Armenia. except the Province of Erivan. which was conquered by the Persians in the seventeenth century and held until 1834. when it was ceded to Russia. and the Province of Kars. which was acquired by Russia in 1878. has been under Turkish rule. It will thus be perceived that the Armenians for centuries constituted the outer bulwark of western civilization. against which the invasions of Mongols and Turks and Tartars and Saracens and barbaric hordes were directed. They occupied the great highways leading from southeastern Europe to Asia. and along these highways wild Asiatic hordes traveled like successive billows of the sea seeking the conquest of superior races and the acquisition of the lands which were the homes and countries of other races. The pages of history do not record a more courageous and valorous people than the Armenians. None have exhibited greater fidelity .to their religious convictions and to their ideals.