Today’s journey takes us to another sacred realm of the Armenian Cosmos, the land where the Armenian nation was formed and one of the first Armenian states emerged in the second millennium BCE. This land is known as Tun Torgoma (House of Torgom).
Traditions and legends of the most ancient nations—Armenian, Jewish, Persian, and others—trace the origin of all peoples to Noah, who, by the will of the Almighty, survived the Flood and landed his Ark on the mountains of Ararat. According to biblical chronology, this event took place in the middle of the 4th millennium BCE. Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
Unlike the Jews and Arabs, who trace their lineage to the descendants of Shem and are thus called Semitic peoples, Armenians are descendants of Japheth. They belong to the so-called “Japhethic” nations. This terminology is based on the Bible, but in Armenian tradition, as we have seen while traveling through Sasun, the name Shem is also firmly rooted in the Armenian Highlands.
Japheth’s son Gomer (eponym of the land Gamirk at the junction of Armenia, Cilicia, and Cappadocia) had a son Tiras (namesake of one of the main gods of the ancient Armenian pantheon—Tir). Tiras’ son was the future father of Hayk Nahapet, named Torgom.
Moses of Khoren, recounting the period of Hayk in the ancient history of Armenia, emphasizes that Hayk, who participated in the construction of the Tower of Babel, rebelled against the tyrant Bel and returned to the ancestral homeland of his forefathers—Armenia.
Many researchers believe that the name Japheth is preserved in the name of the famous mountain Npat in the upper reaches of the Aratsani, from which King Pap watched the Battle of Dzirav in 371 CE. The name Npat is also borne by several other mountains and ridges in Armenia.
The country named by Torgom, the father of Hayk Nahapet, lies in the far west of Armenia, near the borders of Cilicia and Cappadocia, in the basin of the largest right tributary of the Euphrates—the Melas River (now Tohma), between Malatya, Sebastia, and Caesarea, directly neighboring the Hittite state.
Called Tun Torgoma by the Armenians, this country is mentioned in the oldest Hittite, Jewish, Aramaic, and other texts under the names Togarma, Tegarma, or Til-Garimma, Til-Gurimma. Besides the direct eponym—Torgom, the name of the country also derives from the ancient roots “tog” (clan, nation, house) and “arma” (Armenian), i.e., a direct translation of the ancient Armenian Tun Torgoma into House of Armenia.
Here, the Armenian nation was initially formed. From here, the numerous clans of the Torgom lineage spread across the Armenian Highlands. From here, Hayk Nahapet descended to Babylon. And from here, according to the applied geography of the most ancient peoples, begins the Land of Armenia or Gund Araratyan, the land of the sun-born men of Armen, the land of the son of Torgom and the patriarch of the Armenians—Hayk Nahapet.
In later centuries, this land bore the name Second Armenia, being one of the provinces of Lesser Armenia. Today, it is part of the Malatya district. Its capital was also called Tun Torgoma or Togarma—Armenian House.
One version of the name—Til-Garimma (Til-Gurimma)—gradually transformed through further linguistic changes into Gorene, Gavrene, Gorin, and finally, Kurin, the name by which this ancient Armenian city was known throughout the Middle Ages and modern times. Today, this name is preserved in the form of Gurin.
The city is located 110 km northwest of Malatya, on both banks of the Melas-Tohma River, in the northern foothills of the Voromandokh range, part of the Arkaits (Royal) mountains of the Southern Armenian Taurus system.
In the vicinity of Torgom-Kurin lies the district of Karnak or Garnak of Lesser Armenia—drawing a direct analogy with the Egyptian and Breton Karnak?! Originating from the name of the descendant of Hayk—the son of Geham Garnik, this toponym, closely intertwined with the root “kar” (stone), directly or indirectly participates in the names of the famous village of Garni, the cities of Karin and Kars, and about a dozen other Armenian names.
In Gurin, Armenians had a church and a school. Prominent representatives of Armenian culture, such as musician and composer M. Tumachyan (a student of Komitas) and poet Vahe Vahyan, were born in this city. Seven kilometers downstream of the Melas River, between the villages of Karnak, Partizak (Garden, now Bahçecik), and Old Town (now Karahisar), lies the Surb Tagavor Monastery, literally Holy King (Greek Ai-Vasil), meaning the Lord, the Almighty.
Further down the river, 37 kilometers from Gurin, lies the city of Daranda or Tarente, once known as a center of the Paulician movement. The city was famous for its impregnable fortress, simply called Shenk (Structure). In Daranda, there were three Armenian churches, a school, and the Surb Astvatsatsin Monastery (Holy Mother of God).
Directly west of the city lies the Ashotadzor gorge with the namesake river, a right tributary of the Melas, and the large known village of Ashoti, which had a monastery, church, school, and even a caravanserai (inn).
Ninety-seven kilometers northwest of Gurin, on the road to Gamirk-Kamarak (today’s Gemerek), on the border of Armenia with Cappadocia, lies the large village of Sukhun or Sukhun. In the early 20th century, this village had over 250 homes—about 2000 Armenians—along with a church and school.
Neighboring Sukhun stretches the Antitaurus mountain range, one of whose ridges bears the name Khndzori (Apple, now distorted as Khynzyr). A monastery, known as Khndzori Astvatsatsin, lay in one of its spurs and was one of the centers of Armenian medieval writing.
On the expansive karstic Tsamdav Plateau east of Antitaurus begins the Tsamdav River (in Turkish transcription Zamanti), a right constituent of the largest Cilician river, the Saros (Seyhan).
On the plateau, in the upper reaches of the Tsamdav River, lies the large village of Pokhrenk with the Surb Astvatsatsin Church (the cult of the Mother of God is as widespread in Armenia as Christ himself). Further down the river, at the start of the Tsamdav gorge, lies the city of Tsamdav, the ancient Ariarathia, the Turkish Aziziye, now Pınarbaşı.
In the eastern part of the Tsamdav Plateau, at the foothills of the Bazitevk range (Hawk Wings, in Greek tradition Zigon-Baziteon), lies another large and well-known village—Manchnuk or Manchinik (now Manşurlu) with the Surb Teodoros Monastery. Nearby are the ruins of ancient Larissa, and north of it is the karstic elevation with a nearly flat surface—Sehanasar (Table Mountain).
Further east, between Tun Torgoma and the Arabkir district, runs the ancient road from Sebastia to Malatya. Along it, in the southern foothills of Bazitevk, on the eastern slope of Mount Vank (Monastic), lies the ancient village of Vank with the Surb Nshan Monastery.
In antiquity, a caravanserai and road station called Ad-Pretorium arose in its place, marked on the Peutinger Table, and later, the village of Hasan Celebi. Generally, the foreign toponym Hasan, often found on the Armenian Highlands, has a specific Armenian linguistic and toponymic basis.
This name comes from the Armenian word Ketsan, meaning “abode” or “residence.” The root “chelebi” is used by Turks to mean “noble” or “aristocratic,” often referring to prominent Armenians.
Another rather large caravanserai lay south of Vank, almost 22 kilometers towards Malatya, simply called Ijevan. Rebuilt later, the settlement was named after its developer—Hekimhan.
Finally, in the far east of Tun Torgoma, within the Arabkir district of Lesser Armenia, lies the city now known as Arghavan or Arguvan. This is the legacy of the ancient toponym Arkavan (Royal settlement), or the parallel name Argavand (Fertile).
In ancient times, a city called Argaus or Argauna stood here, and later, the village of Mohraqut (literally Ashen), known by Turks as Karahöyük (the term “höyük” means ruins or mound). Around Arghavan are scattered about two dozen once lively and populous Armenian villages, each with a school and church, sometimes two or three. Among the most well-known are Ashutka and Isakegh (Isakey).
Artatsolum
Based on an article by Grigor Beglaryan
