Difference between revisions of "Ararat"

<p> a mountain of Asia, in Armenia, on which the ark of Noah rested after the cessation of the deluge. [[Concerning]] the etymology of the name, Dr. Bryant observes; that it is a compound of <em> Ar-Arat, </em> and signifies "the mountain of descent, being equivalent to הראּ?ירד , of the Hebrews. Of the precise situation of this mountain, different accounts have been given. Some have supposed that it was one of the mountains which divide [[Armenia]] on the south from Mesopotamia, and that part of [[Assyria]] inhabited by the Curds, from whom those mountains took the name of Curdue, or Cardu; by the [[Greeks]] denominated <em> Gordyaei. </em> It is called by the Arabs <em> Al-Judi, </em> and also <em> Thamanin. </em> In confirmation of this opinion, it is alleged that the remains of the ark were to be seen on these mountains; and it is said, that [[Berosus]] and [[Abydenus]] both declare, that such a report existed in their time. [[Epiphanius]] pretends, if we may credit his assertion, that the relics of the ark were to be seen in his day; and we are further told, that the emperor [[Heraclius]] went from the town of Thamanin, up the mountain Al-Judi, and saw the place of the ark. Others maintain, that mount [[Ararat]] was situated toward the middle of Armenia, near the river Araxes, or Aras, about twelve miles from it, according to Tournefort, above two hundred and eighty miles distant from Al-Judi, to the north-east. Ararat seems to be a part of that vast chain of mountains called [[Caucasus]] and Taurus; and upon these mountains, and in the adjacent country, were preserved more authentic accounts of the ark than in almost any other part of the world. The region about Ararat, called Araratia, was esteemed among the ancients as nearly a central part of the earth; and it is certainly as well calculated as any other for the accommodation of its first inhabitants, and for the migration of colonies, upon the increase of mankind. The soil of the country was very fruitful, and especially of that part where the patriarch made his first descent. The country also was very high, though it had fine plains and valleys between the mountains. Such a country, therefore, must, after the flood, have been the soonest exsiccated, and, consequently, the soonest habitable. </p> <p> The mountain which has still the name of Ararat, has retained it through all ages. Tournefort has particularly described it, and from his account it seems to consist chiefly of freestone, or calcareous sandstone. It is a detached mountain in form of a sugar loaf, in the midst of a very extensive plain, consisting of two summits; the lesser, more sharp and pointed; the higher, which is that of the ark, lies north-west of it, and raises its head far above the neighbouring mountains, and is covered with perpetual snow. When the air is clear, it does not appear to be above two leagues from Erivan, and may be seen at the distance of four or five days' journey. Its being visible at such a distance, however, is ascribed not so much to its height, as to its lonely situation, in a large plain, and upon the most elevated part of the country. The ascent is difficult and fatiguing. Tournefort attempted it; and, after a whole day's toil, he was obliged, by the snow and intense cold, to return without accomplishing his design, though in the middle of summer. On the side of the mountain that looks toward Erivan, is a prodigious precipice, very deep, with perpendicular sides, and of a rough, black appearance, as if tinged with smoke. </p> <p> The summit of Ararat has never been reached, though several attempts have been made; and if the ark rested on the summit, it is certain that those who have spoken of its fragments being seen there in different ages, must have been imposed upon. It is, however, not necessary to suppose that the ark rested upon either of its tops; and that spot would certainly be chosen which would afford the greatest facility of descent. Sir [[Robert]] Ker [[Porter]] is among the modern travellers who have given us an account of this celebrated mountain:—"As the vale opened beneath us in our descent, my whole attention became absorbed in the view before me. A vast plain, peopled with countless villages; the towers and spires of the churches of Eitch-mai-adzen, arising from amidst them; the glittering waters of the Araxes, flowing through the fresh green of the vale; and the subordinate range of mountains, skirting the base of the awful monument of the antediluvian world. It seemed to stand a stupendous link in the history of man, uniting the two races of men before and after the flood. But it was not until we had arrived upon the flat plain, that I beheld Ararat in all its amplitude of grandeur. From the spot on which I stood, it appeared as if the hugest mountains of the world had been piled upon each other, to form this one sublime immensity of earth, and rock, and snow. The icy peaks of its double heads rose majestically into the clear and cloudless heavens; the sun blazed bright upon them; and the reflection sent forth a dazzling radiance, equal to other suns. This point of the view united the utmost grandeur of plain and height. But the feelings I experienced while looking on the mountain, are hardly to be described. My eye, not able to rest for any length of time upon the blinding glory of its summits, wandered down the apparently interminable sides, till I could no longer trace their vast lines in the mists of the horizon; when an inexpressible impulse, immediately carrying my eye upward again, refixed my gaze upon the awful glare of Ararat; and this bewildered sensibility of sight being answered by a similar feeling in the mind, for some moments I was lost in a strange suspension of the powers of thought." </p> <p> The separate peaks are called Great and Little Ararat, and the space between them is about seven miles. "These inaccessible summits," continues Sir R. K. Porter, "have never been trodden by the foot of man since the days of Noah, if even then; for my idea is, that the ark rested in the space between these heads, and not on the top of either. Various attempts have been made in different ages to ascend these tremendous mountain pyramids, but in vain: their form, snows, and glaciers, are insurmountable obstacles: the distance being so great from the commencement of the icy region to the highest points, cold alone would be the destruction of any person who should have the hardihood to persevere. On viewing mount Ararat from the northern side of the plain, its two heads are separated by a wide cleft, or rather glen, in the body of the mountain. The rocky side of the greater head runs almost perpendicularly down to the north-east, while the lesser head rises from the sloping bottom of the cleft, in a perfectly conical shape. Both heads are covered with snow. The form of the greater is similar to the less, only broader and rounder at the top; and shows to the northwest a broken and abrupt front, opening, about half way down, into a stupendous chasm, deep, rocky and peculiarly black. At that part of the mountain, the hollow of the chasm receives an interruption from the projection of minor mountains, which start from the sides of Ararat like branches from the root of a tree, and run along, in undulating progression, till lost in the distant vapours of the plain." Dr. Shuckford argues that the true Ararat lies among the mountains of the north of India; but Mr. [[Faber]] has answered his reasoning, and proved by a comparison of geographical notices incidentally mentioned in the Old Testament, that the Ararat of Armenia is the true Ararat. </p>

&nbsp;Genesis 8:4&nbsp;2 Kings 19:37&nbsp;2 Kings 19:37&nbsp; Isaiah 37:38&nbsp;Jeremiah 51:27 <p> [[Geography]] The Ararat of the Old [[Testament]] is known as the land of Urartu in sources outside the Bible, especially Assyrian sources. The people of the region identified themselves as “children of Haldi” (the national god) and their land as <i> Biainae </i> . The country was southeast of the Black Sea and southwest of the Caspian, where the head waters of the Tigris and [[Euphrates]] Rivers were found. Near the center of the land was Lake Van; Lake Sevan lay on its northern border; and Lake Urmia was found in its southeast corner. Modern Turkey, Iran, and Soviet Armenia occupy parts of the ancient land area of Urartu. Mt. Ararat is located to the northeast of Lake Van. </p> <p> Ararat rises from the lowlands of the Aras River to a height of 17,000 feet. [[Considering]] the high elevation, the region is remarkably fertile and pasturable. Archaeologists believe that Ararat received more rainfall in biblical times than it does today, an observation which suggests that the area would have been even more productive as farmland in ancient times. </p> <p> History of Ararat The height of Urartian political prominence was between 900,700 B.C. Culturally the Urartians were akin to the earlier [[Hurrians]] and to the [[Assyrians]] whose empire stretched to the south. From after 1100 until after 800 B.C., Urartu remained independent of Assyria, and in many ways was a political rival. The rise of Tiglath-pileser III (745-727 B.C.) in Assyria, followed by [[Sargon]] II (721-705 B.C.), crushed any political ambitions Urartu might have had in the region. [[Continuing]] a flourishing national culture in their mountain homeland, the Urartians were finally overcome by the invading Armenians at the close of the seventeenth century. See [[Noah]]; [[Ark]]; and Flood . </p> <p> A. J. Conyers </p>

<p> [[Ararat]] (''Ăr'A-Răt'' ), ''Holy Land,'' or ''High Land.'' A mountainous region of Asia which borders on the plain of the Araxes, and is mentioned (1) as the resting-place of Noah's ark. &nbsp;Genesis 8:4; (2) as the refuge of the sons of Sennacherib, &nbsp;2 Kings 19:37, R. V., or margin, A V.; &nbsp;Isaiah 37:1-38; &nbsp;Isaiah 38:1-22, R. V., or margin, A. V.; (3) as a kingdom with Minni and Ashchenaz. &nbsp;Jeremiah 51:27. The mountains of Ararat, &nbsp;Genesis 8:4, properly refer to the entire range of elevated table land in that portion of Armenia; and upon some lower part of this range, rather than upon the high peaks popularly called Ararat, the ark more probably rested. For (1) this plateau or range is about 6000 to 7000 feet high; (2) it Is about equally distant from the Euxine and the Caspian Seas, and between the Persian [[Gulf]] and the Mediterranean, and hence a central point for the dispersion of the race; (3) the region is volcanic in its origin; it does not rise into sharp crests, but has broad plains separated by subordinate ranges of mountains; (4) the climate is temperate, grass and grain are abundant, the harvests quick to mature. All these facts illustrate the biblical narrative. [[George]] Smith, however, places Ararat in the southern part of the mountains east of Assyria. [[Chaldean]] Account of Genesis, p. 289. </p>

<p> '''''ar´a''''' -'''''rat''''' ( אררט , <i> ''''''ărārāṭ''''' </i> ): A mountainous plateau in western Asia from which flow in different directions the Euphrates, the Tigris, the Aras and the Choruk rivers. Its general elevation is 6,000 feet above the sea. Lake Van, which like the [[Dead]] Sea has no outlet, is nearly in its center. The Babylonian name was Urartu, the consonants being the same in both words. In &nbsp;2 Kings 19:37 and &nbsp; Isaiah 37:38 the word is translated in the King James Version Armenia, which correctly represents the region designated. It was to Armenia that the sons of [[Sennacherib]] fled. In &nbsp; Jeremiah 51:27 Ararat is associated with Minni and Ashkenaz, which according to the Assyrian monuments lay just to the east of Armenia. In &nbsp; Genesis 8:4 the ark is said to have rested "upon the mountains of Ararat," i.e. in the mountainous region of Armenia, the plural showing that the mountain peak known as Ararat was not referred to. This peak is of volcanic origin and lies outside the general region, rising from the lowlands of the Araxes (Aras) River to a height of 17,000 feet, supported by another peak seven miles distant, 13,000 feet high. It is only in comparatively modern times that the present name has been given to it. The Armenians still call it Massis, but believe, however, that Noah was buried at Nachitchevan near its base. </p> <p> The original name of the kingdom occupying Armenia was Bianias, which [[Ptolemy]] transliterated Byana. Later the "B" was modified into "V" and we have the modern Van, the present capital of the province. The "mountains of Ararat" on which the ark rested were probably those of the Kurdish range which separates Armenia from Mesopotamia and Kurdistan. In the Babylonian account the place is called "the mountain of Nizir" which is east of Assyria. Likewise Berosus locates the place "in the mountain of the Kordyaeans" or Kurds ( <i> Ant. </i> , I, iii, 6), while the [[Syriac]] version has Hardu in &nbsp;Genesis 8:4 instead of Ararat. The Kurds still regard Jebel Judi, a mountain on the boundary between Armenia and Kurdistan, as the place where the ark rested. </p> <p> This elevated plateau of Armenia has still many attractions, and is eminently suited to have been the center from which the human race spread in all directions. [[Notwithstanding]] its high elevation the region is fertile, furnishing abundant pasture, and producing good crops of wheat and barley, while the vine is indigenous. Moreover there are unmistakable indications that in early historic times there was a much more abundant rainfall in all that region than there is now, so that the climate was then better adapted to the wants of primitive man. This is shown by the elevated beaches surrounding lakes Van, Urumiah, and, indeed, all the lakes of central Asia. Great quantities of mammoth bones have been found in these bordering lacustrine deposits corresponding to those found in the glacial and postglacial deposits of Europe and America. It should, also, be remembered that the drying up of the waters of the flood is represented to have been very gradual - it being 170 days from the time the waters began to subside before Noah could disembark. It may have been many centuries before the present conditions were established, the climate, meanwhile, being modified to a corresponding degree by the proximity of vast surrounding bodies of water. </p> <p> Armenia abounds in inscriptions carved on the rocks, altar stones and columns, but they have been only imperfectly translated. The script is cuneiform and each letter has only a single phonetic character attached to it. But there are introduced a good many borrowed ideographs which have assisted in the decipherment. According to Sayce this cuneiform syllabary was introduced from Assyria after the conquest of [[Shalmaneser]] Ii in the 9th century bc. </p>