quickly deposed and temporarily replaced by one of the conspirators, Khalil Adib, a judge of the criminal court and leader of the town's Committee of Union and Progress." On June 9, 1915, Archbishop Maloyan and all the other prisoners were informed that the Vali, Reşit Bey, had summoned them and that they would be leaving for Diyarbekir the following day. At this point,Maloyan and all the other prisoners realized that they were going to die. Martyrdom Under the direction of Mardin's chief of the Ottoman Gendarmerie, Mahmdouh Bey, Archbishop Maloyan, along with around 400 other Christians, was force-marched into the desert on the night of June 10, 1915. At the front of the caravan marched Mahmdouh Bey. Many of the 400 prisoners had visible signs of having been tortured. Some had bleeding feet and fingers from nails that had been extracted, broken bones, and wounds upon their heads. Some had to be supported by other deportees to be able to walk at all. At the end of the procession walked Archbishop Maloyan, who was in shackles, barefoot, and walked with a limp after being repeatedly beaten on the soles of his feet. According to Fr. Ishaq Armalé, “At the fall of darkness, Mardin residents could see soldiers going up to the fort and then returning to the prison. They carried iron rings, chains, and thick ropes. They called out the names of the prisoners one by one, and they tied them with ropes so that they could not flee… Then those who were thought to be Armenians were taken from the others. Rings were pressed around their necks and chains around their wrists. In this way they were bound, drawn, and chained for several hours… After having arranged the men in rows, they forced them out through the prison gates. Above them weapons and swords shined. The prisoners were kept totally silent. And a town crier cried out, ‘The Christian residents who leave their houses will be amputated and put together with their co-religionists.’ Then they trudged along the main street 417 priests and other men. Young and old, Armenians, Syriacs, Chaldeans, and Protestants. When they passed the Muslim quarter, the women came out and joked. They insulted the prisoners. Children threw stones. When the prisoners came to the Christian quarter, the residents could not go out to talk or say farewell. Many stood by the railings on their roofs