Arsamosata

Not to be confused with Samosata.

Arsamosata (Middle Persian: *Aršāmšād, Old Persian: *Ṛšāma-šiyāti-, Ancient Greek: Ἀρσαμόσατα, Armenian: Արշամաշատ, romanized: Aršamašat) was an ancient and medieval city situated on the bank of the Murat River (called the Arsanias in classical sources), near the present-day city of Elazığ. It was founded in c. 240 BC by Arsames I,[1] the Orontid king of Sophene, Commagene and possibly Armenia.[2] The city served as a central center and royal residence of the Orontids of Sophene. The origin of its name is Persian, meaning "Joy of Arsames".[1] Naming cities such as the "joy of" or "happiness of" was an Orontid (and later Artaxiad) practice that recalled the Achaemenid royal discourse.[3]

It was left and destroyed in the 1st century BC. In the Middle Ages, it was called Ashmushat. In Roman and Byzantine times, it bore the names Armosota (Ἀρμόσοτα)[4] and Arsamosota (Ἀρσαμόσοτα).[5] It was also known in Byzantine times as Asmosaton.[6]: 247  It was called Shimshat in Arabic.[7] A prominent native of Arsamosata was the 10th-century poet Abu'l-Hasan Ali al-Shimshati.[7]

Arsamosata has been identified with the abandoned settlement site known as Haraba, [8]: 112 [9][10] located by the Murat River, near the east end of the Altınova plain, some 60 km east of Elazig,.[6] Much of the site now lies submerged under the waters of the Keban Dam. The hill that served as the former city's citadel now juts out toward the northeast into a shallow lake created by the dam.[8]: 112  The city itself appears to have been just below the hill on the southeast, although this is not entirely certain.[8]: 112 

  1. ^ a b Canepa 2018, p. 110.
  2. ^ Marciak 2017, p. 123.
  3. ^ Canepa 2021, p. 82.
  4. ^ Polybius. The Histories. Vol. 8.25.
  5. ^ Ptolemy. The Geography. Vol. 5.13.
  6. ^ a b Howard-Johnston, James (2006). East Rome, Sasanian Persia and the End of Antiquity. Ashgate. ISBN 0-86078-992-6. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  7. ^ a b Bosworth, C.E. (1997). "Shimshāṭ". In Bosworth, C.E.; van Donzel, E.; Heinrichs, W.P.; Lecomte, G. (eds.). The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Vol. IX (SAN-SZE) (PDF). Leiden: Brill. p. 442. ISBN 90-04-10422-4. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  8. ^ a b c Sinclair, T.A. (1989). Eastern Turkey: An Architectural & Archaeological Survey, Volume III. Pindar Press. ISBN 0907132340. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
  9. ^ Lund University. Digital Atlas of the Roman Empire.
  10. ^ Richard Talbert, ed. (2000). Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World. Princeton University Press. p. 89, and directory notes accompanying. ISBN 978-0-691-03169-9.