ARMENIA 



375 



ARMOR 



History. Armenia has long figured in the 

 world's story. The Bible gives the resting 

 place of the ark as "the mountains of Ararat," 

 which was the ancient name for Armenia, and 

 tradition names Noah's great-grandson Haig 

 as the founder of the Armenian race, whose 

 members call themselves Haiks. The country 

 was subject to the Assyrians and Medes, then 

 freed itself but was reconquered by Alexander 

 tin Great in 325 B.C. Two satraps revolted 

 from his successors, the Seleucid kings, about 

 190 B.C. and divided the land into Armenia 

 Major (Greater Armenia), roughly that part 

 of tin Euphrates, and Armenia Minor 

 --er Armenia), the land west of the Euphra- 

 tes. Shortly afterward Armenia Major was 

 conquered by the Parthians, and its ruler, 

 Tipranes the Great,, son-in-law of Mithridates, 

 was forced to give tribute to Rome in 69 B.C. 

 From then until 387 A. D., when the Persians and 

 Byzantines divided Armenia between them, 

 tin country was sometimes under Roman, 

 sometimes under Parthian, sometimes under 

 Persian rule. 



The religion of Zoroaster was favored in 

 Armenia until 285, when Christianity was 

 brought by Gregory the Illuminator. The Ar- 

 menian faith is often spoken of as Gregorian 

 Christianity. 



The kingdom of Armenia arose in the elev- 

 enth century, when the Byzantine governor of 

 Armenia Minor made himself a free ruler. At 

 the time of the Crusades, Armenia touched 

 the shores of the Mediterranean in the little 

 comer between Antioch and Tarsus, and its 

 rulers aided in the fight against the Saracens. 

 Shortly before 1400 the kingdom was over- 

 thrown by the Egyptians and in 1541 fell to the 

 Turks. Armenia Major, meanwhile, had been 

 in infidel hands since 636, the Arabs first con- 

 nu it. lati-r th. Mongols under Timur. 

 tin n the Turks. For a century after 885 it was 

 a subordinate kingdom of the Caliphate of 

 Bagdad. Russia obtained its share of Armenia 

 in 1828, from Persia. 



The People and Their Land. The Armenian 

 race is of Aryan origin, and is thought to be 

 very closely related to the ancient Alpine 

 people of Europe. Before the War of th. 

 Nations the Armenians under Turkish rule 

 numbered about 2,000,000, of whom only about 



md. Another 



million were in Russia and half a* many in 

 Persia. Large numbers have emigrated to 

 I.urope and America, win-re th. y find success in 

 many callings. Many of the bankers of Europe 



are Armenians. In spite of the dense ignorance 

 of those who have remained in Asia, and the 

 oppression to which the race has been sub- 

 jected for centuries, the Armenians who reach 

 the Western world are quick to take advantage 

 of their opportunities for education and social 

 betterment. 



Armenia is a country which under peaceful 

 and just rule may easily become very wealthy 

 from the yield of its land. It has rich pas- 

 tures and fertile grain lands, and valleys where 

 cotton, rice and tobacco flourish. Olives, figs 

 and dates grow in the south, grapes and other 

 non-tropical fruits farther north. Both forests 

 and mines hold wealth for the future. The 

 highest point is Mount Ararat, 17,000 feet 

 above the sea. The principal rivers are the 

 Tigris and Euphrates, flowing south; the Halys, 

 which reaches the Black Sea on the north; 

 and the Aras or Araxes, which discharges in 

 the Caspian. Both Lake Van and Lake Uru- 

 miah are, like the Caspian, salty. C.H.H. 



Consult GlaQstone's Armenian Question; 

 Bryce's Trans-Caucasia and Ararat. 



ARMOR, ar' mer, defensive covering to pro- 

 tect the wearer in battle. Such articles are of 

 very ancient origin, though the earliest de- 

 fensive armor consisted only of a shield with 

 which to ward off blows from club, sword, 

 arrows or spears. In time, the need for greater 

 protection was felt, and the shield was supple- 

 mented by coverings for the most exposed 

 parts of the body. Leather and cloth were first 

 used, but they eventually gave place to metal. 

 Helmets to protect the head were early 

 adopted, then came breast plates, and later, 

 coverings for the arms and legs. The shield 

 and armor varied greatly, according to the 

 fancy or requirements of the difTerent nations 

 adopting them. The Romans had two shields. 

 one large and oblong, carried by the heavily 

 armed legionaries to protect the whole body; 

 the other, small and round, carried by mounted 

 troops and lightly armed footmen. The Ro- 

 man helmet was small, with a neck guard and 

 two pieces fastening under the chin. The 

 Qrcck helmet was lar^e. with a lofty crest; the 

 shield was larjre m the Homeric era, but con- 

 siderably smaller later. Both Greeks and 

 Romans wore greaves, jointed pieces of armor, 

 on legs and arms, though the Romans usually 

 wore them on the riuht leg only, the shield 

 being relied on to protect the left 



In the days of the Crusades, knights were 

 :-d with armor from head to foot, even 

 hands being protected by armored gaunt- 



