tever the circumstances might be--it was thought
necessary that I should be despatched to Erzeroum, and Jemal Pasha sent
me thither with an officer and five of the regular troops. When I
reached Diarbekir, Hasan Kaleh, at Erzeroum, was being pressed by the
Russians, and the Vali of Diarbekir was ordered to detain me at that
place.

After twenty-two days' confinement in prison for no reason, I was
released; I hired a house and remained at Diarbekir for six and a half
months, seeing and hearing from the most reliable sources all that took
place in regard to the Armenians, the majority of my informants being
superior officers and officials, or Notables of Diarbekir and its
dependencies, as well as others from Van, Bitlis, Mamouret-el-Aziz,
Aleppo and Erzeroum. The people of Van had been in Diarbekir since the
occupation of their territory by the Russians, whilst the people and
officials of Bitlis had recently emigrated thither. Many of the Erzeroum
officers came to Diarbekir on military or private business, whilst
Mamouret-el-Aziz was near by, and many people came to us from thence. As
I had formerly been a Kaimakam in that Vilayet, I had a large
acquaintance there and heard all the news. More especially, the time
which I passed in prison with the heads of the tribes in Diarbekir
enabled me to study the movement in its smallest details. The war must
needs come to an end after a while, and it will then be plain to
readers of this book that all I have written is the truth, and that it
contains only a small part of the atrocities committed by the Turks
against the hapless Armenian people.

After passing this time at Diarbekir I fled, both to escape from
captivity and from fear induced by what had befallen me from some of the
fanatical Turks. After great sufferings, during which I was often
exposed to death and slaughter, I reached Basra, and conceived the idea
of publishing this book, as a service to the cause of truth and of a
people oppressed by the Turks, and also, as I have stated at the close,
to defend the faith of Islam against the charge of fanaticism which will
be brought against it by Europeans. May God guide us in the right way.

_I have written this preface at Bombay, on the 1st of September, 1916._

FA'IZ EL-GHUSEIN.

MARTYRED ARMENIA

THE NARRATIVE

OUTLINE OF ARMENIAN HISTORY.--In past ages the Armenian race was, like
other nations, not possessed of an autonomous government, until God
bes