President. Armenians are one of the oldest peoples in the Middle East. they can trace their national origin to 1.000 years before the birth of Christ. In their ancient highland. the Biblical Garden of Eden situated within sight of Mount Ararat. they maintained their independence for centuries before the discovery of America. resisting the attacks of Asiatic invaders. Very early in modern times Armenia was ravaged and divided among its conquerors. but the Armenian people retained a spirit of freedom and independence. Early in the First World War wholesale massacres of Armenians perpetrated by the Turks came perilously close to exterminating them as a nation.