The Garden of Eden

1904

According to the best authorities, it was in Armenia that the "garden of Eden," spoken of in the book of Genesis, was planted. Most of the evidence in support of this theory is topographical. The Bible says that the garden was watered by a river running through it which afterward divided into four heads. The names of these are given as Pison, Gihon, Hiddekel and Euphrates. There is little difficulty about the latter, and Hiddekel is commonly identified with the Tigris, both of which rivers rise in the mountains of Armenia. The others are located by assuming them to be Aras and the Kur, streams which also rise in the Armenian hills.

In old documents Armenia is often referred to as the "land of the four rivers" or "the cradle of the human race." Though Armenia does not go quite back to the time of Adam, the country's history is traced to its first ruler, Haig, the great-grandson of Japheth.