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Index

Armenia

The Urartu Civilisation

Victory for Independence

Artashisian Dynasty on the Armenian Throne

Armenia caught between Rome and the Arsacids

The Acceptance of Christianity

Defending Christianity

Armenia Under the Bagratouni Dynasty

Cilicia - the New Armenia

Armenia Under Turanian Rule

The Renaissance or the Resurrection of Armenia

The Eastern Question

Russia in the Caucasus

The Armenian Question

Battle on Two Fronts

Tsarist Russia Against the Armenians

The Revolution of the Young Turks and the Armenian People on the Eve of World War I

The First World War

The Resurrection of Armenia

Armenia on the Road to Independence, 1918

- Armenia on the Road to Independence, 1918

Eastern Armenia

Western Armenia

"The Fateful Years" (1914-1917)

"Hopes and Emotions" (March-October, 1917)

The Bolshevik Revolution and Armenia

Transcaucasia Adrift (November, 1917

Dilemmas (March-April, 1918)

War and Independence (April-May, 1918)

The Republics of Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia

The Suppliants (June-October, 1918)

In conclusion

Soviet Armenia

The Second Independent Republic of Armenia

Epilogue

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Cilicia – the New Armenia

"Among the good deeds which the Armenian people has done towards the church and the Christian world, it should especially be stressed that, in those times when the Christian princes and the warriors went to retake the Holy land, no people or nation, with the same enthusiasm, joy and faith came to their aid as the Armenians did, who supplied the crusaders with horses, provision and guidance. The Armenians assisted these warriors with their utter courage and loyalty during the Holy wars." Pope Gregory XIII (Ecclesia Romana 1584)

Entrance of Price Rouben in Cilicia

The creation of a new government on the Mediterranean coast, replacing that on the shore of Araxes which had buckled under the blows of the Turks, took initiative and courage.

Throughout history, there have been similar examples of governments, with all their official branches, being replicated as far as hundreds of thousands kilometres away. The government of Great Britain, for instance, was duplicated in the USA, New France (Canada) and Prussia.

Nevertheless, the creation of New Armenia was unique in that it was not supported economically or morally by its original central government. In contrast, the colonies in the new world relied on their respective great powers and received every possible aid for their establishment. With their fatherland under foreign rule, the Armenian had no alternative for their renaissance than to trust in their own inner strength.

An historical parallel to this period in the history of the Armenian people can be found with the Russian people during the 13th and 14th centuries, when the Russian government of Kiev fell as a result of the Turkic invasion and forced the Russians to recreate a new government in Moscow, founded on the eastern plains of Europe.

When Armenia fell to the nomadic people of Central Asia, part of the Armenian people gathered around their great prince and raised arms. After a long and arduous war they founded a new country and this way were able to continue as an independent Armenia for another three centuries.

Considering that the number of Armenians in Cilicia at the time of the loss of Armenia Major in the 11th century was very few, the creation of a new Armenian Cilicia in less than 50 years is imporessive; a state that remained independent until the 14thc century, and forms one of the most glorious pages in the history of Armenia.

F. Nansen writes: "When a people, who has experienced a terrible and unbearable destiny, manages to found a flourishing state in a foreign land, surrounded by enemies in all directions and continues to exist for three centuries, is this then not a sign of a supernatural force with this people?" 2


2) F. Nansen, Gjennem Armenia, Oslo, 1927, p. 202