The inhabitants of Turkish Armenia num ber about 2,470,000. Besides those of the gen uine Armenian stock, in consequence of the repeated subjugation of the country, various other races have obtained a footing. Of these the principal are the Turks and the predatory Kurds; on the Tchorak, Georgians; and throughout the whole country, Greeks, Jews and Gypsies. Before the European War the total number of Armenians was estimated at over 2,500,000, of whom about 650,000 were in Turkish Armenia; about 576,000 in the rest of Asiatic Turkey; about 400,000 in European Turkey; about 1,119,000 in Russian Trans caucasia; and 100,000 in Persia. Since the outbreak of the war, however, an appallingly large number have been exterminated in Tur key. The remainder, like the Jews, are scat tered overvarious countries, and being strongly addicted to commerce, Of an im portant part as merchants. Of late years many have emigrated to America and they are also to be found in Hungary, Italy, Africa and India, chiefly in the great marts, Bom bay, Madras and Calcutta. Everywhere they are engaged in banking and trading. Their eyes and hair are black, their looks lively, noses aquiline and their complexion somewhat swarthy. The women are remarkable for the delicacy and regularity of their features. Like the Jews, whom in many respects they resemble, their ruling passion appears to be an inordinate love of gain, but they are generally esteemed honest. Their mental capacity is good and those who are educated are distin guished by superior cultivation and refined manners; but the mass of the people inhabit ing their native country, in consequence of centuries of neglect, are grossly ignorant and superstitious.
The legendary history of Ar menia begins with Hailc, son of Togarmah, the great grandson of Noah, mentioned in Gen. x, 3. He is said to have taken refuge in Armenia from the tyranny of Belus, King of Babylon, who was slain in pursuit of him. The seventh king in descent from Haik was killed in battle with Semiramis and the country became tributary to Assyria. From Haile the country derived the name Haikistan, and from Armenak, one of his successors, that of Armenia. Armenia continued subject to Assyria under its own princes till the re volt of the Medes and Babylonians against Sardanapalus, when Barbak, the King of Ar menia, joined these powers and recovered his independence. Tigranes I is said to have been the ally of Cyrus against Astyages and to have built the city of Tigranocerta. His suc cessor, Vhakin, the legendary hero of Arme nia, was deified after his death. Vahi, the last of the dynasty of Haik, was killed in fighting against Alexander the Great as the ally or vassal of Darius. The duration of the dynasty was about 1,800 years. Armenia was now incorporated with the kingdom of Syria. It recovered its independence under Ardvates, 317 B.C., during the dissension among the suc cessors of Alexander, but on his death sub mitted to the Seleucidm. About 190 B.C. Ar taxias and Zariadres, two Armenian nobles, freed themselves from the dominion of An tiochus the Great and established the kingdoms of Armenia Major and Armenia Minor. Ar menia Major was reconquered from Artaxias II by Antiochus Epiphanes. About 149 a.c. Mithridates, or Arsaces VI, King of Parthia, whose dominion extended over Media, Persia and Babylonia, placed his brother Wagher shag or Valarsaces on the throne of Armenia and introduced the dynasty of the Arsacidm into the country. He built cities and organ ized the defenses of the country. His great grandson, Tigranes H, whose long reign ap pears to have begun about % conquered Artenes, King of Sophene or Armenia Minor, and united all Armenia under his sway. He was successful in war against the Parthians and made himself master of the whole Syrian monarchy. He is also said to have founded or built Tigranocerta, the origin of which is likewise attributed to his probably mythical predecessor. Being the son-in-law of Mith ridates. King of Pontus, while Mithridates was preparing to renew his war with the Romans after the death of Sulla, he invaded Cappa docia at his instigation and carried away much spoil and many prisoners. Mithridates, after his defeat, took refuge with Tigranes, who does not seem to have been disposed to render him active assistance; but Lucullus made a peremptory demand through Appius Clodius for his surrender, which left Tigranes no al ternative but a declaration of war, 69 B.C. Disregarding an invasion of Cilicia, Lucullus at once carried the war into Armenia, de feated the numerous forces of Tigranes and captured Tigranocerta. Antiochus Eusebes was reinstated on the throne of Syria, and other dependents of Tigranes revolted. Ti granes in the meantime, with the assistance of Mithridates, collected another army which was again defeated by Lucullus. Favored by disaffection among the Roman troops, how ever, Tigranes recovered the greater part of Armenia and defeated Fannius, the lieutenant of Lucullus. Pompey, who arrived in 66 B.C., after overthrowing Mithridates, who had also recovered his dominions, advanced to Arme nia, which was at the same time invaded by the Parthians, instigated by the revolted son of Tigranes. The Parthians speedily with
drew and young Tigranes fled to Pompey. At this critical juncture the elder Tigranes hastened to make his submission to the Roman general, who left him in possession of his kingdom, but deprived him of the provinces of Sophene and Gordyene, which he erected into a kingdom for the younger Tigranes. The elder Tigranes continued faithful to the Roman alliance, and Gordyene, which had been seized by the Parthians, was soon after re stored to him. Tigranes died about 55 B.C. His son Artavasdes was made prisoner by Antony and carried to Egypt where he was put to death by Cleopatra in 30 B.c. Armenia, lying between the Roman and Parthian em pires, became a battlefield where they dis puted for mastery, and with difficulty main tained its independence under princes from the family of the Arsacidm till the time of Trajan, who made it a province. It was given up by Hadrian and again ruled by the Arsa mkt. Chosroes defended it during a long reign against the power of Persia, which had recently re-established its monarchy on the ruins of the Parthian empire; but about 258 59 A.D. Sapor, King of Persia, unable to sub due Chosroes by force of arms, caused him to be assassinated, and his son Tiridates be ing an infant, took possession of the country. Tiridates was restored by the Romans in 286, the third year of Diocletian. At the beginning of his reign he persecuted the Christians, who were numerous in Armenia, but was himself converted to Christianity, it is said, by Greg ory the Illuminator. Armenia was thus the first country which officially embraced Chris tianity. On the defeat of Galerius by the Persians in 296 Tiridates, who fought valiantly as the ally of the Romans, was compelled to follow the retreat of his protectors; but the succeeding campaign restored him and his dominions were extended in the peace with Persia which followed. By the treaty into which Jovian, the successor of Julius, entered with Sapor II, 363 A.D., the Romans were compelled to abandon the protection of Armenia. It was speedily reduced to a Per sian province, but after the death of Sapor its independence was restored in a new treaty of peace made with Theodosius in 384. The country long oppressed by the contentions between the Romans and Persians, soon fell into division through the attraction of these rival powers (387). A Persian king or gov ernor, Chosroes, was set up over the eastern, and a Roman, Arsaces, over the western por tion of the country, both being of the royal house of Armenia. On the death of Arsaces the Romans suppressed the form of royalty and annexed their portion of the country to the empire under the military command of a count of the Armenian frontier. This oc curred in the reign of Theodosius II. On the death of Artasires or Ardashir, the suc cessor of Chosroes, Bahram V of Persia (about 428) annexed the Persian portion un der the name of Persarmenia. The Persians exerted themselves to extirpate Christianity but failed to do so; and on the fall of Sas sanidw (632) the country was united again under the Greek empire. After the Arab in vasion in 637 it became the scene of incessant struggles between the declining empire and the rising Mohammedan power and as it was persecuted by the emperors for its adoption of the Monophysite heresy its sympathies were not always with the former, The dynasty of the Pagratids or Bagratida was established by the arms and influence of the caliphs. It was a family of Jewish origin and appears to have risen gradually to influence in the coun try. The date of its elevation to royalty is usually given as 885, but a much earlier date is sometimes assigned. It lasted till 1079, when the country again became dependent on the Greek empire. During this period several other dynasties which it is not necessary spe cifically to notice reigned simultaneously in different parts of the country. On the fall of the Pagratidw, Rhupen or Ruben, a relative of the last king, founded a small kingdom in the north of Cilicia, which gradually ex tended to the Mediterranean and was known as Lesser Armenia. It rendered valuable assist ance to the Crusaders, and its later rulers were of the house of Lusignan, styled Kings of Cyprus, Jerusalem and Armenia, the last of whom, Leon VI, was taken prisoner when the country was conquered by the Mamelukes in 1375. Armenia formed part of the empires of Genghis Khan and Tamerlane and a great part of it was conquered by Selim H in 1522. Henceforth it was shared between the Turks and Persians, the former having the greater part of it. In 1828 Russia obtained a consid erable portion of Persian Armenia and this was augmented in 1878 by the Turkish pos sessions of Batum, Ardahan and Kars, ceded by the treaty of Berlin. Russian Armenia in cludes the governments of Erivan and Eliza bethpol, the territory of Kars, etc., with the important towns of Tiflis, Kars and Erivan. Persian Armenia forms part of the province of Azerbaijan. Turkish Armenia, which in cludes most of Kurdistan, is composed of the vilayets of Erzerum, Mamuret-ul-Aziz, Diar behr, Bitlis and Van, with an area of 71,990 square miles.