The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1917-01-15
kHARPUT. STRATEGIC
CITY IN HISTORY LAND
Beautifully Situated Near Birthplace
of Human Race On Eastern
Euphrates

j Washington, D. c.. Jan. i4,---"Khar
/ put, a fiourishing city OF 10000 in
. habitants, beautifully situated on a
/ hill terrace few miles south of the
Murad Su. or Eastern Euphrates. and
near the head waters OF the Tigris,
seems destined to play an important
part in the Russian campaign in Asia
Minor during the next few weeks"
according to todays war bulletin, is
sued from tho Washington headauar-
ters OF the National Geographic So
ciety
The strategic Importance of the
town is due to its situation on the
great highway artery running from
Samsun on the Black Sea to Diarbekr.
Siyas, another strategic city on the
same road. is some 80 miles north
west of kharput and Diarbekr is sixty
miles to the southeast. To the north
east lies ErZerum, a distance of 140
miles and a seven days journey by
/ fatiguing bride path. Mezere. the
capital of the vilayet or province of
which Kharput Is the chief city, is
/ only three miles to the south. Err
zingan Is ninety miles due north.
''kharput is widely known to Amer
| leans as the center OF missionary ac
tivtties in Armenia. a college. a theo-
logical seminary and boys' and girls
school are located here. This colony
of Christians suffered terribly at the
hands of kurds some twenty years
ago when. after burning many OF the
populous Armenian villages which
dotted the fertile plain stretching far
10 the south. the wild tribesmen sue
ceeded in entering the town itself.
putting to the sword Gregorian and
Protestant Armenian clergymen and
converts, and looting the monasteries
and missions.
The history of Kharput goes back
TO the cloudy obscurity of the years
which marked the decay of the Seleu-
cid Empire, in which period 1t was
known as Carcathiocerta in the king
dom OF Sophene. founded by Zariadris.
1t was one of the towns visited by
the Roman general Corbulo in the
course of his famous campaign against
Tirldatos. who had been crowned king
OF Armenia by his brother. the Par
tnian Nalagacses Corbulo, after hav-
ing forced TIrdates to lay his diadem
al the feet of a statue Of the Roman
emperor and to swear never 10 re-
sumo II until he received il at the
hands Of the sovereign in Rome, was
ordered home by the jealous Nero.
When the hero, who was the idol of
his soldiers and who might easily have
attained the imperial crown himself
reached the port of Corinth he was
met by messengers from Nero who
commanded him to commit suicide
Without a moments hesitation the in
trepid general obeyed the order. say
ing as he expired. I have deserved it
"kharput WAS one of the cities cap
tured by the illustrious and powerful
Seljuk Prince Kalobad during his war
against sixteen princes of Syria and
Mesopotamia led by the Egyptian
Malik -al-Kamil. His triumph was
short-lived, however, for two years
after the fail of this city and the
triumph of his arms he was poisoned
by his own son.
During the first quarter of the
twelfth century Kharput was the place
Of Imprisonment OF Baldwin H. king
of Jerusalem. who had fallen into the
hands of the Amir Balak of Mardin.~
The historian William of Tyre has
preserved the fictitious legend that
while trying to make his escape Bald
win was apprehended and that In
punishment for this he was cast from
a nearby cliff and dashed to death
on the rocks below"