In the Shadow of the Sultan is an adventure story of survival and self-discovery. It provides an insight into the way of life of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire at the close of the nineteenth century. The story is set during the summer of 1896, at the height of the Hamidian Massacres in Ottoman Turkey. It follows an Armenian boy in his early early teens who leaves his home and journeys on his own but accompanied by his beloved dog, Kaylo, and his faithful mule,Vartoug, two hundred miles to his grandmother’s town. On his journey he forms a better understanding of the treatment of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire.The maturing of the boy is shown through his actions upon meeting various people on his journey; kind people, bad people, helpless people.
