THE RAYAS OR NON-MUSSULMAN SUBJECTS.
THE ARMENIANS.
The whole population of Turkey may be estimated at over 35,000,000
of souls, including the principalities and other tributary states,
which, if deducted, leaves 27,000,000 in Turkey proper, half of whom
are Mohammedans, and the rest Christians and Jews.
The Christians are of various denominations, each denomination
constituting a separate community, governed by their own municipal
regulations, and guided by their respective spiritual heads.
Hitherto the Europeans have regarded the Greeks as the predominating
Christian population of the East; the truth is, among the different
communities the Armenians stand most prominent, because not only next
to the Bulgarians they rank high in numbers, but in reality supersede
all others, politically and morally, in their relations with Turkey.
Although the Bosnians, Bulgarians, and the Greeks profess the same
religion, they do not surrender their respective nationalities. The
Greeks themselves are not, therefore, so numerous as is generally
supposed, but have erroneously been confounded with the others.
The Armenians, of whom there are 3,500,000 in Turkey, like other
nations, have evinced their pride in national pedigree, by tracing
their origin to Haig, the grandson of Noah, and they call themselves
Haiks even at the present day.
In the year of the creation of the world, 1757, Jewish chronology,
soon after the flood, and even during the lifetime of Noah, Haig,
or Haicus, with his sons and daughters, resided in the country of
Senaar, in Mesapotamia.
While they lived in those regions, the famous Tower of Babel was
erected, and the Babylonian Empire was founded by Belus.
Haig, unwilling to submit to the authority of Belus, returned with
his family, of about 300 persons, to the country of Ararat, where he
incorporated himself with the earliest settlers in those regions, who
had never wandered thence, and retained all the undisciplined habits
and freedom of their utter seclusion from the progress of civilization.
It is more than probable that he and his descendants continued to
speak the language of their father Noah, and in that case there is no
more ancient tongue than the Armenian. Besides, while the descendants
of Shem and Ham emigrated to other lands, those of Japhet who begat
Gomer who begat Togarmah, the father of Haig remained in the vicinity
of Ararat, and there is no reason to suppose ever changed their
language. The Biblical history records the confusion of languages of
those who were in the land of Shinar.
The Armenians are as ancient as the Jews, and have ever remained as
separate a people; and even amid all their vicissitudes have preserved
their nationality with equal tenacity.
But Haig was not left long in quiet, for Belus, fearing that he would
become too powerful a rival, marched against him with his warriors all
clad in iron armour. Yet destiny was about to found a great nation,
and the small band of Haig proved victorious--an arrow from the bow
of Haig, transfixed the proud Belus as he was retiring. Thus was the
first impetus given to this embryo empire.
Victory and the spoils of war inflamed their breasts and strengthened
their resources; cities were erected, one on the very spot of this
battle.
Haig was a man of noble appearance, and superior intellect, which
must have had a perfect development during his long life of five
hundred years.
His immediate descendants built fortified towns, adorned with
palaces, and caravanserais. A very beautiful city was built by
Semiramis, the queen of Babylon, which occupied 12,000 workmen and
600 architects. She was enamored of Arah, the Armenian king, who was
surnamed the Handsome, and being a widow wished to marry him. But he,
disgusted at her demonstrations of excessive fondness, refused the
alliance. The consequence was, that she determined to take him by
force, and marched with her troops into his dominions.
But all she obtained was the dead body of the beautiful young
Armenian prince, which she endeavored to restore to life by magical
incantations.
The beauty of the country and her own romantic associations, inspired
her with the desire to erect a monument of her magnificence, and she
founded the city of Shamiram, now called Bitlis, on the borders of
Lake Van, which became ever after her summer residence.
The Armenians enjoyed a long period of prosperity, waging successful
wars with the Syrians, Medes, Persians, and other neighboring nations,
until they were at last conquered by Alexander the Great, and remained
tributary to him for 176 years, under governors appointed by him and
by his successors the Seleucidæ.
They now changed masters, and enjoyed great prosperity under the
Arsacidæ or Parthians who freed them from the Seleucian yoke.
Their prosperity lasted for 580 years, until internal dissensions
rendered them easy victims to the intrigues of the Greeks and Persians,
who eventually divided this beautiful domain between them. Oppression
of all sorts, spiritual and temporal, now pervaded the once peaceful
and happy homes of this fated race.
Royal blood could not quench the fire of its rage, profusely shed by
the princes, in defence of their people and religion. Idolatry was
enshrined upon the altars, and the priesthood sacrificed to fire and
tortured upon the rack.
A temporary relief was afforded to the country by the rise of the
Bagratian princes, who were the descendants of Abraham, and who
first came into Armenia during the captivity of the Jews under
Nebuchadnezzar.
Bagarat, the founder of this Jewish line of princes, was distinguished
in the reign of Valarsace, and was appointed by him to the hereditary
office of placing the crown upon the king's head, and all his
descendants were known as the Bagratians. Now it happened that Ashot,
one of their number, so pleased the caliph in his administration of the
affairs of his own tribe, that in the year 859 A. D., he appointed him
governor of Armenia, and dispatched Aali-Ermeny, an apostate Armenian,
to invest him with magnificent robes of state. Although the nation
was again restored to comparative tranquillity under this race of
princes, yet internal disunion and foreign oppression did not cease
to harass the country, and the Greeks finally destroyed the Bagratian
monarchy. But Melik-Shah, of Persia, regained his sway over Armenia,
and the power of the Greeks was thenceforth annihilated.
The Armenian princes of the line of Reuben now governed the country,
and it was during their reign that the Crusaders took Jerusalem;
and while they were besieging Antioch, Constantine, the second of
these Armenian princes, supplied the army with provisions. He was in
return made a marquis, and received the order of knighthood, besides
many valuable presents. This line of princes was extirpated by the
Egyptians, who poured an immense and devastating army into their
country, and after besieging Leo, the last king, for nine months,
took him and all his family to Cairo, with all the royal treasures.
They remained in prison seven years, because they refused to renounce
Christianity. By the intervention of king Juan, of Spain, they were
set at liberty, and received from him many valuable possessions,
such as houses and lands.
King Leo even appealed to England and France to assist him in regaining
the throne of Armenia, but without any good success. He died in Paris,
A. D. 1393, and was buried in the convent of Celestine.
His wife Mary, who belonged to the family of Lewis Charles, king of
Hungary, died at Jerusalem.
The Armenians next fell into the power of the Ottomans; with their
last king their glory perished.
The sunrise over Mount Ararat, the meridian brightness over the fairest
portion of Asia, and the last departing rays shed over the regions
of Silicia, are all merged into the dark pages of history--where but
few ever seek to read the tale.
The ancient religion of the Armenians was that of the Magi, but the
introduction of Christianity among them was coeval with Christ.
Abgar, one of their kings, having had occasion to send ambassadors to
the Roman general Marinus, in Syria, upon the return of his messengers,
was apprised of the wonderful and miraculous performances of the
Messiah.
Giving a ready credence to the report that this was indeed the Son of
God, a second embassy was sent to entreat the great healer of the sick
to visit the king Abgar, who was laboring under a distressing malady.
The letter was as follows: "I have heard that the Jews murmur against
you, and seek to destroy you. I have a small but beautiful city,
which I offer you to partake with me. It is sufficient for us both."
It is said that the Saviour received this embassy with much
satisfaction, and dictated to the Apostle Thomas this remarkable
reply,--"When I shall rise to my glory, I will send you one of my
disciples, who shall remove your pains, and give life to you and
those around you."
After the Ascension of Christ, according to his request, Thaddeus,
one of the seventy, was sent to Edessa, who, having instructed the king
in the true faith, baptized him and the citizens of that metropolis.
The seeds of Christianity were thus early sown in Armenia, still but
little progress was made until the appearance of Gregory of Cesarea,
three centuries later, who created such a revival of this faith,
that he was called the Illuminator, and his followers, the Gregorians.
The Armenian resembles the Greek church in some respects. They are
both Episcopal in their government. Both acknowledge the Trinity,
and the Immaculacy of the Holy Virgin, and perform the ceremony
of the Lord's supper, or the mass, with even more pomp than the
Catholics. The Armenians believe the divine and human nature of Christ
to be so blended as to form but one; whereas the Greeks declare them
to be entirely separate. Therefore the former, in administering the
Eucharist, use only wine, and unleavened bread, and the latter mingle
water with the wine, and use leaven in the bread. The Armenians, in
case of necessity, partake of the holy sacrament in other Christian
churches, whereas the Greeks acknowledge no church ceremonies as
canonical but their own; always re-baptizing those who may wish to come
under their spiritual jurisdiction. Their manner of signing the cross
even differs, the one making it from left to right, and the other from
right to left. They celebrate the church festivals on different days,
and find many other occasions on which to disagree.
The Armenians are not, therefore, to be confounded with the Greeks,
nor with that sect called Arminians, or the followers of Arminius,
but as a distinct people, originally inhabiting the country about
Mount Ararat, and professing Christianity at an early period.
The reason why they are known to the Western nations as the Armenians,
and not by their proper name, Haiks, is, that when Aram, one of
their early kings, and the father of Ara the Handsome, succeeded
to the throne of Armenia, he, by his wisdom and policy, so greatly
extended his dominions, that the power and valor of the nation was
acknowledged from Mount Caucasus to Mount Tauris. This prince first
raised his people to any degree of renown, both by the exercise of
arms and the cultivation of the arts of peace; so that contemporary
nations, in making mention of the actions performed by his subjects,
called them the deeds of the Aramians, or the followers of Aram, a name
which has been corrupted into Armenians; the country which these people
originally inhabited was called by them Haikastan, or Hayasdan, and
those regions which were added to their territories by the conquest of
Prince Aram were called Aramia, or in contradistinction to each other,
the former were called the Greater, and the latter the Lesser Hayasdan,
which the Western nations transcribed as Armenia Major and Minor.
It will be perceived that they were at one time a very powerful and
flourishing nation, and were the envy of all the neighboring tribes;
facts well authenticated even by Roman historians.
In the reign of Tigranes, many unfortunate princes, who had fallen
prisoners to the Armenian king, were obliged to stand in his presence
in an attitude of Oriental deference, with arms folded on their
breasts, in token of perfect submission. Four of these wretched
monarchs had also to attend him constantly in their regal robes, and
when he appeared in public on horseback, his royal captives preceded
him on foot.
Mithridates, the uncle to the king Tigranes, rendered himself no
less glorious. He extended his dominions even to the borders of
Scythia. His subjects and tributaries comprised twenty-two nations;
and it is related that this prince conversed with equal fluency in
all the languages spoken by those peoples. Even Hannibal, the great
Carthaginian general, found an asylum in Armenia.
In the time of their greatest prosperity, they amounted to 30,000,000
of souls, but constant wars, with their attendant train of famine,
disease, and death, have sadly diminished their numbers, and reduced
them to less than five millions.
The depopulated condition of their provinces, and the internal
dissension of their princes, favored the depredatory invasions of
various nations, Romans, Greeks, Persians, Saracens, and Scythians,
or Turks. These last finally crossing over the Caspian Mountains
in hordes, subjugated them, and took possession of their immense
territories, and have ever since held them in bondage.
The Armenians were the first Christians who were subjugated by
the Mussulmans, and as they were the earliest Christian subjects,
they became, in their mutual relations, the model or measure for
all succeeding conquests; for the Turks, profiting by their first
experience, ever after practised accordingly.
The conquerors, imbued with a spirit of Islamism, added to their
barbarities a system of religious persecution. The cruelties which
they committed on the inhabitants were horrible in the extreme. Aged
men and women were often tied in pairs, and then together cut in
halves. Pregnant women were frequently ripped open, and their unborn
babes wantonly thrown into the air; infants sucking at the breast were
torn from the arms, and massacred before the eyes of their distracted
mothers, so that human blood flowed in torrents throughout the country,
and well may the Osmanlis of the present day regard the very name of
Turk opprobrious, as it reminds them of former barbarities.
At last these persecutions and cruelties ceased; for perceiving the
advantages which they might derive from this hardy and industrious
race, and finding them also strong and enthusiastic in their faith,
the persecutors moderated their religious ardor, and adopting a more
politic course, opened negotiations with the Armenians, and willingly
compromised by making them tributaries, with the payment of Kharadj,
or poll tax, as recommended by the Koran; and by kind promises for
the future, their servitude was rendered more tolerable.
Besides, with the design of ruling them through religions prejudices,
the Armenians were granted the privilege of being governed by one
of their own priesthood, to whom they gave the title of Patrik,
or Patriarch.
The people being now deprived of all civil rights, regarded this
Patriarch as the sole bond of national unity.
The Turks, on their part, finding it an easy policy to govern the
mass through one individual, allowed great privileges to this office,
and the free exercise of the principles of their own religion in
its administration.
The power of the Patriarch was so unlimited, that he could even
levy taxes, punish any person with the bastinado, imprison, or send
into exile.
National enthusiasm and the politic tolerance of their conquerors,
in the course of time, led the Patriarchs into the abuse of their
privileges.
Cloaked though they were under the mantle of religion, their despotism
was not always exempt from impunity. For the people, long accustomed
to regard the church apart from temporal authorities, could not brook
such conduct in their high priest, and therefore there has always
been a strife between them and the priesthood.
The government has sometimes sustained the popular will, and at others,
the rights of the pontiff, as interest or policy required.
This community constitutes the very life of Turkey, for the Turks long
accustomed to rule rather than serve, have relinquished to them all
branches of industry. Hence the Armenians are the bankers, merchants,
mechanics, and traders of all sorts in Turkey.
Besides, there exists a congeniality of sentiment and community
of interest between them and the Mussulmans. For, being originally
from the same region, they were alike in their habits and feelings;
therefore, easily assimilating themselves to their conquerors,
they gained their confidence, and became and still are the most
influential of all the rayas. There is not a pasha, or a grandee,
who is not indebted to them, either pecuniarily, or for his promotion,
and the humblest peasant owes them the value of the very seed he sows;
so that without them the Osmanlis could not survive a single day.
This is a fact so well attested, that Russia, with the design of
undermining Turkey, always endeavored to gain over this part of the
population, and in 1828, when she took possession of Erzeroum, she
enticed the Armenians of that place to acts of violence and revenge
against the Turks, so that when the Russians retired, the Armenians
were obliged to emigrate with them.
Besides, in the demarcation of her boundaries with Turkey, she so
managed as to embody Etchmiadzin, the see of the high pontiff of the
Armenians, within her own territories, for the express purpose of
governing them through their spiritual head.
Even the correspondent of the London Morning Post, in speaking of
the corruptions of the country, in his ribaldry, termed the Armenians
the cloaca of Turkey, accusing them of being the means through whom
all the filth passed.
Naturally endowed with a brave and warlike spirit; of noble and
intelligent appearance, and great athletic vigor, their services have
ever been invaluable to the country; it has only been their protracted
servitude which has reduced them to the timid and cautious temperament
that they now possess.
Some have even distinguished themselves as statesmen, patriots, and
faithful servants. Had it not been for the good advice and diplomacy
of Abro, or, as he is commonly known to Europe, of Boghos Bey, Mehmed
Aali could not have secured to his heirs the independence of Egypt.
Again, at the conclusion of the last war with Russia, when Sultan
Mahmoud was writhing under his inability to meet the peremptory
demands of his enemy, an Armenian came to his rescue.
Kazaz Artyn was a most noted personage of the Armenian nation. Having
risen from the lowest rank in life, he finally became the head of the
Royal Mint, and the friend and factotum of his majesty Sultan Mahmoud,
who never passed a day without seeing him.
He was so much beloved by his imperial master, that although he was a
giavour, his majesty visited him at his last hours. This condescension
was not only remarkable in the king, but more wonderful in a Mussulman;
for the Koran forbids all intimacy with Christians. "O true believers,
take not the Jews or Christians for your friends; they are friends the
one to the other; but whoso among you taketh them for his friends,
he is surely one of them." This passage explains the antipathy of
the Mohammedans to all Christians, as well as to the institutions
of Christianity.
Sultan Mahmoud being of an imperious nature, waived such religious
considerations when impelled by gratitude, and no one of the ministry
dared to breathe a censure against the imperial will; for as sultan,
he was not only above the law, but the law itself. Besides, every
one knew the extent of Kazaz Artyn's services to his royal master.
At the end of the last war, when the Russian indemnities were to be
paid, there was not a single piaster in the treasury.
The sultan, in despair, shut himself up, and forbade any one to
approach him; but, reckless of consequences, Kazaz Artyn rushed into
the royal presence, and anxiously begged to be informed the cause
of his majesty's grief. "The Muscovite giavours are insisting upon
their indemnities, and I am told the treasury is empty." Whereupon
Kazaz Artyn assured his majesty that their demands should be met,
even on the very next day.
He accordingly summoned all the bankers, and collected the necessary
funds, which were transmitted to the Russian Embassy to their utter
astonishment, in the course of twenty-four hours. This money remained
at the Russian Embassy, out of which they were accustomed to pay
the salaries of the whole legation, etc. The bankers were afterwards
repaid in beshliks, a species of spurious coin, which are now being
redeemed by the present sultan.
The cultivation of the arts and sciences were of an early origin with
the Armenians.
In the reign of Valarsace, the Parthian, 150 B. C. the archives of
Nineveh were searched by Maribas, and made to contribute to the
literature of the nation; and during Arsaces' reign, the city of
Armavir was embellished with several pieces of beautiful statuary,
which were taken from the Greeks. Three, in particular, those of Diana,
Hercules, and Apollo, well executed, brazen and gilt, were from the
hands of the celebrated Cretan artists Scyllis and Dipænus.
Duin, Ani, Edessa, and several other cities, were noted for their
architectural beauties, and, considering that Armenia is coeval with
the Babylonian Empire, there is no reason to doubt, that researches
into its territories would be as interesting, as those of Mossoul.
The Armenians having no alphabet of their own, adopted the characters
of other nations, viz., the Syriac in religious writings, the Greek
in scientific works, and the Persian for statutes of law. But at the
commencement of the 5th century, a monk, Mesrop by name, invented the
present characters, which have been in use ever since. They are neat
in appearance, and capable of representing any articulate sound; thirty
nine in number, and styled by Lord Byron, a Waterloo of an alphabet.
There is no doubt that they early possessed some literature of
their own, prior to the invention of their alphabet, for even the
writings of Eusebius were originally discovered in the archives of the
Armenians. Many very eminent works, generally in MSS. on martyrology
and the affairs of the church, are still extant, and it is reported
that the old monasteries in Armenia contain records of history, which,
if brought to light, would prove great additions to the annals of
very ancient times.
They boast of classic authors, to whom Lord Byron alludes in eulogistic
terms, and the works of Moses of Khoren, which have been translated,
are highly appreciated by the literati of Europe.
The Armenians of the present day are also many of them distinguished
for their acquisitions in both Armenian and Turkish literature; and
so great is their aptitude for acquiring languages, that they are
often well versed in the various dialects of Europe. Even the children
are in the daily habit of speaking three different languages, viz.,
Turkish, Armenian, and Greek.
In their domestic relations, living in constant intercourse with the
Osmanlis, and the lapse of time throwing the veil of oblivion over
their past sufferings, all their habits of life and general ideas have
become assimilated to those of their masters, with those distinctions
only, which result from the tenets of their faith. Self-respect has
forced them to seclude their women from the public, and hence they
have the same domestic arrangements, style of dress, etc., as those
of the Osmanlis.
Their social institutions, like other Orientals, are very patriarchal,
every man being a monarch in his own family, and the children are
educated to observe the greatest deference and respect to their
parents. No son or daughter ever dreams of contracting a marriage on
their own responsibility, but the destined bride is selected by the
mother and her friends, and is thankfully accepted by the happy son.
The betrothal having been arranged with all due ceremony, the
wedding takes place at the appointed time. The marriage ceremonies
are celebrated both at the house of the bride and of the bridegroom
during three days.
The bride is conducted by the bridegroom and his friends to the house
of her intended husband, and the ceremony is performed on Sunday
at midnight.
The bride, muffled and tinselled, is conducted to a carpet in the
middle of the saloon, where she is placed opposite to the chosen
bridegroom. Their right hands are joined by the officiating priest, and
they are severally demanded whether they will "love, cherish, and honor
each other." The man is also asked, as he stands opposite to this mass
of shawls and tinsel, "will you take this girl, whether she be lame, or
deaf, or humped, or blind," to which he responds with due resignation,
"even so I will take her." A silken cord, twisted of two colors, is
now tied round the head of each, and after a long service, reading of
prayers and chanting, the happy pair are pronounced man and wife! The
bride, over whose varying emotions during the interesting ceremonies
an impenetrable veil was suspended, is now led by two attendants to
a corner of the sofa, where she is temporarily enthroned on a cushion.
The propitious moment has at last arrived, and the legalized husband
may ascertain for himself the measure of charms to which he is
allied. While the agitated maiden sits, oppressed by shawls and
tinsel, and internal anxiety as to the effect she may produce upon
her future lord, he slowly approaches, pale and tottering--for he
has sworn to have her, blind or hump-backed. With such alternatives,
even a moderate share of good-looks, or the mere absence of actual
deformity, would almost constitute beauty.
The attendant bridemaids exultingly raise the veil, and the new husband
ventures to take one look of love and admiration, in return for which
he places a valuable ring on her finger, and slowly retreats to muse
upon his fate, which is not often so deplorable, for the Armenian
girls are generally pretty. At all events, he submits with the best
grace, for, unlike his Mohammedan compatriots, he has no retrieve or
door of escape, but must abide by his bargain "till death us do part."
The veil is again dropped, and the bride left to her own meditations.
She receives presents from all the guests, so that the tickets of
admission to an Armenian wedding are no trivial affairs to one's
pockets.
Three days after the ceremony, the newly married couple are at length
left to a better acquaintance, unmolested by veils or spectators.
The Sunday following, the bridegroom proceeds to his father-in-law's
house, to acknowledge his gratitude for the possession of such a
charming treasure, etc., all which is expressed by the ceremony of
kissing the hands of the parents of the maiden, and this Sunday is
called, par excellence, the "Kissing Sunday."
These are the real Armenians; but about a hundred and fifty years
ago there was a secession in favor of Catholicism. The Catholic
Armenians, of whom there are about fifteen thousand in the metropolis,
and seventy-five thousand throughout Turkey, although distinct from
the Roman Catholics, have assimilated themselves, in many respects,
to European habits; forgetting their nationality and language, and
aping customs and usages they do not even understand; so much so,
that a very amusing work has been written in Armeno-Turkish under the
title of Acaby, as a burlesque upon such inclinations. They are not,
therefore, to be confounded with the orthodox Armenians.