The Commagene Civilisation

Helmut von Moltke, a German officer serving as a consultant to the Otoman army in the early 19th century had an interest also in history and ancient civilisations. In fact, his work “ Letters on the State of Affairs in Turkey” dated 1838 includes some during his mission in Turkey. It is stil a question why his work had no mention of statues in Mount Nemrut.

Karl Sester, a German engineer working in road construction around Diyarbakır in 1881 was first one to speak obaut statues on the top of Mount Nemrut, which he assumed to be remains from the Assyrians.

Upon information provided by Sester, Otto Puchstein, a young scientist from Royal Academy of Prussia headed a team that visited Turkey and conducted research on the mountain including the tumulus on the top, terraces to east and west sides of the tumulus and giant statues as well as relief existing there.

After some laboious work puchstein read the inscription in Grek and found out that these monuments dated back to the Commagene Kingdom, the reign of Antiochus I, more specifically. It was Antiochus I who spoke the words in inscriptions, which consisted of the secret of the mountain and the laws of the kingdom.

Research on Mount Nemrut was then undertaken by another German engineer, Karl Humaan and Osman Hamdi Bey, the founder of the Archaeology Museum in İstanbul. Following them, American archaeologist Theresa Goel and Friedrich Karl Dörner was the next couple exploring more on the Nemrut from 1953 to 1980s. Finally it was Sencer Şahin, a student of Dörner who took over the research starting from 1986.

The excavations that laid bare more of the civilisation of Commagene took place, besides the peak of the Mountain, also in such places as Arsameia, Samsat and the Euphrates basin. Moveable items found during these Museum while the others are stil protected pn the site, which is now a National Park.