Marash

An Armenian Catholic Diocese. The ancient name of this village was most probably Germanicia, the seat of a titular see (see Vol. VI, 475). A patriarch resided here under Alexis Comnenus, shortly after which the country fell into the hands of the Armenian Princes. It then passed into the power of the Crusaders, who established there a countship dependent on that of Edessa. The Seljuks captured it in 1155, and after various changes of masters it belonged from the sixteenth century to the Osmanli Turks. The town, built on the slopes of Ahour-dagh, is watered by numerous water-courses, tributaries of Pyramus. It numbers 52,000 inhabitants, nearly 15,000 of whom are Catholics : Armenians, Chaldeans, Latins, Melchites, and Syrians ; there are besides about 10,000 schismatic Christians, the greater number being Armenians. Many of these depend on the American Protestant mission. The Catholic diocese contains 6000 faithful, 12 native priests, 6 parishes or stations, 5 schools. The Armenian Sisters of the Immaculate Conception have an establishment as have the Franciscans for the Latin Catholics. The town which is a sandjak of the vilayet of Aleppo, has a very bad reputation. The Christians suffered particularly at the hands of the Mussulmans in 1895 and 1909.