Arsameia on the Nymphaios Ancient City

Arsameia on the Nymphaios, set on a hillside above the Kâhta stream (the ancient Nymphaios), was a royal seat and cult centre of the Kingdom of Commagene.

History

The city was founded by King Arsames, an ancestral figure of the dynasty, but owes its fame to the hierothesion (tomb-sanctuary) that King Antiochus I built here for his father, Mithridates I Callinicus. The name Arsameia derives from King Arsames, the Persian-descended ancestor of the Commagene dynasty; the city was conceived not merely as an administrative centre but as a sacred place where the dynastic cult was maintained. The 1950s excavations of the German archaeologist Friedrich Karl Dörner brought the dexiosis relief and the long Greek inscription to light and were decisive in rewriting Commagene history.

Reliefs, Inscriptions and Cult Structures

The site's most spectacular work is the best-preserved dexiosis relief of Commagene: roughly two metres high, it shows a king (Mithridates, or in some readings Antiochus) clasping hands (dexiosis) with a naked Heracles identifiable by his club and lion skin. This relief is the most vivid surviving image of the Commagene ideology in which the royal house identified itself with the gods. Beneath the relief, a rock-cut entrance marked by an eagle figure leads to a cult cave and to a mysterious tunnel about 158 metres long that plunges steeply into the rock; its purpose (sacred water, burial chamber, or ceremonial passage) remains debated. At Site III, one of the longest Greek inscriptions of Commagene is carved into the rock in five columns, describing the founding of the city, the building of the hierothesion, and the ritual instructions for the cult. The reliefs, inscriptions and rock cavities spread across the site's terraces (Sites I, II and III) guide the visitor upward as if following a ceremonial way.

Visiting & Access

Arsameia is an inseparable stop on the Nemrut tour and is usually visited between Cendere Bridge and Kâhta Castle, before the ascent to the Nemrut summit. The site is explored on foot along hillside paths and steps, so sturdy shoes are recommended. From the top of the slope the view over the Kâhta valley and across to Yeni Kale gives the site an added appeal for photographers. Together with the surrounding Commagene monuments it offers tangible evidence of a unique art and religion that fused Greek and Persian traditions of the ancient world. Though less grand than Nemrut, Arsameia is an indispensable stop that gives substance to the dynastic story behind the colossal statues and completes the meaning of the tour.