Accostarsi all’oscuro mio letto, dalle porte raggianti, io vidi il puro angiolo della morte. Una dorata ciocca velava gli occhi suoi: diceva la sua bocca sorridendo:—Mi vuoi?— Rapita io nella bianca sua desiata faccia, io, di vane opre stanca, a lui tendo le braccia; e, mentre l’affannoso mio cor s’apre alla fede del perfetto riposo che solo egli concede; mi sibila vicina una maligna voce: “Destati; orsù, cammina, ripiglia la tua croce!” ARMENIA: ITS EPICS, FOLK-SONGS, AND MEDIAEVAL POETRY By ARAM RAFFI The country that is called Armenia consists of a large plateau, covered with numerous mountain ranges, which are intersected by many valleys and passes, as well as by rivers and lesser streams of considerable depth. The climate differs in various parts of the country, the meteorological conditions ranging from frost and snow to extreme heat. Over the plains towers Mount Ararat, on which, as we read in the Bible, the Ark rested after the Flood. Here also is the traditional site of the Garden of Eden, and the four rivers mentioned in Genesis as rising in the Garden still flow through the Armenian land. The origin of the Armenian people is enveloped in mystery, but it is an established fact that Armenia has had a civilisation of its own from a very early date, and that the Armenians are one of the most ancient races in the world. They have had their periods of independence, but, on account of its geographical position, Armenia has seldom figured as one of the great ruling states of the world, although it has repelled by arms invasions of such nations as Assyria. Assyrian records are filled with descriptions of conflicts with Armenian kings; King Assur Nazir Haban (1882–1857 B.C.) gives this account of one of his “victories”:—“They (the people of Ararat, or Urardu) fled to the impregnable mountains so that I might not be able to get at them, for the mighty summits were like drawn swords pointing to the skies. Only the birds of heaven soaring on their wings could reach them. In three days I was there, spreading terror in places where they had taken refuge. Their corpses, like autumn leaves, filled the clefts. The rest escaped to distant inaccessible heights.” Notwithstanding the boasts of the Assyrian kings, they did not succeed in permanently crushing the independence of Armenia. Tigranes the Great brought Armenia more in contact with distant foreign lands. In his time his country began to be considered of importance by Greek and Roman historians. The Romans sent Lucullus to engage in war with Tigranes in order to crush his growing power. This is what—according to Plutarch—Lucullus said of Tigranes:—