and victims, terminated all differences, and under this patriarchal régime all enjoyed peace."

As Armenian geography throws much light upon the history of Armenia, so the history of the Armenian nation throws light on the geography of the country. For instance, the king Aramais, son of Armenag, gave his name to Armavir, which was the ancient capital of Armenia for the space of eighteen hundred years. So Manavaz, brother of king Armenag, 2000 years B. C., gave his name to the city Manavazagerd, called at the present day Manasgerd, i. e. the city of Manas or Manavaz. The king Amassia, 1940 B. C., building many places at the foot of Mt. Ararat, called the mountain Massis, a name by which it is still known among the Armenians. Sometimes, however, they give it the name of Ararat. Gelam, son of Amassia, building his habitation near a lake not far from Ararat, gave his name also to the lake, a name it has borne to the present time with very slight variations. It is written Gelam, Gegham, and sometimes Sevan. His grandson, Garni, built a city which received the same name, and this name it has ever retained. Such instances might be multiplied almost indefinitely, showing also this interesting fact, that the most ancient geography of this land, given by Ptolemy, Strabo, Plutarch, Ctesias, Arrian, and Pliny, is constructed from an Armenian geography still older. The names are all Armenian, or plainly derived from Armenian names. Take for instance the name of the old Armenian city Nakhchevan. By Ptolemy it is called Naxuana. Its etymology, however, is clearly Armenian, composed of two words, Nakh, which signifies first, and Chevan, place of descent or encampment. In the Armenian language it signifies, therefore, the first place of encampment or descent, and is believed to be actually the place where Noah first encamped after leaving the ark, and hence, the oldest city in the world. It was certainly one of the oldest, and, for a very long period, one of the most powerful cities of the ancient Armenian kingdom. Its situation was not far from Mt. Ararat, and in a region frequently described by travelers, as one of the most fertile and attractive in Asia.

Gelam, who is said to have ruled over the Armenians from

1908 to 1858 B. C., and who gave his name to the lake above mentioned, had two sons, Harma and Sissag, or Sissac. From the latter descended the people who were called Sissagans, and who were, perhaps, the same as the Sacæ of Strabo and Ptolemy; as we find them occupying precisely the same locality, and distinguished by many of the same characteristics. Some very interesting notices of this people are found in ancient Armenian history, and these notices are all the more interesting from the fact that it is the opinion of some, that these Sissagans were the Sakai-suni, mentioned by Turner as the ancestors of the Anglo-Saxons.

About eighteen hundred years before Christ, in the time of Isaac and Jacob, the Armenian nation was both powerful and prosperous, and also of very large extent. Its kings fought against the Babylonians and Medes, and extended their conquests over the territory of Pontus and Cappadocia. Aram, son of Harma, became ruler about this time, and it was owing much, it seems, to his wisdom, power, and policy, that the national authority and limits were greatly extended. It is said that this king gave much attention to the study of various arts and arms among his people, which rendered them, at that time and in succeeding centuries, so powerful and respected as a nation. For the prudent and manly bravery he displayed in the service of his country, he became renowned and feared among other nations. Moses of Chorene says, "he chose rather to suffer death in defense of his country, than to see it in subjection to foreigners." The Medes, impelled by avarice and jealousy, at this time made an incursion into Armenia under the conduct of Neuchar, who was an implacable enemy of king Aram, but the latter, with an army of fifty thousand men, overcame them, took the prince Neuchar prisoner, led him to Armavir, and ordered him to be hung up at the top of a high tower. A nail was driven through his forehead, and he was thus left suspended from the wall, that he might serve as an object of derision to the passers-by. About this time, too, Barsham, prince of Babylon, invaded Armenia with forty thousand infantry and five thousand cavalry. Aram attacked and defeated him, with great slaughter; the Babylonian

prince being also slain in the conflict. He then marched with forty thousand men into Asia Minor, west of the Euphrates, conquered the country, and commanded all the inhabitants to learn the Armenian language. It was at this time he built the city of Cæsarea (Kaisareih) or Mazaca, as it is called by old Greek writers. This name, however, is plainly of Armenian origin, from Meeshak, the name of the Armenian general in this expedition, who is said to have been a relative of the king Aram, and who was left as his deputy in Cappadocia with a force of ten thousand men. This expedition, bringing the most of Asia Minor under the Armenian power at that early period, can be verified, or at least rendered probable, by many interesting testimonies. For instance, the most ancient Greek historians speak of striking similarities between the inhabitants of Cappadocia, Phrygia, and Armenia, in their language and customs, so much so that the Armenians and Phrygians were sometimes said to be the same people. So the Armenians were spoken of by some ancient writers as a colony of the Phrygians; and the Cappadocians as a colony of the Armenians. The different languages of the three, on account of their striking resemblance, have been called different dialects of a common language.

Concerning the reign of this Aram, king of the Armenians, we have testimony from both Herodotus and Ctesias. From him the Armenians were called by other nations Arameans or Armenians. It is remarkable how this old traditional history of the Armenians, which has lain neglected so long, when carefully examined, takes upon itself more and more the character of true history. Events are related in a simple and natural manner, free from the extravagance and mythologic character of the history of many other old nations, and, when there are rays of veritable historic light piercing far back into that darkness, we find in Armenian history no violent contradictions to this light.

The Armenian king, Aram, is said to have had a powerful foe in Ninus, king of Assyria, who was also a descendant of Belus, formerly slain by Haicus. Remembering the death of his ancestor by the Arinenian king, he ever meditated revenge,

but, though he was at times in war with Aram, he was not successful in subduing him. Ninus and Aram were at that time the two great kings of Asia. But Arah, the son and successor of Aram, had not the same good fortune as his father in conflict with the Assyrian power. His contemporary, as ruler of Assyria, was Semiramis; and the following interesting story is related of these two rulers. Semiramis, having heard of the great beauty of the person of Arah, who was surnamed, from a child, Arah the handsome, sent him an offer of her hand and crown, and requested him to visit her. But as she was known to be a voluptuous woman, and of loose principles, Arah drove her ambassadors out of his country. This caused a war, and the queen, with a vast army, invaded Armenia, determined to get possession of the person of the beautiful king, compel him to marry her, and share with her the rule of the two kingdoms, Assyria and Armenia. When about to meet the forces of Arah, she therefore commissioned her generals to spare him, and bring him alive into her. presence. But the issue was disastrous to the Armenians, and in the conflict, much to the grief of the queen, king Arah himself was slain. Semiramis grieved sorely over his death, and took his little son, twelve years of age, and placed him on the throne of his father. After remaining a few days on the plains of Ararat, "the Assyrian queen," says the historian, "returning southward, it being the season of summer, greatly admired the beauty of the country, the flowery and fertile valleys and plains, the clear springs which everywhere gushed forth, the rivers flowing with a murmuring noise, and the purity of the air." "It is necessary," she said, "in a country where the climate is so healthy, and the waters so pure, to build a city and a royal residence, in order that we may pass the summer in Armenia, in the midst of all possible delights and enjoyments, while the colder seasons we will continue to spend in Nineveh." After surveying very many situations, she at length arrived at the shores of a salt sea. Here she discovered all the natural conditions which she desired for her city, and at once sent orders to all parts of her empire that twelve thousand laborers should come for its erection. She sent also

for six thousand artisans, workers in wood, stone, copper, and iron, each one skillful in his art. In obedience to her orders, multitudes of laborers and artisans soon arrived. The queen superintended the entire work, and, by the force of her continued exertions, achieved, in a few years, the building of a most magnificent city, which became ever after her royal summer residence. "It was enclosed with walls of massive strength, in which were gates of brass. She built, also, in the city a number of magnificent palaces, ornamented and figured with rare and costly stones of various colors. Dividing the city into wide and spacious streets, she distinguished the different quarters by colors variegated and beautiful. She constructed splendid baths, brought the waters of the river within the walls, and distributed them everywhere for watering the gardens. The environs of the city were also ornamented with beautiful edifices, and groves of fruit-bearing and ornamental trees, and vineyards producing wine of superior quality. Within this city the queen placed an immense population."

Such is the account given of the work of Semiramis by a historian of the fifth century. At that time the city had long been in ruins, and a description of these wonderful ruins is also given by the same author, and explorations recently made confirm all that Armenian history says of this work of Semiramis. Though this city is known to us by the name of Van, yet, among the Armenians, from the earliest times, it has been called Shamiramagerd, i. e. the city of Semiramis. There is also a river in the mountains near the city, which the Koords of the region have ever called the river of Semiramis.

This beautiful scrap of Armenian traditional history, the more it is examined, either by the remarkable ruins of the city referred to, or by the character universally ascribed to this Assyrian queen by all ancient authors, comes more and more into the region of probability.,

Armenia, by the wars of Semiramis, became tributary to the Assyrian Empire for about eighty years, when it recovered again its independence, 1660 B. C. From this time, during many centuries, Armenia was a power among the old monarchies of Central Asia, and, in her conflicts with them, was