After the abdication in the year 430 A.D. of King Bahram, who was the last really independent ruler, although the kingdom was nominally divided between the Eastern and Western Empires, the condition of Armenia became worse than ever before. Anarchy and disunion reigned supreme. The nobles, jealous, intriguing, covetous and mercenary, continually transferred their allegiance from one side to another, or, when not busy fighting as partisans for Rome or Persia occupied their time congenially in warring amongst themselves and ravaging each others’ territories. In the year 1079 the Seljuks swept through the land, and with the fall of King Hagig II. the last remaining semblance of an independent Armenia disappeared. The Seljuks respected the Christian religion of the plain dwellers but converted the mountaineers to the Islamic faith, thus still further accentuating the line of demarcation between what may fairly be described as the Highlanders and Lowlanders of the district. The rule of the Seljuks, who showed their tolerance by allowing the Lowlanders to remain Christians, was mild and liberal. They greatly improved the condition of the country, restored law and order and erected many public buildings and mosques, traces of which are still visible. On the other hand the country suffered grievously during the subsequent invasions of the Mongol hordes. The year following the invasion of the Seljuks the Pagatrid Rhupen founded a small principality in Cilicia, which by gradually extending its boundaries became known later as the kingdom of Lesser Armenia. Internal disputes between the Catholics and Gregorians weakened this little State and facilitated its conquest by Egypt in 1375. In 1414 Selim I., Osmanli Sultan of Constantinople, drove out the Mongols, and with their disappearance Armenia was incorporated in the Ottoman Empire under the name of Kurdistan. II. The physical features of Kurdistan have an important bearing on the political history of the country. It is a high tableland 6,000 feet or so above the sea level. On the north it descends somewhat abruptly to the Black Sea, on the south it exhibits a series of rugged terraces ending in the lowlands of Mesopotamia, while on the east and west it slopes more gradually, until it reaches the low plateaux of Persia and Asia Minor. The general appearance of this tableland is uninteresting and monotonous. Most of the hills are grass-covered and treeless except for patches of scrubby looking bushes, while the plains are wide and cultivated. The winters are long and severe; the summers, which last about five months, are very hot and almost without rain. The population falls into three distinct groups: sedentary, semi-nomadic and nomadic.