transportation, but of war, famine, and disease that killed 2 million Muslims at the same time." In April 1915, the Armenians staged a revolt in Van. In May, the Russians reached the city, and a massacre of Muslims followed. An Armenian state was proclaimed under Russian protection, and by July some 250,000 Armenians had crowded into the area. Early the same month, the Ottomans were successful in pushing back the Russo-Armenian Army, together with which were some 200,000 refugees. Of these, some 40,000 perished, not because they were deliberately massacred, but from conditions of war.

• "Arms and Books Side by Side"

On his arrival in Van, Bediuzzaman immediately set about forming the militia. Besides his own students, he toured all the surrounding country raising volunteers for the force, which, when formed numbered four to five thousand men. At the same time, he continued to teach his students.

Quoting one of two friends from Dogubayezit who attended Bediuzzaman's medrese, Necmeddin Sahiner describes how for military training, Bediuzzaman used to take his recruits up Mount Sübhan and set up eggs for target practice. He would give whoever hit an egg a mecidiye [a silver coin] as a reward. The students Bediuzzaman was thus training became so proficient and bold that when they came to the mountain for training, the Armenian revolutionaries would make themselves scarce and go elsewhere.

With his charismatic character and ability to inspire great love and devotion in his students and followers, which manifested itself particularly under those harsh and testing wartime conditions, Bediuzzaman was able to infuse them with something of his own absolute fearlessness and powers of endurance, and move them to acts of great bravery. The following are some contemporary accounts of Bediuzzaman, his medrese, and the militia he formed; but first, two short descriptions of his activities against the Armenians, the first by himself:

"Since at that time years ago the Old Said's students' devotion