Arsameia

Arsameia on Nymphaios ( Turkish name Eski Kale, German Old Castle ) is an ancient city near the village of Eski Kahta in the Turkish province of Adiyaman, the ancient Nymphaios is today Kahtaçay. Arsameia was the residence city of the Kingdom of Commagene. It is mainly known by the Hierothesion of King Mithridates I Kallinikos, who built him I. his son and successor Antiochus there.

History

37.94277777777838.656944444444Koordinaten: 37 ° 56 ' 34 "N, 38 ° 39' 25" E

Arsameia was ( 255-225 BC) founded in the third century BC by the Armenian king Arsames. This took 235 BC the Seleucids, Antiochus Hierax on his flight from his brother Seleucus II to that later as his ancestor was identified by the Commagene King Antiochus I.. The city was deserted since Roman times again stones of the local tombs were used by Roman soldiers for bridge construction.

Hierothesion

The Greek word Hierothesion ( ἱεροθέσιον ) is a known only from Commagene name for the holy grave District of members of the royal family. In addition to the Hierothesion that Antiochus built himself at Nemrut Dagi, and the second on Karakuş, who built his son Mithridates II for the female members of the royal family, is located in Arsameia the third, the burial and the associated cult area for Antiochus ' father Mithridates. A processional into a Z-shape up the mountain and passes three digits, designated the discoverer Friedrich Karl Dörner with base system I-III. At the first set of socket Appendix II, is the designated as Mithras relief fragment. It is the right part of a Dexiosis that Antiochus and Mithridates shows the handshake with the sun god Mithras. With this all over Commagene common type of display represents Antiochus himself and his dependents with the gods on the same level. Dörner could raise the lower and upper part of the Mithras - half again, from the left half only a shoulder part is found, the Doerner but identified as one of the two kings on the basis of clothing.

At the first bend of the road base is in Appendix I. Here the remains of Dexiosis representations can also be seen where the person depicted but could not yet be identified. In addition, here is a hall carved into the rock, lead by the 14 steps in a further nine meters high and about eight -by-eight -foot room down. Its function is unclear, Dörner believes is a Mithras worship, other archaeologists suspect here the grave laying of Mithridates.

The trail continues to the base Appendix III. Here can be found on a rock wall fünfkolumnige the inscription of Antiochus, in which he talks about the founding of the city and the construction of the Hierothesions and shall also adopt detailed rules for the implementation of to executive acts of worship. Since the inscription was almost completely covered by earth since ancient times, it is in excellent condition. In the lower part of the wall writing an obliquely downwardly driven into the rock passage, the blind ends after 158 m begins. Beyond its function is not known. Above the wall is the best preserved Dexiosis relief of Commagene. It shows one of the two kings Antiochus and Mithridates the handshake with the naked Heracles, identified by a club.

From this base system from the procession continues to the peak of the mountain. There were building foundations with mosaic floors found that can be dated to the second century BC. Because of sculpture fragments Dörner assumes that stood here, adorned with statues tomb of Mithridates.

Yenikale and pigeons Castle

About two miles away, on the other side of the Kahtaçay, is the castle Yenikale ( German Neue Burg ). Here lay, according to the inscription at the base Appendix III palace building of the Commagene ruler. Today, there is seen a Mamelukenburg. Inside its construction and restoration inscriptions of the sultans Kala'un find ( 1279-90 ), Ashraf Khalil ( 1290-93 ) and Nasr Mohammed ( 1293-1341 ). However, it is shown that a previous building was conquered and destroyed already in 1286 by Kara Sonkar, the governor of Aleppo. From the lower castle on the river-facing side of a corridor leading to a castle called pigeons building, which is created under an overhanging ledge. It was used to supply water to the castle and over a bridge, and the Eski Kale. Upstairs, a room set up as a pigeon station, with a rectangular entrance hole and 32 niches as nesting sites. You already served in the 13th century, the messaging, as Sultan Kala'un was informed before the Battle of Homs on troop movements of enemy Mongols.

Iron box

To the west of the mountains of Yenikale and Eskikale Dörner and his colleague Wilhelm Winkelmann discovered on a field an iron melting District, the first in Commagene. We have not found remains of furnace walls, pieces of slag, furnace sows (remains of pig iron in the iron production ), but also shards and coins.

History of Research

In the course of exploration of Nemrut Dagi, the German archaeologist Friedrich Karl Dörner 1951 drew attention to a stone images of locals. In examining this turned out to be the relief out with the Mithrasdarstellung base of Annex II. When he then Scripture wall of socket found in Appendix III and because of the good state of preservation also was able to read immediately, he could identify the place as the residence of kommagenische Arsameia. In 1953 he received the first excavation permit. Together with the American Theresa Goell he put in the years 1953-56 the visible today finds free. From 1963 excavations took place again. Part of the collection is on display at the Archaeological Museum of Gaziantep.

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