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It was through the Greeks that works of authors and philosophers such as Montesquieu, Voltaire and Rousseau spread among the Christian intellectuals of Constantinople.

The steady progress of Russia and Austria simultaneous to the regression of the Ottoman Empire during the 18th century were also influential on the Christian nations in the Orient, and demonstrated the possibilities for change in the regime. 1

The French revolution exerted an inordinate influence throughout Europe and further afield: with the Russian and the Austrian armies subsequently occupied in revolutionary war, they were forced to abandon their plans for conquering the Orient, thus prolonging the life of the Ottoman Empire. At the same time, nations under the oppression and rule of foreign powers, witnessed the display of free thought and fight for independence characteristic of revolution. 2 It was the French revolutions of 1789 and 1848 which consolidated the notion that each nation is entitled to self-governance and decision-making and, regardless of its strength, should at no time be subjected to foreign rule against the will of the people. 3

The German Romantic Movement, and especially the works of Herder 4 "the Father of the ideology of modern nations", made a deep impression on the oppressed nations, including the Armenians, distributed through the Armenian students at the university in Dorpat (Tartu), in Estonia.

Moreover, the beginning of the 19th century witnessed the rule of two reform-minded regents in the Orient, both of whom went against the old customs, demolished the old way of thinking, and created precipitous conditions for the revival of different nations in the Orient. These regents were Mohammad Ali, the crown-prince of Egypt, and the Ottoman Sultan, Mahmoud II.

The Italian renaissance and the struggle for liberation, which resulted in the creation of an independent Italian government, and also the appearance of the famous Garibaldi 6, also wielded an impact on the convictions of oppressed nations. After all, was it not Mazzini 9, the spokesman of the new Italian government, who demanded the freedom of all oppressed nations from foreign rule, in light of the freedom and fundamental terms of independence of his own fatherland?

Viktor Hugo, with his ideals of friendship and love between human beings, also left his impression on these nations.

The 1848 revolution in France had a wider influence on the oppressed and enslaved than its predecessor, the great revolution of 1789, had enjoyed. It was from 1848 that the enshrinement of human rights began in earnest throughout the "historical nations" such as Italy, Hungary and Poland, nations which, like Armenia, had lost their independence. The events of "the century of the idealists through distinction", as Clèment-Grandcourt names it, sounded the bells of liberty for all oppressed nations, "the banished people of history".