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Corduene

This article is part of the
Kurdish history and Culture series
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Corduene (also known as Gorduene, Cordyene, Cardyene, Carduene, Gordyene, Gordyaea, Korduene, Korchayk, Gordian, Hebrew: [1]קרטיגיני ) was an ancient region located in northern Mesopotamia. For most of its history, it was a province of the Roman Empire. Corduene was situated to the east of Tigranocerta[2] (i.e., to the east and south of present-day Diyarbakır in southeastern Turkey) and northeast of Hakkari.[3] According to the Britannica, Gordyene is the ancient name for the region of Bohtan (Şırnak Province).[4] It is mentioned as Beth Qardu in Syriac sources and is described as a small vassal state between Armenia and Persia in the mountainous area south of Lake Van in modern Turkey[5] Corduene was a fertile and friendly province, which acknowledged the sovereignty of Rome[6] It has been cited as a Kingdom to the east of the Tigris and as the country of the Carduchians (now Bohtan), a mountainous district, rich in pasturage, south of Armenia[7] (For a map of the region in which this Kingdom was located see[8]). Corduene must also be sought on the left bank of the Tigris. From 189 to 90 BC it enjoyed a period of independence. The people of Gorduene were known to have worshipped the Hurrian sky God Teshub[9].

Contents

Karduchoi in Xenophon

A people called the Karduchoi are mentioned in Xenophon's Anabasis. They inhabited the mountains north of the Tigris in 401 BCE, living in well-provisioned villages. They were enemies to the king (of Persia), as were the Greek mercenaries with Xenophon, but their response to thousands of armed and desperate strangers was hostile. They had no heavy troops who could face the battle-hardened hoplites, but they used enormous bows and slings effectively, and for the Greeks the "seven days spent in traversing the country of the Carduchians had been one long continuous battle, which had cost them more suffering than the whole of their troubles at the hands of the king and Tissaphernes put together."[10]

Corduene in Jewish Sources

Targum, a Jewish source of Talmudic period, consistently understands Ararat to be located in Gorduene and not in Armenia[11]. This region is usually identified with the landing site in Deluge mythology. According to Aggadah, Noah landed in Korduene in Armenia. Berossus was also of the opinion that Xisthros landed with his ship in Korduene [12]. Josephus cited the evidence of Berossus as proof that the Flood was not a myth and also mentioned that the remains of the Ark were still visible in the district of Carron, persumably identical with Korduene[13]. In Nashim, the third order of of Talmud, Rav Nahman bar Jacob has allowed proselytization of Kurds from Corduene[14]. This points to the existence of Jewish converts among the population of Corduene in the early 4th century.

Corduene in Roman Sources

According to the Roman historian Strabo, the region of Gorduene (Γορδυηνῆ, or Γoρδυαῖα ὄρη, "Gordyaean Mts") referred to the mountains between Diyarbakır and Muş.[15][16] He recorded its main cities as Sareisa (Shareisha or Shereshe; north of Diyarbakır, around Ergani), Satalca (located west of Sareisa) and Pinaca (Bezabde), and considered its inhabitants (Gordyaeans) as descendants of the ancient Carduchians. According to him, the inhabitants had an exceptional repute as master-builders and as experts in the construction of siege engines and for this reason Tigranes used them in such work; he also notices the country for its naphtha resources. [17] Ammianus Marcellinus visited this region while on a diplomatic visit to the satrap of Corduene.[18] Eretrians who were exiled and deported by the Persians to Mesopotamia, were said to have taken up their dwelling in the region of Gordyene[19].

According to ancient texts the Gordyaeans received their name from Gordys son of Triptolemus, who assisted in searching after Io, and then settled in Gordyaea district of Phrygia.[20]

Pompey and Corduene

Both Phraates III and Tigranes the Great laid claim to this province. However, it was conquered by the Roman troops under Pompey. The local population (called Gordyeni) did not defend the Armenian rule since according to Plutarch, Tigranes had demolished their native cities and had forced them into exile in Tigranocerta.[21] In 69 BC, Zarbienus, the king of Corduene, was secretly planning for a revolt against Tigranes. He was negotiating with Appius Claudius for Roman help. However the plan was revealed and he was killed by Tigranes. After this, Lucullus raised a monument to Zarbienus and then he took over the region of Corduene.[22] He took part in the funeral of Zarbienus, offered royal robes, gold and the spoils (taken from Tigranes), and called him his companion and confederate of the Romans.[23]

After Pompey's success in subjugating Armenia and part of Pontus, and the Roman advance across the Euphrates, Phraates was anxious to have a truce with the Romans. However, Pompey held him in contempt and demanded back the territory of Corduene. He sent envoys, but after receiving no answer, he sent Afranius into the territory and occupied it without a battle. The Parthians who were found in possession were driven beyond the frontier and pursued even as far as Arbela in Adiabene.[24] According to an inscription dedicated to the temple of Venus, Pompey gave protection to the newly acquired territory of Gordyene.[25]

Armenian presence

Tigran retained Gordyene and Nisibis, which Pompeius withheld from the Parthians. [26] Gordyene belonged to Urartu for about 200 years and to Armenia for only about 25 years during the reign of Tigranes. [27]

“ While the Parthian dynasty was being weakened by dynastic feuds Tigranes extended his power by the annexation of Sophene and the Submission of Gordyene under its prince. [28] ”

Districts of Cordyene under Armenian period were:

Korduq (or Korduk), Kordiq Nerkin, Kordiq Verin, Kordiq Mijin, Tshauk, Aitvanq, Vorsirank (or Orsirank), Aigarq, Motolanq, Kartuniq, Albag.

Diocletian and Corduene

Corduene was conquered again by Diocletian in the 3rd century and the Roman presence in the region was formally recognized in a peace treaty signed between Diocletian and the Persians. Diocletian then raised an army unit from this region under the title Ala XV Flavia Carduenorum, naming it after his Caesar Flavius Valerius Constantinus[29].

Following the defeat of Narseh, the Sassanid King, at the hands of the Romans in 296, a peace treaty was signed between the two sides, according to which the steppes of northern Mesopotamia, with Singara and the hill country on the left bank of the Tigris as far as Gordyene (Corduene), were also ceded to the victors (Romans).[30]

The name of the province appears again in the account of the campaign between the Persians led by Shapur II and the Romans led by Julian the Apostate (and after Julian's death, by Jovian). It is documented to be a mountainous region in the north of the Assyrian plains.[31] The Romans started to retreat through Corduene after they could not besiege Ctesiphon.[32]

Shapur's campaign against Corduene

In the spring of 360, Shapur II staged a campaign to capture the city of Singara (probably modern Shingar or Sinjar northwest of Mosul). The town fell after a few days of siege. From Singara, Shapur directed his march almost due northwards, and leaving Nisibis unassailed upon his left, proceeded to attack the strong fort known indifferently as Pinaca (Phaenicha) or Bezabde. This was a position on the east bank of the Tigris, near the point where that river quits the mountains and debouches upon the plain; though not on the site, it may be considered the representative of the modern Jezireh (Cizre in southeastern Turkey), which commands the passes from the low country into the Kurdish mountains. It was much valued by Rome, was fortified in places with a double wall, and was guarded by three legions and a large body of Kurdish archers. Shapur sent a flag of truce to demand a surrender, joining with the messengers some prisoners of high rank taken at Singara, lest the enemy should open fire upon his envoys. The device was successful; but the garrison proved staunch, and determined on resisting to the last. After a long siege, the wall was at last breached, the city taken, and its defenders indiscriminately massacred.[33]

In 363, a treaty was signed in which Jovian ceded five provinces beyond the Euphrates including Corduene and Arzanene and towns of Nisibis and Singara to the Sassanids. Following this treaty, Greeks living in those lands emigrated due to persecution of Christians at the hands of Shapur and the Zoroastrians[34].

Corduene was a bishop's see since at least 424.[35]

Corduene in the sixth and seventh centuries

In 578, the Byzantine emperor Flavius Mauricius Tiberius Augustus defeated the Sassanid army led by Chosroes I, and conquered Carduene and incorporated it once again in the Roman empire[36]. According to Khwarizmi, Arabs conquered the area along with Nisbis and Tur Abdin in 640[37].

List of kings

  • Zarbienus; early-mid 1st c. BC: A famous king of Cordyene, made overtures to Appius Claudius, when the latter was staying at Antiocheia, wishing to shake off the yoke of Tigranes. He was informed against, however, and was assassinated with his wife and children before the Romans entered Armenia. When Lucullus arrived he celebrated his funeral rites with great pomp, setting fire to the funeral pile with his own hand, and had a sumptuous monument erected to him.
  • Manisarus; ~ 115 AD He took control over parts of Armenia and Mesopotamia, in the time of Trajan; therefor Osroes, the Parthian king, declared war against him; Manisarus sided with Romans. There are some coins extant, which are assigned to Manisarus.
  • Ardashir; ~ 340s AD He was against christianization of Corduene [38].
  • Jovinian ~ 359 AD [39]

Corduene, Carduchi and modern Kurds

Some 19th century historians saw in the words Corduene and Carduchi an easy identification with the Kurds, claiming that Carduchi was the ancient lexical equivalent of the modern "Kurdistan".[40][41] Most modern historians dismiss this identification [42], but the belief is still widely propagated and held to be true by Kurdish activists.[43] There were numerous forms of the name, partly due to the difficulty of representing kh in Latin. The name Karduchoi is itself probably borrowed from Armenian, since the termination -choi represents the Armenian language plural suffix -kh.[44] It is speculated that Carduchi spoke an Old Iranic language[45]

Timeline of the history of Corduene (Gordyene)

Notes

  1. ^ Efraim Elimelech Urbach, I. Abrahams, The Sages, 1089 pp., Magnes Press, 1979, ISBN 9652233196, p.552
  2. ^ Theodor Mommsen History of Rome - The Establishment of the Military Monarchy Page 24
  3. ^ [1]
  4. ^ DARIUS III - Online Information article about DARIUS III
  5. ^ Parthian City Index
  6. ^ The History of the Decline and Fall of The Roman Empire - Vol 2 - Chapter XXIV Part IV
  7. ^ Persia - LoveToKnow 1911
  8. ^ http://www.bible.ca/maps/maps-roman-empire-peak-150AD.jpg
  9. ^ Olaf A. Toffteen, Notes on Assyrian and Babylonian Geography, The American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literatures, pp.323-357, 1907, p.341
  10. ^ Anabasis by Xenophon, book 4 [2]
  11. ^ Jacob Neusner, The Jews in Pagan Armenia, Journal of the American Oriental Society, pp.230-240, 1964, p.233
  12. ^ Bernhard Heller, Ginzberg's Legends of the Jews, The Jewish Quarterly Review, pp.51-66, Center for Advanced Judaic Studies, University of Pennsylvania, 1933, p.57
  13. ^ Louis H. Feldman, Josephus' Portrait of Noah and Its Parallels in Philo, Pseudo-Philo's Biblical Antiquities and Rabbinic Midrashim, Proceedings of the American Academy for Jewish Research, pp.31-57, 1988, p.47
  14. ^ Heinrich Walter Guggenheimer, The Jerusalem Talmud, Halakhah 6, 2004, ISBN 3110182912 ,pp.62-63
  15. ^ Strabon Book 11
  16. ^ Kurds & Kurdistan, Encyclopaedia of Islam.
  17. ^ LacusCurtius • Strabo's Geography — Book XVI Chapter 1
  18. ^ Ronald Syrme, Anatolica: Studies in Strabo, Oxford University Press, 1995, ISBN 0198149433, p.30
  19. ^ Strabo, Geography, Book XVI, Chapter 1, p.233-235[3]
  20. ^ GORDYS, Greek Mythology Index
  21. ^ The Life of Lucullus, in The Parallel Lives by Plutarch.
  22. ^ T. Frank, Two Suggestions on the Text of Cicero, The American Journal of Philology, pp.459-461, 1937.
  23. ^ Lives, Chapter 36, Plutarch.
  24. ^ Cassius Dio — Book 37
  25. ^ G. Gilbert, The List of Names in Acts 2: Roman Propaganda and the Lukan Response, Journal of Biblical Literature, Vol.121, No.3, Autumn 2002, p.514.
  26. ^ The Kingdom of Armenia - Page 205 by Mack Chahin
  27. ^ The Armenian People from Ancient to Modern Times - Page 15 by Richard G. Hovhannisian
  28. ^ The Cambridge Ancient History - Page 238 by John Anthony Crook, Elizabeth Rawson
  29. ^ E.C. Nischer, The Army Reforms of Diocletian and Constantine and Their Modifications up to the Time of the Notitia Dignitatum, The Journal of Roman Studies, pp.1-55, 1923. (see p.10)
  30. ^ Narses - Britannica Online Encyclopedia
  31. ^ [4][dead link]
  32. ^ Structure of the Res Gestae - The Ammianus Marcellinus Online Project
  33. ^ The Seven Great Monarchies, by George Rawlinson, The Seventh Monarchy, Part A
  34. ^ J. B. Bury, History of the Later Roman Empire from Arcadius to Irene (395 A.D. -800 A.D.), Adamant Media Corp., 2005, ISBN 1402183690, p.304
  35. ^ The Acts of Mar Mari the Apostle, page 15, Amir Harrak, Published 2005 BRILL, 110 pages, ISBN 9004130500
  36. ^ George Frederick Young,East and West through fifteen centuries : being a general history from B.C. 44 to A.D. 1453, 674 pp., Longman, Green and Co. Publishers, 1916, p.336
  37. ^ A. N. Palmer, Monk and Mason on the Tigris Frontier: The Early History of Tur Abdin, Cambridge University Press, 1990, ISBN 0521360269, p.158
  38. ^ History of the Syrian Nation and the Old Evangelical-Apostolic Church of the East, page: 128, George David Malech, Published 2006, Gorgias Press LLC, 484 pages, ISBN 1593334087
  39. ^ The Later Roman Empire: AD 354-378, Ammianus Marcellinus, Translated by Walter Hamilton, page 155, Contributor Andrew Wallace-Hadrill, Published 1986, Penguin Classics, ISBN 0140444068
  40. ^ The Seven Great Monarchies Of The Ancient Eastern World, Vol 7. (of 7): The Sass - Project Gutenberg
  41. ^ Orbis Latinus, University of Columbia.
  42. ^ T. A. Sinclair, "Eastern Turkey, an Architectural and Archaeological Survey", 1989, volume 3, page 360.
  43. ^ Kurds. The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001-07
  44. ^ [5][dead link]
  45. ^ [6]ref>M. Chahin, Before the Greeks, p. 109, James Clarke & Co., 1996, ISBN 0718829506
  46. ^ Kingdom of Snow: Roman rule and Greek culture in Cappadocia By Raymond Van Dam
  47. ^ Timeline of Gordyene, Regnal Chronologies.

External links

v • d • e
Roman Imperial Provinces (AD 117)
v • d • e
Historical regions of Armenia

The traditional 15 provinces of Historic Armenia: 1. Upper Armenia • 2. Sophene • 3. Aghdznik • 4. Turuberan • 5. Moxoene • 6. Corduene • 7. Parskahayk •
8. Vaspurakan • 9. Syunik • 10. Artsakh • 11. Paytakaran • 12. Utik • 13. Gugark • 14. Tayk • 15. Ayrarat

Other historical regions of Armenia: Karin • Taron • Commagene • Armenian Mesopotamia • Norshirakan • Lesser Armenia • Cilicia • Mardali
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