Page:Islam, Turkey, and Armenia, and How They Happened.djvu/72

66 at war with the Romans through hatred, and with the Parthians through jealousy, until the two great enemies prevailing over Armenia divided it between themselves, 390 A. D.

Between the second and the third periods, about 500 years, the Armenians were subjected partly to the Roman or Greek Empire and partly to the Persian kingdom and Mohametan caliphate.

The third period begins at 859 A.D. and comes to its end at 1045 A.D., thus embracing about 200 years.

The fourth period of the Armenian independence (1045-1393) was confined to Cilicia. Ruben, a relative of the last king of the third period, escaped into Cilicia and established the Rubenian kingdom, having the city of Sis for his capital. The mountainous situation of Cilicia helped the Armenians to keep their independence until 1393, when Leon VI., the last king of this dynasty, an exile by the Mohametan caliphate, died at Paris, France, and was buried in the Cathedral at St. Denis. Zeitoun of the present day is the last spark of this local independence.

According to the above statements the Armenian Kingdom began at twenty-fourth century B.C. and ended at fourteenth century A.D., thus embracing a period of nearly 3,800 years with about 600 years' intervals of subjection, during which time they were governed by provincial system, which can not be called total subjection with the present meaning of the word. During the last centuries Armenia became gradually divided between Turkey, Russia and