2.5. The Neo-Aramaic dialects of eastern Anatolia and northwestern Iran

Abstract After emerging in the Lake Van Basin of Turkey, the Urartian kingdom expanded its territory across Eastern Anatolia, Northwestern Iran, and Armenia between the late 9th and early 7th century BC. The high altitude of these regions and the climatic conditions, especially long and harsh winters with heavy snowfall, likely forced the Urartian monarchy to establish a reliable network of communication: new roads and new settlements along these roads were established between the capital city Tušpa and other parts of its territory. This study presents a reassessment of the archaeological and textual evidence on Urartian routes used for military campaigns, settlements located along these routes, ancient road remains and means of transportation.

Download Full-text

Dams, reservoirs and irrigation channels of the Van plain in the period of the Urartian kingdom

Anatolian Studies ◽

10.2307/3643059 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 49 ◽

pp. 11-26 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Oktay Belli

Keyword(s):

Water Sources ◽

Capital City ◽

Eastern Anatolia ◽

Lake Van ◽

The South ◽

Irrigation Channels ◽

Northwestern Iran ◽

The Rich ◽

Almost All ◽

First Time

The citadel of Van (Tushpa) was the main settlement of the Urartian kingdom, which dominated the regions of eastern Anatolia, Caucasia and northwestern Iran between the ninth and sixth centuries BC. Lake Van borders the site on the west, while to the south is the eastern extension of the Taurus mountains, stretching east to west and reaching 3000-3500m in height. These steep mountains, rising like a natural wall between the Urartian city and its greatest enemy the Assyrian kingdom to the south, provided an advantageous defensive feature. The capital city Tushpa, which is 1.5km east of Lake Van, and the Van plain itself are bordered on the east by the 3200m high Erek mountain. Erek mountain surrounds the east of the plain like a crescent, halting the cold winds as well as providing the water supply for agriculture in the Van plain from its rich water sources. Although the soil of the Van plain, which is 1750m above sea level, is agriculturally fertile, for many crops it is barely possible to conduct successful agriculture without irrigation. The Van plain, 9km wide and 17km long, is poor in water resources, as is well known. The water sources around Erek mountain, amongst the richest in the east Anatolian region, were used effectively in the period of the Urartian kingdom for the first time. Almost all the irrigation structures built on and around Erek mountain were built in order to irrigate the Van plain to the east of Lake Van. Most of the constructed dams and reservoirs, totalling more than ten, are still in use today, with minor restoration, despite being more than 2,700 years old. If we consider that few irrigation facilities were constructed at other water sources in the east Anatolian region, it underlines the importance of these water sources at Erek mountain and its slopes for the plain of Van. It seems that the rich water sources around Erek mountain constituted another positive condition for the foundation of the capital city of the Urartian kingdom in the Van plain.

Download Full-text

2.1. Eastern Anatolia and northwestern Iran: overview

The Languages and Linguistics of Western Asia ◽

10.1515/9783110421682-002 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 31-45

Author(s):

Geoffrey Khan

Keyword(s):

Eastern Anatolia ◽

Northwestern Iran

Download Full-text

Book Reviews

Kurdish Studies ◽

10.33182/ks.v1i1.387 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 1 (1) ◽

pp. 91-106

Author(s):

Janet Klein ◽

David Romano ◽

Michael M. Gunter ◽

Joost Jongerden ◽

Atakan İnce ◽

...

Keyword(s):

New York ◽

Middle Eastern ◽

Nation Building ◽

Eastern Anatolia ◽

Oxford University ◽

National Movement ◽

The World ◽

Modern Turkey ◽

Oxford University Press

Uğur Ümit Üngör, The Making of Modern Turkey: Nation and State in Eastern Anatolia, 1913-1950, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011, 352 pp. (ISBN: 9780199603602).Mohammed M. A. Ahmed, Iraqi Kurds and Nation-Building. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012, 294 pp., (ISBN: 978-1-137-03407-6), (paper). Ofra Bengio, The Kurds of Iraq: Building a State within a State. Boulder, CO and London, UK: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2012, xiv + 346 pp., (ISBN 978-1-58826-836-5), (hardcover). Cengiz Gunes, The Kurdish National Movement in Turkey, from Protest to Resistance, London: Routledge, 2012, 256 pp., (ISBN: 978-0-415—68047-9). Aygen, Gülşat, Kurmanjî Kurdish. Languages of the World/Materials 468, München: Lincom Europa, 2007, 92 pp., (ISBN: 9783895860706), (paper).Barzoo Eliassi, Contesting Kurdish Identities in Sweden: Quest for Belonging among Middle Eastern Youth, Oxford: New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013, 234 pp. (ISBN: 9781137282071).

Download Full-text

LAHROUD A PALEO-TETHYS REMNANT IN NORTHWESTERN IRAN, IMPLICATIONS TO: GEOCHEMISTRY, RADIOISOTOPE, GEOCHRONOLOGY AND TECTONIC SETTING

Геология и геофизика ◽

10.15372/gig2020135 ◽

2020 ◽

Keyword(s):

Tectonic Setting ◽

Northwestern Iran

Download Full-text

The Jewish Communities in Eastern Rough Cilicia

Journal of Ancient Judaism ◽

10.30965/21967954-00502007 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 5 (2) ◽

pp. 204-216

Author(s):

Mark R. Fairchild

Keyword(s):

Western Anatolia ◽

Eastern Anatolia ◽

Jewish Communities ◽

Bear Witness ◽

Written Sources

This article discusses Jewish communities and their material remains in Eastern Rough Cilicia mainly during the Hellenistic and Roman Periods. After mentioning some written sources about the Jewish presence in western Anatolia, the general paucity of testimonies about Jewish communities in central and eastern Anatolia is emphasized. This lack of evidence might be due to the fact, that both areas are not as well explored and researched as Western Anatolia. The focus of the paper lies on the eastern most region of Rough Cilicia. It discusses rock inscriptions, rock carvings, and (decorated) architectural remains which bear witness to a strong Jewish presence in many cities of this region.

Download Full-text