Mount Nemrut

Mount Nemrut is among the most important historical sites of Adiyaman. The most important ancient structure of the Komagene Kingdom, Mount Nemrut, Antiochos tumulus, statues, and ancient ruins are of interest to the tourists who come to the region. Mount Nemrut has an ancient and well-established history. In this respect, we can give information about the history of Mount Nemrut as follows.

History Of Mount Nemrut

The word Commagene means a collection of genes in Greek. The Kingdom of Commagene is known as a kingdom where the cultures, beliefs, and traditions of the Persian and Greek civilizations converge. Commagene is a kingdom founded by 1st Mithrades Kallinikos in the 1st century BC.

Various archaeological studies are carried out in the Mount Nemrut region. In 1881, Karl Sester, a German engineer working in the road construction business in Diyarbakir, discovered the works on Mount Nemrut and formed a team in this direction. As a result of long studies, Otto Punctein solved the Greek writings on the works and discovered that these works belonged to the Commagene civilization and built by 1st Antiochos. The inscription written from the mouth of Antiochos contains the secret of Mount Nemrut and the laws of Antiochos. After these studies, Nemrut Mountain studies carried out with the participation of German engineers Karl Humann and Osman Hamdi Bey.

Excavations to uncover the Commagene civilization took place in Arsameia Samsat and Euphrates Basin, apart from Mount Nemrut. The portable artifacts unearthed during the excavations have taken to the Adiyaman Museum, and the rest have preserved within the National Park area.

Every area of Mount Nemrut has been lined up with statues turning their backs on the tumulus. Some of his giant statues stand on the floor with their heads rolled into the front terrace. The bodies are as high as 10 meters and sit on the seat. From left to right are statues of Apollo, Mitra, Helios, Hermes, Tyche-Fortuna, the fertility goddess of Kommagen, the chief god Zeus, Oramasdes, King Antiochos, Heracles, Ares.