1. Location

Arsameia ad Nymphaeum was a city in Commagene. It was founded in the Late Hellenistic period and was continuously inhabited until the Middle Ages. It has been identified with the ruins of an ancient settlement in the area of Eski Kahta, 50 km to the east of the modern city of Adiyaman, near the Nymphaios (Kahta Çay) River, a tributary of the Euphrates. The identification was based on a monumental inscription¹ of the imperial period hewn into the rock of a hillside to the south of Eski Kale. The inscription also preserves the ancient name of the city and provides most of the evidence available about the history of the settlement. The ancient city extended to two opposite hills on either bank of the river. Scattered ruins from different periods can be found on these hills today, an element denoted in their present names. Eski Kale (=ancient castle) to the east of the river was the centre of the ancient city, while Yeni Kale (=new castle) to the west includes mainly remains from the Middle Ages.

2. History

Arsameia was founded by the Armenian Arsham,² an ancestor of the king of Commagene, Antiochus I Theos (c. 69-36 BC). The city was surrounded by walls and had a royal palace and luxurious public buildings. It also included the hierothesion of Antiochus’ father, King Mithridates I Callinicus (c. 100-76 BC), which made the city a place for worshipping the members of the royal house of Commagene. The inscription on the rock reports in detail the benefactions of Antiochus I to Arsameia and his concern to establish himself and his ancestors as figures of worship. Moreover, the king reinforced the city walls, secured water supply from nearby springs and beautified the monuments related to the worship of his ancestors. His reign saw the completion of his father’s hierothesion on the hill Eski Kale, the construction of altars and the dedication of statues of the royal family of Commagene. By virtue of a sacred law, Antiochus also appointed a priest assigned with the task of performing the ritual of the royal cult, while he dedicated to rites the day that every month coincided with his birthday.³ Arsameia with Mithridates’ hierothesion is an indicative example of the religious beliefs prevailing in Commagene in Antiochus’ years. The king introduced religious reforms described by religious syncretism, which were influenced by both the Greek Twelve Gods and the Iranian cult tradition. Finally, the hierothesion he constructed for himself at Nemrut Dağ gave him a place in the pantheon of Commagene.

In the Late Roman and the Early Byzantine period Arsameia declined and was restricted to a fortified position on the hill of the subsequent Yeni Kale. The city was abandoned for an unknown period, while traces of habitation appear again in the 13^th c. AD. Until the 16^th c. AD Arsameia was a city with a fluctuating territory. Its centre was Yeni Kale, the fortress built by the Mamlūk sultans.

3. Urban Layout of the Ancient Settlement

The surviving ruins of ancient Arsameia are located mainly at the top of the Eski Kale hill and are largely related to the hierothesion of Mithridates I Callinicus. A processional road that started from the Nymphaios River led to the side of the hill. Three reliefs depicting dexiosis scenes between deities and kings of Commagene define the path up to the sacred place. The best preserved relief crowns the inscription that identifies the city. It is dated to the mid-1^st c. BC and today is restored to its original position. It represents Mithridates I and Herakles-Artagnes.⁴ The king is wearing the kidaris, a generic kind of the Armenian tiara. The second, worse preserved, relief depicting the same theme was found nearby. Apollo is the only surviving figure, while Mithridates I Callinicus or Antiochus I Theos should have been represented in the lost part. The third relief depicts Mithra and Mithridates or Antiochus. The inscription identifying the city was carved at the entrance to a stoa, whose use remains unclear. It was probably a place for rituals related to the hierothesion. According to another version, the place symbolised the ascent of Mithra –and therefore the dead King Mithridates to whom the deity was directly related– from the bowels of the earth.

Excavations carried out at the hierothesion at the top of the hill confirmed four periods of use; Hellenistic (2^nd-1^st c. BC), Roman (1^st-2^nd c. AD) and two subsequent (9^th-10^th c. AD and 13^th-14^th c. AD respectively). A sacred enclosure probably surrounding a row of colossal sculptures, as was the case in the neighbouring Nemrut Dağ, was constructed in the Hellenistic period. A complex of Hellenistic buildings identified with either priests' houses or places related to the rituals performed in front of the colossal sculptures was nearby. Two mosaic floors and storage areas were also found. This complex remained in use until the Imperial period, with slight alterations aiming to a more monumental form.

The sacred processions in honour of the deified members of the royal family probably started from the river and ended in front of the colossal statues after a stop at the buildings on top of the hill. A bridge crossing the Cendere Çay, a tributary of the Nymphaios River (Kahta Çay), has been preserved about 2 km SW of Arsameia. A Latin inscription carved on the bridge reports that the four cities of Commagene in the imperial years, namely Samosata, Perre, Doliche and Germanikeia, financed the construction in honour of Septimius Severus, his wife Julia Domna and his sons Caracalla and Geta. The bridge actually served the military needs of the XVI Legio Flavia, which was stationed at Samosata in the Imperial period. Τhe work was possibly completed in 199 or 200 AD. The bridge had initially four columns, representing the four honoured members of the imperial family, and was 118 m long. It is likely that the NW column was removed after Caracalla assassinated his brother, Geta.

A tumulus 35 m high was found about 10 km SW of Arsameia, which was identified, according to an inscription, with the place where the female members of the royal dynasty of Commagene were buried and probably worshipped (hierothesion). The names of Isias, Antiochis (mother and sister of Mithridates respectively) and Aka (daughter of Antiochus I and granddaughter of Isias) are reported. The burial chamber was found empty.⁵ The mound must have been initially framed by 3 rows of columns, on its E, S and NW sides respectively. The middle column on either side was crowned with a relief, while the two external columns were crowned with animal sculptures; deer to the east, eagles to the south and lions to the northwest.⁶ The site is today called Karakuş (=black bird), which is allegedly derived from the stone eagle still depicted on one of the columns. Τhese sculptures are dated to the mid-1^st c. BC. They dominated the entire area around the Nymphaios River and could be seen even from Nemrut Dağ.