A r me n ia an d t he p on t u s

BY E I R AM ARC D . . S

The Stat e of A rm e nia that is to be crea ted by th e Peace Co nference wi ll nat ura lly i nclude wi t hi nit s co n fi nes th e dis nd— l A t riet of Trebiz o the B lack Sea litt ora of rmenia . Ther e d in n n l i s t o be foun this regio a co siderab e Greek populat ion . V n l n . d l M r e iz e os , in the mem ora um on the t erri toria claims w S u d of Greece , hich he bmit te t o the Peace Conferenc e , advoca t ed that said district be incl uded in the pr opose d

A — A n S tat e of Armenia . Greek rmenian com mi ssi o which held it s sessio ns in Pa ris has already agre ed upon a p lan which will insure the Greeks of Trebi zond full cu lt ural n \V e t n n and aut o om y . rej oice tha Arme ia Gre ek l eaders

have thus laid t he foundation of an Arme no - Greek rap roch ement ld n and n p , which shou devel op i t o a clos e e during n friendshi p between the two ki dr ed races .

Thi s paper has two purposes " (a ) To examine and det er t h e n and mine geographical , e th ographical , his torical eco nomic st atus of Po ntus and (b ) t o show tha t Pontus is an A n i nt egral part of rme ia .

n in n sea was The am e Pontus , which Greek mea s , firs t us ed t o i ndicat e the B lack Sea " la t er i t was applied t o t he

l n . seacoas t of that s ea . es pecia ly from Si ope t o B atum This w name , however , has no meaning of race o nership of a given territ ory ; i t is on ly an appellation simi lar t o that of Pacific

C oas t and . , outside of Greek lit erature is seldom us ed Pont us in 300 l taken it s rest ricted area , ext ends about mi e s from and 40 l ea st t o we s t . an average of mi e s to the s outh , where the e ntire range of theB arkhar mountains forms the bound l n . s ary ine Thus , it approximat ely coi cide with the Turkish n provi ce of Trebiz ond . A l n l n though Po tus i s rea ly a coas tl and , ye t i t ofte is m ade t o include not only th e coastline from B atum t o Con stantinO le p , but i s oft en. meant t o enclos e all that t ract of land which in a gul f - like shape is e ncircl ed by th e right ba nk H l i a s . o f the r ver y This las t i s the ancient Cappadocia , or n t he Second Armenia of th e Armenia s . The name Pontus adhered to i t from the day of M ithridates , who ruled Second m Ar enia als o , and politically gave i t th e n ew name . His was empire , however , soon fell , and Pontus pushed back n B arkh ars i nt o its original l egitimat e bou daries , between the h t e . n and sea M odern Gre eks , especially th e claima ts of t h e Pontus for Greece , us e name t o include b eside the real all m and Pontus , Second Ar enia the entire coastline t o th e n n B osphorus . The t rue Greek de fi itio , h owever , does not go n all inla d a t ; i t only takes the coas t . l Pontus , being actua ly part and continuation of th e A — and rm enian table land , i t has al l th e climatic ge ol ogical n l ch . aract eristics of that land The la d i s very hi ly , so much s o that only a few roads cross it , and th e m os t prosperou s n n t ow ns are on the s eacoast . The mou tai s lift up their h eads

' in very sharp inclines , and at a shor t distance from th e s ea , a l fi rs t a ti tude of feet is reached , a s a s t epping s tone t o th e higher t errit ory inland . East ern Pontus has li ttl e agri l w cul ture , a though the e stern par t h as broad fi elds ; frui t is probably th e chief agricul tural specialty .

Geographically , Pontus can be cl assi fied under one of n I t two designatio s . may b e considered a distinct count ry , w Tiro olis i f we ould t ake th e east ern hal f of it , from p t o B atum " for this section is enclosed on one side by th e s ea and n on th e other by the archi g B arkhar . Such a classi fi cation , s h owever , ha s never been t ri ed , because th e ame races of old l which overran Armenia a s o s et tled in this s ection , and thus force us t o classify . it as an int egral par t of th e Armenian

l - n n t ab e la d , which would b e th e o ly natural and s ensibl e in clas si ficati on . Not only the Arm enians look at i t this l l ight , but a so al l foreign nations , both ancient and modern , ’ h ave conceded Armenia s right t o thi s district ; b ecause for l no V e thno ogical and economic reas ons , other iew can be t aken on the subj ect .

From historic times , the Armenians have considered

6 Ch aldia Pontus as an Armenian province , named , and they have always r eferred t o i t under this s econd name . This geographical de signation i s very old ; much older than th e h possible claims other nations may put fort . From the lis t Ch aldia"< of Armenian provinces two , and Second Armenia , are th e one s which actually coincide wi th the foreigner ’ s

Pontus of M ithridate s , not including th e northern ext ent ,

t . from B a um t o th e Danub e Now , not only h ave we t he ’

nam es of Armenia s provinces handed down t o us , but al s o i the nam es of th e dis trict of the prov nces . Of thes e we give ’ ’ Ch aldia s here th e lis t of and Second Armeni a s dis trict s , showing their l ocation on th e map by numbers "

CH AL DI A S E CON D A R M E N I A Hamamash en Capira R izus Nicopolis Ath enae Satalla A rdash en E udocia O pius Sebastopolis Susurmenia Amassia A rdasia Comana Colanz Z ela Z ankha Teprika Agn Dascousia Singa

e Of t h s e nam es a few are Greek in form , although only in form . Abou t four of them are t ruly Gre ek words ; but even

the se have seldom been mentioned in old Greek authors . Ch aldia and Second Armenia , a s will b e se en from the map ,

s tre tch from the B lack s ea far int o th e h eart of Asia M inor ,

wh ere the Taurus M ount ains form th e dividing line . They ’ — enclos e one third of Arm enia s area , and oft en native Greeks

demand thes e two provinces , t o be formed into Greek Pon

t ian S tat e . This sam e t erri tory , i ncluding the northwe stern o c rner of Asia M inor , as far as th e B osphorus , once formed

the Roman province of Pontus . In no other nation ’ s hist ory h ave thes e t wo p rovinces ’ mentioned as been part s of that nat ion s land , except Arme

>" T h e read er mu st bear in mind th e d iff erent orth og raphy of th e two simi ar names " hald ea and Chaldia T h e first re ers to h nci nt l C a . f t e a e em i e of southern Meso otamia whi e th e secon is th e rmenian name p r p , l d A of an rmenian rovince c inci in with ontus in its r strict n o e e s s . A p , d g P d e e his if erence in orth o ra h is strict a h ere to in his a er T d f g p y ly d d t p p . w . nian his tory , hich mentions th em as a mat t er of fact Thes e n provinces , being on the b ou daries of Armenia , naturally

' were th e fi rst t o be a ttacked by an enemy , such as Rom e and Byzantium ; hen ce thes e two empire s have l eft traces of their n " and . civili zation arms in thes e s ect io s nderneath , how a ever , th ere always exis ted subs tratum of native elem ents , ’ l n n l which wa s s ometime s os t i t o th e ewcom ers fo d , but more often ab sorbed th em thoroughly . This i s shown in the p er manent maj ority in population the Armenians have always e e held in this t erritory , in spit e of al l pres sure and rep at d massacres by the Turks , Tartars and Arabs . Th es e mass a and cres , more over , have been of a regul ar periodic nature n from the days of the fi rs t M ohamm edan asce dancy . This " i s a nother proof of th e s tat emen t tha t an indigenous s tock " n i s practically i eradicabl e .

>I<

Somethi ng is know n of Armenia his t orica lly as far back 2 h 0t . . t as the century B C At those imes , the st at e of Nairi

" . was ourishing in th e very hear t of Armenia Wes tward , the entire length of Asia M inor and as far a s th e Red Sea in l o the s outh ived the Hitt ite s (Chet a ) . The Hitt it e c unt ry

s o - ll included the ca ed Pontus , although i t was not a s eparat e l e. s tat e , nor carri ed this na m The Nairi peop e were probably of one blood with the older inhabitant s of Lower M es opo w tamia , the Chaldaeans , becaus e names derived from the ord n Chaldaea are me t i n all part s of Arme i a . Thus we find a Chaldaea between the Wes tern Euphra t es and the B lack n h ldi C a a . Sea , which has given us the Armenia (province ) ' w e C ole/1 2s From th e same nam e have the Greek , whil e th e

n Klzilak n i . old Assyria form of Cil icia , , shows th e same origi find We als o a dist rict s out h of Kars , and

n L a e another of th e same am e further north , around the k ’ ' C/zalair H ar r olcizz . South of pe t a town C s i s me ntio ned in ’ n l lzalaaea C n . ancie t times , whi e further s outh wa s the empire The natio nal god of those a ncient peopl es at ' th at time was ’ Chalais and n n , as nations have oft e am ed themselves aft er their deities , s o al s o , we can assert tha t all these peopl es l l iving in nearer Asia were cl osely re ated , and were branches

’ moth er stock of th e same . The Chaldaeans of Lower M eso

" " Th e ( 71 in allth ese names is rono nce as a h ar ttera p u d d gu l . 8 potamia probably branched out from th e Chaldaeans of

Northern Armenia , who have given t o them a new physical type , the Arm enoid , and a new name . The Armenian t ribe has been traced as far back as Thessaly , i n Europe , wh ence l they emigrat ed not l at er t han th e 0th Century B . C . In and n The ssal y M acedoni a , they h ave l e ft th eir t races in ames ,

' A r e' z m n such a s the ancient city of m n u . I t is not k own h cl early h ow t ev cros sed int o Asia M inor . The fi rs t S i gn of th eir s et tl ing down i s fou nd in th e

Armenian province called Firs t Armenia . H ere th ey cut i nt o l two the Hittit e count ry Ci icia (s ee map ) . From here they migrat ed north and eas t , est ablishing Second and Third

-h Armenia . B ut their onrus into modern Cilicia was r educed by the barrier of t he Taurus range , and whil e th ey went there al s o , ye t their ent rance was gradual and they did not oblit erat e t he nam e of Cilicia . Thes e Armenians rushed through all of Asia M inor until th ey approached the Caesarean district . There are two names which migh t indica t e th eir course of t ravel . One is

O rmzazus i n th e mount ain northwes tern Asia Minor , now

ren I h ik h known a s O or sc M ountain . The original name s ows a similarity t o the word Armenian . The other name is of the

d k- L ima lit tl e t own n (Whit e Haven ) , originally known as

" A r mene— fi rmenon ail now i n Greek m eans a s , and has it s

r niz verb als o a me e. Wh ether the word i s derived from th e n nam e Armenian , we can ot say . Th e origina tor of th e nam e

A rmenus and Armenia is of Thes salian birth , wheth er he sailed wi th white sails int o thi s harbor and gave his nam e t o

r sail the t own , and whethe Greeks t ook hi s nam e t o mean a , ar menon we cannot de finitely say . The Gre ek word must be

— a non Greek word , as it is used very rarely . B oth the moun A A scana tain and th e t own m entioned are in scania , of th e z ians , th e t raditional forefathers of the modern Armenians . I t is de fi nit ely known tha t th e Armenian t ribe came from Europe , and were probably cousins of the old H ellenes , for Greeks point t o Thes saly and it s O lympud as th e cradl e of th eir race and ancient religion . B y val or and virtue the Nairians A raratian Armenian trib e assimil ated th e , the s Alaoridi Ch aldians ( ) , the of th e north , the Hi ttite s , et c . , until e e they gave th m a new nam , Armenians ; while few , m ostly i n inacces sible corners kep t th eir dis tinct type for a l onge r 9 - Ch aldians period , such as the Armeno Chalybes ( wes t of

- Trebizonde ) on the Iris , th e Laz es (or Armeno Laze s ) on the 5 10 Card uch i B arkhar p es , the (now call ed Kurdes ) on the

Tigris , e tc . Of thes e a small numb er of th e Lazes and a con h i sid erable number of Carduc remain yet . At the present time th e ancient mothe r — s tock of th e Chaldaeans is extinct ; s om e of their descendent s t oday are Kh ildani the Armenians , the Nes torian Chalda eans , and th e of Lower M es opotamia . Other branches , such as the Moc noeci Chalybes , y and Col chi , of th e Pontu s have since n l ong vanished int o the main body of th e modern Arme ians . l Their homel and was for many years known as Cha daea , while the east ern half is even now known a s the Armenian n h l i provi ce of C a d a. In Roman times all of this l and was Ch aldia known as the province of , and th ere i s , even t oday , a dioces e of Ch aldia maint ained by the Gre ek Or thodox Church in A rd a h n the di st rict of s e (M ap No . Wha t does allthis mean " That the modern Armenia ns A raratians are a composit e of the old Chaldaeans , the , and n w . e th e European Armenians This nation , as a unit ed race , n spreads from the Cilicia seacoas t t o the Caspian Sea , and H al s from the mouths of the y t o th e neighborhood of Resh t , all thos e other tribes as the Lazes , and th e Kurdes are only b ranches of this m other nation . The s tronge s t proof of this s tat eme nt is that the physiognomy of thes e t ribes i s identical with the Armenian and tha t their custom s are so similar t o and n th e Armenian s o u l ike th e M osl em . In s pite of th e

cl aims of th e vandal Turks , that thes e t ribes are of Turkish o n extracti n , we know that they are originally Armenia s , kept apart o nly by political pre ssure and l ack of commu nications

Returning t o Ch aldia (Pontus — Lazistan) and Second

— Arm enia (Pontus Sivas ) , we have the foll owing st ati s tics of their population .

Chaldia (allof T rebizond P rovince) A rmenians Greeks O th er Ch ristians

Tu rks and all Moslems

10 Second A rmenia (all of Sivas P rov ince) Armenians Greeks O th er Ch ri stian s

Tu rks All oth er Mosl ems

Total Ch ristians and Mosl ems in each P rov ince 60 1 000 (Ch ri stians ) (Mo slems)

Tot al p opul ation of bot h P rov inces

\V e l t t h e can very easi y see hat , had Armenians enj oyed peace and security und er t h e M oslem rul e during the la s t fiv e nt t w l l l ce urie s , hey ou d have been in ful maj ority ove r a l o t her races in t h e t w o provi nces ; we can se e the j u st ice of t l n w e t hei r c aim s . and the t e aci ty with hich they hav s ood by e l n th ir father a d .

t I t mu st b e borne in mind that . being si tua ed a t th e " e r nt A E con u nc e of immig a nations be twee n sia a nd urope , Armenia ha s had much di fficul t y t o keep it s t erri t ory i ntac t n a d independent continuousl y for long periods . I t ha s oft e n n v been divided b et we e a numb er of nati e or foreign rulers . w d l Therefore , hil e Arm enians w ere ivided i n their invo unt ary to all egiance , they have by tha t very situat ion b een forced concen t rat e t h e na t i onal ideal of all divi sions around one and ’ e only dream . the evil of a foreigner s rul e they hav received t h e impetu s t oward a stronger na tional b o nd a s a n l t necessary m eans of savi g th eir racia identi y . Naturally thos e province s of Armenia which li e immedi n n t o l at ely on th e boundary li e s , have bee th e very fir st fal ’ n under the invader s yoke . Such ha s been the fort u e o f the n " provinces of Arm enia M e sopot amia , At ropat ene , Paida h l i f and C a d a. O garan , Fir st Armenia . Second Arm enia

t Ch aldia n y he se , Second Armenia and i t erest us h ere . a s th e

occupy the t erritory claimed by Greeks . 20 th i As far back a s the Century B . C . the Hitt it e s l ved all l h . t in Asia M inor , including the se two provinces B y th e 0

Century they had vani shed , l eaving a branch of thei r descend " ZE an h e . t e e i n ant s , the Phrygians , near the g Sea Soon M d a

1 1 Empire swept west ward and reached t o th e ba nks of th e

Hal s A l sse R n . y ( y ) iver , occupying the Po tian t erritory This

empire fell before Cyrus the Persian , under whos e successors the Persian Empire ext ended from th e Danub e t o India and from th e Caucasus M ountains t o the Red Sea and the Libyan n e des ert in Africa . All Asia M i or fell under it s sway mor

l n an . comp etely tha under y other rul e since Then , Al exander

' t h e over but Great , t ook this em pir e , did not subdue th e Ch aldia northern provinces of Arm enia , that i s , Daik , Gou P i aran O tene a da . cark , , Arzah and g The provinces of Chal and n dia , Seco d Armenia had been two separat e satrapies n u der th e Persians .

’ n Alexander s empir e s oo broke up aft er his death , and Ch aldia and foll owing it s divisi on , all of Greater Armenia , n n n n part of Second Arme ia b ecame i depende t . Soo , how off y th e Seleu ever , th e Parthians threw th e t edious oke of l cidae and began t o build a s trong empire . Their inf uence

s pread int o Armenia , where a new dynas ty b egan t o rul e , . n l " two relat ed t o the Parthia roya family thus , th es e coun n n n t ries began t o grow as i depe de t s tat es , and there t ook p lace much mingling of bl ood back and forth b etwe en th e

two nat ions . They becam e actually cousins . During this

period Arm enia also began t o expand i nt o an empire , under Dikran n th e Great , and wi th him does foreig hi st or y b ecome

o— initiated int o the s tudy of s called Pontus . For th e Arme nians Ch aldia , however , (Pontu s ) was nothing new , a s we s aw ; in fact much traditional information exist ed concer ning Ch aldia th e t erritory of .

H ere are a few "

A scanaz B as ed on B iblical r ecord , t he race of , which n lived in wes tern Asia M inor duri g th e 12th Century B . C .

t ogether with their cousins th e Phrygians , were a branch of

the Hit tites . Through the Ascanians , th e Hitt ites wer e con " nected l A s ca wi th the Armenians , wh o ca l them selves th e " naxian N ation . Similarly th e old Armenian nam e of the

A seanaz ian S ea A scanaz Black Sea was th e , for the l and of

reached t o the coast s of that s ea , al though w e cannot say how far eas t or wes t ; but th e Ascanians did s pread t o Arme nia ll l . n Sti fol owing t raditio , wh ere we may believe t o be we find a th e some actual truth , th t the progenitor of Arme 12 nians n , Haig , had s even you ger brothers , who settled in Carth u s n modern Caucasus . Of thes e s et tl ed in moder Leck s ettl ed on th e northea s t of the Caucasus ’ and eskes M ount ains e stablished the L race , whos e land is i s till called L esk stan or Daghes tan . B art set tled near th e mouth of Kur ; Herr s et tled in modern I merth i ; Caucas s et tled n arou d Ku tai s ; while t he youngest of all , Eger , occu pied th e lower range s of the m ou nt ains which j oi n t o the Chal

n azistan dia ranges . He h eld all of m odern L and al s o Egeri a or Guri a around B a tum . Hi s t errit ory s pread from th e eas t ern coas t of the Asca nazian Lazis Sea , t o th e neighborhood of Kars , and includes h l ia C a d . t an , Guria , Aj ar , Kola , and th e province of Am ong his descendant s were named th e most b eautiful women of the world . Thi s sam e reput a tion is owned now b y the Laz es , who h ave supplied th e main demand for b eauties for t he

- harems of Turkish Sultans and grandees . Th e fact that b oth th e Egerians and the Lazes of t oday live in the s am e t errit ory and carry th e same reputat ion of physical b eauty , and th e fact tha t th e Laz es are often referred t o as Arme

— - no lazes , give s us th e righ t t o a ss ert tha t b oth races are th e k’kib l< A rmeniansf s ame , and are fi rs t cousins with th e Returning t o the fi rs t polit ical appearance of Pontus as ’ Dikran s A rsh a a s t rong Stat e , w e fi nd that grandfather g A rsaces ( ) , had t o go t o war agains t the inhabit ant s of Chal ’ dia becaus e they had rev oltea against the Armenian govern m ent . H e quelled t he dis turbance and erected a monument t o commem ora t e his succes s ; and th e Ch aldians for a l ong

" tim e worshipped the monument as a god . B efor e half a cen Dikran t ury had pa s s ed , his grands on , th e Great , came upon th e stage of hist ory . Dikran is th e m os t cherished and th e mos t typical king

- e a . i n Arm nian hi st ory , ruling almos t hal f century During his reign Parthia wa s beginning t o grow , whil e on th e wes t R ome was spreading , aft er h aving abs orbed all the Hell enic st at es and cit ies , and had reached t o th e heart of Asia Dikran M inor . To oppos e th es e two growing opponent s , c Ch aldian b ecam e relat ed t o the Prin e of t he Province , and

w e Still known asKh artli or Carthli " r n is i ce o t p e . 13 t and they together proceeded east , sou h southwes t ; he t ook n anci e t Persia , almost t o the sh ores of the Persian Gul f , and and as far as Palestine , Syria , Cilicia Cyprus . The Kingdom

— in - law of Seleucidae cam e int o his pos s es sion . His brother , Ch aldia M ithridat es of , occupied all northwes tern Asia and M inor , all the seacoast of th e B lack Sea as far as t he w m outh s of the Danub e . He also ent a s far as Greece , now a Roman Province , but he was defe at ed north of Athens .

Two other wars h e waged agains t Rome , with the hel p of Dikr n n a . a d At last , the Romans defeat ed him expelled him t o far - off Crim ea and gave hi s throne t o hi s son Parnak Ph rnac a es . ( ) At first Pa rnak lived at peace with Rom e , and n n new preve ted his fath er from organizi g a , expedition ’ n — agai st it . Rome s life l ong enemy , M ithridate s , now de

ir s a ed . p , commi tt ed suicide When , howeve r , civil war broke in and n out Rome b etween Caesar Pompey , Par ak took occa n sion t o reoccupy Great er Po tus ; bu t Caesar , who had gone and t o Egypt , has tened north quickly defeated Parnak , and i ' d ' n was " V en V z z V ici . ended his reig . His report t o Rome , ,

Dikran On the other hand , , who had pros pered much n and had continuously warred agai s t Rom e , now was weak n e ed and finally sued for peace , and wa s allowed t o keep part Dikran of his t erritory as an indep endent kingdom . and M i thridates were th e fi rs t Asia tic rulers t o oppos e Rom e

in the East , thus giving opportunity t o Parthia and l ater

Persia t o grow westward m ore easily .

At thes e times , th e royal hous e of Armenia was very th e closely relat ed t o rul ers of Parthia , and having a similar

religion , Armenians and Parthians int ermarried t o a great n n al ext e t , and so , Parthia blood in Armenia increas ed t o an m n os t equal proporti on as the Hit tite and old Arme ian blood . The Ch aldians had never been subdued by the old Persians and l e by A exand r , and kept u p th ei r l ocal independence .

Their prince s were always called M ithridate s , a Parthian Ch aldians name , which clearly shows that the now were a s

much mixed wi th th e Parthians a s th eir Arm enian cousi ns , ’ and it wa s through Dikran s support that M i thridat es buil t

up his empire , a t error t o Rome . Th es e princes held their

520 - 47 C . local rule from B . , when th e principality ended

permanently .

14 And now we find the Roman Empire ext ending it s boundarie s in th e East t o a line foll owing from the B arkhar

M ountains s outh with th e cours e of the Euphrat es . Eas t n of this l ine Armenia held an independe t kingdom , tributary t o Rom e , whil e Armenian M e sopotamia wa s continually changing mas t ers b etween Romans and Parthians or Per sians . At t he division of th e Roman Empire i nto the West em and East ern branches , the boundary wavered still on the sam e line , until th e Arab ascendancy engul fing within i ts el f D l h . 0 t . Persia , Arm enia and Syria in th e Century , A , it s eas t ern division , the East ern Caliphat e pushed int o th e h eart

' of A sia M inor , l eaving free a fringe on the B lack S ea and M ind e end the edit erranean . Cilicia was now reborn as an p e nt Armenian St at e whil e the B yzantine Empire , a s the eas tern division of the Roman Empire s till held under it s h aldia " C . rule the s eacoast of Armeni an Jus t previous t o this , S anoth er royal hous e had prung up in Great er Arm enia , the

9 - 1 4 B a ratides 85 0 5 . g , tributary t o the Caliph s , and had last ed This kingdom reach ed north of the Tigris as far a s the Kur and from th e Araxes t o the borders of Second Arm enia . Towa rds th e s ea i t found an opponent in the B yza ntine armies , who l anding a t Trebizond , would at t ack Armenia , b oth t o we aken th e Arab power and to acquire for them s elves the prosperous Arm enian lands . B y continuous war fare Armenia b ecame a bat tl e fi eld and at las t by tr each ery the B yzantines took it s weal thy capit al Ani . t The B yzan ines , h owever , held this Armenian t erri tory only for a few years , when th e Selj uk Turks came from

Turkest an and drove the B yzantines out . Soon the wh ol e th e of Asia M inor was l os t t o the se invaders , except rugged now s eacoas t of Trebizond , which had given refuge t o the

Comnenian family , wh o had es t ablished in this B yzantine " " province a so— call ed Empire ; and when the Latins were

driven ou t , from Cons tantinopl e , the Comnenians did not return th ere .

In th e m eantim e th e Turks had reached th e B osp oru s "

Cilicia was independent , whil e all of remaining Armenia was ’ under the invader s h eel . Soon , however , Cilicia fel l under 1 " the Mohammedan Emirs of Egypt in 37 5 . Th e Empire

" in of Trebizond las t ed abou t one century longer , where all 15 twenty rulers sat . Thes e emperors w ere appointed by th e

' B yz a ntine Emperor ; bu t when Constantinopl e fell , the ’ ll n Turks t ook Trebi zond , and ki ed th e Pri ce s family . The " ed Pelo onesus younges t son to Greece , where in p he est ab lish ed t he Comnenian Duchy . Thi s Empire of Trebiz ond wa s not identical in " ext e nt i i i i n Ch ald a M th r dat an . eith er with , nor with the Pontus It only compris ed the immediate coas tland and st ret ch ed n from th e m ouths of the Iri s t o eas t of Trebizo d . It was not Y et it are an empire , nor was it a gl orious s tat e . upon founded claims that all of Pontu s b e handed over t o the

Greeks . B ut his tory disproves thi s .

To begin with th e East ern Empire , we know that i t was n not a Gre ek Empire . It wa s only a Roma Sta t e , th e n Emperors usi g th e ti tl e of Roman Emperor t o th e very end .

Even th e Turks knew th e B yzantines as Romans (Rooms ) .

It really was a cosm opolitan Empire , wher e first Romans , A nd lat er a mul titude of nations , gave emperors . a s th e Em w n pire aged m os t of i t s war in Arm e ia , it naturally followed n that many Armenians ent ered th e B yza tine s ervice . Not n only ge eral s and sta t esmen , but even emperors were of l Armenian st ock . Thus , purely Arm enian were th e fo l ow ing emperors in Byzantium (Constantinopl e ) .

Mau rice Philippicu s L eo V th e A rmenian B asil I L eo V I th e Phil osoph er Alex and er onstantine or h ro ene C , P p y g R oman s L eca ius ( u I , p R omanu s I I oh n Z imisces J I , asi B ul aroktonu s B l I I , g Constantine I X Qu een Z oe Qu een Th eod ora Aside from thes e a larger numb er of Armenian pret enders t o

th e throne are mentioned , while over thirty Armenians are n k own as great general s and st at esmen . It will be not ed that all thes e Arm enians ant edate th e 1 es tablishment of th e Armenian Kingdom of Cilici a in 080 .

16 in From this dat e onward , hardly an Armenian appears ff B yzantine a airs , for the reas on that , they now could serve their own fatherl and instead of a foreign stat e . Thi s shows ’ that they were in the Empire s s ervice , probably for a l national policy . For th ey a ways favored the Armenian provinces and opened th e ave nues of advancemen t before their count rymen . Aside from thos e m entioned above , Leo the Is aurian i s supposed t o b e from an Armenian family , so through his dynas ty we mus t add one and a hal f century 1 17 — 867 more ( ) t o th e period of th e Armenian Em perors . All this means tha t th e Arm enians played a leading par t in th e Em pire . And as the language of the Empire was at end n and th e Em t he th e Greek , thes e Arme ian Emperors pire it sel f i s s poken of as Greek . Th e people were , h ow n n n n ve r , a motley crowd . Only th e las t dy as ty , the Com e ia s were probably Greeks , who rul ed for about four centuries . n l During thos e la s t centuri es the Empire decl i ed rapid y , ’ n u til , a t t he tim e of Cons tantinopl e s capture by th e Turks , n it did not s pread much beyond th e city i t sel f . Truly , duri g this period , t he Em pire gave no lit erary frui t s or pol itical ins pira tion t o the world . Thus we find the B yza ntine Empire t o b e divided into " three periods Rom an , Armenian and Gre ek , a s far a s the ruling el ements are concerned . During th e first two periods , n i< Ch aldia n Arm e ia M inor and were a Roman Provi ce , called the Armenian M ilitary Depart ment . During the lat er , Greek pe riod , all of this territ ory was gradual ly l os t t o the Em

- n pire , until o ly the Em pire of Trebiz ond was l eft . Wi th the fall of Const antinople , Greek culture which had s pread s o much under the Em pire , graduall y died out , and native races in grew int o a new life , such a s Arm enia . B ut the prosperity of th e Armenians could not be t olerated by th e Turks , who b tried t o ch eck their growth y occasional massacres .

During the Turkish rul e in Asia M inor , th e B yzantine n el eme nt which was now incorporat ed int o the Greek natio , through the agency of the Church of Const antinopl e , wa s

comparatively w ell t reat ed by the conquerors , whil e th e

native Arm enian s were always persecuted . This was an

" om se of th ree rovinces " " irst rmenia Secon rmenia and C po d p A , d A h m ni T ird A r e a. 17 estab lish ed policy of the ruli ng race " to oppress every sub

in its nativ e land onl j ect race y, thus preventing them from n n l n . claiming their home a d as an indepe de t stat e Equally , Greeks were s eldom moles t ed in Asi a M inor ; neither have n n Armenia s livi g under the Turks , but out side of Arm enia , Ch aldia o n . bee oppress ed very much So , in and Sec nd e enia , the Greeks were unm oles ted , and prospered , whil e the growth of th e Arm enians was ince ssantly obstruct ed . For even the Turks consider thes e provinces as part s of Y et in s pit e of all obstructions , th e Arm enians are sti ll a maj ority in t heir h om e land ; even aft er th e ravages of the las t war t "< (includi ng th e two province s h ere " in q ue st ion) . Thi s again prove s that a native el ement is practically n n all Co sideri g thes e fact s , no foreign nation t o this day has claimed thes e two provi nces ; s o th e Arm enians have always considered needless t o lay s t ress on th e fact of their t rue ownership . And a ques tion of Pontus never ex is ted n , u til s ome Greeks forced i t int o the publi c. notice of l at e .

A las t considerat ion , al th ough not the l eas t , is the eco n nomic neces si ty of thes e t wo provi ces t o Armenia . B oth th ese provinces are productive in plant and mineral prod ucts Y et n . these province s are ot dissimilar in thes e thei r product s to other sectio ns of Asia Mi nor or th e B alka n Pen n l n nor l n i su a . Here grow nothi g more es s tha wha t grows

" n er th t rms f th e R e orm Me sur a " eb 8 19 14 a ree e e o a e te . d f , d d , , g d on between German and rke on th e one si e and R ssia re re u p y Tu y d , u , p sentin th e E ntente and th e rmenians on th e oth er actin b irection g A , , g y d of th e mbassa oria on erence of L on on of 19 1 3 sai Six rovinces A d l C f d , d P " n h Pr vin bi n w r n f ni a d t e o ce o Tre zo d e e co si ere as arts o rme a. f , d d p A A men an ues ti o h P a n r nce no 9 . te. r i on be re t e e ce o e e . Q f C f , p O ne of th e Six rovinces is Sivas Secon rmenia first mentione in P ( d A ) , d s f ix n 187 8 reat of er in rtic 6 1 ch a ist o S i b e . u l , , y T y B l , A l

Th e Memorandum of th e A rmenian Del egation to th e P eace Con erence at aris ives for 19 14 in rkish rmen ia rmenians f P g , Tu A A a ainst r s E n th A erican R eview o R e k . owe i e m g Tu . . A P ll , f views for ri 19 19 a e 405 ives an e a ro ortion for 19 14 th at Ap l , , p g , g q u l p p , " i a r k s pp oximat ely A rmenians as comp ared to T ur s.

ritish lu B ook " r a m nt f th e rmenians b . r ce B B e T e t e o A , y J B y , ’ 19 16 tnam s a 527 e . , Pu , p g 18 in thos e other s ections ; therefore , no foreign st at e could lay cl aim to thes e provinces on account of their need for such product s . For Armenia , however , Second Arm enia is the province which probably has th e larges t area of tillable n grain land , with the exception of the Province of Arme ian

M es opotamia ; whil e the mines of gold , silver and iron of Ch aldia are prim e neces sities for the indus trial progress of t ha t na ti on . S o each of thes e two province s has a particular n aptitude for pla t or mineral product s . Fruit i s abundant Ch aldia n in both provinces , and th rough , many importa t frui ts have migrat ed from Asia t o Europe . The pear , th e " are apple , th e peach , the apricot and the cherry proven t o b e indigenous of east ern Armenia or wes t ern Persia , on the s outhern shore s of th e Caspian All of th es e fruit s are origina ted in Asia , and have come t o Europ e th rough YVest northern Persia , whos e only outlet t o th e is th e road connecting Teheran , Tabriz , Choi , B ayazid , Erzerum and n f be Trebi zo d . This road ha s been the mai n art ery of t ra fi c tween Europe and inner Asia for m any centuries . There are no oth er roads that connect the B lack Sea harbors to th e Eas t a s directly as this one ; it pass es th rough t he h eart of Arm eni a and is i t s channel of communication with the out Ch aldia side world . In fact is the s eaport p rovince for all h that part of Armenia l y ing north of the 39t parall el .

It would surely b e an u nfortunat e day when one nation held th e door of another count ry ; it would m ean the com plete eco nomic dependence of tha t countrv upon th e h older of the door . No country i s free and independent , unl es s i t is n fre e in an economic se s e . With this goe s the mili tary con sideration tha t as in th e pas t the Ch aldian s ea coas t has been used as a landing place for military expeditions of th e

T h e botanical names of most o f th ese show th eir original h ome " u ris P each " P runu s Persica ; amygdal us Persica; P ersica v lga . mmunis Appl e " Pyru s malus ; mal us co . m nis ru in nsis P ear " Pyru s co mu ; py s s e . i m n aris Ap ricot " P runus A rmen aca; A r e iaca vulg . n a i m Ch erry " P ru nu s Cerasus pru us v u .

D Candolle came to th e minin th e evi enc care . e exa g d e fully, A conclu sion that it (th e appl e) is most indigenou s to the region south of th e a c sus rom the ersian rovince Ghi an on th e as ian to rebizon C u a , f P p l C p T d " ia o k a I t is nee ess to sa th at this re ion is rmen . n th e B lac Se . dl y g A h l 3 Y o eac vo . . A les o N ew rk b S . . ( pp f , y A B ; p ) 19 n n Romans and the B yza ti es against Arm enia and Persia , n n n thus causing i fi it e dis turba ce in Arm enian poli tical life , it would b e a policy of wisdom to make such an occurrence

impossib le in the future . Armenia must be made a true n n barrier s tat e , reachi g from the M edit erra ean t o th e B lack

Sea , and even t o the Cas pian , al though th e Armenian Del e gation in Paris has not demanded thi s la st one . In fact our n — be Delegation has asked for o ly two thirds of Armenia , lieving i t bes t t o be m odera te .

w In a fi nal revie , l et us poin t out t o the reader th e foll owing fact s "

G eo ra hicall I . g p y, Pontus (wh ether Second Armenia Ch aldia Ch aldia n n n n and , or alo e ) has ever b ee co sidered by any one a s being a nything e lse but an integral part of

. . y Armenia Any map will make this cl ear Further , onl Armenian geography t akes in thes e two provinces a s a and n national t errit ory , no foreign nati o has any claim s upon l these provinces , on geographica grounds .

E th nolo icall n II . g y, the basic el ement i s Armenian , bei g d A raratian a mixture of old Chal a ean , Hittit e , and old n and n Armenia race s , i s eve ly s pread from the Caucasus to n the M editerra ean . No other nat ion or race has s ett led n and there perma ently , none claims t o be th e native th ere , n n a s the Arme ia s are . With t h e change of the political for ll tunes of the l and , all foreign races have gradua y vanish ed n from Armenia . No oth er ati on ha s fought or su ffered for and Arm enia , or dreamed worked for her as only her nat ive children have . So that , Greek , Russian or Turk , are only l we come guest s , t o l ive with u s a s l ong as they desire ; but surel y no gues t can claim own ership of a hous e for havi ng r esided there for a l ength of tim e .

H istoricall h l i . C a d a III y, and Second Armenia have had

occasional local independence , such as all other Armenian

provinces had under local pr inces . Further , they have often bee n under foreign yoke ; yet no foreign yoke has bee n wel come and the nat ives have always preferred their ind epend

. ence The Pontian Empire was an Armenian Stat e , for M ithridates himsel f was a lmost an Armenian and Parthian

20

L I BRQRY O" CONGRESS

T he A C ommit t e e

I n depen den c e o r men la

R A man M S W . G C a r JA E E RD , h i

CHARLES STEWAR T AVI SON V ce- a rman D , i Ch i

- D D . r M. EN RY OBERTS . . . ecreta enera W H R , , LL D , S y G l

ar es vans es M ron T err c Ch l E Hugh y . H i k William J ennings B ryan J ohn Grier Hibb en Par er m n . ton . Gov o co o n Al B k . H l b , C Elihu Root Hamilton Holt enr a ot od e eor e r H y C b L g G g A . Hu d n ar ams ar M r J oh Sh p Willi Rich d . Hu d mas nr r T o e . essu Cha les S . h H y W J p Lyman Abbott Robert Elli s J ones

Mex . Gov . art ett . . Gov. L arrazolo . B l , N H , N m arton G v ster as a es . o . . J L B Li , W h m n I r wa . tt e Gov . eec a . . B k , R Ed d C Li l a we l an Mac Alice Stone Bl ck l Juli W . k r e ona arte orman Mac Cha l s J . B p N E . k v m Mann n Gov. o e N e . a T . B yl , Willi i g Nicholas Mu rray Butler Elizabeth Marbury m r z r v m . Mo e an Go . a e R t R ev W C pb ll , A i . . . . H l d G v are o r Dak o . W . Gov. o ec . . C y, y N b k , S

Gov. atts " la. " re er c . Penfield C , d i C m G ov oo er . . eor e aven P tna . C p , S C G g H u

Gov. Cox O o R t . R ev . P . . ne an er , hi N Rhi l d

R t R ev . ar n ton rn s . . J . H D li g E est W . Rigg

eve an . o e Gov . o ertson O a. Cl l d H D dg R b , kl

G v rse Ga. rm o . o aco . c an D y, J b G S hu r m Y a es ot Gov . t . . Ch l W . Eli S i h , N m " " a er r P R t . R ev. a . Gov o a. Willi b . Sp ul ,

m r ra e . " s e r tra s Ad i al B dl y A i k O sca S . S u n M rr n v T m son a so R t. R e . . . o Li dley . G i A C h p wn n r D l m r na n Gov To se . e . a es a o s . J C di l Gibb d , J ,

Mar n nn R t. R ev . . . T c er ti H . Gly B D u k m am e om ers R t . R ev W . . e S u l G p . W W bb Madi son Grant B enj ami n I de Wh eel er

o r scom ver ett P . ee er Ll yd C . G i E Wh l Gov ar n I owa Ta cott ams . H di g, l Willi

Gov arr n n M R t . R ev. . . nc ester . to d . H i g , J R Wi h te en se Albert Bu shnell H art S ph S . Wi m e r ar e z Gov . t co O e. S a Dury a H a en Wi hy b ,

Gov . Y a er Porto co. g , Ri