the whole, as was done with respect to the Greater, or, geographically
speaking, eastern Armenia. Near Gumish Kha-
nah the line of separation between the two Armenias is the
Kof-Tagh range already alluded to. This chain continues
to be the northern boundary of Lesser Armenia, as it runs
westward almost parallel to the Black Sea, till it reaches the
river Halys, at a point not very distant from its estuary.
From hence it runs S.W. along the river for about 180 miles
and onward in the same direction till it meets the Taurus,1
which becomes the boundary almost to the sea near Ayas.2
Afterwards, the line sweeps round the south side of Ai'n-
zarbah3 and Mar’ash, to the Euphrates at Sumei'sat; and
incloses a superficies of 70,778 square miles. According to
the royal historian,4 Armenia Minor for a brief period extended
to the borders of Palestine, and one of its princes had
the seat of his government at Rum Kal’ah. The celebrated
and once-powerful kingdom of Armenia is now broken into
four districts, each of which is under a separate dominion.
The largest portion is that bordering upon the upper
Euphrates, which includes the northern part of Diyar Bekr,
with Mush, Van, and the pashalie of Erz-rum, and is
subject to the Sultan. The next is that under the dominion
of Persia, and extends over a part of Kurdistan and nearly
the whole of Azerbaijan. The third is the independent territory
of the Chaldeans, which lies S.S.E. of Lake Van, and
N.N.E. of Musul. And the fourth is the district of Erivan,
or that part of ancient Armenia which belongs to Russia, and
stretches along the river Aras.
The elevated plateau at the foot of Mount Ararat, which
contains the sources of the rivers Araxes, Phasis, Halys,
Chorula, Tigris, and Euphrates, has already been noticed as
1 At a point about 60 miles westward of Koniyeh.
s “ On the sea-coast,” says Marco Polo, “ the Armenians had a port Giazzo,
frequented by the merchants of Venice.” This was on the north side of the
Gulf of Iskenderun, the present Ayas.
3 ’Ain-zarhah and Sis were alternately the chief cities of Armenia Minor,
and at an earlier time Massis, or Messis, the ancient Mopsuesta, ivas the
capital.—Page 41, Marsden’s Marco Polo.
4 Haiton.
*
forming part of Îrân ; 1 and much of the country washed by
those streams does not differ from the latter province in any
important particular. The table-land above-mentioned is,
however, remarkable, in being intersected by numerous deep
water-courses and valleys, but more particularly for the
numerous chains of mountains which branch out in many
directions from Ararat, and are inhabited by an industrious
race of peasants.
The country in general, especially the slopes of the several
chains of Taurus, may be said to be well wooded.
Armenia possesses several fine sheets of water, such as lakes
Van, Urumiyah, Gouktcha or Sevanga,2 near Erivan, and
many others of less note. It has the advantage also of being
traversed by some of the noblest rivers in the world, which are
fed by thousands of tributary streams, carrying fertility in every
direction throughout its beautiful valleys. Owing to the height
of the table-lands, and the extreme elevation of the mountains,
the temperature of Armenia is much lower than that of other
regions situated on the same parallels of latitude ; but there
is, notwithstanding, much variety in its climate and products.
The soil is rich, and, instead of desert tracts, the unoccupied
portions consist of rich pasture grounds, on which numerous
horses3 and other animals are fed. In the table-lands, and
other parts of Armenia which are but partially cultivated,
almost every kind of vegetable production is to be found.
G r a in , F r u it , a n d o t h e r P r o d u c t io n s .
The wheat and barley are particularly fine ; nor is it very
uncommon to have three successive crops of grain in some
places. The gardens yield grapes in abundance, also oranges,
peaches, nectarines, figs, apples, pomegranates, and other
fruits.
Honey, wax, manna, and gall-nuts are exported from the
1 Chap. iv. 2 Once Likhnit.—Aperçu, &c., Tome IV., p. 255.
3 Horses of Togormah.—Ezekiel xxvii. 14. The Armenians presented the
king with 20,000 young horses at the annual feast of Mithra.—Strabo, lib. XI.
p. 529.
VOL. I . h