Chapter I
.
[32] Rawlinson, “The Sixth Great Oriental Monarchy,” pp. 140-1.
[33] According to Strabo, 12 Greek cities were depopulated to furnish Tigrancerta with inhabitants (XI, 14 Sect. 15). According to Appean 300,000 Cappadocians were translated thither (Methrice, page 216 C). Plutarch speaks of the population as having been drawn from Cilicin, Cappadocia, Gordyene, Assyria and Adeabeni (Lucu, 11 26).
[34] Rawlinson, “The Sixth Great Oriental Monarchy,” XIII, p. 206.
III
THE RELIGION OF THE ANCIENT ARMENIANS
“And Noah builded an altar unto the Lord.” Gen. 9:20. “Our earth owes the seeds of all higher culture to religious traditions, whether literary or oral.”--_Herdee._
The Bible, modern scholarship and Armenian traditions agree that the ark of Noah rested “upon the mountains of Ararat,” or Armenia. We learn from the Bible, that Noah came out of the ark and all those that were with him, and he builded an altar unto the Lord “and offered burnt offerings on the Altar.” This fact justifies Armenia’s claim to be the first country where a true and pure divine worship was again practised after the Deluge. The tradition of the Armenians coincides with the truth revealed in the Bible and with the results of modern scholarship, that the primitive religion of mankind was a pure and simple monotheism, in form patriarchal. Prof. Max Müller of Oxford, England, says “Religion is not a new invention. It is, if not as old as the world, at least as old as the world we know. As soon almost as we know anything of the thoughts and feelings of man, we find him in possession of religion, or rather possessed by religion.”
The Bible furnishes sufficient facts to assert that this pure monotheism in its patriarchal form was perpetuated among the immediate descendants of Noah, and later especially in the line of Abraham. Many centuries after the building of the first altar unto the Lord we find Abraham called by Jehovah out of his country and from his people to become the head of a nation through whom the knowledge of the only one true God should be perpetrated. God’s call of Abraham was not for the purpose of making a true worshiper of him, but that through him the true worship of Jehovah might be perpetuated. The Lord said “I will make of thee a great nation.”
Another example of the true worshiper of God in the time of Abraham was Melchizedek (King of righteousness), King of Salem (peace), “who was the high priest of the most high God.”[35] Melchizedek was not only a monotheist, but also the priest of a monotheistic faith. He reigned over his people on whose behalf he officiated as the high priest of the most high God. Now, therefore, it ought to be admitted that not only solitary individuals, like Abraham and Melchizidek, but the people of the latter also were true worshipers of God.
The Bible is not a universal history of mankind. Were it so, well might we have expected it to mention other nations and their early religious beliefs; though what little it incidentally states in regard to them is marvelously accurate. The Armenian tradition that their primitive religion was monotheism, therefore, is neither incredible nor inconceivable, but on the contrary, it is most probable and is supported by the analogy of the Bible record.
The investigations of modern scholarship maintain the idea and render it almost a moral demonstration that the primitive religions of the ancient nations were of a monotheistic type or if not a pure monotheism, at least not very far from it. Prof. Max Müller, in his lectures on the “Origin and Growth of Religion,” says: “The Ancient Aryans felt from the beginning, aye, it may be more in the beginning than afterwards, the presence of a Beyond[36] of an Infinite, of a Divine, or whatever else we may call it now; and they tried to grasp and comprehend it, as we all do, by giving to it name after name.” It is conceded by the scholars that the ancient Armenians were closely connected with the ancient Aryans (See Chap. II), indeed that they were Aryans, and their legitimate descendants now speak a language which modern ethnologists decidedly pronounce to belong to Aryan or Indo-Germanic origin. Although we do not know when the separation of the Aryans took place, we can safely say that the above statement of Prof. Max Müller is also perfectly applicable to the ancient Armenians; yet we are not able to say how long such a purity of faith prevailed in Armenia.
The human mind is capable of progress, but when it is left to itself is sure to retrograde and degenerate. This is verified in the case of almost all nations and in the history of all the religions of the world. “That religion is liable to corruption is surely seen again and again. In one sense the history of most religions might be called a slow corruption of their primitive purity.” Divine aid, especially in religion, is therefore absolutely necessary for a true progress. Armenia left to herself fell into a gross form of idolatry. Her fall must have been hastened, if not caused, by her idolatrous neighbors, the Babylonians and Assyrians. For the idolatry which we find in the early history of the country is decidedly like that of Assyro-Babylonian. It is not the same religion adopted and practised by the inhabitants, but it is modeled after the Assyrian.
Anterior to the cuneiform inscriptions of Armenia the people must have had an idolatry similar to the Sabeism (Sabianism) of Babylonia, which was afterwards modeled to the Assyrian style, with its distinctive character. One of the inscriptions furnishes a long list of the gods and the regulations for sacrifices daily to be offered to them. There are, however, three other gods, which stood apart by themselves at the head of the Pantheon. These are Khaldis, Tusbas (the air god) and Adinis (the sun god). But Khaldis is the supreme god and the father of other gods; and in addition to these every tribe, and city and fortress seem to have its respective god. Some other gods are Avis or Auis (the water god), Agas (the earth god), Dhuspuas (the god of Tosp, the City of Van), Selardis (the moon god), Sardis (the year god). The Armenians, in this period, do not seem to have any goddess. Saris is found only mentioned once in the inscriptions and is translated “queen,” yet it is supposed to have been borrowed from the Assyrian Istar. Whether all the other gods are the children of the supreme god Khaldis, or are subordinate to him and separate from his numerous offsprings, it is not quite clear; the latter, however, is most likely the case, because the Kaldians (the children of Khaldis) and other gods have their separate offerings assigned to them according to their importance.
With the rise of the Medo-Persian empire a new religion rises from obscurity to prominence in western Asia. This is the religion of Zoroaster. It is generally believed that Zoroaster was a real person and the founder of this religion, which is called after his name, Zoroastrianism. There is, however, great uncertainty about the period of his existence; some would make him contemporary with David or Solomon. It is probable that he lived in a much later time than these Israelitish kings.
The religion of Zoroaster is dualistic. It teaches that there are two uncreated beings. Ormazd, the supreme good, and Ahriman, the evil; that Ormazd created the earth, the heavens, and man, and that man is created free; Ahriman is the evil and evil-doer, and in constant war with Ormazd; this world is their battlefield. There are inferior (good and bad) spirits which are called _genii_, who are the instruments of Ormazd (the good spirits) and Ahriman (the bad spirits). Fire alone was the personification of the son of Ormazd, and therefore an object of veneration.[37]
The Magi were the priests of Zoroastrianism, with a high priest of this order who was called in the Armenian language _Mogbed_ (the head or the leader of Magi). No doubt this was the religion of the Armenians for nearly eight centuries (550 B.C. to 275 or 280 A.D.), possibly with some modifications and additions from the Grecian polytheism after the conquest of Alexander the Great. The Roman deifications of her emperors did not effect Armenia.
FOOTNOTES:
[35] Genesis, 14:18.
[36] The following three Armenian words will show what they believed before the Christian religion was introduced into the country:
(_a_) _Asd-u-adz_ means God, and is made up of _asd_ and _adz_--“here” and “He brought,” namely--God is the one who brought us here.
(_b_) _Mart_=man, is composed _Mi_=no or not, _art_=now or the present-meaning not for the present. The man is made for the future or hereafter.
(_c_) _Mah_=death, _mi_=no or _not_, _ah_=fear. Death in Armenian meant no fear. Shows belief in the hereafter.
[37] A sample of the polytheistic Babylonian’s prayer:
“May the god whom I know not be appeased! May the goddess whom I know not be appeased! May both the god I know and the god I know not be appeased!”
IV.
THE CONVERSION OF THE ARMENIANS
Hardly will it be necessary to turn the attention of the reader to the condition of the world, especially in western Asia, at the time of Christ’s Advent. Sabeism or Sabianism of Ancient Babylonia had not quite expired yet, though her votaries, in despair, were getting ready to give her a magnificent burial. In vain had the Assyrians tried to resuscitate her (fancying that the number of gods was not sufficient to keep Sabeism alive), by raising some imaginary powers into the dignity of deities. The Persians thought Zoroastrianism a plausible hypothesis to account for the constant conflict of the good and evil in the world by assuming Ormazd the supreme good god and Ahriman the evil being, but they were conscious of its insufficiency and following the example of the Assyrians and Babylonians, they adopted other gods and a goddess, too. Yet these additions, instead of improving the faith of Zoroaster corrupted it with the impurities of immorality. The Grecian invasion of western Asia was the means of introducing there a gross polytheism which increased the darkness of the moral and religious condition of the East. The noble religion of the patriarchs and the prophets had fallen into a ritualistic literalism in the hands of the Pharisees; and in the hand of skeptical Saducees it had become an object of incredulity. In one word, the world was lying in wickedness, enveloped in the darkest clouds of idolatry, superstitions and sin.
Then it was that the Sun of Righteousness arose with healing in His wings and chased away the darkness which had enveloped the whole world. Christ’s fame had already spread far and nigh and reached the ear of the Armenian Prince of Edessa, and it had revived in his heart hopes of recovery from an incurable disease. Therefore sent he for Christ, according to the tradition of the entire Christian Church. Soon after the ascension of Christ three of His apostles, Thaddeus, Bartholomew and Jude, successively and successfully preached the gospel in Armenia. Some even affirm that not only the seed of the gospel was planted there by these apostles, and they watered it by their blood--having suffered martyrdom there--but by the apostolic preaching of Gregory the Illuminator, the churches which they organized survived all manner of persecution till the final conquest of Christianity over Armenia.
The following is from the pen of H. B. Tristram, D.D., LL.D., F.R.S., canon of Durham, England, writing on the subject: “There were certain Greeks.”[38] “It is a very early tradition, and the pretended letter of Abgarus, and the reply of Jesus, are recorded by Eusebius, and were accepted in his time. He professes to have obtained them from the archives of Edessa. The Armenians identify the messengers with their nationality and claim that Abgarus was King of Armenia. But, though all historical critics agree in pronouncing the letters apocryphal, there is less reason for rejecting the tradition that Thaddæus, soon after the dispersion of the disciples from Jerusalem, carried the gospel into Armenia. We know that when Gregory the Illuminator, who was born A.D. 257, proclaimed the message throughout Armenia, he found Christians everywhere, and a church which though sorely persecuted and oppressed, had existed from apostolic times. He was, in fact, rather the restorer than the founder of the Armenian church, which became the Church of the whole nation half a century before the cross was emblazoned on the standard of Rome. The Armenians may justly claim to be the oldest Christian nation in the world.”
Though Christianity was first introduced into Armenia by the Apostles, who laid the foundation of the ennobling, regenerating, purifying religion of Christ so early as in the middle of the first century of the Christian era, yet the completion of that work and the demolition of heathenism were reserved for St. Gregory.
Prince Anak, Gregory’s father, was of the royal family of Arsacidae of Parthia, whose reign was overthrown by Artaxerxes, the founder of the Sassanian dynasty of Persia. But the Armenian branch of Arsacidae was still in full vigor in the person of Chosroves I, the King of Armenia, who had tried to restore the seized scepter of power to the deprived royal family of Parthia from the revolter, Artaxerxes, the Persian. The latter could not be secure on his throne, so long as Chosroves was the ruler of Armenia. So he attempted to reduce Armenia. But, failing to do this, by force of arms, he resorted to treachery. Anak, who was related to Chosroves, was induced by Artaxerxes, with promises of large reward, to play the part of an assassin. It was so arranged that Anak would be driven out of Persia as a person dangerous to the safety of the newly established sovereignty there because he was a member of the Arsacide dynasty. “Anak, with his wife, his children, his brother, and a train of attendants, pretended to take refuge in Armenia from the threatened vengeance of his sovereign, who caused his troops to pursue him, as a rebel and deserter, to the very borders of Armenia.”[39] Anak was received by Chosroves, who listened to his story with great credulity and sympathy. With the first opportunity, Anak committed the crime of assassination of the king, but the latter lived long enough to request the complete destruction of the assassin and his family. Anak had no time to effect his escape and being seized, he and his brother received the due punishment of their crime. His son, Gregory, however, who was only an infant, was saved by the faithfulness of his nurse, who took the child and escaped into the city of Cæsarea, Cappadocia, where he was brought up in a Christian family, with a thorough Christian education.
On the other hand, Artaxerxes attained his object without paying for it, and, hearing of the condition of affairs in Armenia, he immediately hastened thither with his army and took the people by surprise. He doomed the royal family of Arsacidae to death, so as not to leave any to rival him for the throne. However, Tiridates, the son of Chosroves, escaped into the Roman province of Armenia, and thence to Rome, where he received a military training. His sister was hid in the stronghold of Ani.
Tiridates found favor with the Roman Emperor Diocletian, who, with a great force, sent him to Armenia to retake his father’s throne from the Persians. He was welcomed by his people, who joined his army and drove out of the country their common enemy (A.D. 286). It appears that Gregory had sought Tiridates and found him in Rome and entered his services, his sole “purpose being to win over to eternal life, through the gospel of Christ, the son of him who had been slain by his father, and thus to make amends for his father’s crime.” Though Gregory suffered many a torture and torment and a long period of imprisonment, yet this noble Christian hero and apostle was determined “to win (the king) over to eternal life, through the gospel of Christ.”
The king, finally, was converted and baptized by St. Gregory. Tiridates himself became a worthy champion of the truth, and the first honored king who proclaimed throughout his dominions that henceforth the religion of Christ is the religion of Armenia. The Armenians were nationally converted to Christianity, from the king down to the servant; we must not forget, however, that there were some especially among the nobility, who with a heathenish tenacity held on to the Zoroastrian faith, but this was for mercenary purposes rather than a real appreciation of Zoroastrianism. For Christianity had made a great advance in the country. Moreover, the apostle of Armenia, by his evangelistic spirit and labors, had laid a firm foundation for the religion of Christ in the land of Ararat (A.D. 289). He was, by the request of the king, sent to Cæsarea, Cappadocia, to be ordained bishop over Armenia (A.D. 302).[40]
The temples of the idols in every important city and town were pulled down and Christian churches in their stead were built. The most splendid of all these churches was Etchmiadsin, “the descent of the only begotten,” which was afterwards clustered about with other buildings and became a monastery and to this day the seat of St. Gregory’s successors to his prelatic chair.
In those days, and during a century afterwards, Christian training was carried on by the catechisers, for very few had access to the Syriac or Greek literature, and the Armenian literature also was written in either of these characters; the characters of the Armenian alphabet were not yet wholly discovered or completed. So the reader will bear in mind that the advantages of imparting or disseminating a thorough Christian knowledge, if not lacking wholly, were very inadequate. After a long and useful life St. Gregory entered into the joy of the Lord and Master (A.D. 332).
Ten years after the death of this noble apostle of Armenia, the valiant defender of that divine faith also ended his useful career (342), after seeing the prosperous condition of the Church, which they loved and for which they toiled. Both were succeeded by their sons. The power of Armenia, however, was not equal to the conflicting forces on either side, though the descendants of Tiridates held the scepter of Armenia nearly a century longer, it was in a very enervated state. Nevertheless the Church of Christ made a decided advance within this period. The Armenian alphabetic characters[41] were recovered and completed by the distinguished scholar and prelate Mesrob, who, with St. Isaac, the patriarch, or bishop, translated the Scriptures into the Armenian language, the Old Testament from the Septuagint version and the New Testament from the original Greek.[42] After the conversion of the Armenians to Christianity not a few of the youths of Armenia flocked into the schools of Athens, Alexandria, and Constantinople, to sate their avidity for learning, who, afterwards, rendered great service to the nation, both by their writings, and many valuable translations from the Greek. Some of these originals have been lost and the world now has them in Armenian only.
The rise of the Sassanian dynasty in Persia was a source of more or less perpetual misery and bloodshed in Armenia. The Persians had two reasons for their cruel attitude toward Armenia. The first was the continued existence of the Arsacide reign in Armenia; the second was Armenia’s conversion to Christianity, while Zoroastrianism was revived in Persia by the Sassanian Kings. Christianity was the permanent occasion for which Armenia has suffered and is still suffering indescribable miseries and innumerable cruelties. The Persians imagined that as long as the Armenians were Christians they were in alliance with the Greeks, while in reality the Greeks were no more in sympathy with them than the Persians were.
Yasgerd II, the King of Persia (A.D. 450), decreed thus: “All peoples and tongues throughout my dominions must abandon their heresies and worship the Sun, bring to him their offerings, and call him God; they shall feed the holy fire, and fulfill all the ordinances of Magi.” Accordingly, Mihrnerseh, the grand vizier of the Persian court, wrote a long letter to the Armenians, polemic in character, persuasive in style, and menacing in tone. The Synod of the Armenian bishops was convened at once and it was unanimously decided to defend their religion at any cost. The synod also agreed upon answering the letter of the grand vizier in which they both refuted the charges brought against Christianity, undauntedly defended their faith, showing the absurdity of Zoroastrianism, and concluded the epistle with these words: “From this belief no one can move us, neither angels nor men, neither fire nor sword, nor water, nor any other horrid torture, however they be called. All our goods and our possessions are before thee, dispose of them as thou wilt, and if thou only leave us to our belief, we will here below choose no other lord in Thy place, and in heaven have no other God but Jesus Christ, for there is no other God save only him. But shouldst Thou require something beyond this great testimony, behold our resolution; our bodies are in Thy hands--do with them according to Thy pleasure; tortures are thine, and patience ours; Thou hast the sword, we the neck; we are nothing better than our forefathers, who, for the sake of their faith, resigned their goods, possessions and life. Do Thou, therefore, inquire of us nothing further concerning these things, for our belief originates not with men, we are not taught like children, but we are indissolubly bound to God, from whom nothing can detach us, neither now, nor hereafter, nor for ever, and ever.”
As soon as this letter arrived at the royal court of Persia, King Yasgerd read it; he was enraged and summoned the Armenian princes immediately to repair to his majesty’s presence. There in the presence of the king they manifested a great resolution in their faith, for which they were ignominiously treated and confined in prison. Having been threatened while in their confinement they devised a scheme; they thought it is better to apparently comply with the demands of the king, but inwardly to remain true to their convictions. God, who is able to bring good out of evil, indeed did so in this case. When it was made known to the king that the Armenian princes were willing to accept his terms, at once they were liberated and returned with distinctions to their homes. And a large army with over seven hundred magi were exultantly marching on to Armenia to raze to the ground every Christian Church and school and disciple the people into the mysterious absurdities of Zoroastrianism.
No sooner had the news of the apostacy of the princes reached Armenia than the bishops, priests, and the laity condemned the weakness and the folly of the princes. When the princes returned to Armenia they found no one ready or willing to listen to any explanation, but everywhere and everybody was ready and willing to defend his religion at the cost of his life. A large multitude, made up of clergy and laity, among whom were many women, gathered for immediate action, for the enemy was marching on. Some of the princes could not endure the contempt of the people nor the unrelenting remorse of their consciences, so they were ready to expiate their folly at any cost.
Prince Vartan, the Mamigonian, was unanimously appointed the commander-in-chief of the Armenian forces, and the multitude--66,000 volunteers--was formed into three divisions and each division was entrusted to a prince, Vartan, Nershebuh and Vasag. All knew that the struggle and the strife was a desperate one. But brave Vartan and the rest were not dismayed, though they knew that they alone could not conquer the immense army of the enemy already in the country, with a small and inexperienced force of his own, yet there was no other choice; they were not fighting for victory, but for their convictions and for their chosen religion, the religion of Christ.
The address of Vartan, the commander-in-chief, is most beautiful and touching: “I have been,” said he, “in many battles, and you also with me; we have sometimes bravely vanquished the foe; sometimes they vanquished us, but on all these occasions we thought only of worldly distinction, and we fought merely at the command of a mortal king. Behold, we have all many wounds and scars upon our persons, and great must have been our bravery to have won these great marks of honor. But useless and empty I deem these exploits whereby we have received these honorable marks, for they pass away. If, however, you have done such valiant deeds in obedience to a mortal ruler, how much more will you do them for our immortal King, who is Lord of life and death, who judges every one according to his works.
“Now, therefore, I entreat you, my brave companions, and more so as you--albeit in bravery, worth, and inherited honors greater than I--have of your own free will and out of your love elected me your leader and chief; I entreat that my words may be favorably received by the high and the low. Fear not the numbers of the heathen; withdraw not necks from the terrific sword of a mortal man in order that the Lord may give the victory into our hands, that we may annihilate their power and lift on high the standard of truth.”
On the morning of the day (2d of June, 451, old style) of the battle the little army of the Holy League received the Eucharist (holy communion) and marched on with these words: “May our death be like to the death of the just, and may the shedding of our blood resemble the bloodshedding of the prophets! May God look in mercy on our voluntary self-offering, and may He not deliver the Church into the hands of the heathen!”
With amazing bravery and valor must they have fought. But alas; there was treachery and treason among the little army of the Holy League. Vasag, who was in command of the third division of the Armenian forces, deserted the holy cause with his force, and still worse, he sided with the enemy and decided the battle against the Armenians. The fall of the noble commander Vartan and some others also disheartened the rest. Had Vasag not acted the part of Judas, had he not betrayed his Master and Master’s cause the Armenians would have achieved a signal victory in the annals of Church history, and also might have regained their political independence. The fall of the leaders left the people in confusion, the enemy then fell upon them, seized many and indiscriminately slaughtered them. Many of the bishops and priests were captured, some were martyred on the spot, others were carried to Persia and there executed. The patriarch Joseph, in whose character and life shine forth piety, courage, and devotion, was one of those carried to Persia.
This was one of the many contests which the Armenians had with the fire-worshiping Persian. The Armenians were defeated, the Persians had the battlefield, but the real victory, the moral and religious victory, was won by the Armenians.
Indeed did the sons and daughters of Armenia prefer a Christian’s grave to the heathen’s home.
“Her head was crowned with flowers, Her feet were bathed with spray, Hers were the land of Eden, The cradle of our race.
“But then upon her borders, Shouted the Persian horde: ‘Fall down and worship fire, Or perish by the sword.’
“Then up sprang Armenia And raised her voice on high, And back to haughty Persia Rang loud the warlike cry:
“‘I will not be a heathen, I will not be a slave, If I cannot have a Christian’s home, I’ll find a Christian’s grave.’”
From this time on the Armenians have never shrunk from defending their religion and rights against any odds. If they have no way to defend these rights as has been the case recently, they still would rather suffer torture and death than purchase life and freedom at the cost of principle and right.
The Persians, after their conquest of Armenia, destroyed many of the churches and schools, persecuted the Christians with indescribable tortures and cruelties, and forced them to become like themselves, fire-worshipers. The Armenians, in return, most cordially hated both the religion of Zoroaster and its defenders and teachers, and were anxious for an opportunity to drive out these usurpers and unwelcomed teachers of a philosophized religion, spun out of Zoroaster’s or somebody else’s imagination. Christianity and Zoroastrianism had many a battle in the land of Ararat, until the latter, in total despair, was willing to submit to the former, on some amicable terms to be suggested by a brave son of Armenia, a worthy member of the house of Mamigonians. This valiant champion of Christianity was Vahan Mamigonian, whose father and uncle, Prince Vartan, led the Holy League in battle and with the heroism and courage of the martyrs defended their rights and religion and had sealed their testimony to the truth of Christianity by their blood in that battle.
The long-looked for opportunity had come; the northern provinces rebelled against the Persians; the latter, therefore, attempted to subdue them. The Armenians availed themselves of this ample occasion, armed themselves, and urged Vahan to take the lead of the army to clear out the country of the troops of the enemy left there. The attempt was made. The Persian forces stubbornly resisted the Armenians, but several reverses had convinced them that further resistance was useless and when a new governor, Nikhor, was appointed by Balas, the King of Persia (A.D. 485), he, instead of attacking Vahan, who held almost the entire country, wished to come to an arrangement agreeable to the Armenians. Prince Vahan, therefore, proposed the following terms:
“1. The existing fire-altars should be destroyed, and no others should be erected in Armenia.
“2. The Armenians should be allowed the free and full exercise of Christian religion, and no Armenian should be in future tempted or bribed to declare themselves disciples of Zoroaster.
“3. If converts were nevertheless made from Christianity to Zoroastrianism, places (of honor) should not be given to them.
“4. The Persian King should in person and not by deputy administer the affairs of Armenia.”[43]
These terms proposed by Prince Vahan were favorably received by Nikhor, and an edict of toleration was issued and proclaimed that every one be at liberty to adhere to his own religion, and that no one should be driven to apostatize. Afterwards Vahan himself was appointed by the king, governor of Armenia, and the church thus enjoyed a period of tranquillity from the persecutions.
FOOTNOTES:
[38] John 12:20, 21.
[39] Rawlinson, “The Seventh Oriental Monarchy,” p. 51.
[40] “The Armenian King became a convert before their [emperor’s] revival (of persecution) under Diocletian (284-305 A.D.); and Christianity was adopted as the religion of the State in Armenia some thirty years prior to its triumph in the West by the decisive action of the Melvian Bridge (312), and over 100 years before the edicts of Theodosius the First against the practice of paganism.” Lynch, “Armenia,” Vol. I, p. 293.
[41] The translation of Scriptures was completed A.D. 436. “A statement found in Philostratus (about 200 A.D.) would point to the existence of an Armenian alphabet at the beginning of our era.” Appleton’s, “The Universal Cyclopedia,” Vol. I, p. 321.
[42] The final translation and revision of the Scriptures was completed in A.D. 436.
[43] Rawlinson, “The Seventh Great Oriental Monarchy,” pp. 334-4.
V
THE CONFLICTING FORCES
Some great changes were slowly taking place in the East as well as in the West. These changes were to give a different aspect to the history of future nations. As we have seen the Parthian Empire had been overthrown; Persia proper regained her independence. The Parthian branch of the Assacide dynasty in Armenia also came to an end after a reign of almost six centuries (150 B.C.-432 A.D.). On the other hand the Roman Empire was too large to be under one emperor; the leading people of the empire were divided into two, the Greeks and the Latins. The division of the empire into the eastern and western was not only natural, but also desirable. The Greek city Byzantium was rebuilt and honorably made the capital of the Eastern empire, and called Constantinople[44] after the name of Emperor Constantine the Great (about A.D. 328). This metropolis of the Eastern Empire soon became a worthy rival of Rome, both in civil and ecclesiastical matters.
The above brief survey of these conflicting forces--and others which will be mentioned in their order--show that they were naturally of two kinds, namely, political and religious. Though we may make such a division, and even admit, that politics can be divorced from religion, yet we must confess that this has not been done in the East to this present time. It may be, therefore, stated that Christianity, as a religion, was, and is, one of the most powerful of the conflicting forces in the East. It is true that its Founder is called the Prince of Peace, and He was and is, and ever shall be, yet the very principles of His religion uncompromisingly militate against the domestic, social and political evils. The baser natures--many of them, even among the so-called Christians--therefore, run to the sword to settle their disputes.
The enforcement of the religion of Christ upon the millions by Constantine or other emperors did not change their hearts. It is to our credit to confess, that though the Armenians nationally accepted Christianity, and no doubt it had taken a firm root in the hearts of the most of the people, yet there were many Vasags that had clung to their idols, and had not failed to give much trouble to the truly patriotic followers of Christ. It was due to this lack of true Christianity that increased troubles arose between the Greek and Armenian Christians.
The Greeks feared and hated the Armenians, for the latter were in alliance with the Persians when they invaded Greece; and later the conquests of the distinguished monarchs of Armenia, like Tigranes the Great and others, over the Greeks, recorded by their own historians in a more exaggerated manner than by the Armenians themselves,[45] would most naturally make them to foster such a deep rooted malice in their hearts and cause them to wish for opportunities to avenge themselves. We do not fail to find them doing so whenever an opportunity was offered them.
Hardly would Armenia sound pleasantly to the ear of the Persian any longer. Armenia had lived in peace with Persia for centuries. The reason of these comparatively peaceful relations between these two countries was two-fold; both the Armenians and Persians were Aryans and co-religionists. But Armenia, as we have seen in the preceding chapter, had apostatized from her former religion, Zoroastrianism, and forsaken her devotion to Magism. The revival of Zoroastrian faith and its enforcement upon the inhabitants of the country in Persia was insisted upon by the founder of the Sassanian dynasty. In his charge to his son and successor before his departure from this life Artaxerxes dilated on the subject of religion, maintaining and enforcing it upon the Iran or non-Iran to become worshipers of the Zoroastrian faith as a necessary basis for the stability of the empire. His successors were found very faithful and zealous in their endeavors to execute their master’s orders. In Armenia, however, the fire-temples and the temples of the leading deities were swept out of existence, and Christian churches and schools were established all over the country. Zoroastrianism had received such a blow from the hand of King Jesus that it had fallen in pieces, like Dagon of Ashdod, before the ark of the Lord in the days of old, and now seven hundred Magi and an immense army of the Persians could not gather its fragments or keep the fires unquenched on its altars in Armenia.
The establishment of a Christian empire, in the West by the Greeks, would most naturally force upon the Persians the idea that these two nations now united by a common faith will be their formidable enemies. But how naturally do the heathen think, and how unnaturally do the so-called Christians act, is shown by the succeeding events of the conflicting forces in Western Asia. It was perfectly natural for the Persians to think, that a common religion or faith should produce a harmonious relation between, and a united action of, these two nations. Accordingly did the Persians look upon the Armenians with the profoundest suspicion and dealt towards them with relentless cruelty.
We have made passing reference to one other disturbing cause, namely, some of the nobility in Armenia, unfortunately not being in full sympathy with the faith of the majority, did ignobly act by uniting with the Persian hordes (whether with a mercenary object in view or with a blind zeal for the restoration of the abolished Zoroastrianism), thus aggravating the misery of their own people and causing much bloodshed in the country. Such persons are found in all ages and among all nations, but fortunately have not been many.
It will be impossible, in a small work like this to enumerate all the agencies, the internal (and not less infernal), and the external and occasional causes which precipitated the country into indescribable misery. However, we have endeavored to review some of these facts, which, the reader bearing in mind, will have the key to unlock the mystery of the Armenian troubles and miseries.
After the political existence of Armenia was brought to an end, the country was divided between the Eastern Empire and Persia, the former having the western part of the country, and the eastern part being occupied by the latter. The usurpers of Armenia tried to govern their respective possessions by various methods, but they succeeded better when they had native rulers, or princes had their contingent forces under them. Whenever their respective sovereigns called upon them to assist in their wars, they responded with readiness. There was, however, this trouble in either province: the ever-ready endeavor on the one hand to bring the independent Armenian church under the influence of the Greek Church; and in the Persian province of Armenia, under some fanatic rulers, who attempted to apostatize them from their chosen faith; otherwise the Armenians seemed to have enjoyed a tolerable freedom. This form of government lasted until new actors and more conflicting forces began to appear on the stage.
A new and a more formidable force than Zoroastrianism made its appearance in the form of a religion in the East. Western Asia seems to have been made for a theater and almost all the great actors in the annals of the dramatic history of the world enacted their _roles_ there. Towards the close of the sixth century the sunny and sandy plains of Arabia became the home of a male child who was to be a hero, a warrior, a law-giver, and the founder of a new religion which shaped the destiny of millions of human beings and flooded many a country with the blood of its inhabitants. “Mohammed, half imposter, half enthusiast, enunciated a doctrine, and by decrees worked out a religion, which proved capable of uniting in one the scattered tribes of the Arabian desert, while at the same time it inspired them with a confidence, a contempt for death, and a fanatic valor, that rendered them irresistible by the surrounding nations.”[46] This self-made and self-called apostle of Arabia, Mohammed, had the greatest difficulty in finding few adherents in his native city, Mecca,[47] he found the opposition to his claims too great and his life in danger and fled to Medina, where he received a welcome. At the head of his adherents he commenced to attack unawares wayfaring merchants on their way from the northern countries; of course, seeing that these merchants are of his former opponents. The plunder and the booty taken from the robbed or conquered were freely distributed among his followers. This surely was a great inducement to the pillage-loving and war-delighting Arabs to swell the army of Mohammed. His followers have been doing the same ever since, unless restrained by a superior force. Arabia, Palestine, Syria, Mesopotamia, and Persia, one after the other, within a comparatively short time, fell under the sway of the followers of Mohammed.
Bagdad was made the capital of the successors, or Caliphs of Mohammed, from whence the hordes of Arabs or Saracens--so were they called by the western writers--spread death and destruction east, west, and north. The first Saracenic invasion into Armenia took place during the caliphate of Omar (A.D. 640), under the generalship of Abdurahman, who marched through Assyria and entered Armenia unopposed. Diran Mamiganian with some difficulty mustered a small force hardly as large as one-third of that of the enemy, but he made a noble defense of his country against the new enemy of the home and religion. Alas! in the little army of Diran there was another like Vasag, a man by the name Sahurr, who hastened the defeat and the annihilation of noble Diran’s little force; the fire and the sword of the enemy soon swept the country. Abdurahman returned to Bagdad with 35,000 Armenian captives.
The Saracenic policy was quite different from that of the Persians. The latter were not so intensely cruel, and were anxious to unify the two peoples by the enforcement of their religion upon the Armenians. But the Saracens were the very prototype of the Turks in cruelty and in oppression. They kept on their regular incursions and inroads into the country at short intervals, and spread death and destruction, and carried many away as captives or hostages; these captives and hostages were often forced to become Mohammedans, or they were massacred. A picture drawn by the wildest imagination will fall far below the suffering of the people and the atrocities of the followers of Mohammed. The Armenians were often willing to let everything else go if they were left with their preferred faith, the religion of Christ. Even then they were not left alone. They often, compelled to do so, took arms to defend their religion and rights and perished, sword in hand. Thus it was and is since the introduction of Christianity into Armenia: “The history of Armenia presents but a melancholy picture to the friend of humanity. Rapacious neighbors, the enemies of Christianity, found a theater for their unheard-of cruelties and oppressions in that beauteous land, the inhabitants of which were equally exposed to the outrages of Paganism and Islam.”
The condition of the provinces of Armenia governed by the Greeks was hardly better. The Saracens were pushing their way northward and westward. The Greeks were becoming unbearable on account of their prejudices and persecutions occasioned by such comparatively trifling differences from the Greek Church, in the rituals and ceremonies of the Armenian Church. The state of things, indeed, was in a most deplorable condition.
The Armenians were subdued and ruled over with a rod of iron, by the Saracens, but they were by no means completely conquered or crushed. The love for independence and self government was still rife in them. They made several attempts at different times to revolt. Their attempts failed and they paid dearly for them. But towards the middle of the ninth century the reign of the Caliphs of Bagdad was weakened by dissensions. A prince of the Pagradit family had proved himself very prudent as a governor of Armenia, so much so that he had received from the Caliph the title of “Prince of Princes,” in 859, and in 885 he was crowned as King of Armenia. Ashdod I the King of Armenia was the first of the Pagradit (Pagradeonian) dynasty.
The Pagradit family was old, influential and rich, according to our Herodotus, Moses of Khoren, King H’rache brought a small colony of the Hebrews from Judea when he returned with the armies of Nebuchadnezzar in B.C. 597,[48] and a prince by the name Shampat was the head of this Pagradit family. This dynasty lasted only from 885-1045, and had a stormy time, yet it shows what a grand and glorious period it must have been. Hundreds of churches in the city of Ani and its suburbs, magnificent castles, palaces, forts and numerous defenses of the city and throughout the country, though to-day in ruins, eloquently declare the glory of the Pagradit dynasty of Armenia in the middle ages.
There is something marvelous in the annals of the Armenian history. Though they are surrounded by hostile and uncivilized nations and with such internal and infernal dissensions and contentions, yet the spirit of bravery, courage and unconquerable love of liberty, as it were, sprang up from the very ashes and the dust of the burnt and ruined cities and towns; yea, even from the carcass-covered and blood-drenched soil of Armenia. Thus it was that during this dynasty a marvelous civilization flourished amid the savage and barbarous nations, and this dynasty would have maintained its independence to the present had the rulers found any sympathy or toleration in the western Christian nations.
It was in the period of this dynasty that the Mongolian Tatar tribes, who were scattered over the plains and table-lands of central and northern Asia, began to move westward in search of plunder and pasture-lands. These tribes had distinctive names in their own country, but after leaving that they began to be denominated by the names of their leaders, like Seljukians, after Seljuk; Othmanlis or Ostmanlis, after Othman or Osman. They were pastoral in their occupations; warlike in disposition; rapacious and predatory in their habits; nomadic in their mode of life, and surely pagans in practice of religion. They first settled in Persia, and there they came in contact with the religion of Mohammed. They accepted it and entered the Mohammedan army. They excelled the Arabs in enthusiasm, in intolerance, and cruelty, especially upon the Christians. Indeed, the entry of the Mongolian hordes, or the Turks into Western Asia was and still is the worst of all evils and the severest of all the calamities that ever was inflicted upon the Armenians or any other Christian nation in western Asia.
But the downfall of that dynasty which had maintained its existence over a century and a half was not brought about by the hands of the merciless Arabs, nor even by those of the barbarous Turks, though cruel and savage they were. In those days, they did not often do with treachery what they could not with bravery. Even the Turks were somewhat more honest than they are now.
Cakig,[49] the last king of this dynasty, had made himself both popular and beloved on account of his just and wise administration of the government. The Greek Emperor, Monamaches, demanded from Cakig for some pretense the surrender of the Capital Ani. Cakig’s reply to the Emperor was “I can never be prevailed upon quietly to relinquish my paternal inheritance to any individual.” Hereupon the emperor sent a large force against the king; however, the troops were defeated. He again tried by force to accomplish his object, but his attempt was unsuccessful; he then entered into an alliance with the Mohammedan governor of the districts bordering on the provinces of Cakig to ruin the latter; but this also proved to be a failure. Then the emperor pretended to be appeased and entered into friendship, inviting the king on a visit to Constantinople. Cakig doubted the apparent friendship and the sincerity of the emperor, but alas, some of his chiefs who had conspired against him and were sharers of the guilt of the emperor prevailed upon him. Confiding in the solemn assurances of the emperor, and in compliance with the requests of his chiefs, he went to Constantinople. First he was exiled by this perfidious emperor to an island, then to Asia Minor. This dethroned king, deprived of his rightful crown and scepter and paternal inheritance, after a period of thirty-five years of exile, was assassinated by the Greeks.
While King Cakig was an exile the Greeks took possession of the capital, the City of Ani, and a large territory. The Seljukian Turks, who had settled themselves in Persia, were increasing in number and in power, finding the country in a defenseless condition, invaded Armenia. At this first incursion they desolated twenty-four provinces; at their second attack ruined many cities and towns and carried an immense number of the inhabitants into captivity. In the third, they laid siege to the city of Arzu, where many had taken refuge, it being a walled city. The inhabitants made a desperate resistance, but the enemy was too strong, and the Armenians, too fatigued to fight any longer, surrendered. The Seljukian Turks, after having taken possession of the city, displayed a barbarism which was a true example and an equal to those of later cruelties of the Mongolian Tatars. Of the one hundred and fifty thousand inhabitants and those who had taken refuge in the city, some were butchered in cold blood, some were roasted to death, and the rest carried into captivity. This doleful calamity, one of many, took place in the year of our Lord, 1049.
Several times during every year, the Seljukian Turks and Tatars repeated their incursions, devastated and plundered the country, and indiscriminately massacred the people or enslaved them. Togrul Beg, for fourteen years, before he went to meet the Judge of Nations, tormented, tortured and butchered the Christian Armenians, and dyed the land of Ararat crimson with the blood of her inhabitants. These persecutions and massacres compelled the people to migrate into safer districts. Some of the Armenian princes who were assuming royal titles, instead of uniting their forces against a common enemy, fell prey to the foe, or exchanged their vast territories with the Greek emperor for other provinces. Thus King Sennacherib transferred his immense estates of Vaspuragian and took instead of them the city of Sebastea (now Sivas) and the country about it, extending to the banks of the Euphrates on the east.
The Armenians were rapidly increasing in the provinces of Cappadocia and Cilicia on account of the frequent invasions and incursions of the Seljukian Turks. Alp Arslan, the nephew of Togrul Beg, succeeded him 1063. In the following year, Arp Arslan (valiant lion) invaded Armenia, laid siege to the royal city of Ami, and took it. “It is impossible to describe the destruction and slaughter wrought by the hands of these barbarians, the blood of thousands and ten thousands dyed the waters of Aphour (the river that runs through the city), and the magnificent buildings were set on fire, and numerous bodies, the carcasses, were covered under the ashes and ruins.”[50] Arp Arslan invaded Armenia, again, in battle against the Greeks and captured emperor Romanus Diogenes (1071) and wrested the entire country from the Greeks. His fearful career came to an end by the dagger of a captive enemy in the following year in Turkestan. His son, Malick Shah, succeeded him, and extended the empire from the shores of the Mediterranean on the west to the borders of China on the east. “In religion Seljukian sovereigns surpassed the other moslems of their age in fierce intolerance, and thereby inadvertently provoked the famous Crusades of the western nations. Upon wresting Jerusalem for a time from the dominion of the Egyptian Caliphs, they visited with such hardships the resident and pilgrim Christians, that Europe armed for their deliverance from oppression.”[51]
Many of the Armenians, driven by these powerful invaders and oppressors, had made their way into Cappadocia and Cilicia, and both in the plains and also in the Tauros Mountain districts they formed a strong colony. A young man, who was a relative and a companion with two others, of the unfortunate King Cakig, had made his escape from the plans of the assassins who intended to kill these also after they had done away with the king, found refuge in the mountains. This man, whose name was Reuben, was a center of attraction among the Armenians, a man of warlike disposition and personal prowess, and bent on vengeance. He resided with his son Constantine in Cilicia; his condition must have been very much like that of David when he was a fugitive from the face of Saul. Reuben cautiously avoided conflicts with the Greeks when he was not sure of success, but such contests that he had with them he was invariably victorious. He attacked and wrested the fortress of Parzherpert (lofty fort), and from this time (A.D. 1080) he styled himself Reuben the First, assuming independent reign over the Armenians, who were increasing year by year. Thus began the Reubenian dynasty of the Armenians in Cilicia.
It was during the reign of Constantine, the son and successor of Reuben I, that the immense army of the Crusaders for the first time marched into Western Asia, took the city of Nice and various other places, and laid siege to Antioch. But a terrible famine broke out in their camp. When Constantine and his chiefs were informed of the condition of the Crusaders, he sent an abundance of provisions to the army of the defenders of the Cross. This last dynasty of the Armenians in Cilicia covers a period of almost three centuries. It was by no means in a favorable condition, while Western Asia was in a fearful turmoil and agitation, the conflicting forces by no means disappearing.
The Seljukian Turks, after losing their capital, Nice, made Iconium (which over ten centuries before had listened to the famous missionaries, Paul and Barnabas, tell the story of the Cross) their capital, and made it resound with the “ezzen” of the “Muezzin” from the numerous minarets. It became a source of great trouble to the Armenians. The Greeks, inflamed with like hatred and malice as before, were more or less in constant conflict with them. The Armenians, over-exultant on account of the presence of the Christian forces of the Western nations in the East, were willing to enlist in aid of their cause by entering into an alliance with them, but by doing so they intensified the jealousy and hatred of the Greeks and the wrathful cruelty of the Turks. Moreover, the suspicions of some that these foreigners were anxious to bring the Armenian church under the control of the Pope of Rome were sustained by the facts revealed in due time.
It may be interesting to give a sample of the zeal of the Armenians in their effort to assist the Crusaders and the consequences: King Leo I of Cilicia was in an alliance with the Latin princes of Antioch. The emperor of Constantinople was bent on recovering that famous city from the Crusaders. Consequently to accomplish his purpose he marched on to Cilicia with a large army. The emperor and his generals seem to have been strategists and good warriors. They wrested the city of Antioch and reduced many Cilician provinces and took Leo and his two sons, Reuben and Toros, captives and carried them to Constantinople (1136). The cruel Greeks, after tormenting and torturing their captives, deprived the crown-prince, Reuben, of his eye-sight, then, still not satisfied, they put him to death in the presence of his father, the king. This barbarity so affected him that he died heart-broken in his dungeon (1141). The history of Armenia presents a melancholy picture to the friend of humanity and Christianity; especially when you find some so-called Christians worse than pagans, you still feel thankful that they are at least nominally Christians; what would have happened if they were heathen? Arp Arslan did not treat Emperor Romanus in that manner, because he was not a Greek Christian.
A new tremendous army of the Mongolians, under the command of Genghis Khan, made its appearance in Western Asia; and spread all over Persia, Armenia, Caucasus, Russia, and part of Asia Minor destruction, devastation, and death; committing wholesale massacres, consuming the cities and towns by fire, and carrying away hundreds and thousands into captivity. “Seven years in succession was the conqueror (Genghis Khan) busy in the work of destruction, pillage, and subjugation, and extended his ravages to the banks of the Dnieper.” Armenia has been, over and over, inundated with the blood of her inhabitants, enriched with the carcasses of her people upon her face; her beautiful and bright sky was often rendered dark by the smoke of the conflagrations of her immense cities and numerous towns, kindled by her enemies; her fair sons and graceful daughters were torn away from her maternal bosom, carried into captivity and sold for slaves; her magnificent churches and monasteries were converted into mosques and “tekes.” Yet the “The House of Togarmah” marches on through these tremendous seas of injustice, oppression, persecution, cruelty, and bloodshed, from a remote antiquity to the end of the fourteenth century of our era, lifting up the old, centuries-old flag of liberty, torn to pieces and ready to fall into an irreparable dissolution.
Toros, the son of the unfortunate King Leo I, effected his escape from the Greek army and returned to Cilicia (1145). He gathered about him a nucleus and gradually recovered Cilicia from the Greeks and after a reign of twenty-three years, he died in peace (1168). Reuben II succeeded his uncle, Mileh, and reigned until his retirement in 1185, and his brother Leo II followed him. It was during the reign of Leo II that Saladin, the sultan of Egypt, captured Jerusalem from the Crusaders (1187), a terrible slaughter of the Christians had been committed by the defender of the Mohammedan faith, which caused the western nations to call for the third crusade, headed by Frederick I, surnamed Barbarossa, a German emperor of Rome. He marched with his army opposed by the Greek emperor and the sultan of Iconium. From the latter place he sent a letter to Leo II, asking his assistance and telling of his need of supplies. Leo, Catholicos and Bishop Nerses, with abundant provisions, set out to meet him. But they did not have the pleasure of seeing him; for he was drowned while crossing a stream. What a pity! He was going to fight in defense of the Oriental Christians, not to put a crown on Saladin’s head, nor a wreath on his tomb; he was not going to offer his unsought-for friendship to the bloodthirsty followers of Mohammed, neither was he going to encourage them to massacre the lowly followers of the lowly Nazarene. Yet he was drowned. Surely “God moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform.” We do not question His wisdom nor His goodness.
No doubt the object of the popes, who urged the Western sovereigns to raise crusades against the Mohammedans, and kept them engaged in this unsuccessful enterprise for a long time at the expense of immense wealth and the sacrifice of millions of human lives, was two-fold; to exercise their sublunary power over these potentates, and to further their influence over other Christian nations in the East. But they failed in both of these purposes. There came a time when the popes had no influence over the kings of Europe. And the Crusaders in the East rendered their names detestable forever, both to Christians and to non-Christians.
“In 1204 A.D., the Capital (Constantinople) was captured by the Crusaders, whose conduct fixed an indelible stain upon the name of the Franks throughout the East, especially as it is contrasted with that of the Mohammedans, who, a few years before, had conquered Jerusalem. When Saladin entered the latter city the church of the Holy Sepulchre was respected, and the conquered Christians remained in possession of their property; no confiscations were made of the wealth of the non-combatants. But the vaunted chivalry of the Papal church plundered a Christian city without remorse, desecrated its shrines, and maltreated its inhabitants, while the profane cry of ‘God Wills It,’ was raised to excite each other to act the part of brigands and debauchees. Sacred plate, golden images of saints, and silver candelabra from the altars; bronze statues of heathen idols and heroes, precious works of Hellenic art; crowns, coronets, thrones, vessels of gold and silver; ornaments of diamonds, pearls, and precious stones from the imperial treasury and the palaces of the nobles; jewelry and precious metals from the shops of the goldsmiths; silks, velvets and brocaded tissues from the warehouses of the merchants, together with coined money, were accumulated in vast heaps as spoils to be divided by the victors. A few of the crusading clergy endeavored to moderate the fury which the bigoted prejudices of the Latin Church had instilled into the minds of the soldiery against the Greeks, but many priests were as forward as the most abandoned of the troops in robbing the temples of a kindred faith.”[52]
Our Saviour’s words were literally fulfilled; with what measure the Greeks so often had measured and dealt with the Armenian, it was meted to them by the hands of the Crusaders; yet such a conduct of the Crusaders with the Christian, and undoubtedly a conduct a good deal worse than this towards Mohammedans, accounts for the determination and fury of the latter against the Christians. The reply of Meleck Nasr Mohmud, the Egyptian Sultan, to an application of the Armenian king Leo V, for a treaty of peace was the following: “I will never make peace with you until you promise on oath not to hold any correspondence or communication with Western nations.” Often did the Mohammedan powers imagine that the Armenians had again stirred up the Western nations, that they were marching against them in greater forces than ever before, and then they would attack the cities and towns of the Armenians and commit all manner of atrocities, thinking that that might be their last opportunity.
After the withdrawal of the Western nations--or rather their being driven out from the East--in full satisfaction of their complete failure, either to maintain their position or ameliorate the oppressed condition of the Oriental Christians under the Mohammedans, the latter had first little difficulty in destroying the independence of the Armenians in Cilicia. By various incursions of the Mohammedans of Egypt into Cilicia, the Armenians were reduced in strength and in numbers; finally a vast army of the enemy marched against them. Those missionary soldiers of Mohammed, indeed brutes in character and nature, though clad in clayey garments of human forms, spread themselves all over the country. No city, town, or village, or building of any value, whether church, monastery or dwelling, and no human being of any age or either sex that fell into their hands, was spared; they slaughtered every human being and burnt to ashes every building or razed it to the ground. In the execution of their unfortunate victims they did not leave any mode of torture untried. “The deceitful above all things and desperately wicked heart” of a depraved human creature could not have suggested any other method of torment and torture that these Mohammedans did not devise and experiment upon their captives. The Turks of to-day must have been studying their predecessors in faith and practice. King Leo VI and the garrison surrendered on condition that their lives would be spared; the Egyptian general promised this on oath; Leo was fettered, and with his family carried to Cairo in the eleventh year of his reign (A.D. 1375).
The king and family, after serving a period of imprisonment at Cairo, were freed by the mediation and valuable presents of the King of Spain. Leo with his queen and daughter, went to Jerusalem; there he left them at their own request, then visited the European countries. On the 19th of November, A.D. 1393, he ended his mortal career in Paris. “Leo King of Armenia, was of a small stature, but of intelligent expression and well-formed features. His body was carried to the tomb clothed in royal robes of white, according to the custom of Armenia, with an open crown upon his head and a golden scepter in his hand. He lay in state upon an open bier hung with white and surrounded by the officers of his household, clothed, all of them, in white robes. He was buried by the high altar of the Church of the Celestine.”
FOOTNOTES:
[44] According to ancient authorities, Byzantium was built by a Grecian colony about 658 B.C.
[45] An Armenian historian says, Tigranes translated thirty thousand inhabitants of Cappadocia, the Greek historian three hundred thousand.
[46] Rawlinson, “The Seventh Oriental Monarchy,” p. 546.
[47] Mohammed was born in Mecca 570, he fled to Medina 622. “Hegira” (the flight), and he died in the latter city A.D. 632, after two weeks of intense suffering which began before his death. See Chap XII, p. 204.
[48] See p. 52.
[49] The Kings of this dynasty: Ashod I, Sumpat I, Ashod II, Abas, Ashod III, Sumpat II, Cakig I, John Sumpat, Cakig II.
[50] Balasanian, “History of Armenia,” p. 285. (This work is written in Armenian language.)
[51] Milner, “The Turkish Empire,” p. 5.
[52] Milner, “The Turkish Empire,” London, pages 238-9.
VI
THE ARMENIAN CHURCH
The Armenian church claims to be apostolic in its origin, Christianity having been introduced into Armenia by the Apostles, and having survived the persecutions of heathenism during the first three centuries, had finally, about the end of the third century, subdued the entire nation. As has been said before, St. Gregory the Illuminator was sent to Cæsarea, Cappadocia, to be, and was, ordained Bishop of Armenia, A.D. 302.
The Armenian church, therefore was and still is, a national church; the prosperity of the nation also was the prosperity of the church. The nation had but little rest after her embrace of Christianity. Christian Armenia, during the first three centuries of her acceptance and existence as a Christian state, however, made such a noble defense of her faith against Zoroastrianism that the latter was completely paralyzed, and no longer able to lift up the sword against the followers of Christ. But with the rise of Mohammedanism, a more formidable, cruel, unjust, and inhuman enemy arose. The Saracens or the Arabs, who were both the soldiers and missionaries of the Mohammedan faith, literally panted after the blood of the Christians. Even these, after sucking all the blood that they could imbibe, fell off like swollen leeches and were swallowed up by the Seljukian, Tatar, and Mongolian Turks, who surpassed even the Arabs in cruelty and indisputably deserved to be called “the unspeakable Turk.” The Greeks, with all their subtility, volatility, perfidy, intrigues, and intolerable bigotry, could do no more than to cause some of their formalism to creep into the Armenian church.
But this is not all; for while the Armenians were driven into the mountainous districts of Cilicia, the land of the brave apostle Paul, by the Mongolian and Tatar invaders who spread desolation, destruction, and death wherever their feet touched the soil, there came with the appearance of the Crusaders into the East a number of zealous missionaries of the Romish church, who neglected even to attempt a quiet missionary work among the Mohammedans, but insidiously first, then openly, tried to bring the Armenian church into a subordination and under the jurisdiction of the popes of Rome.
The papal missionaries, under the order of the Unitors, who had insidiously sown the seeds of dissension in the Armenian church, availed themselves of every misfortune that befel the people, and later, being augmented by the Jesuits and their intrigues, until about the beginning of the eighteenth century, they converted this dissension into a volcanic eruption. Consequently thousands of the Armenians avowed their spiritual allegiance to the pope of Rome.
The following is from a French writer:
“Fortunately for the Catholics, they found a powerful protector in DeFeriol, the French ambassador, who obtained an order from the Porte, in 1703, for the deposition and banishment of the (Armenian) patriarch Avedik. Exiled to Chios, he was clandestinely carried off during the passage and conducted, some say to Messina, others to Marseilles, and thence to the Island of St. Marguerite, where he died of martyrdom. There were strong grounds for suspecting the Jesuits established in Chios and Galata of having contrived this plot in concert with the French ambassador.”[53]
The Mohammedan rulers always dealt with their Christian subjects with the utmost contempt, unmodified injustice, and with relentless cruelty and persecution. Many of the people did undoubtedly delude themselves with the idea that by uniting with the Romish church they would secure protection from the Turkish cruelty and oppression, through the influence of Romish France, which was then more influential in the East. For it is quite improbable that they could believe that the Roman church was any better in simplicity and purity than the Armenian church.
Returning to the history of the Armenian church from the schism in the church, it may be well to state that for over half a century (302-363) it was the custom of the Armenian bishops to be ordained at Cæsarea, Cappadocia, but during the patriarchate of Nerses the Great, the clergy and laity unanimously agreed to have their bishops ordained in Armenia by the Armenian bishops. It is therefore evident from this fact that there was no higher rank or order than that of a bishop or presbyter, which names are interchangeably used in the New Testament as Vartabed (doctor) M. Muradian, of St. James’ Monastery at Jerusalem, correctly states in his “History of the Apostolic Church of Armenia.”[54] It may also be interesting to add as a fact of history that in the time of St. Gregory and his successors for several centuries, the bishops were married and heads of families. Celibacy was not required of them, neither separation, but it was optional with them to choose either or none.
“The election of the bishops, like that of all the Armenian clergy, takes place by universal suffrage,” the ordinations take place generally at either Etchmiadzin, Akhtamar, or Sis, by the presiding bishop and his associates. The priests or presbyters (Yeretzk) are chosen by the people among themselves. They are expected to have tolerable knowledge of the Bible and the liturgy of the church (some in former years knew very little of either) and are ordained by the bishops. The priests live with their families among the people and attend their daily duties in the church services morning and evening; they perform baptism for the infants, and marry and bury the young and old as the occasion may require.
“The Armenian clergy receive no stipends, and exact no contributions like those of the Greek church; their revenues depend entirely on the voluntary contributions of the faithful; it is therefore rare to meet with a wealthy priest, though some few were in easy circumstances. With respect to morals, also, though it is difficult to pronounce absolutely on the subject, the Armenian clergy appear to be very superior to the Greeks.”[55] The deacons are elected and ordained like the priest, and have no income whatever; they serve the church and assist the priests in the daily ministrations and attend to their business, whatever it may be.
There is another class of the clergy of the Armenian church called _Vartabeds_, or doctors in theology. It is very probable that the very necessity of the case created this order. In former years, after the conversion of the Armenians to Christianity, most of the literary men were of the clergy, and the monasteries became the seats of learning. Those who loved a literary life would retire to those places and pursue such a course. Asceticism of the East also must have played a good part in it. Those who were ordained evangelists to visit the churches and to preach the gospel to the people, who were so often persecuted and oppressed by their enemies, at first, most likely voluntarily preferred celibacy in order to devote their whole time to the work of the church. But what was with them optional has become now a condition for that order, though “the Vartabeds form the most enlightened and learned portion of the Armenian clergy,” from whom the bishops are elected and ordained, are unfortunately “restricted to celibacy.”
“The monks or celibate priests are, I believe, always connected with convents, they are known under the style of _Vardabets_ or doctors, this title being attached to their individual names. They are governed according to the rule of St. Basil of Cæsarea, the contemporary and monitor of the Armenian pontiff, Nerses the Great (A.D. 340-374). They do not practice the tonsure, and they wear their beards. They are attired in long black robes with conical cowls.... At present there are in all not more than some fifty Vardabets within the wide limits of the Russian province (of Armenia). Of these about half reside at Edgmiatsin.... All monks in Russian territory are ordained at Edgmiatsin, and it is the custom for all bishops, whether in Russian Armenia, or abroad, to be consecrated in the Church of the Illuminator.”[56]
The Armenian church differs from that of Rome on the following points: (1) It denies the supremacy of the Bishop of Rome. (2) It has not accepted the decisions of the Council of Chalcedon as ecumenic. (3) It rejects the introduction of filioque into the creed, but admits that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father. (4) It rejects the Romish doctrine of purgatory. (5) It rejects indulgences. (6) It has no equivalent word for Transubstantiation. (7) It does not withhold the Bible from the people, but encourages them to read it.
In the very year while the Armenians were alone fighting with the Persians in defense of Christianity, and the verdant fields of Ararat were dyed with the blood of the martyrs, the Greek and Latin theologians were holding their council at Chalcedon, engaging the influence of the Emperor to condemn Eutychus. He had gone to the other extremity of the question with regard to the person of Christ, for which Nestorius had been condemned in the previous council (at Ephesus A.D. 431). The latter was supposed to teach two personalities in Christ, on account of his emphasizing the distinctive characteristics of Christ’s divine and human nature. Eutychus was condemned because he made the divine nature of Christ to absorb his human nature, he, therefore, was called a monophysite.
The Armenians did not accept the decision of the Chalcedonian council, not because they were in sympathy with Eutychus’ doctrine, but because the question did not concern them. Moreover some other questions decided in that council were objectionable. “From the council of Chalcedon to the death of Boniface II, bishop of Rome, was a period of rivalry for sole dominion in the church between the patriarchs of Rome and Constantinople. By the council they had been recognized as entitled to higher honors than the rest. From that date it became an object of ambition with both to secure, each for his own self, the admitted title of sole superiority.”[57] Such being the case the decision of the council of Chalcedon is like the Mohammedan creed, part truth and part lie. The Armenians had already accepted the truth. They were satisfied with the orthodoxy delivered to them by the teachings of the Apostles and the three former councils, held at Nice A.D. 325; at Constantinople A.D. 381; and at Ephesus, A.D. 431. The pity of it all is that the Greek and Latin writers represented and condemned the Armenians as Monophysites and the Armenian church was cut off from the Western (Latin) and the Eastern (Greek) Churches.
The following is from the long defense and confession of the Synod of the Armenian bishops who answered the Persian grand vizier, Mihrenerseh, in A.D. 450, a year before the Council of Chalcedon: “He (Christ) was in reality God and in reality man. The Godhead was not withdrawn through the human nature, nor was the human nature destroyed by his remaining God; but he is both one and the same.”
Another writer says: “It is now evident that the Armenian church, of St. Gregory, wholly rejects the heresy of Eutychus, condemned by the council of Chalcedon; and she does so as much as the Eastern (Greek) church.”[58] Though this charge of heresy brought against the Armenian church by the Greek and Latin churches was absolutely unfounded, yet it was a fertile source of much trouble, oppression, persecution, and bloodshed, and almost the sole occasion of the overthrow of the last two Armenian dynasties.
The influence of the Greeks in the Grecian provinces of Armenia often outweighed in appointing a bishop over the Armenians, who would be favorably inclined to the acceptance of the decision of the Chalcedonian council and some other rites of the Greek Church. Such appointments often took place and furnished new sources of dissensions and contentions among the clergy and laity. The Greeks, taking advantage of such internal contentions, did their best to unite the Armenian church with the Greek church, but they invariably failed. “The more attractive the offer of the Greeks, the greater grew the hatred of them; nor have the popes met with better success. When we reflect that this obstinate people are as intelligent as any in the world in various pursuits of civilized life, our anger at such conduct, which gave away the cause of civilization, may be tempered by a different feeling. The Armenians have fought at all hazards to preserve their individuality, and the bulk of the nation have perished in the attempt. The remnant may be destined, like the son of Anak, to redress the wrongs inflicted by their ancestors upon the common Christian weal.”[59]
The Armenians have fought at all hazards not only to preserve their individuality, but especially to preserve their church from an ecclesiastical vassalage. They fought for principle, not for policy. Their descendants seem to have inherited the same spirit. On account of their adherence to principles of right and justice, they are brought to the very verge of national annihilation. It is not the Armenians of the past or the present that have inflicted wrongs upon the common Christian weal, but on the contrary, the so-called Christian nations of the past and the present are responsible for the wrongs that have been inflicted upon the defenseless Armenians.
It is the shallow and narrow-minded student of history and Christianity, who, seeing the great Christian nations at war says: Christianity has failed as a religion, or as a civilizing force. It is not the fault of Christianity, it is the lack of it. As it is now, so it was in the past. Had the Greeks the true spirit of Christianity, or even had they some far-sighted statesmen, they would have encouraged and strengthened the Armenians on the east, instead of weakening and hastening the overthrow of the Armenian independence. They could have made them like a strong stone wall against the Mongolian hordes, who not only swept over Armenia, but within a short time swept and reduced the Eastern empire. The City of Constantine the Great became for centuries the seat of the assassins.
Towards the end of the seventh century the Greeks invaded Armenia, devastated twenty-five provinces and carried away eight thousand families into captivity. Not very long after this event the Saracens invaded the country again and secured the entire subjugation of the people. The news of this event enraged the Greek emperor Justinius II again, who with an immense army attacked the Armenians and captured the prelate Isaac and five other bishops. After receiving a sufficient number of hostages, he left the prelates alone and returned to Constantinople.
It was only a few weeks after this that the Saracens, under the leadership of Abdullah, returned to Armenia and fell upon the people and plundered the churches and monasteries, and desecrated the sacred edifices and the unfortunate prelate Isaac was carried to Damascus in chains, where he ended his eventful life of martyrdom while a prisoner. Isaac was succeeded by Elias, the archbishop of Armenia, and Gashim was appointed by the Caliph governor of the country. Gashim was by no means inferior in cruelty to the previous Arab generals. In fact, all the followers of Mohammed, from the beginning well learned the behest of their lord, “To do aught good never will be your task, but to do evil ever your sole delight.” Gashim gathered all the leading men into the church of Nachichavan, on pretense of making a treaty of peace with them; he then set the church on fire and burned them alive.
The orthodoxy of the Armenian church would not have been questioned by some of the Western writers had they not drawn their information from the Greek and Latin sources only. This could not have been avoided in the early years of the middle ages on account of the scarcity of the Armenian scholars among the Western nations. Even now the Armenian language is studied by very few. Yet a careful and happy writer, like the following, is apt to avoid mistakes: “In points of doctrine and ritual the Armenian church is extremely conservative, and has been wise or fortunate enough to avoid defining her faith with the particularity which had produced so many schisms farther west. Her formulas do not commit her to Monophysite views, although, chiefly owing to a national jealousy of Constantinople, she has refused to accept the decrees of Chalcedon.... She has avoided the use of any word corresponding to the term Transubstantiation....”[60]
The following, from “the History of the Holy Apostolic Church of Armenia,” by Vartabed M. Muradian, of St. James’ Monastery, at Jerusalem, may show the orthodoxy of the Armenian Church:
“It is sweet and comforting to discourse on the revealed truths of the Bible which is the only foundation of undefiled doctrine, to which always have the holy church-fathers trusted for the defense of faith.
“The Bible teaches concerning God two things: first that God is one and there is no other God beside Him; second, that divine nature is common to the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, and these three persons have one Godhead. This is the faith of the Christians in harmony with the manifest words of the Bible. This Trinity is the foundation of the Christian faith, and the three persons have one influence for our salvation, but in different ways of manifesting it; that is, the Father calls and causes us to approach His Son, whom He begat from eternity and prepared His coming. The Son came from heaven and was united with human nature that He might save us from sin and give us eternal life. The Holy Spirit is our regenerator, Who re-establishes in us the likeness of God, making us receptive of the Salvation offered by God.
“The Bible teaches that Christ, on account of His eternal generation from the Father, is called the Son of God, but for His incarnation in time, the Son of Man, brother of men, through whom we obtain the right to call God our Father, and for this reason the Church confesses in the personality of Christ two natures, the _divine and the human_, distinct and inseparable in their union. This mystery of incarnation is the great mystery of God’s love for the world; and as much of this is incomprehensible and inconceivable by human intelligence, so much is it natural with divine love and omnipotent nature. In this great mystery was the salvation of mankind, for this the entire humanity waited, and, therefore, the law and the prophets in this mystery of incarnation were fulfilled. Because Christ, as the true Messiah, performed prophetic, priestly, and kingly offices, and became for us the _true Prophet_, _true Priest_, and _true King_; teaching the doctrine of redemption, elucidating the past, the present, and the future of mankind, forgiving and redeeming us through the sacrifice of Himself and reigning over us with a heavenly and spiritual kingdom.
“The Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit proceeds and flows from the Father, not as a common influence of God, but as a person of the Holy Trinity, infinite, eternal, a true God. But with respect to us the Holy Spirit is the Fountain of God’s union with man, and the seal by which we are known as Christians; because without the Holy Spirit’s dwelling in us, His help and guidance we are alive only (carnally), for the Holy Spirit is co-worker with the Father and the Son for our salvation; and as the manifestation of God through (or in) Christ to the world is called REDEMPTION, so also the revelation of God through the Holy Spirit is denominated REGENERATION and SANCTIFICATION.
“At this present day there is not a book like the Bible from which the intellectual world has been able to derive so much good for the real well-being and progress of human society. There is not a book, and cannot be, that is translated into so many languages and is distributed so extensively as the Bible. Our immortal translators felt this great want and they began the first step of the nation’s enlightenment and progress by the translation and study of the Holy Scriptures, and this translation is so choice, that with various praises bestowed upon it by the European scholars of the present century, who know the Armenian language, it is called the ‘_Queen of Versions_.’ But we will be giving a still greater praise to our forefathers if we generalize the study of the Holy Scriptures among our people and rear the edifice of education upon that solid foundation of the Word of God.”[61]
By no means should the reader think that the writer is partial in not telling something of the superstitions, formalism, and ignorance still in existence and practice among the Armenians and in their church. These have often been written and spoken of, even with a great deal of lack of knowledge and charity. Had those writers on these aspects of the Armenian Church and people remembered that for almost sixteen centuries this Church has been in constant conflict with paganism, Zoroastrianism, Mohammedanism, and the evil influences of the so-called other Christian Churches, they would not have been so severe in their denunciations of that old relic of the ancient Christian Church. Often were the bishops and priests in the battlefield with their flocks against the enemy of the Church. Often were they in chains, in imprisonment, in hostage at the pagan, Mohammedan and so-called Christian Courts; often were they carried away into captivity and massacred by their captors because they would not denounce their faith in Christ. In the massacre of 1895-6 not one out of one hundred and seventy Armenian priests and twenty-one Protestant Armenian ministers, who were cruelly butchered by a slow torture for their faith, was willing to exchange his Christian faith for his life. The same was true for centuries. How could they give more attention than they did to the education and enlightenment of their people and to the purity of the Church? Even to-day the best intellects of the Armenian church, the educators and lovers of reform and the purity of the Church and the people have been butchered by the unspeakable Turks with the consent of their allies or have chosen voluntary exile. Certainly these circumstances will not justify the condition of the church, but they ought to modify the severity of our judgment and fill us with a deeper sympathy, with a truer Christian love and activity for its reform, purity, and spiritual prosperity. (See