Armenians At the beginning of the First World War, Armenians populated a relatively clearly defined area that comprised the southern Caucasus, western Persia, and parts of the Ottoman Empire. However, in the Ottoman Empire Armenians constituted the majority of inhabitants in a handful of cities, such as Muş and Van. When the first Turkic peoples arrived in Asia Minor, the Armenians already had a thousand-year-long history in the region. In the ensuing period, many Armenians migrated westward and formed significant minorities in several Turkish cities, and especially in Constantinople. In their historic settlement areas Armenians mainly worked as farmers and artisans; in the cities they dominated whole trade sections. As Christians they were barred from high administrative positions and from the military until the early 20th century. The first sovereign people to adopt Christianity as a state religion in 301 CE, Armenians were predominantly Orthodox Christians. Like Greeks and Jews, they had existed under the Ottoman millet system for a long time as a religious community with limited political …