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.