Armenia, a martyr nation: A historical sketch of the Armenian people from traditional times to the present tragic daysGabrielian, Mugurdich Chojhauji
History
Armenia, a martyr nation: A historical sketch of the Armenian people from traditional times to the present tragic days
Gabrielian, Mugurdich Chojhauji
Armenia; Armenian question
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.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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