Traditions of the Tigris

Traditions of the Tigris
Author	Dikran Spear
Publication Year	1946
Publisher	Weehawken
Format	Softbound
No. of Pages	144
Language	English
Category	Proverbs & Folktales

To collect the traditional tales of the Tigris as reminders of our past- remote as well as near- meanwhile sketching the characteristics of the land of our forefathers, have been in my thoughts for over a score of years, since the original marrators, our elders- departed from this life one by one.

I kept the original simplicity of the narrations ever to the extend disregarding the grammatical laws. I desire to present them as they have been preserved.

Nearly half a century near the banks of the Hudson- North River - I have lived. But the dream of my young manhood days, to see civilization established in the land of the Tigris, and Armenia liberated from the barbaric yoke of the enemy, become more and more weighty on my mind with passing of years. The grandeur of the hills, the charms of the vales and flower-studded fields of my birth place #, yes, the ruins of the villages and towns are ever present in my vision ; to give a scant picture of them is but a solace to the writer.

Contents

• Prefatory Note
• The River
• King Appas
• Historical Sketch of Gars
• Buried Treasure
• The Bathing in Blood
• Shamshi Land
• I and Thou
• The Miraculous Sword
• The Beads of Semiramis
• Pen, Trowel and the Sword
• Josselin and Zilfi
• Firdusi
• Amida - Description and History

Illustrations:

• The Angel guides Tobias into Media
• Tobit's Sight Restored
• Amida's Waterfall in Summer Time
• On the pebbled right bank Amida's famous watermelons grow
• Gars - The Citadel and the Church of Sts. Apostles
• An Armenian Woman of Gars. Before World War No. 1
• Gars - The Bridge and the Sts. Apostles Church, Photograph taken in 1900
• Brave Tatool in the presence of Dooghril
• Distinguished Armenian Generals:
• Gen. Loris Melikoff - Conqueror of Gars, in the War of 1877-78.
• Gen. Hagop Alkhazian - Great Strategist in the War of 1877-78.
• Gen. Arshag Der Lukassian - Whose Brilliant Victories in the War of 1877-78 won him the title of "The Second Suvoroff".
• Gen. Ohanness Bagramian - Commander of the First Baltic Army, World War II. One of the 50 Armenian
• Generals in the Soviet Armie
• Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo
• The servant shows the gold piece to the Kahiay
• The Roman Gold Coin
• Roman Army crossing the Tigris to attack Tigranocerta
• Sennacherib Bas-relief at Nineveh
• Life scenes of the Shamashi People near Amida
• The Father of the girl
• The Object of love
• Sultan Murad disguised as Dervish
• Fruit orchards and kiosks in the Tigris valley on the right bank of the river. The ancient bridge is in the distance.
• A section of the wall of "I and Thou"
• Death of Ara
• Anooshavan dedicated to the Poplars of Armavir
• Winged being offering a branch with pomegranates; wall panel. Alabaster. From the palace of Asur-nasir-apal II. (885-860 B.C.) King of Assyria, at Kalhu, Nimrod.
• Babylonian Clay Tablets
• Starting on a Crusade
• Zilfi embroiders the scarf
• Amida
• Mountain Gate on the North
• Roum Gate on the West
• Mardin Gate on the South
• New Gate on the East
• Two Sisters - Photo taken in 1910
• Gold Coins Worn as Ornaments by the Women of Amida
• The Aqueduct - Many Armenians in America remember their younger days playing native games on the field in the foreground of the above picture.
• The Noble Roman Bridge. Picture taken from the South. Walls of Amida in the back ground.