about 40,000 were killed in the recent massacre. Harpoot is built +on three hills, and has a commanding view. Here is located a great +American missionary institution, the Euphrates College; it has three +departments, the college, the Theological Seminary, and the Girls' +Seminary. There were twelve buildings, eight of which were burned in +the outrages, a loss of $100,000. + +Almost all the outlying villages were burned, and the movables carried +off. Women were made prey, boys and girls were kidnapped; the horrors +can never be described. I give here a few words from a private letter, +written by a Mohammedan Turk to his brother in this country. I have the +letter in my possession, written in the Turkish language. He says:-- + + + "My dear brother: + + "All the Christian villages which belong to Harpoot district, + we plundered and destroyed, and killed the inhabitants. We killed + them both with our swords and with our rifles. The bullets of our + rifles poured upon them like rain; none of them are left, neither + any dwelling was left, we burnt all their houses. We thank God + that not a single Mohammedan was killed. Everywhere throughout + Armenia the Christians were punished in the same manner." + + +Another testimony from another Mohammedan, an officer; he says nearly +40,000 were killed in Harpoot province, February 26, 1896:-- + + + "A petition in behalf of the Armenians was given to the powers + in the hope of improving their condition. An imperial firman was + issued for carrying out the reforms suggested by the powers. On + this account the Turkish population was much excited, and thought + that an Armenian principality was to be established, and they + began to show great hostility to the poor Armenians, who had + been obedient to them and with whom they had lived in peace for + more than 600 years. To the anger of the people were added the + permission and help of the government; and so, before the reforms + were undertaken, the whole Turkish population was aroused, with the + evil intent of obliterating the Armenian name; and so the Turks of + the province, joining with the neighboring Kurdish tribes by the + thousand, armed with weapons which are allowed only to the army, + and with the help and under the guidance of Turkish officials, + in an open manner, in the daytime, attacked the Armenian houses, + shops, stores, monasteries, churches, schools, and committed + the fearful atrocities set forth in the accompanying table. They + killed bishops, priests, teachers, and common people with every + kind of torture, and they showed special spite toward ecclesiastics + by treating their bodies with extra indignity, and in many cases + they did not allow their bodies to be buried. Some they burned, + and some they gave as food to dogs and wild beasts. + + "They plundered churches and monasteries, and they took all + the property of the common people, their flocks and herds, their + ornaments and their money, their house furnishings and their food, + and even the clothing of the men and women in their flight. Then + after plundering them, they burned many houses, churches, + monasteries, schools, and markets, sometimes using petroleum, + which they had brought with them to hasten the burning; large + stone churches which would not burn they ruined in other ways. + + "Priests, laymen, women, and even small children were made Moslems + by force. They put white turbans on the men and circumcised them + in a cruel manner. They cut the hair of the women in bangs, like + that of Moslem women, and made them go through the Mohammedan + prayers. Married women and girls were defiled, against the sacred + law, and some were married by force, and are still detained in + Turkish houses. Especially in Palu, Severek, Malatia, Arabkir, + and Choonkoosh, many women and girls were taken to the soldiers' + barracks and dishonored. Many, to escape, threw themselves into + the Euphrates, or committed suicide in other ways. + + "It is clear that the majority of those killed in Harpoot, Severek, + Husenik, Malatia, and Arabkir were killed by the soldiers, and also + that the schools and churches of the missionaries and Gregorians + in the upper quarter of Harpoot City, together with the houses, + were set on fire by cannon balls. + + "It is impossible to state the amount of the pecuniary loss. The + single city of Egin has given 1,200 (some say 1,500) Turkish + pounds as a ransom. + + "These events have occurred for the reasons I have mentioned. I + wish to show by this statement, which I have written from love to + humanity, that the Armenians gave no occasion for these attacks." + + +The Turk, whose document is thus translated, figures that the total +deaths in the province of Harpoot during the scenes, have been 39,334; +the wounded 8,000; houses burned, 28,562; and that the number of the +destitutes is 94,870. + + + "In a letter just received (Jan. 18, 1896) from the + Rev. H. N. Barnum, D.D., of Harpoot, Eastern Turkey, where + the property of the American Board was burned, he says that + reports have been secured from 176 villages in the vicinity of + Harpoot. These villages contained 15,400 houses belonging to + Christians. Of this number 7,054 have been burned, and 15,845 + persons are reported killed. Dr. Barnum adds: 'The reality, + I fear, will prove to be much greater.'" + + +A letter from an Armenian named Kallajian, written from Husenik, +a town about three miles from Harpoot, addressed to his brother in +this country, says: + + +"Sunday, November 11, the government came to our town, Husenik, +and asked the Armenians to give up their arms, and they surrendered +all they had; and in the evening asked them to take the church bell +down. They also obeyed, and by night the Turkish soldiers surrounded +the town until the morning, and in the morning early they sounded the +bugle. When they sounded the bugle, about 25,000 Kurds made an attack +on the town, and plundered all the houses, killing 700 men, women, +and children, besides the wounded. When the attack was made, we left +our house, with two of our neighbors' families and many others from our +town, about thirty in all. One little boy, my nephew, I carried on my +shoulders, and the other was carried by its mother, and we ran up the +hill toward Harpoot. The bullets were showering upon us by hundreds, +and father fell. He was shot once in the head and once in the belly, +and stabbed with a sword through his chin. When we reached the top +of the hill, about twenty Kurds came down from Harpoot, and took all +our clothes and money, and left us naked; and a little after, a band +of Turks came down and made so much trouble for us that I am unable +to describe it. They took us to the city, and we finally succeeded +in getting to the house of Sadukh Effendi, formerly of our town, +but now living in the city. We went to his house, and this kind man +kept us there for two days in his house, and on Tuesday evening he +took us to our own town, and as we came near to our house I found +that father was dead under a tree. We went to the house; we saw that +our house was open and stripped of everything, and father's trunk was +broken open, and his papers were soaked in kerosene and set on fire, +and twenty-five houses were destroyed on our street. We are hungry and +in destitute condition; help us if you can. Our little nephew says: +'O Jesus, keep us afar from such trouble.'" + + + There are other letters also from Harpoot, but this is enough to + show the nature of the scenes there. + + + + +PALOO AND WHAT HAPPENED THERE. + +Paloo is one of the oldest cities in Armenia. It had 15,000 population, +5,000 Armenians and 10,000 Mohammedans, and there were over forty +Armenian villages in the district around. About 5,000 Christians were +killed during the recent massacre. + + +Personal Letters From Paloo. + + + December 15, 1895. + + "Paloo is in a miserable condition. All the houses and shops have + been robbed. About 2,000 persons have perished, and few have + survived this great ruin; but we thank God all our family is + in safety. Just to-day I received a letter from our home; they + write: 'We are alive, but hungry.' They have no bread to eat, + and no clothes to wear; our only hope is God. If the country is + soon reformed we can get our living, but if not we shall all + perish. Turks, Kurds, and soldiers united, plundered, robbed, + and burned the houses of Paloo and the neighboring villages. You + can guess very well who has given the order." + + +A personal letter received by the Armenian Relief Association, in this +city, under date of Paloo, Armenia, November 24, presents an awful +picture of the horrors to which the people there are subjected. The +letter is in part as follows:-- + + + "On November 3, the Turks of the town armed themselves, attacked + the stores, plundered their contents, and killed those who + attempted to defend themselves. A few days later the Turks left the + town, joined a band of 10,000 Kurds, and began a general assault + upon the surrounding villages, pillaging and burning the houses, + and killing all the men. They poured kerosene oil on all the + stored grain and set it on fire, and mixed the flour with filth, + so that it could not be used. The beautiful women were delivered + to the Kurds, who committed the most indescribable outrages. Many + were carried off to slavery, and forced to accept Mohammedanism. + + "In Habab Village, where the people defended themselves for + six days, the government soldiers were called to the aid of the + Kurds, and the united forces overpowered the village and burned + all except fifteen of their three hundred houses. + + "All of the forty-one Armenian villages around Paloo are in ashes, + the fields laid waste, and the inhabitants massacred. Nothing is + left but death and desolation. + + "On November 11, 10,000 armed Kurds fell upon the city of + Paloo. They plundered the houses, even pulling down the walls with + hooks to discover anything valuable that might be hidden. All the + large houses were burned. Ten of the wealthy Armenians, who have + always cared for the poor, and sheltered the distressed, are left + without a pair of shoes or a blanket, 1,732 men were butchered + in cold blood, and of the 10,000 population, two hundred men only + are left, saved on condition that they serve the Turks as slaves. + + "More than 5,000 women and children are left without any means + of living. They are begging from door to door for even a meagre + pittance of bran, which is all that is left, and every day death + claims more and more of the victims by starvation. All of the more + beautiful women have been taken by the Kurds. The Armenian youths + who have been forced to accept Mohammedanism are also forced to + take Turkish wives to prove their sincerity. + + "All of my relations, save two, have been killed in my + presence. Our priests have all been butchered, except one, who + was forced to accept Islamism. Our churches have been turned into + mosques, where the remaining women and old men are compelled to + go and be taught Islam by the Mohammedan priest." + + +But here is another letter, from an Armenian mother to her son in +this country, which brings us still closer to the actual horrors, for +this woman was herself a victim--turned at a blow from a comfortable +matron to a naked beggar, in winter, among the ruins of her village, +her own friends killed, herself foully abused. Read this, and then +talk, if you dare, about "exaggerated accounts"! + + + "December 12, 1895. + + "My Dear Son:-- + + "We received your letter dated November 14th, which we read + with great pleasure. You asked for information about us, as to + how we are, etc. Except your father, we are all still alive, + with our relatives, and long to see you very much. It is very + hard to describe with the pen all the misfortunes that we have + undergone. They cannot be told; but since you are very eager to + know, I will try to write it down for you very briefly. My dear + son, on Tuesday, November 28th, they took by force the oxen that + are used for ploughing the fields. Until the evening of that + day they gathered all the oxen for ploughing from Paloo and the + neighboring Armenian villages, and took them for themselves, and + gave us notice that they should attack the village. Wednesday + morning all the people of the surrounding Turkish villages + gathered round about our village, and our village was besieged + until about noontime. From ten to fifteen persons were killed + up to that time from our side, and the village was surrounded + by more than twenty-two thousand Turks and Kurds, who bear + arms. It was impossible for us to protect our village. We + applied to the government, there was no government to hear us; + despair reigned in the hearts of all. They fought until evening, + and before they had reached us, we, all the villagers, left + everything, even not taking bread for one meal with us, went + to the monastery and left the village to the Turks. We passed + the night in the monastery, hungry and thirsty; the number of + the killed reached to thirty by morning. Then we learned that it + was not safe, even in the monastery, although they had plundered + it two or three times. Thursday, by noontime, the monastery was + full of villagers. At noon there was a blow on the door of the + monastery. Ravenous Turks, Zazes, and others were besieging the + building. Until evening they beat at the iron door to break it; + fifteen persons were at it, but it was impossible for them to open + it. Within, the shrieks and the cries of the people reached up to + heaven. Men, in order to save their lives, dressed themselves in + women's clothes, and covered their heads. Your brother wrapped + his moustaches so thickly that he should not be known, as the + Turks were after him by name. About 3 p. m., when the Turks + saw that it was not possible for them to open the gate of the + monastery, they broke in one of the stones in the wall, and the + plunderers entered.... I cannot describe here the sufferings + of the people.... Within one hour they robbed and violated a + population of 1,500 people, five times each woman, married or + maiden, and then left the monastery. The villagers, every one + to save her or his life, left everything, property, cattle, + merchandise, and provisions, and fled, the man leaving his wife, + the wife her child, the son his mother, the brother his sister, + and they dispersed in the adjoining mountains, plains, valleys, + and hills, with only their under-garments on, as the Turks and + Kurds had stripped them of everything else. Friday morning the + number of the killed had reached about fifty. Your father was + shot on the plain of Sacrat, but the wound was not dangerous. For + three days the people gathered in Sacrat, hungry and thirsty; + from Sacrat they were given over to the Zazes, to take them to + the city.... I can not write down here all the things we endured + at the hands of the Zazes.... Finally, after we had suffered + unmentionable cruelties, being twice plundered in the city and + violated, three brides and maidens were carried away as slaves by + the Kurds, more than one hundred persons were martyred, among whom + were two priests, and the rest were forced to accept Mohammedanism, + and after that the massacre ceased. For twenty days we remained in + the city, naked, hungry, and thirsty, also hopeless. The city was + rescued from the massacre after having suffered the loss of six + hundred houses, together with all the property of the shops and + stores, and the total sum of the martyred being 2,000. Our village + was given over to be burned for twenty days successively. Out + of two hundred houses, there are hardly thirty left sound; the + rest are all razed to the ground.... The rest of this story will + follow by next mail. I wanted to tell you a little about our hard + situation. Saved with only our undergarments, hungry and thirsty, + our whole family came back from the city, among the ruins. I, + your mother, had to go begging wholly naked and barefoot to the + familiar Kurd neighbors. I had only one shirt, which I made into a + bag to put the things in which I begged from the Kurds. For fifty + days I have provided thus for the family; after this I commit it + to your care; you know best what to do. We have not got even a head + covering; nothing to carry the water home in from the fountain. It + is the month of December, and you know well it is the first month + of the winter; we have two and a half months yet before coming + to the spring. We are all of us very, very, hungry. Those Turks + who were so friendly before have turned now not to know us, they + don't even give a penny. We have no hope from anywhere else; if + you do not come to our help, we shall perish! perish! perish! We, + with all the villagers shall die. Behold the description of our + misery. Read this to all the villagers that are there with you, + and notify them that all of you must be the helpers and deliverers + of our people, especially to us who are all helpless and on the + verge of starvation. Send us help. I remain + + "Your affectionate mother." + + + + +MALATIA AND ITS HARDSHIPS. + +Malatia is located about midway between Marash and Harpoot, a little +distance from the Euphrates river. More fruit is raised in and about +there than in any other section of Armenia. The assortment is large, +but the apples and pears are especially fine, perhaps better than those +of any part of the world. It has about 20,000 population, two-thirds +being Mohammedans, and one-third Armenians. The private letters +which have been received from there do not state, and cannot state +how many Armenians have been killed during the period of the present +persecutions, and it is not likely there ever will be any correct +estimate of them. The region has suffered immensely, and letters from +there reveal a most distressing condition of affairs. The people were +plundered and violated in every conceivable way until there was nothing +more for the time being for the fiends to wreak their cruelty upon. + + +Letters from Malatia. + + + Malatia, Dec. 22, 1895. + + My Very Dear Son:-- + + We greet you with the fondest greeting, and it is the desire of our + hearts that the good Lord should enable us to see each other again + in this mortal flesh. In regard to ourselves, as to how we were, + and what we are doing. We are all alive yet with our whole family, + no loss of persons from among us. Don't mourn for us. Others + are mourning for their loved ones. Though in truth the grief and + mourning of others belong to us also because we are all Armenians, + one flesh and blood, and we all belong to the same nation. + + I did not go to bring up the bride of our neighbor's with the rest, + so I was at home when the massacre began. You remember that there + was a well in that quarter. The Turks killed the bridegroom, his + brother, the priest, together with sixty-five other men, and threw + them into that well. In another house they burned seventy-five + men, and in still another forty-five men. Finally, I am unable + to describe with my pen all that passed in those days and hours. + + May the Lord preserve your dear lives, and give you peace and + happiness. Your father. + + +Another Letter. + + + Malatia, Dec. 22, 1895. + + My Dear Friend:-- + + I received your very kind letter about a week ago, for which I + thank you very much, and I read it with great pleasure. But we + do not get the boys' letters regularly. It is nearly two months + since the disaster occurred, and in that time I have received + but one letter. The other day an Armenian handed me a letter + that was torn into nearly a hundred pieces. I put all the pieces + together and read it. It was also from the boys, and I read and was + very glad. Now I will try to give you a little information about + us. The first Monday I did not go to the market, for from Saturday + I got somehow suspicious that there was something impending over + the city, and I did not let father go either. My brother was to + accompany those who were going to bring up a bride for my brother's + partner in business. While my brother was at the wedding house, + they sent him on an errand to go and get a few policemen to + accompany them as protection in bringing the bride. Just at the + moment when my brother was on his way to the station-house, he + sees there was confusion in the market; then he drops the matter + of bringing a policeman, but goes to the market and closes the + shop, and then turns towards home in a hurry. While on his way, + some men fired at him several times, but fortunately he was not + hurt. He comes as far as to one of our neighbors, and there drops + down exhausted. They came and brought me the news that he was + there. Then I plucked up all the courage I could, and went and + brought him home. An hour or so after, the Turks came and besieged + that same quarter and killed about thirty persons. On Tuesday, + very early in the morning, we left everything, house, property, + and goods, and just to save our lives we fled to the new church, + and I don't know what became of the rest. We remained there in the + church until Friday; after that we came out of the church, being + a little assured of safety, and have been living on the provision + that the government allowed us, but that also ceased a few days + since. When we came back home again we did not find a single + thing; they had swept off everything. We brought a matting from + some place, and six of us sleep in one bed. Some sleep on hay. May + you never have to endure such hardships. This incident seems worse + than the earthquake or the cholera, or the fire. May the good Lord + preserve us from things worse than these. Our life is not worth + the living. We don't know the exact number of the killed. Malatia + is altogether a ruin. It is a worse ruin than the city of Anni, + and even worse than Sassoun. It is beyond conception, one cannot + keep account of it. May the Lord write it down in his own account + book, so that he should take the account in the day of judgment. + + Please excuse all my shortcomings, because I am out of myself. Our + love to all the friends over there. + + Yours truly, + + P.S. Please tell the boys to know the value of money, and not + waste neither their time nor their money in vain. For we have no + one to look for but to God in heaven, and after Him to them on + earth. For the value of a son is known in the time of adversity, + when he helps his elders or parents. Let them not yet send any + money, for there are no brokers left where we can change it. + + + + +THE CITY OF SIVAS AND THE ATROCITIES. + +Sivas is the seat of the vilayet or province of Sivas. The +Governor-General of that province resides there. The population +is about 30,000; one-third are Christian Armenians, and there are +many Armenian Christian towns and villages round about, so that, +if the Armenians are not more numerous than the Mohammedans, they +equal them in number. Sivas is a missionary station, and during the +atrocities, the Protestant Armenian pastor also was killed. His name +was Garabet-Kilitjiam, one of the most gifted ministers of the gospel, +my personal friend and successor. After I resigned my pastorate +at Talas, Cesarea, he succeeded me. He was offered the choice of +accepting Mohammedanism, but refused it, and then he was martyred. + +In the city and province of Sivas during the recent atrocities +about 10,000 Armenians were killed, and many villages and towns were +plundered and destroyed. + + +The following is a press dispatch:-- + + + London, Nov. 16, 1895.--The representative of the United Press + at Constantinople reports, under the date of November 15th, that + at six o'clock, on the evening of November 14th, M. A. Jewett, + United States consul at Sivas, sent a telegram to United States + Minister Terrell informing him that in the disturbances which had + taken place at Sivas, eight hundred Armenians and ten Turks had + been killed, and that, according to official reports, a large + body of Kurds were then approaching the town. Mr. Jewett gave + no details of the disorders, but the discrepancy in the figures + shows that the Turkish allegations that the Armenians were the + aggressors are absolutely untrue, and that the Armenians were + deliberately massacred. + + +From a private letter from Sivas, Nov. 21, 1895. + + + "The air was full of wild rumors--but we could get at nothing that + seemed to have any substantial truthful basis. Dr. Jewett--our + consul--was on the alert. He interviewed the Governor-General,--and + asked for protection for us, for the U.S.A. vice-consul, for our + schools, and for the American Consulate. These were cheerfully + promised, and the next day, Tuesday, November 12th, at midday, like + a cyclone, Sivas was smitten, as I wrote you last week. Mr. P. and + I had steadfastly refused to believe that such violence could + take place in our city, and we were totally unprepared for the + shock. Our walls had been taken down,--that is, our front wall + had been,--a distance of 125 feet. Our girls' school-building had + been cut off seven and a half feet on the southwest corner, and + both our schools and our dwellings were in an entirely unprotected + state. The day of the terrible disaster, the city water was cut + off from our street, and for several days the heat was unusual + for this time of the year. The dead were buried on Thursday, + under the direction of the government, in the Armenian graveyard, + a priest of the Gregorian faith being present to offer a prayer. + + "Our good native pastor was in the market to attend to the + interests of his people, when, at a given signal, a tribe of + mountaineers, known as Karsluks suddenly fell upon the Armenians + with clubs, and were soon followed by Circassians and local + Mussulmen, with knives and pistols; quickly and lastly the + police force and regular soldiers joined in with their Martini + rifles. It was a combined onslaught of four other races against + the Armenians. It has been declared that the Armenians were in + armed revolt against the government, and this was done to put + down the revolution. When the attack was made against them, we + fail to find that there was any armed resistance, so far as we + can learn. If the Armenians were premeditating an armed attack + upon the Mussulmen, we never could find it out, but that proves + nothing here or there, as missionaries are well known not to + sympathize with revolutionists. + + "Badveli Garabed died a martyr; his life being offered him three + times if he would deny Christ. He bore noble testimony before + many witnesses, then fell in their presence, sealing his faith + and testimony with his blood. + + "Yours affectionately," + + +Further Information about Sivas by the Missionaries who wrote to +their friends Nov. 12, 1895. + + + "The cyclone which struck on the 12th reached Marsovan on the + 15th. Don't be deceived by any of the silly government statements + which attribute all these massacres to the Armenians. It was + a deliberate plan on the part of the government to punish the + Armenians. The Sultan was irritated because he was forced to give + them reforms, so he has had 7,000 Armenians killed to show his + power since he signed the scheme of reform. + + "The killing was permitted to go on here all last week; forty-six + were killed Saturday, November 16; sixteen on Sunday, and many + more on the following day. The total number killed is about 1,200 + Armenians and ten Turks. + + "It is a fact that the Kaimakam of Gurun telegraphed to the Vali + at Sivas, saying in effect that there is not an Armenian left at + Gurun. The Armenians at Sivas made no resistance, but at Gurun + they tried to defend themselves from the butchery, and suffered + the worse for it. + + "In order to have an excuse for attacking the Armenians at Sivas, + the government smashed the windows of Turkish shops and charged + it to the Armenians. Food is scarce, and everything was carried + off from the Armenian shops. There will be terrible suffering + all over this country." + + +Another letter from Sivas, according to the Constantinople +correspondent, gives many details which all go to show that the whole +movement against the Armenians is directly traceable to the head +of the Turkish government, who proclaimed that his great desire was +to keep always in view, "The safeguard of the rights of the people, +and the maintenance of public confidence." + + + "What cruel mockery; Trebizond, Erzeroum, Bitlis, Marash, + Harpoot and how many more towns rise up and point the finger + of everlasting scorn and indignation to fix on Abdul Hamid + Khan the stigma of everlasting infamy! The deliberate murder + of thousands of innocent and industrious men, the exposure of + ten times that number of women and children and aged persons to + absolute degradation and destitution, will justify the name of + Kanukiar--the Bloodletter--which has been applied to the head + authority of the Empire." + + +The Riot in Sivas. + + + "Last week, Monday, November 11, was one of the loveliest days + Sivas ever had. Although there were many rumors of trouble afloat, + we could get at nothing which seemed to have any greater foundation + than the fear that something might happen. + + "I went unattended to the boys' school. On my way to school + that afternoon, I met a group of excited soldiers. They said + nothing to me, but their strangely excited manner impressed me + as being out of the usual order. When I began my class work, + the boys, instead of answering my questions, broke forth with + inquiries. They wanted to know if the soldiers were going to + shoot them, and if they were going to be killed. That was the + rumor afloat. I hushed them up as best I could, and told them it + was not right to speak of such things. I succeeded in quieting + the children, but went home full of anxiety. + + "The next day, Tuesday, a large gang of Turkish workmen gathered in + our street to continue the public work of building up some walls + which had been torn down at the Vali's orders, for the purpose + of widening the street. Armenian carpenters were employed on our + building. Nothing out of the ordinary occurred until the workmen's + 'bread time,' about 11 o'clock, was finished. + + "Then all the Osmanli (Turkish) gang suddenly raised a hue and + cry; each one grabbed a pick or club, anything he could lay his + hands on, and a wild rush was made for the market-place. The air + was filled with yells of the furious men, who rushed along madly. + + "The Protestant pastor remained at home on the day before, + but on Tuesday was in a shop when the signal for the raid was + given. A perfect cyclone of marauders rushed in and clubbed the + unsuspecting men in the stores to death before they could offer + any resistance. After the outbreak there was not a single Armenian + place of business left in the market. + + "No list of the dead was made out, and none could be. The victims + were all buried in an immense trench in the Armenian burying-ground + two days afterwards. There were between seven and eight hundred + bodies thus buried." + + + + +MARSOVAN AND THE ATROCITIES THERE. + +Marsovan has 25,000 population, 10,000 being Armenians, and the +remainder Mohammedans. Marsovan is one of the greatest stations of +the American missionaries. Anatolia College is there; a theological +seminary for young men; and a seminary for girls. The writer was the +pastor of the Evangelical Armenian church there till he was banished, +for the reasons stated in the sketch of him. After this the Turks +burned the girls' school; they tried to burn the boys' college building +also, but did not succeed. Finally they several times massacred the +Armenian Christians, and forced many to accept Mohammedanism. + +I have not been able to get exact information about the number of +the martyred Christians in Marsovan, but it is believed that in that +missionary station about 1,000 were massacred altogether. The richest +men among the congregation were murdered, and so thoroughly plundered +that their children are left wholly destitute; and the lives of the +missionaries are in danger. + + + + +CESAREA (KAISERIEH). + +The writer is well acquainted with this city, as he was the pastor +at Talas, only three miles away, for years. It has about 50,000 +population, one-third being Christians; a few hundred Greeks only, +but more than 15,000 Armenians. The richest and ablest Armenians +live in that city, or in Constantinople, and came from there; its +people are the leaders of the Armenian nation, both in business +and intellect. For the story of its foundation, see "The Haigazian +Dynasty," under King Aram. It is a typical Armenian city; and has +several great Armenian churches, with flourishing schools. There is +a beautiful evangelical church also, and it is a great missionary +station, with several American missionaries, and several missionary +schools, both for boys and for girls. + +The Rev. Dr. Avedis Yeretzian, one of the greatest of scholars, +teachers, and preachers, and my personal friend, was martyred in +that city during the recent atrocities. He was shot dead in his own +house by a Mohammedan mob, then his wife was shot, then his son, +and the remainder of his children were captured by the mob. About +3,000 Armenians were killed and wounded there, besides the loss of +property. The Mohammedan population of the city is very savage; +side by side in the same city, the Christians are rich, refined, +intelligent, and the Mohammedans poor, lazy, sensual, and cruel. I +give here two letters from Cesarea. + + +A Private Letter from a Girl. + + + Cesarea, Turkey, Dec. 31, 1895. + + My Dear Brother:-- + + Before the massacre, everybody was in fear; several families + would gather in one house to protect themselves, and all the + Armenian stores were closed for twenty days; but as the government + guaranteed that there would be no danger, and told everybody to + attend to their business, and open their shops, they did so. It + was the 16th of November, on Saturday, that all opened their shops + again, and the transaction of business commenced in full force. At + 2 p. m., at the doors of the market, bugles sounded, and several + hundred bashi-bazook [irregular soldiers] were at the doors of the + bazaar, every one of them having in his hands stilettos, swords, + yataghans, guns, revolvers, hammers, axes, hatchets, sickles, + poniards, daggers, and heavy sticks with twenty or thirty nails + fastened to them. Then they blew horns, the signal to start the + massacre. Cries were heard, "First kill, cut, and butcher the + Giavours; the property already belongs to us; cut, cut, kill, don't + care for plundering at present." Then they rushed into the market + and slaughtered all they met. Oh! you can imagine what became of + those who fell into the hands of those brutes. Alas! alas! how + unspeakable! They butchered them like cattle; cut their heads + off like onions. Some tried to run, but could not, others tried + to escape, but were brought back and killed. The bazaar was + full of dead bodies. People hid themselves among the goods, + and in the cellars, and were saved; ten or fifteen days after, + people were found there in a starving condition, not having dared + to come out. They killed in Avsharaghus factory thirty-eight men; + in Kayanjilar everybody was slain. After the massacre was over, the + governor, Ferick Pasha, sent soldiers around, and they discovered + many people hiding, and took them back to the government house + (seray), examined their pockets for revolvers and knives, and + not finding any, the governor sent them to their homes. + + They plundered the bazaar of all its goods, and then, oh, my + Lord! they rushed upon the houses and upon the women's Turkish + baths.... I cannot describe this; when I think of it, my whole + body trembles. The people in the baths were killed and wounded, + and they carried away the young girls; every one was killed that + they came in contact with. The houses were plundered of all their + contents, and buildings were torn down, and houses full of people + were burned. Oh, how terrible! What I say you cannot imagine to be + so; you may think it is a dream, because your eyes have not seen + nor your ears heard the screams, wailings, weeping, shrieks, and + groaning; that even our forefathers have not heard, but of which + our ears are full day and night. My brother was in the bazaar, + but fortunately he had occupied a private room, where he was safe. + + Some of the kidnapped girls were brought back by the government, + but most of them were wounded, and half dead from fright. Thank + God, we are safe, but we are not better than those girls. We are + in Mr. Wingate's house, where many lives were saved. He carried + beds and clothing to the people, who were stripped of all. A + few Mussulmans also protected in their homes some Armenians; + for example, James Imuroglov, Gojaki Ogloo. + + Yeretzian Avedis Effendi's house is ruined, himself, his son, + and wife are killed, and the rest, five of them, are carried + away. Our block and their block is ruined. They butchered Avjinury, + Yuzukji, Dirnhitza and carried away her three daughters, but + later on brought two of them back. I mentioned them, as you + know. They also butchered Yuzikji Apraham and his wife Gaga Haji, + Gemerlkli Ohanness, Mustaamelji Gobra, Terrzi Artin, Erzurumli, + servant boy. Avedis Ago and his daughter were carried away. Gussi + Hamimon's mother is low. Oh, pity the intolerable many, many, I + cannot write by my pen, or describe with my tongue the terrible + sufferings. O Lord, have mercy upon us! To my knowledge there + were five hundred killed, six hundred wounded; many are dying from + their wounds and fright. Eight hundred houses are plundered, and + the tenants flocked to the churches. I cannot write one hundredth + part of what happened. + + We are lost, lost, ruined, no work, no business, every one of us + looking for safety. Happy, happy be you that are in America and + have nothing to fear. They say to me, you ought to be with your + brother in America now. If the way was opened, everybody would + like to go. + + If you are not in good circumstances there, you must feel satisfied + and give the thanks to God always. We also have to thank God that + we are still living. It is one month now that we have not been able + to go out in the streets. O Lord, help us, Oh! what shall we come + to? Oh, my dear brother, if you can help us in any way please do + so; make lectures, get some help; everybody is dying of hunger. I + cannot write any longer; we leave all to your conscience. I do + not write this letter only to you, but to all. Do whatever you can + for us, we are in a terrible condition. I thank you, my brother, + for the money that you sent to me, thank you very much. + + We send our best regards to every one of you. I wrote this + letter with the tears in my eyes. We beg of you to write us good + letters. Vaham, the little boy, is in good health. We are all + well including + + Your sister, + + +Letter from Cesarea. + + + Cesarea, Nov. 20, 1895.--While the Armenians were engaged + in their business, as usual, the Turkish mob fell upon them, + killing 600 defenseless men and wounding 1,000 more. The mob + divided into four parts. The first part plundered the stores, + the second looted the houses, the third secured the maidens and + young brides, while the fourth, fiends incarnate, attacked the + public baths. These human devils killed six naked women in the + presence of the others, snatching their babies from their arms and + bayoneting the mothers. The shrieks and agonizing cries of these + poor creatures made no impression upon the minds of the savage + Turks, who laughed at their death agonies. They then took some + of the young girls, who were with their mothers at the bath, + and dragged them naked, by their feet, through the streets, + followed by a jeering and hooting mob. + + The Turks who attacked the houses then killed them and fired the + houses. The cries of the women, mingled with the hoarse shouts of + the Turks, can never be forgotten. The men who survived the sword + were discovered, taken to the magistrate and searched, but no arms + were found in their possession, not even a knife. When released, + and allowed to return to their homes, they were confronted by a + most ghastly picture. Some found their wives dead, others horribly + mutilated; daughters were bleeding. My hand almost fails me to + write the awful particulars. It took three or four days to remove + the bodies of the dead with forty carts. Add to this the want, + the desolation. Oh, my God, for how long, how long! Where are + those Christian powers who saved African slaves? Where are those + Christians who advocated brotherly love and mercy, sending their + missionaries to teach us? Are they deaf to our piercing cry? + + + + +AINTAB AND ITS HORRORS. + +The writer is well acquainted with Aintab, and some of his best +friends live there, if they have not been killed. It has about 40,000 +population, one-third of it being Armenian. There are great scholars +among them. Central Turkey College is there. It is an American college, +but most of the professors are native Armenians, graduates of Yale +College. There is also a woman's American College and a hospital. The +Evangelical Armenians are the strongest; they have three large +churches. They are considered to be the richest Evangelical Armenians +in Turkey. But hundreds of them were killed, wounded and plundered; +in all about 4,000 of the Armenian population were killed. + + +A Letter from Aintab, November 23, 1895. + + + Aintab has had its baptism of blood and fire, and we sit in grief + among ruins. We had been hoping that the many things which seemed + to combine for our security would save our city from the fury + of the storm which is desolating so many places about us. Our + Christian community is large (about one-fourth of the whole + population), and the Christians, as a class, are exceptionally + intelligent and influential; the leading Moslems of the city + are intelligent and able men, and have shown themselves to a + degree tolerant and even friendly to Christians; the governor + has seemed disposed, beyond most Turkish officials, to respect + the rights of Christians. There is a considerable number of + foreign residents sure to be witnesses of any violence done to + Christians. The college and hospital have for years commanded a + powerful influence in the city; the hospital especially has the + good-will of all classes; the college, its students and teachers + were no doubt regarded by many with much suspicion on account of + the latent antagonisms inevitably existing between progressive and + conservative ideas, but personal relations were, so far as I know, + always friendly. Another thing in our favor has been the fact that + the Christians of Aintab have given very little countenance to the + ultra-revolutionists, who have no doubt provoked trouble in some + places. Relying upon all these things, we had for nearly three + weeks been hearing reports of fighting and massacre at Zeitoon, + Marash, and Oorfa, and other places, with comparatively little + anxiety for ourselves. It is true we were frequently hearing of + fearful threats and warnings of what the Moslems were preparing + to do in Aintab, but we had got hardened to that sort of thing, + and regarded it as largely the invention of cowardly roughs to + terrify those whom they did not dare attack. The most alarming + thing in the situation was that the government was disarming the + Christians, and at the same time giving out rifles and ammunition + to Moslems. This, however, was attributed to an exaggerated fear + of a Christian rising, of which they profess to have information. + + Meantime the Moslems liable to military service were called out + and equipped and hurried off toward Zeitoon, where it was reported + that the Christians were in rebellion. This, no doubt, was the + occasion of intense irritation, and both the soldiers and their + friends were saying, "If we must fight Christians we will begin + with those close at hand." Under these circumstances the native + Christians became very anxious, and made such preparations for + defense as circumstances permitted, at the same time keeping as + quiet as possible, and avoiding all controversy and altercations + with the Moslems. The government increased the police force in the + city, and held a considerable force of troops at the barracks near + the town, and the governor and principal men seemed to be making + much effort to quiet the people. Several considerable tumults + had occurred and been promptly suppressed without bloodshed; + so day after day dragged on, each hour increasing the hope that + we should tide over the crisis. + + Saturday morning, November 16, more than three weeks after the + first riot in Marash, at about half past seven, just as we were + rising from breakfast, our people came in with white faces saying, + "The day of judgment has come in the city." We hastened to the + door, and sure enough the mob was at work; all the west and + south part of the city seemed to be in an uproar; crowds of + people rushing in every direction, roofs covered with excited + men, women, and children; the strange mingling of cries of fear, + anger, and defiance, with occasional gun and pistol shots, made + an exhibition of the most fearful tumult and confusion. + + Already troops were hurrying forward, and soon a company of some + sixty soldiers were stationed in front of the Girls' Seminary, + with pickets out to cover the approaches to the hospital and + college. Dr. Shepherd and Mr. Sanders mounted their horses + and hastened to the hospital and seminary, where they remained + until the rioting ceased. The college is about half a mile west + of the seminary and hospital, and commands a full view of these + buildings, and of the whole west end of the city, where most of + the rioting occurred. + + What we, who were looking on, saw from this point was the narrow + streets densely crowded with intensely excited people, now and then + a rush made upon some house or gate, the rally of defenders on the + roofs, among whom women were often foremost, using stones, clubs, + and sometimes guns and pistols as best they could. Sometimes the + attack is beaten off, and the assailants withdraw to organize a + new assault, sometimes a gate or wall is broken down, and then the + noise of conflict subsides and the work of massacre and plunder + begins. Later on, long lines of people moving off to their homes + laden with plunder, and later still the flames and smoke rising + from the burning houses. + + What we heard was the indescribable roar of the mob, pierced by + the sharp reports of pistols and guns, with now and then shrieks + of agony and fear, and shouts of defiance or command, and over all, + and most horrible of all, the loud shrill "Zullghat," (wedding cry) + very like the cry of our northern loons prolonged and sharpened, + raised by Turkish women crowded on their roofs and cheering on + their men to attack. The massacre and pillage began in the markets, + and in those parts of the city where Christians' houses, surrounded + by Moslem neighbors, offered easy points of attack; these places + having been looted, the mob moved on towards what are known as the + Christian quarters of the town. There the resistance became more + obstinate; in two of these quarters the old street gates were still + in use, by shutting which, the district enclosed becomes a small + fortified community capable of making a strong resistance to an + organized mob. The assailants were at last beaten off and arrested. + + Under such general conditions the storm of mob violence raged + on without much abatement till the middle of the afternoon, when + the tumult gradually subsided, and night at last brought quiet, + except in the vicinity of burning houses, where the uproar went + on till near midnight. By morning, arrangements seemed to have + been made which gave us hope that order would be maintained; + the guard for our mission premises had been increased, and the + soldiers posted at intervals around the Christian quarters of the + city. Very early in the morning of the 17th, crowds, evidently + eager to share the plunder, were seen hurrying towards the city + from every direction. The soldiers met and turned them back, and + even beat some of them and chased them off. They soon returned, + however, increased in numbers, and being joined by friends from + the city, became very turbulent. About noon we saw through our + glass an officer, apparently a captain, ride forward into a mob, + and address them at some length; we could not hear what he said, + but immediately, without any show of opposition from any one, the + whole crowd came pell-mell with the soldiers into the city. This + was at the southwest corner of the town, and immediately under + our eyes. At the same time much the same thing was occurring at + the northwest corner; then for an hour chaos was let loose again, + and the horrors of the previous day were repeated, only that this + time the Christians were prepared, and, being in a strong position, + were generally able to beat off their assailants. At one point + of the line of defense were a few Moslem houses, and we were + delighted to learn that the men heartily and bravely joined in + the defense with their neighbors; the gallantry of this act was + somewhat marred, however, by the demand which they made the next + day for a large sum of money for their service; these men actually + demanded and received about $5 apiece for this neighborly help. + + When it became apparent that the mob could not force their way + into the places held by the besieged, the soldiers, perhaps having + received new orders, resumed a show of activity, fired a few shots + into the air, and drove the mob out of the city and dispersed + them; this is the last serious fighting that has occurred up to + the present time, though local tumults have broken out frequently, + several houses have been pillaged and burned, and two Christians + at least were shot while being conducted through the streets by + soldiers. Strict military rule is now established, and special + care is taken to safeguard the lives of property of foreigners. We + are kept under very close restriction, and not allowed to visit + the city except for special objects, and then under a strong + guard. The amount of damage we can only estimate; as nearly as + we can judge, the figures will be about 200 killed, 400 wounded, + nearly all the Christian shops and 250 houses pillaged, and a + considerable number burned. Some 1,000 men who in the first panic + took refuge in khans and mosques are still held as prisoners, + for purposes which we can only surmise. + + P.S. Dec. 17. Quiet has for the most part been maintained under + strict military rule. No Christian can yet venture out without + armed escort, and there are not wanting signs that there is waiting + and even expectation of another signal from above. The government, + however, seems to be trying to restore order and confidence. We + are glad to say that we have heard of no cases of special violence + or abuse offered to women. + + The above-named prisoners have been gradually released, till + now there are only some six of the principal Christians still in + confinement. The number of killed just now must be set down at + over 400; the butchery in the markets where the first attacks + began far exceeded our belief. A great number of bodies were + thrown together into some distilleries, and these buildings + set on fire and burned to the ground, thus removing for a time + much of the terrible evidence of the extent of the massacre. The + attack being made in the morning and beginning in the markets, it + happened that the killed are about wholly from the "bread-winners" + among the Christians. As a result, there are now in Aintab more + than 4,000 people dependent on charity for daily bread, and most + of those to whom they would naturally look for aid are utterly + impoverished; the outlook for the winter is simply appalling. We + appeal for aid speedily in the name of humanity. + + + + +THE CITY OF BIRIJIK AND THE ATROCITIES. + +The city of Birijik is on the shores of the Euphrates; it has a +beautiful appearance from the other side of the river. The Mohammedan +population there are very wild and ignorant. + + +The Massacre at Birijik (Province of Aleppo). + + + Birijik had about 300 Christian houses, or say about 1,000 + souls, in the midst of the Mussulman population of about 9,000 + souls. After the massacre at Oorfa on the 27th of October, 1895, + the authorities at Birijik told the Armenians that the Muslims + were afraid of them, and that therefore they (the Armenians) must + surrender to the government any arms that they possessed. This + was done, the most rigid search being instituted to assure the + authorities that nothing whatever in the way of arms remained in + the hands of the Armenians. This disarmament caused no little + anxiety to the Armenians, since the Muslim population was very + generally armed, and was constantly adding to its arms. In fact, + during the months of November and December the Christians have + kept within their houses because the danger of appearing upon + the streets was very great. + + Troops were called out by the government to protect the + people. Since the soldiers had come to protect the Christians, + the Christians were required to furnish animals for them to carry + their goods. Then they were required to furnish them beds and + carpets to make them more comfortable. Finally they were required + to furnish the soldiers with food, and they were reduced to a + state bordering on destitution by these increasing demands. + + The end came on the first of January, 1896, when the news of + the massacre of several thousands of Christians at Oorfa by the + soldiers appointed to guard them incited the troops at Birijik + to imitate this crime. The assault on the Christian houses + commenced at about nine o'clock in the morning and continued until + night-fall. The soldiers were aided by the Muslims of the city in + the terrible work. The object at first seemed to be mainly plunder, + but after the plunder had been secured the soldiers seemed to + make a systematic search for men, to kill those who were unwilling + to accept Mohammedanism. The cruelty used to force men to become + Muslims was terrible. In one case the soldiers found some twenty + people, men, women, and children, who had taken refuge in a sort + of cave. They dragged them out and killed all the men and boys, + because they would not become Muslims. After cutting down one + old man who had thus refused, they put live coals upon his body, + and as he was writhing in torture, they held a Bible before him, + and asked him mockingly to read them some of the promises in + which he had trusted. Others were thrown into the river while + still alive, after having been cruelly wounded. The women and + children of this party were loaded up like goods upon the backs + of porters and carried off to the houses of Muslims. Christian + girls were eagerly sought after, and much quarreling occurred + over the question of their division among their captors. Every + Christian house except two, claimed to be owned by Turks, was + plundered. Ninety-six men are known to have been killed, or about + half of the adult Christian men. The others have become Mussulmans + to save their lives, so that there is not a single Christian left + in Birijik to-day. The Armenian Church has been made into a mosque, + and the Protestant Church into a Medresse Seminary.--[Dr. Dillon. + + + + +OORFA AND ITS ATROCITIES. + +Oorfa, the old Ur of the Chaldees, where Abraham, the old patriarch of +the Bible, was born, was called Edessa in the time of Christ. I have +told the story of King Abgar and his conversion in the historical part +of this book. It had about 50,000 population, about 20,000 of whom +were Armenians before the massacres. Out of that number 8,000 were +slaughtered, according to Mr. Fitzmaurice, the British vice-consul +who returned from Oorfa to Constantinople on March 21. The Evangelical +Armenian pastor, the Rev. Hagop Abuhayatian, was also martyred. I knew +him personally. He was educated in Germany, a man of great ability; +a great scholar, and a great and forcible preacher. + + +A Letter from Oorfa, Jan. 28, 1896. + + + Dear Friend:-- + + Your only remaining brother sends you a letter, but no letters + can begin to explain the sad state of this city. The massacre of + Dec. 28 and 29 has left all homes except Catholics and Syrians + entirety empty of any comforts. Many families have not one bed + even; all cooking utensils, clothing, bedding, carpets, etc., + were taken. Most have a little zakhere left, though some have + not that. We are feeding about 175 of the most needy, and more + will come to us every week. The loss by death is between 4,000 + and 5,000. Our pastor, the Rev. Hagop Abouhayatian, Dr. Kivorc, + and brother Harotoun, Sarkis Varjebed Chubukian and brother and + son, Garabed Roumian, Habbourjou Avedis and brother Sarkis, old + sexton Garabed and other sexton Bogos, Majar Kivorc and brother + Bogos and Berber Monofa and two sons, Eskejiyan Marderos, Zarman + Roomian's three eons, are some of the dead. In all, our Protestant + dead are 115. Some of our people perished in the Gregorian Church, + where 1,500 or 2,000 went for refuge Saturday night, and on Sunday + were murdered or burned, very few escaping. It was the most awful + of all the terrible events of those two days. + + Thank God, two hundred and forty were saved by coming to me; sixty + of them were men. I could not keep the men in my house or yard, + because it was forbidden by the guards, but I hid them elsewhere, + and fed them for three or four days. The government carefully + protected me, and killed as many of my friends as possible. We + have our house and all the schoolrooms full of the wounded and + the most forlorn. + + Our Oorfa redeefs leave to-morrow; we have new soldiers now for + guard of the city, and Christians especially. Oorfa redeefs have + been poor guards, and but for them the awful work would not have + been accomplished. The pastor of Severek, the Rev. Marderos, + was killed. The Rev. Vartan remains alive in Adayaman. Both in + Severek and Adayaman the number of the killed was very great. In + Birijik about two hundred were killed, and all remaining have + become Moslems; they have been circumcised. + + In Aintab about three hundred were killed, 847 shops plundered + and 417 houses. + + During our first disturbance, six to seven hundred shops here + were plundered, and about 175 houses. Then the Christians used + arms to defend themselves. Since then all arms have been taken by + the government from the Christians, and the leaders were forced + to sign a paper stating the city as "in peace and harmony, thanks + to the rulers," etc.; twenty-five signed it, and now almost all + of these have been killed. Our pastor signed for Protestants. + + Only two of the Gregorian priests remain, and they are wounded. The + bishop is alive, but feeble, and does not work publicly now. Their + state is very sad. We desire your prayers, and the aid of all + who can give us help by money at this time. + + Sincerely your friend, + + P.S. Your brother asks you to send a letter to him by me. + + + + +DIARBEKIR AND ITS STORY. + +Diarbekir (see the historical part for its foundation) has about 40,000 +population. Nearly half of them are Christians, but not all of them are +Armenians. There are Chaldeans also. The Armenian population numbered +about 12,000, of which 5,000 were killed during the recent atrocities. + + +A Letter from Diarbekir, Nov. 20, 1895. + + + My Dear Sir:-- + + After salutation, I offer my thanks to God that after great + dangers and tribulation we have reached the present time. God's + will be done. How can I describe the horrors in our city to + you? Can any pen or any language tell them? No, but I shall try + to write at least a very short description of them. But who knows + if this letter will reach you, because of the letters we write, + very few reach you, and very few of your letters reach us, since + the government has control of the mail, and it is the government + that persecutes us. Our age is a peculiar age. God look at our + misery and save us. + + How happy were those who were martyred on Nov. 1, and have gone to + their reward. The atrocities which happened here on November 1, 2, + 3, cannot be matched in the history of the civilized world. I do + not think they can be in that of heathen lands, where the people + are barbarous. + + When I write these lines to you, I hardly know what I am writing; + the darkness of Egypt covers all around me. The former millionaires + in the city have nothing and are begging bread. Nov. 1 was a black + day for the Armenians. Many were separated from their loved ones, + even parents from their children. Many merchants and rich people + were so thoroughly plundered and stripped that they are literally + left naked and hungry, and numbers have been put to unspeakable + tortures by the Turks and Kurds. Nov. 1 was Friday; it was about + noon when the Mohammedans came out from their mosques. The native + Turks, the Kurds who were brought from outside, and the soldiers + all united, swords, pistols, guns, axes, and clubs in their hands, + fell upon the Armenians in the market place or business place, + cut them to pieces, and plundered what they had. If they had + been all killed by bullets it would have been a sudden death, and + easier. But they cut them to pieces bit by bit with their axes, + and made holes in the bodies with their swords. + + When they were killing the Armenians, they were repeating the + following words, "Bring testimony to prophet Mohammed. Our Sultan + ordered us to kill these heathen dogs, the Armenians." The governor + of the city, and all other officials, with the commander of the + soldiers, during the time of the atrocities were sitting near + the great mosque, and while listening to the cries and screams of + the martyred Armenians, they were laughing and joking with great + pleasure, and ordering the soldiers to carry the most valuable + things to their houses. + + After they had killed everybody, and plundered everything in the + business place, they turned to the residences where Armenians + lived, and began to burn and kill. Some of the soldiers went to + the tops of the minarets or high towers, and began to shoot the + Armenians from there. What a pitiful scene was the condition + of the Armenian ladies, who were running from house to house, + from street to street, and were shot dead, and their children + left orphans. During the three days' massacre 4,000 Armenians + were killed, and the burning of the houses and stores continued + twenty-four hours. From the gate of the mosque to the place + where they make saddles, and from the twin caravansary to the new + caravansary, from Sheik Uatad to Melik Ahmed, all the buildings, + 1,400 stores, were burnt and turned to ashes. There are other + stores also which were not burnt, but everything was taken from + them. The stores where goldsmiths worked every article is taken + from. + + When the Armenians go among the ruins to see if they can find + any article, they are forbidden; and if some one manages to + find anything, the Mohammedans take it from him, cursing him, + and calling him a heathen dog at the same time. + + When we come to the residences near your house, from the house of + Darakji to the covered place of Sheytan aglou, all are destroyed; + from Alo-Pasha bath to the Jemil Pasha Palace, all destroyed. But + the church of the Patrees is not destroyed. St. Sarkis's church + was plundered and afterwards burned. Before the church was burnt, + they killed the priests, and unspeakable violations took place in + the church. In that quarter half of the population were killed, + and the other half, who survive, are naked, barefooted, hungry, + and are begging bread. + + Now the government pretends to give bread to the hungry, but + nothing is given, and those who have a little give to the others + who have nothing; but after a few days nothing will be left to + eat. Thank the Lord, the Kurds went out of the city. But it is + twenty days now since the massacre took place, and nobody dares + to go out to the streets. + + We have no stores, no money, nothing to eat. Though my personal + house was not robbed, but I have ten orphans whose fathers and + mothers were killed; I am taking care of them. We have a little; + we shall eat that, and see what the Lord will provide. + + From the Rev. Dr. Tomy's house to the church of the Evangelical + people all the houses were burned. Hovhanness's loss is about + $1,000. Those who hid themselves in Konsol Khan and in the church + of the Patrees escaped death. But every one who escaped was left + hungry and thirsty from twelve to fifteen days in their places + of confinement, because they were afraid of going out. + + All the suburban towns and villages were totally destroyed. In + Sevorag both the Armenian church and the Evangelical Armenian + church were destroyed, and only from fifty to one hundred persons + were left alive. The monastery of Argen was destroyed, and the + teachers and all the inmates were killed. + + They burnt the church of Ali-Punar and killed the priest. From + that place only five or ten persons were left alive. Your brother + at Kitibel with all his family are killed, and both the churches + are burned. They forced the ministers to accept the Mohammedan + religion; on refusal all three were killed, the Rev. Abosh, the + Rev. Khidershap, and the priest. All who were left alive at Kitibel + are only about forty persons. Afram's brother Kisho with all his + family were killed. At Renjil nobody is left. At Kara Bash only + fifty persons are left alive. The village of Satou is entirely + out of existence. In all this province all the towns and villages + are destroyed, and the people are killed, except the village of + Haziro, which is not destroyed, and the reason is that a Turk, + Sevdim Beg, did not permit the Kurds and the Turks to destroy it. + + What will become of us hereafter we do not know. We are still + in danger, but we trust first in God, then in such friends as + you. My personal damage is $5,000 and now is the time to show us + sympathy and help us. + + If you cannot do it yourself personally, can you not tell the + people of the United States of America to help us and relieve + our suffering? + + Sincerely yours, + + + + +TREBIZOND AND ITS ATROCITIES. + +Trebizond is built on the shores of the Black Sea, and is a part +of Armenia. The population is estimated at 40,000; only 10,000 are +Christians; perhaps about half of them are Armenians, and nearly +half of the Armenians were killed and wounded during the recent +savageries. Mr. Chelton, who was going to Armenia to organize +consulates, was in Trebizond, saw the massacre of Christians, and +reported to the government at Washington:-- + + + "Trebizond, Oct. 9, 1895.--Many Armenians were killed here in + conflicts yesterday with Turks. No attempt was made to stop the + massacre of the Armenians. The Turks were armed, and the number of + troops present here is small. It is even stated that soldiers took + part in the slaughter, and in the pillage which accompanied it." + + "London, Oct. 17, 1895.--The 'Daily News' publishes a dispatch + from Constantinople giving a description by an eye-witness of + the rioting at Trebizond. He says that four separate Moslem mobs + surrounded the Armenian quarters at eleven o'clock on the morning + of Oct. 8, and then began to pillage the shops. Being opposed, + they fired on the Armenians, and soon a general massacre began. + + "Soldiers joined the mob in firing on the Armenians and in + pillaging the shops and houses. The scene continued until 4 + o'clock in the afternoon, when nothing was left to pillage and + nobody remained to be killed. The mob then began to disperse. The + better class of Turks did their best to protect the lives of the + Armenians. They sheltered the women and children and many men + in their houses. The mob attacked only the orthodox Armenians, + leaving Catholics alone." + + +An Armenian Massacre. Money Cabled to London by the Local Relief +Association, Dec. 31, 1895. + + + "Recent letters telling of the massacres in various Armenian + cities contain information that helps to explain many points in + the awful outbreak of so-called Mohammedan fanaticism. A letter + from Trebizond says:-- + + "'Bahri Pasha, governor of Van, started to come to Constantinople, + and it was learned that he was bringing with him four of + the fairest young maidens of Sassoun, who had been spared + in the massacre, to make an acceptable present of them to his + Sultan. This aroused the Armenian people of Trebizond to a frenzy, + and it was impossible to restrain the young men, the more daring + of whom fired upon Bahri Pasha, wounding him. But he carried out + his mission to Constantinople, and was honored with the highest + decoration and appointed governor of Adana. + + "'Afterward the pasha of Trebizond, calling twelve of the leading + men of the city, demanded that they should hand over the young + men who attacked the governor, and gave them just a few hours + in which to carry out his orders. The next day they answered him + that the government had no means of finding the men out. + + "'When the mails had arrived, and the people went toward the + postoffice, the trumpet was sounded three times, and both the + soldiers and the mob rushed upon the people. It is impossible + to describe the horror of the scene--the roar of the murderers, + like that of wild beasts, the shrieks of the women in the houses + from whose arms their husbands and sons were torn and murdered + before their eyes, and universal tumult, added to the sighs and + groans of the dying. And this we know is only one, and not even + the most terrible of the massacres.'" + + + + +BAIBURT. + + + "Constantinople, Oct. 28, 1895.--Another massacre of Armenians, + accompanied by the outraging of women, is reported to have + occurred recently in the districts of Baiburt, between Erzeroum + and Trebizond. According to the news received here, a mob of + about 500 Mussulmans and Lazes, the greater majority of whom + were armed with Martini-Henry rifles, made an attack upon the + Armenians inhabiting several villages of that vicinity, and set + fire to their houses and schools. As the Armenians fled in terror + from their dwellings they were shot down as they ran, and a number + of men and women who were captured by the rioters, it is added, + were fastened to stakes and burned alive. + + "The Armenian women who fell into the hands of the mob, it is + asserted, were outraged and brutally mutilated. It is also stated + that the churches were desecrated and pillaged, the cattle, and + all the portable property of any value belonging to the Armenians + being carried off by the marauders. During the disturbance + 150 Armenians are reported to have been killed. The surviving + villages applied for protection to the governor of Baiburt, who, + after hearing their complaint, sent three policemen to the scene + of the massacre after the slaughter was ended. + + "The Turkish officials, it is claimed, know the ringleaders of + the outbreak in the Baiburt district; but apparently no steps + have been taken to arrest them." + + +Another Letter from Baiburt. + + + "The Armenian bishop's vicar was killed, the teachers in the + schools and many other men and women were massacred. Women jumped + into open wells to escape worse deaths; the villages round about + were laid waste. + + "Following this was the Erzinghan massacre. On Friday, the 25th + of October, 1895, the Moslems finished their noon hour of prayer + by pouring out of the mosques and attacking the Armenians in the + market, who, taken by surprise, were shot and cut down to the + number of 500; their shops being all plundered." + + + (Signed) An American Missionary. + + + + +ERZEROUM. + +This is a large city, almost on the boundary line between Russia and +Turkey, in Turkish Armenia. It has about 60,000 people, one-third of +whom are Armenians. Several times since the last Turko-Russian war +the Christian Armenians have been massacred there by the Turks and +the regular soldiers, and during the recent atrocities also there +were massacred, and in all about 3,000 Armenians were killed. + + +Letter from Erzeroum. + + + "Nov. 27, 1895.--The massacre evidently was pre-arranged. It began + all over the city at the same moment. The bugle was sounded, + and the soldiers began. They first said, "No harm to women or + children," but they soon passed those bounds. A soldier who was + on guard says the order was given by the Porte. We made ready + for defense, but it soon appeared that the soldiers had cut off + the rabble from our section, for no mob passed our street. A few + men tried to open the door, but three well-directed shots from + our balcony sent them off. + + "The soldiers at the head of our street, apparently to guard it, + broke open three or four houses within a stone's throw of us, + and carried off everything they found. We saw loads of plunder + carried away by soldiers. A large number of women engaged in the + same work. The affair began shortly after noon and continued about + six hours. One Armenian was called to the door by an officer, who + professed to be friendly, and was cut down in cold blood. Others + were cruelly murdered. The death roll must be towards 300, if + not more. Between fifty and sixty wounded are in the hospital. + + "Two hundred were gathered in the Armenian cemetery, some horribly + mutilated. There must be many wounded in the different houses. The + pillaged houses are to be counted by the hundred. No house attacked + was left until it was emptied of every movable thing. The next + day we went to an Armenian home. In the middle of a small room + (the kitchen), lying side by side on a mat, were the bodies of + two young women, almost naked, a light covering thrown over their + heads. At the other side of the room a grief-stricken woman was + trying to make bread from a little flour that had been left. She + had to borrow utensils to do it. She left her work, came forward + and removed the covering from the bodies. They were those of + young women developing into motherhood. The head and face of + one was covered with blood, and she was also badly wounded in + the hand. The other had a bullet wound through the abdomen from + the right side. A companion of these two had been carried off, + and was lying dead in another house. Their lives were sacrificed + in defense of honor. + + "We passed through the ruins to other rooms. Boxes and + furniture were in splinters, windows smashed, walls ploughed + with bullets. The floor was covered with big patches of + blood. The bodies lying in the cemeteries are simply wrecks of + human beings. The majority have bullet wounds. Nearly all have + bayonet, sword and dagger wounds, some badly mutilated. Two or + three were skinned, and some were burned with kerosene. A great + many women are missing. Very many dead have been disposed of by + the Turks. Hundreds have nothing to eat, and no means of getting + anything. The villages of the plain have suffered awfully. No + definite news has come; only the news that columns of smoke tell." + + + + +MARASH. + +The writer became acquainted with many noble Armenians here during his +three years in the Theological Seminary, and almost all his friends +were killed. Among them were the Rev. Sdepan Jirnazian, a noble +Christian minister,--when I was a little boy he was my pastor in the +suburbs of Antioch;--Bedros Iskiyan, an American citizen, butchered +before his wife and children; Garabed Popalian, another noble man, and +the richest among the Armenian Evangelical people; Dr. Kevork Gulizian; +Khacher Bayramian and his family; Garabed Salibian, in whose house +I used to take my meals. A private letter says that about half the +Armenians were killed by the Turks. Marash had about 35,000 population; +about 15,000 were Armenians, of whom about 7,000 were killed. It has +four Evangelical Armenian churches there, a theological seminary, +and a ladies' college. The local governor led the regular soldiers +to plunder and kill the people. + + +Letter from Marash. + + + London, Nov. 28, 1895.--The correspondent of the United Press in + Constantinople telegraphs, under date of November 27, that a second + terrible massacre has occurred in Marash, and that the houses there + have been pillaged without regard to who their occupants might + be. It is reported that thousands of persons were killed and many + hundred wounded. The American Theological Seminary was plundered + and burned, and two of the students in that institution were shot, + one being fatally wounded. The hotels and boarding houses also + were plundered. The Christians at Marash, and in that vicinity, + thousands of whom are destitute, have appealed for aid. + + The following letter, under date of November 25, has been + received here: + + "I will report the events of the 18th in this city. At 7 a. m., + almost simultaneously the firing of Martini rifles was heard all + over the city, with conflagrations in three Christian quarters. + + "We understood the meaning of it. Soldiers began firing against two + Christian houses, and their inmates fled into missionary houses, + and soon the soldiers were looting their buildings, followed by + a mob, who smashed doors and windows, and carried away property. + + "Towards noon a squad of soldiers approached the missionary + grounds, and it was thought that a guard had been sent in behalf + of the missionaries. They entered the grounds of the seminary + and academy boarding department. Two seminary students, who had + concealed themselves in a cave, were discovered, and one of them + fatally shot, while the other was badly wounded. + + "The soldiers looted the missionary academy boarding department + of all the students' clothing and bedding, and a part of the + year's provisions in store. Other soldiers joined and looted + the seminary. They repeatedly went to an Armenian house near by, + but did not force it. + + "Three-quarters of that terrible day the missionaries were left + to any chance fate that might befall them. They had been informed + by a Moslem of a purpose to burn the Girls' College that day, and + a note had been sent to the local governor asking for a special + guard. He replied that the barracks near by were charged to care + for them. It was soldiers in relays from that very place that + were wrecking everything. + + "In the afternoon four or five soldiers entered the seminary, and + soon after, fire broke out in the rear. As the flames wrapped the + building, a trustworthy captain with thirty soldiers appeared at + the gate, and the missionaries were assured of safety. The soldiers + still continue with the missionaries. We cannot estimate the loss + of life. Leaders of society have been struck down everywhere, + two missionary academy teachers among them." + + + + +AKHISAR. + +The valley of the Sakaria (the ancient Sangarius), is, through a +part of its course, followed by the Anatolia line of railway. At a +spot ninety miles from Constantinople, where the valley broadens out +into a considerable plain, is the station and town of Akhisar. This +town was, until the tenth of this month, the center of a considerable +trade. The plain is dotted with vineyards, olive orchards, mulberry +gardens, fields of cotton, wheat, etc. The town consists of about +160 houses of immigrants from Bulgaria, Bosnia, and Rumelia (who, +having been concerned in the celebrated Bulgarian massacres, found +refuge in Turkish territory), and sixty houses of Armenians. + + +A Letter Oct. 15, 1895. + + + Thursday, Oct. 10 (a bright, beautiful day), was market + day. Numbers of people from the surrounding villages had come with + the fruits of their various industries. The market place consisted + of sixty-three permanent shops, and about 150 temporary places + of trade, where traders from the surrounding country exposed + their wares for sale. The market was almost exclusively in the + hands of Armenians, 200 of the shops and trading places being + in their hands. Rumors of danger were afloat, but the Armenians + anticipated no attack on market-day. They had no arms, or means + of defense, and had taken no precautions. They soon began to + notice, however, that their Mussulman neighbors had mysterious + whisperings among themselves, and that some of them were searching, + as with official authority, the persons of Armenian young men, + who were supposed to have knives or revolvers about them. Those + searching at last found a young Armenian, a seller of calico, + who had a knife in his possession. At once they fell upon him, + but he escaped in the crowd that gathered, and the Mussulmans + turned upon the Armenians, saying, "We must kill them all. Let + him who loves his religion join and help." With knives and + clubs the work was carried on, the Armenians fleeing, or hiding + themselves in or about their shops. Turkish officials encouraged + the killers. A herald was sent through the market calling, + "Let the Moslems go to the government house." They did go, + and immediately returned with rifles and revolvers. Then the + slaughter increased in madness. The piteous entreaties of the + threatened, the shrieks of the wounded, the groans of the dying, + the shouts of the killers, and the hysterical cries of some of + the Christians, who, to save their lives were calling out with + desperate energy the Mohammedan formula of faith, rose to the deaf + heavens. Ten-year-old Turkish boys, as though hunting rats, rushed + into holes and corners, and discovering the hiding-places of the + merchants and traders, called to their fathers and big brothers, + "Here is a Giavour!" and while that one was being dispatched they + rushed off to ferret out another. For four hours the slaughter + continued. Ropes were attached to the feet of the corpses, which + were dragged like the carcasses of dogs through the streets to + dry wells, into which they were thrown. An old man, aged 75, + was tumbled in alive, and left to die among the dead bodies of + his friends. The money and watches of the merchants were secured + by the ruffians. The notes of hand and account books were torn + into shreds (the killers were debtors to the merchants), and the + shops were looted. Not so much as a pin or needle was left in the + 200 shops. Then the cry was raised, "To the houses!" to complete + the destruction of the Christian inhabitants. + + Twenty-nine bodies were afterward recovered for burial; + thirty-three persons (some of whom afterward died), were + found to be wounded, and about forty are still missing. The + lieutenant-governor arrived that night on the scene, and sent an + official report (by telegram) to Constantinople, to the effect + that a row had occurred between Turks and Armenians, in which three + Armenians had been killed and two wounded, but that order had been + restored! Efforts were made to cover the matter up. Christians were + imprisoned for talking about the massacre, or for sending the news + to friends. A prominent man, well-known throughout the country, + wished to let his circle of friends know that he was still alive, + and was permitted to advertise that he had met with an accident, + but was quite well. + + Great patches of dried blood in the shops presented the appearance + of places used for the slaughter of sheep. Groups of people were + standing before the houses, statue-like, bewildered and hopeless, + while other groups were wailing over the news of the corpses of + friends, just recovered from the wells. I saw one of the mutilated + corpses, and have seen it night and day since. + + An American Missionary. + + +The above missionary also says not only common people, but +also officers of high rank, made free threats of massacre, and +ostentatiously sharpened their swords and cleaned their weapons in +the presence of their Armenian neighbors. Great care was taken by +the authorities to deprive the Armenians of arms; but the Mussulmans +were allowed to carry arms freely. The Constantinople demonstration +and consequent massacre aggravated the situation. It was pitiable to +see the fear that held the Armenians as in a nightmare, and to hear +the threats and observe the bearing of the Turks. + +A soldier, passing the door of a Christian house and observing a young +woman sitting on the door-step, ground his teeth and called out to her, +"You may sit there four days more, and then I will have you on the +point of this bayonet." The girl fled in terror into the house. + + + + +ZEITOON. + +Zeitoon is fifteen miles from Marash. The Zeitoonlis are the bravest +of all the Armenians; there are about 15,000 in the city, and no +Mohammedans, save a dozen or two Turkish families, and they talk +the Armenian language. Until about thirty years ago Zeitoon was a +free city; but they were conquered by craft, and became tributary to +Turkey. The Sultan garrisoned the place to keep them down, and the +troops committed every sort of iniquity. Finally, about two years ago, +the Sultan sent physicians there to poison the Armenian boys. These +assassins professed to have come to vaccinate the boys; every boy +who was vaccinated died. Then the Zeitoonlis revolted, captured the +barracks from the soldiers, took all the guns, cannon, and ammunition, +and sent the soldiers away. This action enraged the Sultan, and he +sent some 20,000 regular soldiers and 30,000 bashi-bazooks to punish +them; but they were repulsed with heavy loss by the Zeitoonlis. It +has been reported that during the battle between the Zeitoonlis and +Turks about 15,000 of the latter were killed. Finally the Sultan +lost hope of conquering them, and asked the European powers to use +their good offices to restore peace in Zeitoon, and the consuls of the +different powers induced them to resume peaceful work by guaranteeing +that the Zeitoonlis shall not be molested. But who believes a word of +it? We know, with horrible clearness, of how much value the powers' +"guarantee" is; they say there is no obligation but to keep count of +the massacres. + + +A Few statements from Zeitoon. + + + "Turkish mendacity is again asserting itself. A few days ago + the Sublime Porte set afloat the official report that Zeitoon + has fallen, after hard fighting, in which 2,500 Armenians were + said to have been killed as against 250 Turks. Now these official + reports turn out to have been official lies. News from independent + sources shows that Zeitoon has not yet fallen; that its gallant + defenders are still holding out their own. To Armenians who + understand Ottoman tactics, the alacrity with which Abdul Hamid + sent abroad the news of the supposed victory of his troops is a + sign of misfortunes and reverses. The Turks control the avenues of + communication at Marash, and it is not surprising that they attempt + to win victories upon telegraphic despatches--but not at Zeitoon. + + "The Armenians at Zeitoon are rebels against organized + assassination, plunder, and arson. They have been unwilling to + submit meekly to Turkish outrages, and are determined to defend + their lives, their homes, and their property. They have vanquished + Turkish armies before, and strewn the ground with thousands + of Turkish carcasses. They need fear nothing but the lack of + supplies. Will not Christian nations intervene to save a valiant + people who are defending their homes and their liberties, and who + cannot be conquered by force of arms, yet who may be compelled + to surrender to inexorable hunger?--[Tigram H. Suni, Dec. 31. + + "London, Feb. 3.--A dispatch from Constantinople to the 'Daily + News' says: 'Reports from Turkish sources believed to be fairly + accurate state that it is believed that the Zeitoonlis are still + holding out. The Turks have made seven different attacks upon + the town, but all have failed, and their losses are reported to + amount to 10,000. It is alleged that 50,000 troops will be needed + to capture Zeitoon. + + "'It is believed that the Zeitoonlis number from 15,000 to 20,000, + well armed, and provisioned for a year. There is a doubtful report + that 4,000 Russian Armenians crossed the Persian frontier, and + defeated the Turks at Siz, eighteen hours from Zeitoon, and have + joined the Zeitoonlis.'" + + + + +MISCELLANEOUS + +In the province of Aleppo, the village of Chizek, the Armenian priest +was killed for refusing to become a Mohammedan. + +In the province of Erzeroum and the district of Erzinghan, six separate +attacks for pillage have been made upon the village of Zimara, and +great pressure is being used to force the people of the village to +become Mohammedans. + +At the village of Gazma the houses have been pillaged, and numbers +of the people have become Mohammedans to save their lives. + +In the province of Bitlis a considerable number of Armenians at Sert +have been forced to become Mohammedans. In the district of Shirvan, +out of twenty-two Armenian villages, the inhabitants of four entire +villages have become Mohammedans to save their lives. The priests +also accepted Mohammedanism, and the churches have been changed +into mosques. At a little village at which the inhabitants could +not disperse over the mountains a considerable number were killed, +and the survivors accepted Mohammedanism. This village is called +Kourine. In the district of Chilain, returns from six villages have +come in which show a considerable number of persons killed for refusing +to accept Islamism. + +In the province of Van the stuffed skin of the superior of the +monastery of Khizan was still hanging from a tree in front of the +monastery three weeks after the massacre took place; that is, at the +date of the last news from there, Nov. 27. At Kharkotz in this province +three priests accepted Mohammedanism, and were paraded through the +streets in the dress of Mohammedan ulema in order to influence the +people to follow their example. + +In the province of Harpoot in many of the smaller villages, where +the people have been supposed by the Turks to be mere peasants, +without ideas of their own, the offer of Islamism has not been made, +but the people seized without ceremony and circumcised by force, +and are considered now as Mohammedans. At Haboosi, in this province, +the Christian dead were left unburied in the streets for the dogs +to eat. The Armenian church and the Protestant chapel and parsonage +were burned. + +At Peri, in the same province, 450 Christians were made Mohammedans +by threats of death. + +At Aivos in the same province, all the buildings were destroyed. The +Armenian priest was forced to give the call to prayer, and was then +shot for refusing to become a Moslem. + +At Garmuri the Christians accepted Mohammedanism at the edge of the +sword, and have been circumcised. The Protestant chapel and parsonage +were burned, and the Armenian church has been seized and made into +a mosque. + +At Hokh the Armenian church and Protestant chapel and parsonage +were burned. + +At Houilu in the province of Harpoot, 266 out of 300 Christian houses +were burned, among them the fine new Protestant church. Two priests +were killed. Many of the people succeeded in escaping from the +village. The rest have been forced to declare themselves Mohammedans. + +The events above mentioned took place in the main between Nov. 6 +and Nov. 20. But the process of forced conversion and the murder of +individuals who refuse to accept Mohammedanism was still going on +as lately as the 20th of December, when the Turkish government was +assuring the European Ambassadors that all is quiet in Asiatic Turkey, +and that all that is necessary to complete the work of pacification +is for Turkey to be let alone. + +The nature of the pacification which may be expected if Turkey is left +free to carry out its schemes for these provinces may be judged from +the following list of educated and influential Protestant ministers, +who have been put to death for refusing to embrace Mohammedanism. In +every case the offer of life on these terms was made; in several cases +time was allowed for consideration of the proposal; and in each case +faith in Jesus Christ was the sole crime charged against the victim. + + + 1. Rev. Krikor, pastor at Ichme, killed Nov. 6, 1895. + 2. Rev. Krikor Tamzarien. + 3. Rev. Boghos Atlasian, killed Nov. 13. + 4. Rev. Mardiros Siraganian, of Arabkir, killed Nov. 13. + 5. Rev. Garabed Kilijjian of Sivas, killed Nov. 12. + 6. Rev. Mr. Stepan, of the Anglican Church at Marash, killed + Nov. 18. + 7. The preacher of the village of Hajin, killed at Marash Nov. 18. + 8. Rev. Krikor Baghdasarian, retired preacher at Harpoot, Nov. 18. + 9. Retired preacher at Divrik, killed Nov. 8. + 10. Rev. Garabed Resseian, pastor at Cherwouk, Nov. 5. + 11. Rev. Metean Minasian, pastor at Sherik, Nov. + 12. Pastor at Cutteroul, Nov. 6. + 13. Preacher at Cutteroul, Nov. 6. + 14. Rev. Sarkis Narkashjian, pastor at Chounkoush, Nov. 14. + 15. The pastor of the church at Severek, November. + 16. The pastor of the church at Adiyaman. + 17. Rev. Hohannes Hachadorian, pastor at Kilisse, Nov. 7. + 18. The preacher at Karabesh, near Diarbekir, Nov. 7. + 19. Rev. Mardiros Tarzian, pastor at Keserik, near Harpoot, + November. + + + + +TELEGRAMS FROM HAJIN (ARMENIA). + +To the English Consul at Aleppo, and to the English Ambassador of +Constantinople. + + + All the suburban towns of Hajin where Christians live were + plundered by Mohammedans, and some of the Christians were + killed. The people of Hajin and we are in danger; immediate help + is needed.--Nov. 5, 1895. + + +To the American Minister at Constantinople. + + + The Christian villages of Hajin were totally plundered by the + Mohammedans. About two thousand, naked and hungry, ran away and + came to Hajin. Both the Christian people at Hajin and we are in + danger; immediate help is needed.--Nov. 5, 1895. + + +Extracts From a Hajin Letter. + + + My Dear Sir:-- Nov. 25, 1895. + + The situation is growing worse here. All the suburban Christian + villages were plundered by Mohammedans. Some of the villages which + were plundered were as follows:--Shar-Dere, Roumlou, Kokooun, + and Dash-olouk. All of them are left naked and hungry. Came here + to our city, and we are taking care of them. And the government + never punished any of the plunderers. They were encouraged, and + surrounded our city, and nobody can go out of the city, and if this + continues so, we shall have a famine soon, and die in the city. The + government does not protect us, but helps the plunderers, and we + are continually threatened to be killed. Our only hope is in God. + + +Another Extract From a Letter of an Armenian. + + + Nov. 25, 1895. + My Dear Uncle:-- + + If you ask our condition, thank God that we are alive. But beside + life we have nothing, no comfort, no happiness, no property, no + church, no religion, all are taken from us. Though we are alive, + many of our number were killed, and those who survive are wandering + here and there, naked and hungry, and are dying in that manner. + + God is angry, and exceedingly angry to us. Perhaps he will hear + your prayers; pray for us, or else all of us shall perish. I can + never describe the horrible situation in which we are put. + + Yours truly, + + +From Hadish Village, Armenia. + + + My Dear Friend:-- Dec. 2, 1895. + + In great sorrow and in despair I am compelled to write to you a + few lines to inform you of our most miserable condition. + + The Turks and Kurds came to our village, plundered everything we + had, killed more than 600 persons, violated the women and girls, + tortured the pregnant women, and now we who survive have nothing to + live on. Naked, hungry, cold, hopeless, we are crying bitterly. I + write these few lines; perhaps you can inform the Christian world + and they may help us and relieve our sufferings. + + Yours truly, + + +There are many other cities, towns, and villages in Armenia, where +thousands of people were tortured and killed, their houses burned and +plundered, their children kidnapped, the women violated. But there +is no space to put all here in this book. I am sure the reader will +be satisfied with reading this long chapter of Armenian horrors, +and the letters on the atrocities from different reliable sources. + +To sum up, during these frightful scenes in Armenia more than 100,000 +Armenians were killed, and half a million left without food, homes, +or clothing; they are dying in heaps; and there is no hope of getting +any help from Armenia itself, even when the spring comes, for those who +would have supported them are killed, and most of the destitute are +women and children. Everything, even to clothes, is taken from them, +the head of the family is killed, and they are left hopeless and in +despair. How long can the Red Cross Society help them? How long can +the American people help them? Not very long; when spring comes they +will say, "We have done all we could for the Armenians; let them take +care of themselves." But will they stop to think how the Armenians can +take care of themselves? Have they oxen and horses to plough? No. Is +there any man left to support his wife and children? No. Suppose here +and there an Armenian is left (I mean in the country places, not in +the cities), dare he go out to his field and work? No. Were any of +those who plundered and killed punished? No. What guarantee can we +have, then, that those who survive will not be killed or plundered +in their turn? None. Will the European powers who signed the Berlin +Treaty give any assurance to the Armenians that they will be protected +hereafter? No. Is the Sultan a better man since the massacre? No. Are +the Turks and Kurds better people since the atrocities? No. They are +worse than ever before, because they have a freer hand, and all their +passions are roused to greater strength. Well, then, if these are +all facts, what is the use of feeding people a few weeks merely to +keep them alive for another massacre that will finish the rest of them? + +O reader, do not be cheated. The Armenians need practical aid, not +deceptive aid. I mean the Armenians must be liberated from the cruel +Sultan; if not, no aid is given to the Armenians. Because the future +will be worse than ever before. + +Thus far I have continually assumed and tried to prove that the Sultan +of Turkey deliberately ordered all these atrocities committed. But +perhaps you will doubt the statement of a native; you will think +I am prejudiced. Therefore I will give you American testimonies +from reliable sources. Please read the following from the "Review +of Reviews":-- + + + THE MASSACRES IN TURKEY. + + From Oct. 1, 1895, to Jan. 1, 1896. + + Certain persons in Europe and America, misled by statements of + the Turkish government, have ascribed the dreadful massacres + which have taken place in Asia Minor to sudden and spontaneous + outbreaks of Moslem fanaticism, caused by a revolutionary + attitude among the Armenians themselves. The truth is that + these massacres, while sudden, have taken place according to a + deliberate and preconcerted plan. According to the statement of + many persons, French, English, Canadian, American, Turk, Kurd and + Armenian,--persons trustworthy and intelligent, who were in the + places where the massacres occurred, and who were eye-witnesses of + the horrible scenes,--the outbreaks were under careful direction + in regard to place, time, nationality of the victims and of the + perpetrators, were prompted by a common motive, and their true + character has been systematically concealed by Turkish official + reports. The following paper is based upon full accounts of the + massacres, written on the ground by the parties above referred + to. Their names, for obvious reasons, cannot be made public. + + + I. In Regard to Place. + + With only four exceptions of consequence, the massacres have been + confined to the territory of the six provinces where reforms + were to be instituted. When a band of two thousand Kurdish and + Circassian raiders approached the boundary between the provinces + of Sivas and Angora, they were turned back by the officials, who + told them that they had no authority to pass beyond the province + of Sivas. The only large places where outrages occurred outside + of the six provinces are Trebizond, Marash, Aintab, and Cesarea, + in all of which the Moslems were excited by the nearness of the + scenes of massacre, and by the reports of the plunder which other + Moslems were securing. + + + II. In Regard to Time. + + The massacre in Trebizond occurred just as the Sultan, after six + months of refusal, was about to consent to the scheme of reforms, + as if to warn the powers that in case they persisted, the mine + was already laid for the destruction of the Armenians. In fact, + the massacre of the Armenians is Turkey's real reply to the + demands of Europe that she reform. From Trebizond the wave of + murder and robbery swept on through almost every city, and town, + and village in the six provinces where relief was promised + to the Armenians. When the news of the first massacre reached + Constantinople, a high Turkish official remarked to one of the + Ambassadors that massacre was like the small-pox; they must all + have it, but they wouldn't need it the second time. + + + III. The Nationality of the Victims. + + They were exclusively Armenians. In Trebizond there is a large + Greek population, but neither there nor elsewhere have the Greeks + been molested. Special care has also been taken to avoid injury to + the subjects of foreign nations, with the idea of escaping foreign + complications and the payment of indemnities. The only marked + exceptions were in Marash, where three school buildings belonging + to the American Mission were looted, and one building was burned; + and in Harpoot, where the school buildings and houses belonging + to the American Mission were plundered and eight buildings were + burned, the total losses exceeding $100,000, for which no indemnity + has yet been paid. + + + IV. The Method of Killing and Pillaging. + + The method in the cities has been to kill within a limited period + the largest number of Armenians,--especially men of business, + capacity, and intelligence,--and to beggar their families by + robbing them, as far as possible, of their property. Hence, in + almost every place the massacres have been perpetrated during + the business hours, when the Armenians could be caught in their + shops. In almost every place, the Moslems made a sudden and + simultaneous attack just after their noonday prayer. The surprised + and unarmed Armenians made little or no resistance, and where, + as at Diarbekir and Gurun, they undertook to defend themselves, + they suffered the more. The killing was done with guns, revolvers, + swords, clubs, pick-axes, and every conceivable weapon, and many + of the dead were horribly mangled. The shops and houses were + absolutely gutted. + + Upon hundreds of villages the Turks and Kurds came down like the + hordes of Tamerlane, robbed the helpless peasants of their flocks + and herds, stripped them of their very clothing, and carried away + their bedding, cooking utensils, and even the little stores of + provisions which they had with infinite care and toil laid up for + the severities of a rigorous winter. Worst of all is the bitter + cry that comes from every quarter that the Moslems carried off + hundreds of Christian women and children. + + The number killed in the massacres thus far is estimated at fifty + thousand, which includes the majority of the well-to-do, capable, + intelligent Armenians in the six provinces that were to have + been reformed. The property plundered or destroyed is estimated + at $40,000,000. Not less than three hundred and fifty thousand + wretched survivors, most of whom are women and children, are in + danger of perishing by starvation and exposure unless foreign + aid is promptly sent and allowed to reach them. + + + V. The Perpetrators. + + They were the resident Moslem population, reinforced by Kurds, + Circassians, and in several cases by the Sultan's soldiers and + officers, who began the dreadful work at the sound of a bugle, + and desisted when the bugle signaled to them to stop. This was + notoriously true in Erzeroum. In Harpoot, also, the soldiers + took a prominent, part, firing on the buildings of the American + Mission with Martini-Henry rifles and Krupp cannon. A shell from + one of the cannon burst in the house of the American Missionary, + Dr. Barnum. In most places the killing was by the Turks, while + the Kurds and Circassians were intent on plunder, and generally + killed only to strike terror or when they met with resistance. It + is an utter mistake to suppose, as some have, that the local + authorities could not have suppressed the "fanatical" Moslem mobs + and restrained the Kurds. The fact is that the authorities, after + looking on while the massacres were in progress, did generally + intervene and stop the slaughter as soon as the limited period + during which the Moslems were allowed to kill and rob had expired. + + At Marsovan the limit of time was four hours. In several places + the slaughter and pillage continued from noon till sundown, or + later. At Sivas they continued for a whole day. In every place + the carnage stopped as soon as the authorities made an earnest + effort, and had it not been for their intervention after the set + time of one, two, or three days, the entire Armenian population + might have been exterminated. + + + VI. The Motive of the Turks. + + This is apparent to the superficial observer. The scheme + of reforms devolved civil officers, judgeships, and police + participation on Mohammedans and non-Mohammedans in the six + provinces proportionately. This, while simple justice, was a + bitter pill to the Mohammedans, who had ruled the Christians with + a rod of iron for five hundred years. All that was needed to make + the scheme of reforms inoperative was to alter the proportion of + Christians to Mohammedans. This policy was at once relentlessly + and thoroughly executed. The number of the Armenians has been + diminished, first by killing at a single blow those most capable + of taking a part in any scheme of reconstruction, and secondly + by compelling the survivors to die of starvation, exposure, + and sickness, or to become Moslems. + + It is the very essence of Mohammedanism that the "ghiavour" + has no right to live, save in subjection. The abortive scheme of + Europe insisting on the rights of Armenians as men, has enraged + the Moslems against them. The arrogant and non-progressive Turks + know that in a fair and equal race the Christians will outstrip + them in every department of business and industry, and they see + in any fair scheme of reforms the handwriting on the wall for + themselves. If the scheme of reforms had applied to regions where + Greeks predominate, the latter would have been killed and robbed + as readily as the Armenians have been. Are the Greek massacres of + 1822 forgotten, when 50,000 were killed, or the slaughter of 12,000 + Maronites and Syrians in 1860, and of 15,000 Bulgarians in 1876? + + + VII. Turkish Official Reports. + + The refinement of cruelty appears in this, that the Turkish + government has attempted to cover up its hideous policy by the + most colossal lying and hypocrisy. It is true that on Sept. 30, + 1895, some hot-headed young Armenians, contrary to the entreaties + of the Armenian patriarch and the orders of the police, attempted + to take a well-worded petition to the Grand Vezir, according + to a time-honored custom. It is also true that the oppressed + mountaineers of Zeitoon drove out a small garrison of Turkish + soldiers, whom, however, they treated with humanity; it is likewise + true that in various places individual Armenians, in despair, + have advocated violent methods. But the universal testimony of + impartial foreign eye-witnesses is that, with the above exceptions, + the Armenians have given no provocation, and that almost, if not + quite, all the telegrams purporting to come from the provincial + authorities accusing the Armenians with provoking the massacres, + are sheer fabrications of names and dates. If the Armenians made + attacks, where are the Turkish dead? + + And the dreadful alternative of Islam or death was offered by + those who have dazzled and deceived Europe with Hatti Shereps + and Hatti Humayouns, promulgating civil equality and religious + liberty for their Christian subjects. + + Strangest of all, he who is the head of all authority in Turkey, + and responsible above any and all others for the cold-blooded + massacres and plundering of the past two months, wrote a letter to + Lord Salisbury, and pledged his word of honor that the scheme of + reforms should be carried out to the letter, at the very moment + when he was directing the massacres. And the six great Christian + powers of Europe, as well as the United States, still treat this + man with infinite courtesy and deference; their representatives + still dine at his tables, and some of them still receive his + decorations. + + + VIII. The Solution. + + If the Armenians are to be left as they are, it is a pity that + Europe ever mentioned them in the treaty of Berlin or subsequently; + and to intrust reforms in behalf of the Armenians to those who + have devoted two months' time to killing and robbing them is + simply to abandon the Armenians to destruction, and to put the + seal of Europe to the bloody work. The only way to reform Eastern + Turkey is by forcible foreign intervention--not the threat of it, + but the intervention itself. + + The position and power of Russia give her a unique call to this + work. Should she enter on it at once, the whole civilized world + would approve her course. + + Russia should have as free a hand in Kurdistan as England has + insisted on having in Egypt. By frankly admitting this, England + would gain in the respect and sympathy of the world, and strengthen + her own position. + + + + +INFERENCES FROM THE ARMENIAN ATROCITIES. + +First: That devotion to Christ is not lessened but increased. Many +people think the spirit of unbelief and indifferentism has spread +so widely that in this nineteenth century people will no longer +die for Christ. But out of 100,000 Armenians massacred, 90,000 were +actually martyred because they would not deny Christ. In all lands, +Christians praise the old martyrs, the church fathers: let them know +that there are as noble church sons and daughters to-day in Armenia +as there were church fathers anywhere in the early centuries. Thus +these hideous scenes ought to awaken a true Christian spirit both in +this country and in Europe. + +Second: That it was a religious persecution. Though the false and cruel +Sultan gave a political color to it, his universal order was to offer +the Armenians the choice of Mohammedanism or death. This is proved +by the fact that the leading gospel ministers were specially chosen +for martyrdom. And some of the Armenian priests, after having been +converted by force, to escape unbearable tortures, were led through +the streets, followed by great crowds, as a warning to the remaining +Armenians that they must follow the same road. When some of them did +it, the Turks forced them to take arms and kill their brothers and +sisters for refusing to accept Mohammedanism. To speak of the massacres +as political affairs is doing injustice to the cause of Christ. + +Third: That whatever a man sows, he shall reap the same. The Sultan +and the Turks are sowing,--they are killing, and thousands of the +Christians are converted by force to Mohammedanism; but the time is +coming when more Mohammedans will be killed than Armenians have been, +and thousands, and even millions of the Mohammedans will be converted +to Christianity, and the blood of the Armenian martyrs will be the +means of their salvation through Jesus Christ. The time is coming +when out of this great persecution a great and happy freedom will +proceed. Out of this great darkness a very bright light shall shine. + +Fourth: Some of the Turks helped and saved the Armenians. Certainly +these were secret converts to Christianity, but their lives being +in danger, they cannot confess Christ publicly. All they can do +for the present is to help the needy Christians and save them +from murder. Another class of Turks who helped is those who were +themselves getting a living out of the Armenians. The Armenians gave +them employment, and if their employers were killed, how could they +get a living? Still another class protected the Armenians, because if +the Armenian houses were burned, their houses also would be burned; +and they asked and got money from the Armenians as a reward for having +saved them. It is a mistake to think that there are good Mohammedans, +who, from a good Mohammedan motive helped the Armenians. There cannot +be a good Mohammedan motive towards a Christian; if there is a good +motive, it is not a Mohammedan motive. + +Fifth: That the time has come when American and European Christians +should trust no longer in the promises of the Sultan and the European +governments, but as Christian people must use something more than +"moral principle" before all the Armenians and American missionaries +are killed. Moral influence is very good as far as it goes; being a +Christian minister, I also believe in it. But as far as the Turks +are concerned it can do nothing, because they do not know what +morals are, or what moral character is. All the Turks are morally +corrupt. They know only two things; one is the sword, the other is +moral corruption. They came and captured that country by the sword, +and they must go by the sword; there is no other way. Europe tried the +experiment century after century, but could find no other way. Moral +advice, wise counsel have never moved the Turks, and will never move +them hereafter. Europe and a part of Armenia were taken from them by +the sword, and the only way Armenia and the Armenians can be saved +is by using the sword. When Christ comes again He will never yield; +He will never be crucified, but he will judge and condemn. The time +has come when Christians have suffered enough; they must unite and +remove that great curse, the Mohammedan power, and make free that +happy and beautiful Bible Land, Armenia and Palestine. + +Reader, you cannot go and visit to-day the places where man was +created, where Noah's ark rested. You cannot go in safety to visit +the places where Christ was born and walked. Why? Simply because a +corrupt Mohammedan power wills there, and will not permit you. Is +it not a shame to mighty Christian nations and powers that this is +so? Will not the Christian nations be aroused with great indignation +and give the last blow to such a cruel Mohammedan tyranny? + +Sixth: That Turkey is a mere barbarism; it is not to be considered or +treated as a nation, for it is not one in any sense. International +law cannot be applied to Turkey. The Sultan must be considered as a +brigand, a mere lawless oppressor, and the Turks as mere murderers, and +dealt with accordingly. The powers must give up the farce of treating +the Sultan as a national sovereign, who speaks for his people, and may +govern, therefore, much as he pleases. As Mr. W. W. Howard says, "The +blackest spot in the round world is the heart of the Sultan of Turkey." + + +A Farewell Letter from a Prominent Armenian. March 24, 1896. + + + "We are evidently a doomed people. A hundred thousand of us have + been butchered, and more than a million of us are in extreme + suffering from hunger, and cold, and nakedness. Multitudes beyond + the reach of foreign aid must inevitably perish before spring. As + to the rest of us, our supplies of food and money are rapidly + diminishing. We can prosecute no business, we are not at liberty + to earn our daily bread, and for even the most fortunate, the + future has only the prospect of starvation a little later than + our poor brethren. + + "We hear the announcement that order and peace are being restored, + but to us these are empty words. The terrible and wholesale + massacre at Oorfa and Birijik occurred long subsequent to the + most solemn and emphatic assurances that nothing more of the + kind was to be apprehended,--long after the commission sent out + from Constantinople to carry the message of peace and reform to + Armenia had reached its field of labor. + + "Massacres are not now so frequent as they were a few months + ago, but the attitude of relentless hostility on the part of + the government towards us, the ferocious aspect of our Moslem + neighbors, has not a whit improved. They seem to be eagerly + watching for an opportune moment in which to finish their bloody + work, and rid themselves forever of this troublesome demand + for reform. + + "May we not then rightfully offer our farewell message to our + fellow men? + + "First--To our Moslem fellow countrymen: + + "We desire to express our deepest gratitude to those of you who + have sympathized with and helped us in these days of calamity + and bloodshed. Towards those who have robbed and massacred us, + and plundered and burned our houses, we have chiefly feelings of + compassion. You have perhaps done these terrible things in what + has seemed to you the service of your religion and government. + + "Second--To our Sultan--most dread and potent sovereign: + + "Apparently you have been persuaded that we are a rebellious people + deserving only utter and speedy extermination. For such as you, + this work of destruction is no doubt an easy one, the more so as + we have had neither the means nor the disposition to resist it. + + "Third--To the European powers: + + "We have not been an importunate nor a turbulent people. We did not + incite the Crimean War, nor any of the subsequent wars which have + stricken this empire. It is not of our will that we were begotten + to a new political life by the treaty of 1856. Our complaints + and appeals have been based solely on the sentiment of humanity + and the common rights of man. It was you who arranged the "scheme + of reforms," and urged it upon our Sultan till he was irritated + to the extent that he seems to have adopted the plan of ridding + himself finally of this annoyance by exterminating us as a people; + and now, while he is relentlessly carrying out this plan, you + are standing by as spectators and witnesses of this bloody work. + + "We wonder if sympathy and the brotherhood of man and chivalry + are wholly things of the past, or are the material and political + interests dividing you so great that the massacre of the whole + people is a secondary thing? In either case "We who are about to + die salute you." + + "Fourth--To the Christians of America: + + "Although we have cherished strong prejudice against your mission + work among us, recent events have proved that our Protestant + brethren are one with us, and have shared fully our anxieties + and our perils. You have labored through them to promote among us + the peace and prosperity of the gospel. It is not your fault that + one result of their teaching and example has been to excite our + masters against us. The Turkish government dreads and dislikes + nothing so much as the ideas of progress which you have sent us." + + + + + + + + +VIII. + +THE ARMENIANS OF TO-DAY. + + +There are about five millions of Armenians in the world at present: +three millions in the Turkish Empire, a million and a half in Russian +Armenia, and half a million more scattered through Persia, India, +and Burmah, Egypt, Europe (there are two or three hundred thousand +in the Austrian Empire), and America. There are poor and ignorant +people among them, as among every people; the majority, however, are +(or were before the late horrors) well off, and many of them rich, +educated, refined, and, in a word, modern Christian people. Of +all the impudent inversions of truth ever perpetrated, the most +outrageously impudent and shamelessly the exact contrary of fact is +the assertion of Mavroyeni Bey, the Turkish minister at Washington, +that the case of the Turks against the Armenians is like that of the +whites against the Indians in this country; that the American whites +must be allowed to keep the Indians down, and the Turks must be allowed +to keep the Armenians down. If the Indians possessed all the money, +all the intelligence, all the cultivation, and all the morals in +America, and the whites were a mob of ignorant, cruel, lustful ruffians +holding them down by the organized power of the sword, the comparison +would be just. As it is, the Turks correspond fairly enough with the +Indians, and the Armenians to the whites, in every other respect than +military power. Does a Turk--a true Turk--ever write a book? Does he +ever publish a newspaper, or read one? Does he ever build a church, +or pay attention to the moral precepts taught in one? Does he ever +found or manage a business, or even an estate? In a word, does he have +any more intellectual, moral, or business part in the life of modern +civilization than a Hottentot or a Matabele? And do not the Armenians +do and have all these things? Are they not in the stream of the same +kind of cultivated Christian life led by Americans? Nowhere else on +earth, but in the Turkish Empire, can one find millions of gentlemen +and ladies and civilized modern citizens ruled over, oppressed, and +massacred in hundreds of thousands by a gang of mediaeval Asiatic +barbarians, not advanced from the time of Timour or Jenghiz Khan. It +is the greatest anachronism and monstrosity of modern times. + +If my work is thought prejudiced, listen to what is said of them by +men of the first authority,--the greatest statesmen, the best informed +special correspondent, and one of the chief historians of England at +the present time. First the statesman:-- + + + "The Armenians are the representatives of one of the oldest + civilized Christian races, and beyond all doubt one of the + most pacific, one of the most industrious, and one of the most + intelligent races in the world."--[Gladstone. + + +Next the special correspondent:-- + + + "The Armenians constitute the whole civilizing element in Anatolia + (Asia Minor); peaceful to the degree of self-sacrifice, law-abiding + to their own undoing, and industrious and hopeful under conditions + which would appall the majority of mankind. At their best, they are + the stuff of which heroes and martyrs are moulded."--[E. J. Dillon. + + +Lastly the historian:-- + + + "The best chance for the future of the Asiatic provinces of Turkey + lies in the uprising of a progressive Christian people, which may + ultimately grow into an independent Christian state. The Armenians + have, alone among the races of Western Asia, the gifts that can + enable them to aspire to this mission. They are keen-witted, + energetic, industrious, apt to learn, and quick in assimilating + western ideas."--[James Bryce. + + + + +IN THE TURKISH EMPIRE. + +There are about two millions of Armenians in Armenia Proper, and +another million scattered through the rest of the empire. The absurd +figures given by some writers, making them greatly less than this (one +magazine editor got it down to 300,000! It is significant that he was +a strong apologist for the massacre, and laid all the blame to the +Armenians) result mostly from taking the official statistics of the +Turkish government. Now, there are three reasons why these are always +grossly wrong; of no more value than the weather predictions in an +almanac, and always wrong in the direction of understating the numbers. + +One is that it is the Sultan's interest to make them as small as +possible, that the Armenians may not be considered to have the right +to autonomy as a nation; the fewer they are, and the more outnumbered +by the Turks, the less right they seem to have. "An independent +Armenia?" shriek the Turkish ministers and officers. "Why, there are +only a few hundred thousand Armenians in their so-called country, and +even so, there are three Turks to one Armenian in that very district!" + +The second is that in an Oriental country a census is not a means +of knowledge but an engine of taxation. The ruler has no care for +information on the subject for his own sake, as Western governments +have. What he wants is to see how many people and in what places he +can screw more taxes out of. The people know this as well as he, and +use every effort to outwit his agents, and prevent them from knowing +their numbers. This is why even civilized governments ruling over +Oriental nations can rarely get any nearer than a rough guess at the +numbers of the nation; the inhabitants are suspicious, and resort to +falsehood. In the case of the Armenians, remember what I said in the +first chapter about an Armenian being taxed for every male child he +has, every year as long as the child lives; naturally, he will not +tell the number of his children unless he has to. Here is a practical +illustration. Some years ago I was in an Armenian village when the +Sultan's officers came to take the census. There were about 300 persons +in the village; the officer wrote 200, because only a few names of boys +were given him out of the whole. The tax is based on the registration, +and if you can keep off the registers you can escape the tax. + +The third is the gross incompetence, the corruption, and the +drunkenness of the officers. The Turkish officials, governors, +mayors, clerks, generals, soldiers, all drink any sort of liquor +they can lay hands on, and are drunk as often and as long as sober; +they are so ignorant that they cannot do their work decently even +when they are sober; and they are utterly venal, without the least +sense of official obligation. What sort of a census is likely to be +taken by these ignorant, whiskey-swilling, venal barbarians? One of +these officials, whom I know well, once came to a village to take +the census. The Armenians got him so drunk that he barked like a dog, +bribed him, and he put down about half the number of the population. + +How, then, do I know the correct number? From a knowledge of the +districts, the numbers of villages, and statistics resting on a better +foundation than the above. I do not pretend that the number is exact; +but it is near enough for practical purposes. + +The Armenians in Turkey are divided into four classes. The first +comprises merchants and bankers. The second is the professional class: +physicians, professors, teachers, and preachers. The third is that +of artisans: weavers, blacksmiths, copper, silver, and gold smiths, +tailors, shoemakers, etc. The finest Oriental rugs are made by the +Armenians, and there are weavers of silk and cotton goods, and all +kinds of hand-made embroidery. There are no factories in Armenia. The +fourth class is that of farmers, a pure, simple, industrious class, +with beautiful farms, vineyards, and orchards, whose products I +have described. + +One-tenth of all the Armenians in Turkey are in Constantinople. Many +of them are poor, in the nature of things; but the leading bankers, +merchants, and capitalists there are Armenians, surpassing even +the Greeks and Jews. I give a few representative names: Gulbenkian, +Essayian, Azarian, Mosditchian, Manougian, Oonjian. The physicians in +largest practice are Armenians: Khorassanjian, Mateosian, Dobrashian, +Vartanian, etc. The Sultan's personal treasurer is an Armenian, +Portukalian Pasha. The chief counselor in the foreign office +in Constantinople is an Armenian, Haroutiune Dadian Pasha. The +greatest lawyers are Armenians: Mosditchian, Tinguerian, etc. The +chief photographers of the Sultan are Armenians, Abdullah Brothers +and Sebah, the former considered one of the best photographic firms +in the world. The personal jeweler of the Sultan is an Armenian, +Mr. Chiboukjian. For all his hate of the Armenians, he has to employ +them, for no others are competent or trustworthy. The best musicians +are Armenians: Chonkhajian Surenian, Doevletian, and an Armenian young +lady named Nartoss, who often plays the piano before the Sultan. The +greatest orator in Constantinople is an Armenian and a professor in +Robert College, Prof. H. Jejizian, to my thinking, superior to either +Beecher, Wendell Phillips, or Robert Ingersoll, all of whom I have +heard. Finally, the Armenians, as a whole, form the best "society" +in Constantinople, and their modes of living, dress, houses, and +ways are precisely like those of Americans or Europeans. These are +Mavroyeni Bey's "Indians"! + +Smyrna is a city of 150,000 or more population. About 80,000 are +Greeks; you may call it a Greek city. The Armenians there number about +8,000, or one-tenth of the Greeks, but are ten times richer than all +the Greeks together. The principal buildings are owned by Armenians; +the business is in the hands of the Armenians. The chief business men +are well-known in Europe. Mr. Balyivzian owns many steamers which ply +on the Mediterranean. Mr. Spartalian is another very rich and very +benevolent man; he built a magnificent hospital at Smyrna. In Samsoun, +Marsovan, Cesarea, Adana, Amassia, Tocat, Sivas, Harpoot, Mesere, +Malatia, Diarbekir, Arabkir, Oorfa, Aintab, Marash, Tarsus, Angora, +Erzeroun, Erzinghan, Moosh, Bitlis, Baiburt, Trebizond,--in a word, +everywhere it is the same. Go where you like in Turkey, you find the +Armenians at the top. + +When I say they are the richest, I mean until early in 1894 they +were the richest. But now, in many cities of Armenia proper, since +the recent atrocities, they have become the poorest. + +Leading citizens, and the fathers of families, for the reasons I have +mentioned, were specially singled out for vengeance. Their stores, +banks, and houses were plundered and then burnt, their money and +jewelry taken from them, and then they were murdered wholesale. Now +the Turks and the Kurds for a time are rich with Armenian property; +wearing the gold watches of Armenian gentlemen, their women wearing +the jewelry of Armenian ladies. + + + + +IN RUSSIA. + +The Armenians in Russia are the richest and the most cultivated of any +in the world, and have great influence. Mr. Kasbarian, an Armenian, +is considered the richest even of them. The rich city of Tiflis is +practically an Armenian city. + +There are about 50,000 regular Armenian soldiers in the Russian army, +and some of its greatest generals have always been Armenians. + +If the Czar would permit this force and the capitalists to settle +the Armenian question, they would do it in a month, and make +Armenia free. The Armenians have so far been treated very kindly +and have prospered exceedingly in Russia, but I do not believe it +will last. In my opinion, the young Czar is only waiting for his +coronation to oppress the Armenians as he has the Jews. Yet the Czar's +ablest servants and advisers have been Armenians. The body-guard of +Nicholas' grandfather Alexander was the Armenian Count Loris Melikoff, +universally known; three times wounded by Nihilists on account of his +position. During the last Turko-Russian war some of the generals who +accomplished the most with the least sacrifice were Armenians: Der, +Lucasoff, Lazareff, Melikoff. There are now no less than eighteen +Armenian generals in the Russian service. I will mention a part: +General Sdepan Kishmishian, commander of Caucasus; General Hagop +Alkhazian, General Alexander Lalayian, General Demedr Der Asadoorian, +General Ishkhan Manuelian, General Alexander Gorganian, General +Ishkhan Gochaminassian, General Khosros Touloukhanian, General Arakel +Khantamirian, General H. Dikranian. There are many other prominent +Armenian officers. + +In Moscow, St. Petersburg, and other great cities in Russia there +are many Armenian professors in the universities, mayors of cities, +judges of courts, and high civil officers. I will give a few of their +names, to show that I am not talking blindly: + + + Count Hovhannes Telyanian, minister of education, etc. + Gamazian, minister of foreign affairs in Asia. + Muguerditch Emin, counselor of education. + Nerses Nersessian, professor in Moscow in the Royal University. + Dr. Shilantz, professor in the medical college at Kharcof. + Boghos Gamparian, superintendent of the Royal army of Riza. + Melikian, professor of natural sciences in the University at + Odessa. + A. Madinian, mayor of Tiflis. + V. Keghamian, mayor of Erevan. + H. Moutaffian, mayor of Akheltzka. + + +Hundreds and thousands are high officers in different departments of +the Russian government, but there is no space to give a roll of them. + +One, however, a personal friend, I must write a few words of, namely, +Professor John Ayvazovski, of the council of the St. Petersburg +Academy of Fine Arts, a marine painter of the first rank. He is now +79, but looks scarcely 60, with beautiful large, bright eyes. He came +to the World's Fair, where fifteen of his pictures were exhibited +in the Russian section; and he presented two other fine ones to the +American people in recognition of their help to the Russian famine +sufferers,--one showing the arrival in port of a steamer with its +cargo of grain, the other the advent of a drosky at a village of +starving people, with a man in front waving an American flag. He +visited and painted an excellent picture of Niagara. He had seven +pictures at the Philadelphia Exposition of 1876. His paintings are +mostly in royal palaces: there are 120 in that of the Russian imperial +family, and 34 in the Sultan's. His own gallery, at Theodosia, Russia, +has 84. He has received many prizes from expositions. He is also a +great scholar and a good Christian. His brother, who lately died, +was one of the greatest bishops of the Armenian church. + +There is a very interesting story about Professor Ayvazovski's boyhood +which I will give here: + +His parents were Armenian peasants, living in a village not far from +Moscow. One day Nicholas I was passing by the hamlet on horseback, +and dropped his whip. The Emperor beckoned to young Ayvazovski, +and told him to pick it up. The boy approached boldly and asked, +"Who are you?" Nicholas replied, "I am the Emperor." The boy rejoined, +"If you cannot take care of your whip, how can you take care of your +subjects?" The Emperor was pleased at this remark, and ordered him +to be educated at his own expense, and in any profession he chose. He +took to the brush, and is the pride of his nation. + + + + +IN PERSIA, INDIA, ETC. + +The Armenians of Persia are great merchants, and high civil officers +of the Shah. I name only a few: + +Chahanguir Khan is minister of arts and superintendent of the arsenal. + +Nirza Melkoum Khan was the former ambassador of the Shah at London; +a man of great wealth and learning, and an able diplomat. He retired +on account of age, and lives in London. + +Nazar Agha was ambassador of the Shah at Paris. + +General Sharl Bezirganian is the general superintendent of the +telegraph service in Persia. + +In India and Burmah there are great Armenian merchants, who are +millionaires, and respected by the governments and the peoples. + +In Egypt, though few in number, they are the ruling element. Nubar +Pasha was the prime minister of the Egyptian government until a few +weeks ago; one of the richest men in Egypt, and the greatest statesman +in Africa. He speaks several languages, and spends his summers in +France, owning property in Paris. Dikran Pasha is another rich and +very gifted Armenian, and Boghos Pasha another man of power. + + + + +IN EUROPE. + +There are very rich merchants among the Armenians at Vienna, Paris, +Marseilles, London, and Manchester. There is a strong Armenian +colony at Manchester. All of them are merchants, and some of them +millionaires. Almost the whole clothing trade between England and +Turkey is in their hands. They have a beautiful Armenian church +there, and always a learned Armenian bishop; I speak from knowledge +and observation. They are much respected by the English. Some of the +Armenian gentlemen are married to English ladies of good family, and +their domestic life is very happy. Prince Loosinian, an Armenian, +a very great scholar, and much respected by the French, lives in +Paris; he is descended from the last Armenian dynasty. His brother +Khoren Nar-Bey Loosinian was one of the foremost Armenian bishops; +the Sultan of course hated him, and it is said had him poisoned while +imprisoned in Constantinople. + +The Armenian scholars in Europe are well-known, and on a level with the +best of any country. There is not an institution of learning in Europe +where they are not to be found, either as students or professors; +and the prizes and medals they win are many. + +There are two great centers in Europe for the Armenian scholars and +authors: one at Vienna and the other at Venice. They have colleges +and printing presses in these places; and they write, translate, and +publish themselves in nearly all languages all sorts of valuable +books. So the Armenian people are well supplied with the best +modern books. But it must be remembered that these valuable books +are forbidden by the Sultan to go into Turkish Armenia; he wants +the people kept ignorant. Some of their great scholars came home +from Europe to preach and teach in Armenia, to elevate their nation; +but some were killed and some banished during the recent atrocities. + + + + +IN AMERICA. + +The Armenians are a new people in America. Seventeen years ago, +when the writer first came to this country, there were not more than +a hundred in the United States; since then about 10,000 have come, +most of them within ten years. The first ones came about forty-five +years ago, among them Mr. Minasian and Mr. Sahagian,--both poor young +men, now both rich. Mr. Minasian lives at Brooklyn; Mr. Sahagian at +Yonkers, N.Y. Those who have come lately are mostly the poorer class; +they fled from the "order" of the Sultan, and not being allowed to +leave Turkey, bribed the police and ran away. Not knowing the English +language, they work in factories in various States. There are some +well-to-do merchants, however, doing business in New York, Boston, +and elsewhere, handling Oriental rugs, dry-goods, etc. Some of the +New York names are Gulbenkian, Topakian, Tavshandjian, Yardimian, +Chaderdjian, Telfeyian, Kostikian. In Boston are Ateshian, Bogigian, +etc. Mr. Kebabian is in New Haven; Mr. Enfiyedjian in Denver. There +are many others also in other large cities. + +Besides merchants, there are many professional men among them, about a +dozen physicians in New York city alone: Dr. Dadirian, Dr. Gabrielian, +Dr. Ayvazian, Dr. Apkarian, Dr. Altarian, Dr. Koutoojian. Some of them +are engravers and photographers. In New York city there are Hagopian, +Kasparian, Matigian, and others, very skillful engravers. In Boston +there is the New England Engraving Co., who are Armenians; the manager +is Mr. G. Papazian. + +There are about half a dozen Armenians who are pastors of American +churches in different states. About a dozen are special lecturers +on the Armenian atrocities: Mr. H. Kiretchjian, the secretary of +the American Relief Association, Mr. Samuelian, Rev. A. Bulgurgian, +Rev. S. Deviryian, Mr. S. Yenovkian, etc. + +There are hundreds of Armenian students distributed among nearly all +the universities, colleges, and theological seminaries in America, +and most of them are of a superior sort. The greatest physicians +in Turkey are Armenians, who were graduated from different medical +colleges in this country. Some of the leading pastors and professors +in Armenia, who were banished and killed during the recent atrocities, +were graduated in this country. + +Of the factory hands mentioned, there are about 1,000 in Worcester, +Mass.; about 800 in New York and Brooklyn; about 400 in Boston, and +the remainder are scattered everywhere from New York to California, +from Maine to Florida. + +A number of Armenian young men have married American women; I believe +ninety per cent. are happy. After forty or fifty years, there will +be a large class of American citizens of Armenian blood, and many +millionaires among them. They are gifted in business, and they are +a sober, honest, and faithful people. I do not think that there is +a single criminal among the 10,000 Armenians in this country. + +Some of the Armenian daily and weekly newspapers are as follows: + +In Constantinople: Arevelk, Avedaper, Puragn, Dyaghig, Hayrenik, +Masis, Pounch. + +In Smyrna: Arevlian Mamoul. + +In Etchmiazin: Ararat. + +In Tiflis: Aghpour, Artzakank, Mishag, Murj, Nor-Tar, Darak. + +In Venice: Pazmaveb. + +In Vienna: Hantes Arnsoria. + +In Marseilles: Armenia. + +In London: L'Armenic. + +In New York: Haik. + +Wherever the Armenians go they carry with themselves the church, +the school, and the press. + + + + +THE ARMENIAN RELIEF ASSOCIATION. + +This association is putting forth every effort to alleviate the +sufferings of needy Armenians wherever they may be found; their work +has already resulted in untold blessings and it deserves the hearty +support and contributions of the benevolent public. The officers of +the association are the following well-known American and Armenian +gentlemen: + +Right Rev. Bishop H. Y. Satterlee, D.D., president. + +Hon. Levi P. Morton, first vice-president. + +Right Rev. Bishop Potter, D.D., second vice-president. + +Charles H. Stout, Esq., treasurer. + +J. Bleeker Miller, Esq., chairman executive committee. + +Nicholas R. Mersereau, Esq., secretary. + +Herant M. Kiretchjian, general secretary. + +Rev. J. B. Haygooni, A.M., organizing secretary. + +Mr. H. K. Samuelian, agent. + +The headquarters of the association is in New York. + + + + + + + + +IX. + +THE FUTURE OF ARMENIA AND THE BATTLE OF ARMAGEDDON. + + +I am going to predict the future of Armenia. Not in the usual sense of +guessing at it, but in the literal sense of foretelling the truth. I +am not a prophet of God, yet my prediction is based on facts, and +its accuracy should be given some credit from the way my predictions +two or three years ago about the recent atrocities that have already +taken place, have come true to the letter. At that time no American +or European could be made to believe that such horrors would be +perpetrated; but I said they would be, and they were. And even now +the Western peoples are nearly as blind as ever; they cannot see the +future of Armenia even with all the facts before them. Many have +lost hope in it altogether; they think Turkey will exist forever, +and exterminate the last of the Armenians. Doubtless I should in +their place, but I was born in Turkey and know the situation. + + + +This, then, is the truth as I forecast it:-- + +Till the end of next year the Armenians will suffer more than ever +before. Perhaps a million will be massacred yet, not only in Turkey, +but in Russia. The Jews, also, in great numbers, and not only the +Jews and the Armenians, but the Americans and Englishmen too. The key +rests in the character of the present Czar. Nicholas II is not like +his father or grandfather, a strong man. I will not discuss the moral +character of the two Alexanders, but I allow their powerful intellects +and strong wills. They favored the Armenians. But the present Czar +has no strength of character at all; he is weak both in intellect and +morals. The Sultan is called the sick man of Turkey, but the Czar is +the sick man of Russia. His short-sightedness in upholding Turkey is +one proof. Up to the time of the coronation next May you will see no +more massacres, for the Czar has ordered the Sultan to hold his hand, +that there may be a peaceful ceremony, not clouded with horrors; that +over, he will not only give the Sultan leave to unchain his dogs, +but he will unchain his own. The atrocities in Turkish Armenia will +be redoubled, and the Czar himself inflict on the Armenians all that +has been inflicted on the Jews. Even this is not all: The Czar will +instruct the Sultan to get rid of all American missionaries, either +banishing them as breeders of sedition, or, if they refuse to go, +requiring the United States government to order them back. Probably the +government will obey. Probably, also, the missionaries will not obey +the government; they will stay where they are. Then the Sultan will +say he is not responsible for their lives, and will issue secret orders +to kill them, which will be carried out. Further, the Czar will begin +a fresh persecution of the Jews, and order the Sultan to follow suit +on the Jews in Turkey, which will be done; no fear of the Sultan's +refusing an order to butcher anybody. Still more, the Czar will +command him in secret to banish the English missionaries from Turkey; +the Sultan will request the English government to call them back, +and there is little doubt that Lord Salisbury will comply; but they, +like the Americans, will refuse to go. Then they will be murdered by +secret orders from the Sultan, who will say he is not responsible for +it. These massacres will continue for two years more. The victims will +cry aloud, the Americans and English will have greater mass-meetings, +but the governments of both will do nothing. And Germany, Austria, +and Italy will look calmly on; if they act it will be with the Czar, +and not against him. Meantime both in Europe and America the war +preparations will continue with greater zeal and energy, until the +cup is full, until the crisis comes; then the noble blood of the +Anglo-Saxon race will begin to boil, and the English and American +people at once will be aroused like one man, and the governments +will have to yield. The wrathful Jews will contribute Jewish capital +for the war expenses; the wrathful Armenians throughout the world +will give both money and soldiers to the governments fighting their +battles. And a fierce battle will be fought between Russia, Turkey, +and France on one side; America, England, the Jews, and the Armenians +on the other. The former alliance will be beaten: the Czar's Greek +Church bigotry, the Sultan's Mohammedan fanaticism, and France's +infidelity together will be crushed; Russia will go to pieces, Turkey +will go to pieces, France will go to pieces; Armenia will be free, +Judea will be free. The scattered Armenians will return to Armenia, +the scattered Jews will return to Judea. Both the Armenians and the +Jews will have their separate governments; not kings, not princes, +but a clean republican form of government. Russia and Turkey will +be opened to the gospel work. Where now hundreds of missionaries +are going from England and America to other lands, then thousands +of them will go; and Christian America and England will open their +hearts and purses together to send as many missionaries as they can +to Russia, to Turkey, and to France. They will hasten the coming of +the Lord Jesus Christ. They will prepare the way for the coming King, +who has the power both in heaven and on the earth. + +What will become of Germany, Austria, and Italy, who form the Triple +Alliance? That alliance will be dissolved. The German Emperor is trying +hard to maintain it, but he will fail. France will once in a while +threaten Germany with vengeance, but she will never be able to carry +it out, and there is no need for it, because the German people during +this century will get rid of their Emperor. There will be a great +civil war in Germany, between the people and the army. If the German +emperor could do it, he would begin to crush the Socialists now. He +will order his soldiers to kill their brothers and fathers, but they +will not,--they are not as foolish as the Emperor; the only result +will be the break-up of the German Union, and the division of Germany +into small republican governments. Italy, Austria, and Spain will all +have the same fate: civil war, and splitting into small republics. No +czars, no emperors, no princes, no lords will remain. Government will +be for the people, of the people, by the people. The time has come; +this century will purify the whole world. But until it is purified, +a great deal of fire will burn, very great battles will be fought, +until freedom and peace shall reign. And the Armenian blood, now +continually pouring like a river in Armenia, will be the cause and +the foundation of the coming freedom of the world. For the present, +the world is not free; it is not civilized. It cannot be with such +rulers. To be free and happy, the people must be aroused, and get rid +of them. The United States must be the example to the older nations; +they must embrace Washington's principles. + +It is true that England and America will never go regularly to work +to give freedom to Judea and Armenia, nor with that intention. Their +immediate motive will be to punish Russia and Turkey for the murder +of the missionaries, and after the victory is won, by the help of +Jewish and Armenian purses and swords, the Armenians and Jews will +be rewarded by giving them their original homes and mother-lands. + +This will be laughed at by many, perhaps most, as a romantic and +pleasant dream. They will say it can never be accomplished during this +century; perhaps in the future, after a century or two, but not now. I +am used to this incredulity; my predictions are never believed at the +time: but after they come true they are. This century is not like the +other centuries; a day in this century is equal to a year of those +which have passed away. We may expect from a year of it as much as +from a century in the ancient times. This world is a wonderful world +now, and will be more wonderful hereafter. The future of the world +is bright, and the world will be brighter and happier. + +Why do I keep repeating "two years"? Why do I not say one year or three +years, or a few years? I have reasons for it: one is the political +situation in Europe, and the other is the Bible prophecy in the Book +of Revelation. + + + + +THE POLITICAL SITUATION IN EUROPE. + +The Europeans have already made great preparations for battle. Every +one of them preaches peace and prepares for war; and none of them have +finished their preparations yet,--if they had, they would be in the +thick of it by this time. Each of them declares that its preparations +will be finished about the end of 1897. Russia is building war-ships, +England is building war-ships, France is building war-ships, and all +will be finished about the end of 1897. All preparations converge on +the end of 1897. When all are ready, they will begin. When newspapers +write about an immediate European war, I do not believe it. There +will be no European war for two years; but after that there is no +escape from it,--they have to fight, and will fight. The war-ships +will be ready, the cannon will be ready, the guns will be ready, +the ammunition will be ready, the soldiers will be ready. + +The cunning Sultan knows all this, and is in a hurry to exterminate +the Armenians, so that when they start in earnest with guns to reform +Armenia, he can say there is no Armenia or Armenians to reform. But +that makes no difference for the European powers: Turkey is doomed, +and the Turkish Empire will come to an end forever within this +century. There will never be any more Turkish Empire or Mohammedan +government; all the Mohammedan powers will be under Christian rule. + +The second reason is my belief in the Bible prophecies. The close +resemblance of the Jews and Armenians will be observed by the reader: +both the chosen people of God. The children of Israel were the chosen +people before Christ, and as the Armenians became the first Christian +nation after Christ, they became the chosen people after Christ. And +these chosen people have suffered more than any other nations on the +globe; they have had more martyrs than any other nation, and have +been carried into captivity, and finally scattered throughout the +world. The Bible lands are Palestine and Armenia, where the first +man, Adam, was created, and where Christ was born and was crucified; +and so these lands after Christ, becoming the first Christian lands, +became the Temple of God. + +We have a prophecy in the eleventh chapter of Revelation that the +court of the Temple will be given unto the Gentiles, and the Holy City +shall they tread under foot forty and two months; "and I will give +power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophecy a thousand two +hundred and three score days, clothed in sackcloth." (Rev. xi, 2-3.) + +Forty and two months and a thousand two hundred and three score +days are just the same thing. Each day in the Bible prophecy is one +year. According to this interpretation, which I consider correct, the +Holy City will be trampled by the Gentiles one thousand, two hundred +and sixty years. Now the question is this, Where is the Holy City, +and who are the Gentiles who will trample the Holy City? First, +the Holy City is both literally the Holy City before Christ, and +spiritually the Holy City after Christ. + +Literally, the Holy City is Jerusalem, where the Temple of God was; +this is very clear. Spiritually, the Holy City is Christianity; +wherever there are Christians, there is the Holy City. But this is +very general, and takes the whole world after it is Christian. But +before we come to that general Holy City, we find in the third verse of +the same chapter the following words: "I will give power unto my two +witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand, two hundred and three +score days, clothed in sackcloth." So from these statements we find +that two especial witnesses in that Holy City, clothed in sackcloth, +will testify. Who are these two witnesses? My interpretation is that +they are the two chosen peoples of God and Christ. And the two chosen +peoples are the Jews and the Armenians. The Jews were the chosen +people before Christ, and the Armenians became the chosen people +after Christ, as King Abgarus, the Armenian king, believed in Christ +before Christ was crucified, and afterwards, in the time of Gregory +the Illuminator, the whole Armenian nation became a Christian nation, +in 310 A.D. Before Palestine was considered a holy country, Armenia +was considered a holy land, because the first man was created there, +and Noah's ark rested on Mount Ararat. And as the Armenians became +the first Christian nation on the globe, Palestine and Armenia were +the holy countries or the Holy City. Although this is so, after all +the literal Holy City, Jerusalem, remains a holy city; and she will +be after Christ, under the rule of Gentiles one thousand two hundred +and sixty years, while the two witnesses will testify there under +sackcloth for one thousand two hundred and sixty years. + +Now the question is this, How long is it since the city of Jerusalem +was captured by the Gentiles, or more correctly by the "beast +that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit" (Rev. ii. 7), which is +the Mohammedan power? The Mohammedan power in different places in +Revelation is called the Beast, the Dragon, the Whore or Harlot, and +the False Prophet, and it is the Gentile kingdom after Christ. And +the time which is given to the Mohammedan power to rule, to destroy, +and to kill the Jews and the Christians in Jerusalem or in the Bible +lands, is only one thousand two hundred and sixty years. Since the +city of Jerusalem was captured by the Mohammedans is 1258 years, +and when this present year and the next come to an end in 1897, the +Mohammedan power will also come to an end, and the city of Jerusalem +will be restored to the Jews, and Armenia to the Armenians. + +Towards the end of the Mohammedan power, Mohammedans will begin +to kill both the Jews and the Armenians for three and a half years +(see Rev. xi, 7, 8, 9). Now, for a year and a half the Mohammedans +have been killing the Christians,--which the author predicted two or +three years ago; and they will kill two years more. "And the sixth +Angel poured out his vial upon the Great River Euphrates and the water +thereof was dried up." (See Rev. xvi, 12.) That means that the people +on the shores of the Euphrates were killed, namely the Armenians. + +I am not writing a commentary on Revelation, but simply bringing in +a few passages to enlighten the mind of the reader about the future +of Armenia and the battle of Armageddon. + + + + +THE BATTLE OF ARMAGEDDON. + +(See Rev. xvi, 13-16.) + +The battle of Armageddon is the final and the greatest battle. All the +nations will take part in it; but the leaders in the battle will be the +ones I have said, and the other will be their followers on the one side +or the other. And this battle will settle all the questions which are +not settled now. The great Eastern question will be settled, the great +question between capital and labor will be settled, all the emperors +and czars, kings, and princes will come down from their thrones, and +permanent international arbitration will be established. The questions +which are asked now will never be asked: What do the emperors say? What +do the czars say? What do the Sultans say? Men will ask then, What +do the people say? What is the wish of the people? + +Then the question comes, where is Armageddon? Armageddon is Armenia. Of +course this is entirely a new interpretation to European and American +scholars; no one has ever been certain where Armageddon is, but it +is generally thought to be somewhere near Jerusalem, a little hill +called Mount Megiddo. In the time of Judges, "The kings came and +fought, then fought the kings of Canaan in Taanach by the waters of +Megiddo." (Judges v, 19.) But as a native of the Bible lands, and as +a native minister, I am positive about it. The first question is, +What does Armageddon mean? It means the High Lands. Is there any +higher land in the Bible lands than Armenia? The main land is from +4,000 to 7,000 feet above the level of the sea, and Mount Ararat +is about 18,000 feet high. Another question is, What does Armenia +mean? It means precisely the high lands, as Armageddon does. Armenia +took her name from King Aram or Armenag; both mean high lands, or +the possessors of high lands; and Armenia also means the high lands. + +Again, what does Ararat mean, which is just in the center of Armenia +proper? It means the holy or high land. Now bring all together, +Armageddon, Armenia, Ararat, all mean just the same: high lands. Not +only high lands, but holy high lands. Long before Palestine was called +a holy land, Armenia had the name of Holy land, and the Armenians +were called the Highlanders. + +In a word, Armageddon is the combination of three different words, +Armenia--Garden--Eden: Armageddon. + +So the final battle will be fought in Armenia. The nation with the +greatest part will have the greatest future. As man fell from grace +in Armenia, man will be restored to peace and holiness in Armenia. And +before that peace, holiness, and restoration come, the greatest battle +will be fought in Armenia. After the fall of man, disgrace and curse +went forth from Armenia; so prosperity and blessings will come forth +from Armenia. As the first battle in the world was fought in Armenia, +between Cain and Abel, and the other battles followed, so the last +battle will be fought in Armenia, and the universal peace will come +out of it. As the first martyrdom in the world was in Armenia, so the +last and greatest martyrdom will be in Armenia. And from the blood of +Armenian martyrs everlasting happiness will follow to all nations. And +the kingdom of Christ will be established throughout the world. + + + + + + + + +X. + +POEMS ON THE ARMENIAN QUESTION. + +[From the New York Independent, by special permission.] + + + + + +LORD SALISBURY. + +By the Rev. T. S. Perry. + +"Oh! for a year, a month, a day of Oliver Cromwell."--The Independent. + +"What Lord Salisbury seems to lack is a little Cromwellian courage."--A +Speaker in City Temple, London. + + + 1. + + Oh! for an hour of Cromwell, + For a leader brave and grand + To guide the wrath, and point the path, + Of a mighty Christian land! + To heed the cry of innocent blood, + To blush for the world's disgrace, + With hand to deal a blow of steel + In the murderous Moslem's face! + + 2. + + Alas! for a leader heedless + While massacred villages flame, + Unmoved by shrieks of maidenhood + At wrong too foul for name! + Strong to throttle the feeble, + Feeble to beard the strong, + With eye o'er-meek, and blanching cheek,-- + How long, O Lord, how long? + + 3. + + And women cover their faces, + And men are fain to hiss. + Cromwell's head upon Temple Bar + Were a leader better than this! + And heaven grows black with horror, + And earth grows red with wrong, + And martyrs cry from earth and sky, + How long, O Lord, how long? + + Orange Park, Florida. + + + + + +DEUS VULT. + +By Allen Eastman Cross. + +"It is time that one general shout of execration--not of men, but +of deeds--one general shout of execration, directed against deeds of +wickedness, should rise from outraged humanity."--Gladstone's Armenian +address at Chester. + + + No tomb of death shall be our guest + Wherein the Lord of Life may rest. + + No empty sepulcher of stone + Across the world makes bitter moan, + + But Christian hearts that break and bleed + For our avenging pity plead. + + O brothers, for our brothers' sake + Let the crusading spirit wake! + + O Christian England, 'tis the Christ + By Moslem hands is sacrificed! + + Away, away with hollow words, + Now sheath our speech, unsheath our sword! + + God wills: The guns of Christendom + Proclaim the tyrant's doom has come! + + Manchester, N. H. + + + + + +TWO SONNETS. + +By Henry Van Dyke. + + + I. + + The Turk's Way. + + "Stand back, ye messengers of mercy! Stand + Far off, for I will save my troubled folk + In my own way." So the false Sultan spoke; + And Europe, harkening to his base command, + Stood still to see him heal his wounded land. + Through blinding snows of winter and through smoke + Of burning towns she saw him deal the stroke + Of cruel mercy that his hate had planned. + Unto the prisoners and the sick he gave + New tortures, horrible, without a name; + Unto the thirsty, blood to drink; a sword + Unto the hungry; with a robe of shame + He clad the naked, making life abhorred. + He saved by slaughter, but denied a grave. + + II. + + America's Way. + + But thou, my country, tho' no fault be thine + For that red horror far across the sea; + Tho' not a tortured wretch can point to thee, + And curse thee for the selfishness supine + Of those great powers who cowardly combine + To shield the Turk in his iniquity; + Yet, since thy hand is innocent and free, + Rise, thou, and show the world the way divine. + Thou canst not break the oppressor's iron rod, + But thou canst minister to the oppressed; + Thou canst not loose the captive's heavy chain, + But thou canst bind his wounds and soothe his pain. + Armenia calls thee, Empire of the West, + To play the Good Samaritan for God. + + New York City. + + + + + +TO THOSE WHO DIED FOR THEIR FAITH. + +Armenia, 1894 to 189--? + +By Mrs. Merrill E. Gates. + + + "These loved their lives not, to the death!" + But we at ease to-day, who claim + Allegiance to the One great Name, + Could we as nobly die for Faith? + + We challenge not the crucial test! + Self cannot prove to self its power + If e'er should come that testing hour + God give us grace to choose the Best! + + But these have overcome! Their Lord + In bitter death have not denied! + Have chosen still the Crucified + In face of bayonet and sword! + + Our age heroic looms! Our eyes + Behold white martyr brows! Still hears + Our sin-gray world with unthrilled ears + Once more the martyr-chorus rise! + + Come Thou to succor the great need! + Thy judgment shall not long delay! + God doeth his strange work to-day! + The Judge is at the door! Take heed! + + Amherst, Mass. + + + + + +ARMENIA. + +By Willimina L. Armstrong. + + + Out of storms and peace light, out of confusing things, + Bound in mysterious fashion by the bindings of blood and hate, + Lo, are the Nations assembled now + At the Twentieth Century Gate. + Leaning beside the portal: Close! in the name of God! + Over the Garden of Eden, in the evening of this our Day. + Over the breast of the Mountain old + Where the Ark of deliverance lay. + + Leaning beside the portal: Hark to the clashing arms! + Hark to the voice in the Garden, to the Nations of Earth it calls, + "Bid! for the Woman is Christian blood; + And the sword and the bayonet falls!" + Sold! A Christian Woman! Sold in the name of Christ! + Sold to her death in the Eden with its soil by her blood made damp! + Sold in the eve of our Mighty Age! + With the light of our Age for a lamp! + + New York City. + + + + + +ARMENIA'S BITTER CRY. + +By Hetta Lord Hayes Ward. + + + I. + + World, world, hear our prayer + Oh where is Russia, where? + A fearful deed is done, + Its glare affronts the sun. + Smoke! Flame! Fire! + Rouse thee, great Russian Sire! + When Christian homes are ablaze, + Hast thou no voice to raise? + Thy neighbor to thee has cried, + Pass not on the other side. + Look on our dire despair! + Where art thou, Czar, oh, where? + + II. + + Land of the sun and sea, + Wake, Rome and Italy! + Our ancient Church in vain + Calls thee to break her chain. + Shame! Shame! Shame! + Where sleeps thy early fame? + To death our priests are led, + Their flocks lie slaughtered, dead. + Awake, good Pope of Rome! + Our saints through blood go home; + Hear thou their dying plea, + Where, where is Italy? + + III. + + Land of Fraternite, + Brave France, turn not away! + Shall blood thy lilies stain? + Wilt bear the curse of Cain? + Wake! Wake! Wake! + For God and glory's sake! + On a ghastly funeral pyre, + Brave men are burned with fire; + God calls to France, the free, + "Thy brother, where is he?" + Lest God in wrath requite, + Awake, befriend the right! + + IV. + + Where is good Frederick's son + When evil deeds are done? + Shall prisons reek and rot, + His mother's blood speak not? + Haste! Haste! Haste! + Time runs too long to waste. + If halts the Kaiser dumb, + Let all the people come. + Your oath must sacred stand, + Treaties of Fatherland; + Victims of Turk and Kurd, + Rest on your plighted word. + + V. + + Your sisters' shame and blood + Cry out to England's God. + Slain on the church's floor, + Their blood flowed out the door. + Speak! Speak! Speak! + The strong must help the weak. + Leave Turkish bonds unsold; + Betray not Christ for gold. + Let the Moslem dragon feel + Once more Saint George's heel. + England, awake, awake! + World, hear, for Jesus' sake! + + Newark, N.J. + + + + + +ARMENIA. + +By Geo. W. Crofts. + +Tune: "Maryland, My Maryland." + + + Where'er thy martyr blood has run + Armenia! + Shed by the fierce Mohammedan, + Armenia! + There nations gather in their grief-- + There would they bring in swift relief-- + Oh, may thy agony be brief, + Armenia! + + God's eye of pity glances down, + Armenia! + He sees thy rudely broken crown, + Armenia! + His heart is touched with all thy woes, + His mighty arm will interpose, + He'll save thee from thy cruel foes, + Armenia! + + All o'er thy verdant plains shall spread, + Armenia! + The golden grain where thou hast bled, + Armenia! + Thy harvest song shall yet arise + To him who rules in yonder skies, + Whose ear has heard thy bitter cries, + Armenia! + + America extends to thee, + Armenia! + The cordial of her sympathy, + Armenia! + And every soul in this free land + Would give to thee the helping hand, + And near thee in thy sorrow stand, + Armenia! + + In this dark hour be brave and strong, + Armenia! + The right shall triumph over wrong, + Armenia! + 'Twill not be long till thou shalt see + The glorious dawn of liberty, + When thou shalt be forever free, + Armenia! + + + + + +ARMENIAN HYMN. + +By Alice Stone Blackwell. + +[From the Armenian of Nerses the Graceful; born 1102, died 1172.] + + + O Dayspring, Sun of righteousness, shine forth with light for me! + Treasure of mercy, let my soul thy hidden riches see! + Thou before whom the thoughts of men lie open in thy sight, + Unto my soul, now dark and dim, grant thoughts that shine with + [ light! + O Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, Almighty One in Three, + Care-taker of all creatures, have pity upon me! + Awake, O Lord, awake to help, with grace and power divine; + Awaken those who slumber now, like Heaven's host to shine! + O Lord and Saviour, life-giver, unto the dead give life, + And raise up those that have grown weak and stumbled in the strife! + O Skillful Pilot! Lamp of light, that burneth bright and clear! + Strength and assurance grant to me, now hid away in fear. + O Thou that makest old things new, renew me and adorn; + Rejoice we with salvation, Lord, for which I inly mourn. + Giver of good, unto my sins be thy forgiveness given! + Lead Thy disciples, Heavenly King, unto the flocks of Heaven. + Defeat the evil husbandman that soweth tares and weeds; + Wither and kill in me the fruits of all his evil seeds! + O Lord, grant water to my eyes, that they may shed warm tears + To cleanse and wash away the sin that in my soul appears! + On me, now hid in shadow deep, shine forth, O glory bright! + Sweet juice, quench thou my soul's keen thirst! Show me the path + [ of light! + Jesus, whose name is love, with love crush thou my stony heart; + Bedew my spirit with thy blood, and bid my griefs depart! + O thou that even in fancy art so sweet, Lord Jesus Christ, + Grant that with Thy reality my soul may be sufficed! + When thou shalt come again to earth, and all thy glory see, + Upon that dread and awful day, O Christ, remember me! + Thou that redeemest men from sin, O Saviour, I implore, + Redeem him who now praiseth Thee, to praise Thee evermore. + + Dorchester, Mass. + + +Miss Alice Stone Blackwell is a noble Boston woman who is greatly +interested in the Armenians. She has written many articles and poems, +and done much toward arousing public sentiment throughout the United +States in behalf of the Armenians. + +The author of this book esteems it a privilege to offer his personal +thanks, as well as those of his persecuted nation, to Miss Blackwell, +by whose kind permission the following poems from her book, "Armenian +Poems," are here reprinted. + + + + + +THE LAMENT OF MOTHER ARMENIA. + + + I. + + In alien lands they roam, my children dear; + Where shall I make appeal, with none to hear? + Where shall I find them? Far away from me + My sons serve others, thralls in slavery. + + Chorus. + + Oh, come, my children, back to me! + Come home, your motherland to see! + + II. + + Ages have passed, no news of them I hear; + Dead, dead are they, my sons that knew not fear. + I weep, the blood is frozen in my veins; + No one will cure my sorrows and my pains. + + Chorus. + + III. + + My blood is failing and my heart outworn, + My face forever mournful and forlorn; + To my dark grave with grief I shall descend, + Longing to see my children to the end. + + Chorus. + + IV. + + O wandering shepherd, you whose mournful song + Rings through the valleys as you pass along! + Come, let us both, with many a bitter tear, + Weep for the sad death of our children dear! + + Chorus. + + V. + + Crane of the fatherland, fly far away, + Fly out of sight, beyond the setting day; + My last sad greetings to my children bear, + For my life's hope has died into despair! + + Chorus. + + + + + +LIBERTY. + + +Michael Ghazarian Nalbandian was born in Russian Armenia in 1830; +graduated at the University of St. Petersburg with the title of +Professor; was active as a teacher, author, and journalist; fell +under suspicion for his political opinions, and underwent a rigorous +imprisonment of three years, after which he was exiled to the province +of Sarakov, and died there, in 1866, of lung disease contracted in +prison. It is forbidden in Russia to possess a picture of Nalbandian; +but portraits of him, with his poem on "Liberty" printed around the +margin, are circulated secretly. + + + I. + + When God, who is forever free, + Breathed life into my earthly frame,-- + From that first day, by his free will + When I a living soul became,-- + A babe upon my mother's breast, + Ere power of speech was given to me, + Even then I stretched my feeble arms + Forth to embrace thee, Liberty! + + II. + + Wrapped round with many swaddling bands, + All night I did not cease to weep, + And in the cradle, restless still, + My cries disturbed my mother's sleep. + "O mother!" in my heart I prayed, + "Unbind my arms and leave me free!" + And even from that hour I vowed + To love thee ever, Liberty! + + III. + + When first my faltering tongue was freed, + And when my parents' hearts were stirred + With thrilling joy to hear their son + Pronounce his first clear-spoken word, + "Papa, mamma," as children use, + Were not the names first said by me; + The first word on my childish lips + Was thy great name, O Liberty! + + IV. + + Liberty answered from on high + The sovereign voice of Destiny: + "Wilt thou enroll thyself henceforth + A soldier true of Liberty? + The path is thorny all the way, + And many trials wait for thee; + Too strait and narrow is this world + For him who loveth Liberty." + + V. + + "Freedom!" I answered, "on my head + Let fire descend and thunder burst; + Let foes against my life conspire, + Let all who hate thee do their worst: + I will be true to thee till death; + Yea, even upon the gallows tree + The last breath of a death of shame + Shall shout thy name, O Liberty!" + + + + + +THE WANDERING ARMENIAN TO THE SWALLOW. + +By C. A. Totochian. + + + I. + + O swallow, gentle swallow, + Thou lovely bird of spring! + Say, whither art thou flying + So swift on gleaming wing? + + II. + + Fly to my birthplace, Ashdarag, + The spot I love the best; + Beneath my father's roof-tree, + O swallow, build thy nest. + + III. + + There dwells afar my father, + A mournful man and gray, + Who for his only son's return + Waits vainly, day by day. + + IV. + + If thou shouldst chance to see him, + Greet him with love from me; + Bid him sit down and mourn with tears + His son's sad destiny. + + V. + + In poverty and loneliness, + Tell him, my days are passed: + My life is only half a life. + My tears are falling fast. + + VI. + + To me, amid bright daylight, + The sun is dark at noon; + To my wet eyes at midnight + Sleep comes not, late or soon. + + VII. + + Tell him that, like a beauteous flower + Smit by a cruel doom. + Uprooted from my native soil, + I wither ere my bloom. + + VIII. + + Fly on swift wing, dear swallow, + Across the quickening earth, + And seek in fair Armenia + The village of my birth. + + + + + + + + +NOTICE. + + +The author of this book delivers lectures on the following subjects: + + + Armenia, Armenians, and the recent Atrocities. + The Sultan of Turkey, Hamid the II. + American Missions in Turkey. + Social and Political Life in Turkey. + + +About 400 stereopticon views, as well as large maps, and costumes are +used to illustrate the various lectures, which are highly instructive +and entertaining, and never fail of interesting the most critical +audiences. + +The lectures are delivered upon very reasonable terms. For particulars +address, + +Rev. Geo. H. Filian, +Cor. Eastern Parkway and Cresent St., Brooklyn, N.Y. + +From the testimonials of prominent clergymen, authors, and secretaries +of Y.M.C.A.'s, the following few are selected. + + +From Dr. R. S. Storrs, President of the American Board of Foreign +Missions. + +Your address to my congregation was admirable in its tone, and its +entire impression upon those who heard it. Your knowledge of the +facts presented is, of course, accurate and complete; and your method +of presenting the facts is clear, impressive, and leaves the minds +instructed and the hearts quickened. + + +From the Faculty of Chicago Theological Seminary. + +This will introduce to you Rev. George H. Filian, a graduate of this +Seminary, a man of true character and devotion. He has been obliged +to suspend work for a time in Turkey, owing to his faithfulness +in preaching the truth, and is recommended to the consideration of +Christians throughout America. + + By order of the Faculty, H. N. Scott, Secretary. + + +From Prof. G. B. Wilcox, D.D., Chicago Theological Seminary. + +Rev. G. H. Filian, a graduate of this Seminary in 1882, and +since pastor of Armenian Evangelical Church, Marsovan, Turkey, is +lecturing on Turkish missions and Turkish manners and customs. He +is an exceptionally able speaker, and may with all confidence be +introduced by any pastor to his congregation. I speak from long and +intimate acquaintance. + + G. B. Wilcox. + + +From Rev. John H. Barrows, D.D., Pastor First Presbyterian Church. + +Rev. Geo. H. Filian, of Syria, lectured on Constantinople to my people +last night, greatly interesting them. His illustrations are excellent, +and he speaks with great enthusiasm. The evening's entertainment was +very wholesome, and I cordially commend his worthy lecture. My people +have heard him also with pleasure on "Social Life in Turkey." + + +From the Department Secretary Y.M.C.A. of Chicago, Illinois. + +Rev. Geo. H. Filian delivered before one of our meetings his +interesting lecture on "Missions in Turkey." I have never heard a +speaker more interesting, and that held the attention of the audience +in a greater measure than Mr. Filian. He is intelligent upon such +a subject. He is versatile in expression, enthusiastic in delivery, +and certainly very devout in heart. + + Daniel Sloan. + + +From the Secretary in charge Central Building, Y.M.C.A., Brooklyn, N.Y. + +Rev. Geo. H. Filian gave his stereopticon lecture on "Constantinople" +before our young men last night, and I am pleased to say that it is +a lecture of rare interest and enjoyment. The views are beautiful and +very instructive, as they are rarely thrown upon a screen. Mr. Filian +has the advantage of speaking from actual experience, and his eloquent +words, devoted spirit, and fund of humor quickly win the attention +and sympathy of any audience. + + Arthur B. Wood. + + +From Rev. Henry Van Dyke, D.D., Pastor of the Brick Church, New York. + +Your lecture before our Young Men's Society on Monday was a decided +success. Every one was interested in what you had to say, and the +pictures were excellent. We shall be glad when the time comes to have +you with us again. + + +From Rev. George M. Stone, D.D., Hartford. + +Mr. Filian is thoroughly intelligent on the whole Eastern question, +and gives a view of Armenia and its present trial which is exceedingly +valuable. + + +From A. C. Dixon, D.D., Pastor Hanson Place Baptist Church, Brooklyn, +N.Y. + +Rev. George H. Filian has lectured twice in the Hanson Place Baptist +church, and it gives me pleasure to say that his lectures are +interesting and instructive. They stir the heart to work and pray +for the relief of persecuted Armenia. + + +From Louis Albert Banks, D.D., Pastor of Hanson Place M. E. Church, +Brooklyn, N.Y. + +I take great pleasure in saying that the Rev. Geo. H. Filian, who has +spoken from the platform at Hanson Place M. E. church in behalf of the +Armenian Christians, and also lectured in our church on Constantinople, +is a very eloquent and earnest speaker, who will attract attention +and arouse interest anywhere. + + + + + + + + +NOTES + + +[1] The word "Armenian" is not altogether indicative of race, it refers +more particularly to those who are Christians. Any who have forsaken +the faith and become Mohammedans are no longer regarded as Armenians, +but are Turks. + +[2] The above description is taken literally from a report of the +British Vice-Consul of Erzeroum. Copies are in possession of the +diplomatic representatives of the powers at Constantinople. The scene +occurred in the Village of Semal before the massacres, during the +normal condition of things. + +[3] Extracts from letters are left unsigned for fear of endangering +the writers' lives. + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Armenia and Her People, by George H. Filian + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 59270 *** |