1870.] A Covenant of 'AM, foiirth Caliph of Baghdad. 61 



Sayyid 'Abdul- Shuyukh, and the son of Sahan, and Abraham the 

 Priest, Bishop Isaiah, and several others, forty in number, having 

 communicated with me, and being present in the enactment of this 

 Covenant, solicited me to do this, and have rendered every assisance 

 in their power to our agent whom we had sent to our forts and 

 frontiers, (which was the occasion of our conference and the enactment 

 of this Covenant) — Therefore I have made this Covenant with them 

 on my behalf, as well as on behalf of all tribes of Islam, from 

 east to west. To this end they are, in reality, fully under my 

 fostering care and protection, as long as I live, and after my death, 

 so long as the religion of Islam shall prevail, and the doctrine of 

 Christianity shall continue. It shall be the duty of all potentates and 

 of all princes, and of all men to carry out our Covenant by the help 

 of G-od, so long as the sea shall be capable of wetting wool, tufts 

 and briers, and rain shall descend from heaven, and grass shall grow 

 from the earth, and stars shall give light, and the moon shall rise 

 upon aliens and strangers. No man shall dare to violate or alter 

 ^his my Covenant, nor increase and decrease or change the same, 

 because he that increases it, increases his punishment, and decreases 

 our patience. 



" And those who violate this Covenant, shall be considered intriguing 

 infringers of that which I have bestowed on them (the Armenians), 

 and in league with those who do not profess loyalty to me. They 

 also become transgressors against the divine ordinance, and thus 

 incur the just indignation of the only Gk>d. 



"Moreover, the testimony of the Sayyid (Arch) Bishop and of 

 the others, whose names have been written above, is a binding 

 and sufficient authority. Because the principal followers of Chris- 

 tianity requested me to establish a Covenant and a treaty among all 

 the Christians, placed under the shadow of the rule of the Musalmans, 

 now, by virtue of this Covenant, there shall be perpetual peace and 

 tranquillity between Christians and Musalmans. The contents of 

 this Covenant are indubitable and true, and I have given it to them 

 (the Armenians) of my own accord and with a cheerful countenance. 

 I shall abide by this Covenant and act accordingly, so long as the 

 Armenians shall be faithful to me and continue in their loyalty to my 

 government, and take no part in opposing the religion of my people. 



