Mush

Mush, an Armenian Catholic see, comprising the sanjaks of Mush and Seert, in the vilayet of Bitlis. It was created by Leo XIII in 1883, and numbers about 5000 faithful, 7 secular priests, 7 churches or chapels, 5 schools, and an establishment of the Venetian Mechitarists. The chief stations outside of Mush are some neighboring villages such as Bitlis or Van. The town is built on a hill, at the foot of a ruined citadel and in the midst of vineyards; below stretches a well cultivated plain, about fifty miles long by eighteen miles wide. The climate is healthy and the country tolerably rich, but exposed to constant incursions of the Kurds and other nomads, who terrorize the inhabitants, especially the Christians. Built by an Armenian prince named Muchigh, the town of Mush has about 27,000 inhabitants, of whom 3,000 are Armenian Catholics, 10,000 Armenian schismatics, and 700 Protestants, the rest being Mussulmans. Besides the Catholic bishop there is an Armenian Gregorian bishop; also a Protestant missionary. The celebrated Moses of Chorene was born in the neighboring village of Chorene.

S. VAILHA