The fate of A. minor was hardly better. The dynasty founded by Zariadres prevailed to the time of Tigranes the great, sovereign of A. major, who conquered the country about 70 n.c. Afterwards A. minor was subjugated by the Romans, and made a Roman province. On the division of the empire into eastern and western, it became attached to the former, and shared in all its changes of fortune until near the close of the 11th cen tury. At this time A. minor—which had long been a place of refuge for many who had fled from the rage of the Turks and Persians in the sister province—was again raised to in dependence by Rhupen (a refugee from A. major, and descendant of the Bagratidw). His successors extended their dominion over Cilieia and Cappadocia, and took a prom inent part in the crusades. This dynasty ruled prosperously until 1374, when A. minor was conquered by the Egyptian sultan Schaban. Since that time, A., with the exception of the parts which Russia has won in the present century from Persia, and which are better governed, has remained subject to the despotism of the Turks and Persians. Notwithstanding this, the Armenians have steadily preserved their nation ality, both in its physical and moral lineaments; their faith; and even—though only a relic of their ancient culture—a higher civilization than their conquerors. The political storms which devastated the country during the middle ages, and the persecutions of the Turks, have driven many of the inhabitants from their homes. This is the reason why we find them scattered over all Asia and Europe. In Hungary, Transylvania, and Galicia they number 10,000. They arc very numerous in Russia, but most of all in Asia. Minor, and in the neighborhood of Constantinople, where they number 200.000.
The greater part of A.. is an elevated table-land. Its area is estimated at 90,000 sq.m.; pop. about 2,000,000. It is watered by the rivers Kur, Aras, Joruk, Euphrates, and to a slight extent by the Tigris. The lakes which lie within this mountainous region are Van. Urumiyali, and Sevan. The Armenian plateau, on the eastern side of which the volcanic
range of Ararat lifts itself, forms the central point of several mountaiu.chains, such as Taurus and Antitaurus, the mountains of Kurdistan, and those which run n. to the Black sea. It exhibits numerous traces of having been subject to volcanic agency, and even yet—as was shown by the severe earthquake of the summer of 1840, and by the total destruction of Erzerum in 1859—possesses an internal volcanic activity. The climate in the higher regions is hot in summer and cold iu winter, but in the valleys it is more temperate. The country labors under a great scarcity of wood, and in some parts is sterile, through a deficiency of water; iu other parts the soil is extremely fertile, producing rice, hemp, flax, tobacco, wine, cotton, and many varieties of fruit. Cattle breeding and grazing are more extensive than agriculture. The mountains contain iron, copper, lead, salt, and naphtha. The number of the inhabitants of pure Armenian origin is reckoned at nearly 1,000,000, but there is a large admixture of Turcomans, Greeks, Jews, Kurds, etc. The Armenians belong physically to the finest variety of the Indo-Germanic race. Their intellectual capacity is also remarkable, as is shown both by their literature, and their singular dexterity in business. Still, long centuries of oppression have exerted a withering influence on their native strength of character. The n.e. portion of A., about one third of the whole, was wrested from Persia in 1828, and is under the Russian scepter. About a sixth part to the s.e. still belongs to Persia. The western portion, comprising two thirds of the Armenian area, is Turkish. After the war of 1877-78 between Russia and Turkey, the Berlin conference sanctioned the cession to Russia of a strip of A., including Kars and Ardahan; and the sultan engaged to carry out in A. much-needed reforms, guarantee the Armenians security against the Circassiaus and Kurds, and undertook to report to the European powers the measures adopted.