ARMENIA and towards the south later sedimentary rocks. The last have been pierced by volcanic outbursts that extend southAvard to Lake Van. Amongst the higher mountains are the two Ararats; Ala-geuz l)agh, north of the Aras; Bingeul Dagh, south of Erzerfrm ; and the peaks near Lake Van. The rivers are the Euphrates, Tigris, Aras, Choruk Su, and Kelkit Irmak, all rising on the plateau. The more important lakes are Van, 5100 feet, about twice the size of the Lake of Geneva, and Urmia, 4000 feet, both salt; Gokcha or Sevan, 5870 feet, discharging into the Aras ; and Chaldir, into the Kars Chai. The aspect of the plateau is dreary and monotonous. The valleys are wide expanses of arable land, and the hills are for the most part grass-covered and treeless. But the gorges of the Euphrates and Tigris, and their tributaries, cannot be surpassed in wildness and grandeur. The climate is varied. In the higher districts the winter is long and the cold severe; whilst the summer is short, dry, and hot. In Erzerum the temperature ranges from — 22° to 84° F., and snow sometimes falls in June. In the valley of the Aras, and in the western and southern districts, the climate is more moderate. Most of the towns lie high, from 4000 to 6000 feet. The villages are usually built on gentle slopes, in which the houses are partially excavated as a protection against the severity of the weather. Many of the early towns were on or near the Araxes, and amongst their ruins are the remains of churches which throw light on the history of Christian architecture in the east. Armenia is rich in mineral wealth, and there are many hot and cold mineral B. V.Darbishire &.O.J.R- Hoivarth springs. The vegetation varies according to the locality. Cereals and hardy fruits grow on the higher ground, whilst rice is cultivated in the hot, well-watered valley of the Araxes. The summer is so hot that the vine grows at much higher altitudes than it does in Western Europe, and the cotton tree and all southern fruit trees are cultivated in the deeper valleys. On the fine pasture lands which now support the flocks, of the Kurds, the horses and mules, so celebrated in ancient times, were reared. Trout are found in the rivers, and a small herring in Lake Van. Population.—Accurate statistics cannot be obtained; but it is estimated that in the nine vildyets, which include Turkish Armenia, there are 925,000 Gregorian, Roman Catholic, and Protestant Armenians, 645,000 other Christians, 100,000 Jews, Gypsies, &c., and 4,460,000 Moslems. The Armenians, taking the most favourable estimate, are in a majority in nine kazas or sub-districts only (seven near Van, and two near Mush) out of 159. In Russian Armenia there are 960,000 Armenians, and in Persian Armenia 130,000. According to an estimate made by General Zelenyi for the Caucasus Geographical Society (Zapiski, vol. xviii., Tiflis, 1896, with map), the population of the nine Turkish vilayets, Erzerum, Van, Bitlis, Kharput, Diarbekr, Sivas, Aleppo, Adana, and Trebizond, was 6,000,000 (Armenians, 913,875, or 15 per ■cent; other Christians, 632,875, or 11 per cent; and
633
Moslems, 4,453,250, or 74 per cent). In the first five vilayets, which contain most of the Armenians, the population was 2,642,000 (Armenians, 633,250, or 24 per cent; other Christians, 179,875, or 7 per cent; and Moslems, 1,828,875, or 69 per cent); and in the seven Armenian kazas the population was 282,375 (Armenians, 184,875, or 65 per cent; other Christians, 1000, or O'S per cent; and Moslems, 96,500, or 34’7 per cent). In 1897 there were 970,656 Armenians in Russia, of whom 827,634 were living in the provinces of Erivan, Elizabethpol, and Tiflis. History.—The history of Armenia has been largely influenced by its physical features. The isolation of the valleys, especially in winter, encouraged a tendency to separation, which invariably showed itself when the central power was weak. The rugged mountains have always been the home of hardy mountaineers impatient of control, and the sanctuary to which the lowlanders fled for safety in times of invasion. The country stands as an open doorway between the east and the west. Through its long valleys run the roads that connect the Iranian
oc. Ox ford, i got Sketch Map of Armenia. plateau with the fertile lands and protected harbours of Asia Minor, and for its possession nations have contended from the remotest past. The early history of Armenia, more or less mythical, is partly based on traditions of the Biainian kings (see Ararat), and is interwoven with the Bible narrative, of which a knowledge was possibly obtained from captive Jews settled in the country by Assyrian and Babylonian monarchs. The legendary kings are but faint echoes of the kings of Biainas; the story of Semiramis and Ara is but another form of the myth of Venus and Adonis; and tradition has clothed Tigranes, the reputed friend of Cyrus, with the transient glory of the opponent of Lucullus. The fall of the Biainian kingdom, perhaps overthrown by Cyaxares, was apparently soon followed by an immigration of Aryan (Medo-Persian) races, including the progenitors of the Armenians. But they spread slowly, for the “ Ten Thousand,” when crossing the plateau to Trebizond, 401-400 b.c., met no Armenians after leaving the villages four days’ march beyond the Teleboas, now Kara Su. Under the Medes and Persians Armenia was a satrapy governed by a member of the reigning family; and after the battle of Arbela, 331 B.c., it was ruled by Persian governors ^"^tory appointed by Alexander and his successors. Ardvates, 317-284 B.c., freed himself from Seleucid control; S. I. — 8o
