264 



ARM ATOLIC ARMENIA. 



ployuient to a large proportion of tin- in!.:iliiunts. ' 

 The chief towns are Armagh, Lurgnn, Charlemont, 

 Market Hill, Portadowu, Tandaragee, niul Tynan. 

 In the vicinity of Liu- hist town is a lead mine, the 

 only mineral production of much importance yet dis- 

 covered. The city of Armagh stands on the acclivity 

 of a lofty hill, round the base of which runs the river 

 Callnn, in its progress to the Blaekwater. The sum- 

 mit is crowned by the calhulral, a large Gothic 

 building. In the middle ages, it was an extensive 

 and populous city, and celebrated for its learning, 

 having at one period, according to Irish historians, 

 7000 students at its college. It is, at present, the 

 seat of the con>istorial court of the archbishop of 

 Armagh, who is lord primate of nil Ireland. Popu- 

 lation of the county in 1831, 2^0,1)51 ; of the city, 

 8,494 



ARMATOI.IC (from the modern Greek 'Atft*<ro*jn, 

 i. e., territory of anus) ; a district in the mountains of 

 Greece, assign* d to a capitani for protection. They 

 were the last refuge of liberty in Greece. These 

 Armatolics are very numerous in the mountains of 

 Macedon, Epirus, and Thessaly ; and the freedom of 

 the Mainotes, Suliotes, inhabitants of Montenegro, 

 Sec., is supported almost entirely by them. Wnea 

 Mohammed II. finished the conquest of Greece, he- 

 was satisfied with possessing the plains, the fortified 

 places, and the seaports. The natural fortresses of 

 the country seemed unimportant to him, as well as to 

 his successors, whose efforts were directed, in prefer- 

 ence, against Hungary and Poland. To these fast- 

 nesses, unconquered by the Turks, fled the independent 

 part of the Greeks, in order to continue the war in 

 detail, under their old leaders, called capitanis. A 

 capitani collected, generally, a troop of from 50 to 

 iOO men, who remained true to him through every 

 variety of fortune, and attacked the enemy every- 

 where, on the roads and in the towns. They said, 

 ' We never have made peace with Turkey." Thus 

 involved in an endless struggle with their oppressors, 

 their war soon degenerated into robberies. A large 

 number of them were careful to confine their depre- 

 dations to Mussulmans ; but this was not the case 

 with all, and many instances occurred, as may easily 

 be imagined, in which Greeks were attacked when 

 the booty expected was considerable. The pachas, 

 unable to sulxiue these enterprising warriors, gene- 

 rally treated with them. The capitanis received, on 

 condition of remaining quiet, money or stores, and 

 the government of the district which was defended 

 by their arms. Such a district was then called Arma- 

 tolion. Very recently, the capitanis Odysseus, Per- 

 rhjeos, Tzonko, Tasios, Pisko, &c., made themselves 

 feared by Ali Pacha, (q. v.) as well ES by the 

 pachas sent against him, and most of them took 

 part against the Porte in the struggle for the liberty 

 of Greece. 



ARMED SHIP ; a name used, in Britain, to signify 

 a vessel occasionally taken into the service of the 

 government in time of war, and employed to guard 

 some particular coast, or to attend on a fleet. She 

 is therefore armed and equipped, in all respects, like 

 a ship of war, and commanded by an officer of the 

 navy, who has the rank of a master and commander. 

 All ships of this sort are upon the establishment of 

 the king's sloops, having a lieutenant, master, purser, 

 surgeon, &c. 



ARMENIA ; an Asiatic country, containing 106.000 

 square miles, formerly divided into Armenia Major 

 and Minor. The first, which is the modern Turco- 

 mania, and is still sometimes called Armenia, lies 

 south of mount Caucasus, and comprehends the Turk- 

 ish pachalics Errum, Kars, and Van (which extend 

 over 33,770 square miles, and have 950.000 inhabi- 

 tants), and also the Persian province Iran, or Erivan. 



Armenia .Minor, now called Aladulia or Pegian, be- 

 longs to the Turks, and is divided between the paclia- 

 lics MentMie and Si\as. Armenia is a rouuh, moun- 

 tainous country, which has Caucasus for its northern 

 boundary, and, in the centre, i> tnmrstd by branches 

 of the Taurus, to which belongs mount Ar;:r.M. (q. v.) 

 Here the two great rivers Euphrates and '1 igris take 

 their rise ; likewise the Kur, and other less consi- 

 derable streams. The lakes Van and Genk-sha ;nv 

 ;ilso in this part of the country. The climate is rather 

 cold than warm; the soil, in general, modin.tcly 

 fertile, and better fitted for grazing than for agrcul- 

 ture; it produces, however, the finest southern t'niiis. 

 The mountains are rich in iron and copper. The 

 salt mines of Armenia have long been ci 1 limit il : 

 from solid and immense rocks of this mini ral. large 

 pieces are cut, and carried by buffaloes, to supply 

 not only the neighbouring provinces, but all Per ia. 

 Indeed, almost the whole country seems to be im- 

 pregnated with salt, as is particularly obscrv; ,lilc 

 after rain. The inhabitants consist of genuine 

 Armenians, of Turcomans, who pass a wander- 

 ing life, in the plains, and of a few Turks, Greeks, 

 and Jews. Of the ancient history of this country 

 but little is known. It appears to have been 

 subjected, in turn, by the Assyrians, Medes, Per- 

 sians, and Macedonians. After the death of Alex- 

 ander, it became part of the kingdom of Syria, and 

 so remained till the overthrow of Antiochus the Great, 

 when it fell into the hands of different rulers, and 

 was divided into Armenia Major and Minor. Arme- 

 nia Major was exposed to many attacks. The Romans 

 and Parthians fought a long time for the right of 

 giving a successor to the throne, and it was govermd 

 at one period by Parthian princes, at, another, by those 

 whom the Romans favoured, until Trajan made it a 

 Roman province. Armenia afterwards recovered its 

 independence, and was under the rule of its own 

 kings. Sapor, king of Persia, attempted its subjuga- 

 tion in vain, and it remained free until 650, when it 

 was conquered by the Arabians. After this, it sever,. 1 

 times changed its masters, among whom were Gengis 

 Khan and Tamerlane. In 1552, Selim II. conquered 

 it from the Persians, and the greater part has since 

 remained under the Turkish dominion. Armenia 

 Minor has also had several rulers', among whom 

 Mithridates was first distinguished. From him Pompey 

 took the kingdom, and gave it to Dejotanis, &c. On 

 the decline 67 the Roman empire in the East, it was 

 conquered by the Persians, and, in 950, fell into the 

 hands of the Arabians, since which time it has shared 

 the same fate as Armenia Major, and was made, in 

 1514, a Turkish province, by Selim 1. Of the cities 

 of ancient Armenia, some ruins are yet to be seen, 

 which display a good style in architecture ; e. g., the 

 ruins of the old capital Ani, which was destroyed, in 

 1319, by an earthquake; and those of the ancient 

 city Armavir, which, during 1800 years, was the 

 residence of the kings ; some families still reside here. 

 After Armavir, Artaxarta (Artaschad) on the Araxes, 

 built in the time of the Selucidze, became the capital, 

 but sank into decay before the end of the 8th century. 

 The Armenians, a sober and temperate nation, are 

 chiefly occupied in commerce, which, in Turkey, is 

 almost entirely in their hands; and in all Asia, ex- 

 cnpt China, merchants of their nation are to be found. 

 Their religion has facilitated their entrance into 

 eastern Europe; accordingly they are numerous in 

 Russia. Jaubert says of the domestic life of the Chris- 

 tian Armenians, that, in their native country, they are 

 good agriculturists ; that old age is highly honoured ; 

 and that the wife looks up to her husband, and tlit 

 son to his father, as in the time of the patriarchs. 

 The following cuts represent the ordinary costume o'f 

 an Armenian man and woman. 



