It was first attacked by the Seljuks in 1049. In the year 632, the Byzantines held a synod here, in the course of which the defeated Armenian principalities were ordered to accept Greek Orthodoxy. In 1914, a Dashnaktsutiun Party Congress was held here. The outbreak of the First World War represents a decisive turning point in the history of the Armenian people. There are widely differing accounts of the events of the congress, especially concerning the attitude of the delegates towards the Ottoman State.
Historical events have their irrefutable logic.
In the Fall of 1914 Armenian volunteer bands organized themselves and fought against the Turks because they could not refrain themselves from fighting. The Winter of 1914 and the Spring of 1915 were the periods of greatest enthusiasm and hope for all the Armenians in the Caucasus, including, of course, the Dashnagtzoutiun. We had embraced Russia wholeheartedly without any compunction. Without any compunction. Without any positive basis of fact we believed that the Tzarist government would grant us a more or less broad self-government in the Caucasus and in the Armenian villayets liberated from Turkey as a reward for our loyalty, our efforts and assistance.