It is unlikely that the Wigrams were aware of Carver’s work when they wrote their book. However, their statements suggesting that the volcanoes, as natural boundaries to the Garden of Eden, were themselves the cherubim wielding the flaming swords echo Carver’s thoughts completely.
And if the Garden of Eden is not encased in volcanic lava, then it could equally have been drowned, for one old Armenian legend asserts that it lies “at the bottom of Lake Van,” where it has been since the time of the Great Flood.24 This conclusion reflects the medieval belief that even if a terrestrial Paradise had once existed, then it would surely have been destroyed at the time of the Flood, which covered everything to the height of the highest mountains.
CARVER’S MAP OF PARADISE
Turning next to Marmaduke Carver’s detailed, though rather fantastic, map of Greater Armenia (see figure 28.2), we see the terrestrial Paradise marked under the Latin legend Heden regio quae et anthe (Eden region and caves). These words are sandwiched between the Thospites, or Lake Van, in the east, and Sophene in the west. Indeed, the inscription appears in the vicinity of the Eastern Taurus Mountains, which lie immediately beneath the plain of Mush, with eden deriving most probably from the Akkadian word edinu (Sumerian eden), meaning “plain” or “steppe.”25 Having said this, a recent academic trend sees eden as stemming from the West Semitic root ‘dn, meaning “to enrich, make abundant,”26 which remains possible, although less likely.
MOUNT ABUS
Passing across Thospites Lake on Carver’s map are two parallel lines that run north-south, representing the proto-Tigris flowing unaffected through its waters. They continue as dotted lines beyond the lake’s northern shores, indicating that this is the incoming subterranean river alluded to in the writings of classical writers, such as Strabo and Pliny, and that at its source was the primordial foundation from which all four rivers of Paradise took their course. Geographically, the lines originate from between a line of mountains, one of which is marked with the legend “Abus Mons.”
Abus Mons, or Mount Abus, also spelled Monte Abas,27 or Aba,28 is mentioned in the works of both Pliny29 and Strabo, the latter of whom writes that from its summit “flow both the Euphrates and the Araxes, the former towards the west and the latter towards the east.”30 This can only be a reference to Bingöl Mountain, of which it is said: “The Araxes rises near Erzurum (Turkey) in the Bingöl Dağ region: there is only a low divide separating it from the headwaters of the Euphrates river.”31 We should recall that Bingöl was the center of the obsidian trade in the Armenian Highlands in the proto-Neolithic age and can also be identified with Gaylaxaz-ut, or Paxray, the Wolf Stone Mountain of Armenian folklore (see chapter 24).
Figure 28.2. Section from Marmaduke Carver’s A Discourse of the Terrestrial Paradise showing “Heden,” or Eden, between Lake Van (the Thospites, in the center) and the ancient kingdom of Sophene. Note the proto-Tigris coming down from the north, close to Abus Mons (Bingöl Mountain), and flowing uninterrupted through the lake.
THE SOURCE OF MANY RIVERS
Dutch scholar of Semitic studies Martijn Theodoor Houtsma (1851–1943), in the Encyclopaedia of Islam, made it even clearer in 1927, when he wrote: “No fewer than six important water-courses rise in this erosion [i.e., Bingöl Mountain’s innumerable glacial pools], in which Armenian tradition for this reason places the site of the biblical Paradise.”32 These “water-courses” are broken down in the following manner: in the northwest is the source of the Araxes, in the west is the Tuzla Şu, which becomes a major branch of the Western, or Northern, Euphrates, and the Bingöl (or Peri) Şu, which, as we saw in chapter 24, was known to the native Armenian population as the Gail, or “Wolf,” River. It too rises on the west side of Bingöl Mountain, then heads off in the direction of Baghir and Shaitan Dağ. In the southwest part of the massif rises the Gönük Şu; in the south, the Çabughar Şu; and in the east and northeast, the Khınis Şu. The last four mentioned rivers, including the Peri Şu, all join the Eastern, or Southern, Euphrates.
What was it that led the Reverend Marmaduke Carver to conclude that the primordial fountain that gave rise to the four rivers of Paradise existed in the same mountain range as Abus Mons, in other words Bingöl Mountain? Was he aware of Strabo’s reference to Abus Mons as the source of both the Euphrates and Araxes?33 It is possible, although if this were the case then surely he would have mentioned it. More likely is that it was quite simply an intuitive decision based on whatever evidence he had in hand when he came to write his fascinating book.
Strangely, Carver does not identify the Gihon with the Araxes, nor does he associate the Greater Zab with the Pison. Instead, he sees major waterways that split away from the Tigris and Euphrates as evidence for the existence of these other two rivers. The Pison, for instance, he has entering neighboring Persia and linking, eventually, to the Indus, one of the longest rivers in Asia. Yet this vagueness should not detract from Carver’s remarkable insights into the geographical location of the Garden of Eden, and we are by no means finished with his findings quite yet.
I felt the need now to focus my efforts more toward Bingöl Mountain, the Abus Mons of antiquity, in an attempt to better understand why Carver believed that here somewhere was the primordial fountain of life, and why the Dutch scholar Martijn Houtsma concluded that this was “the site of the biblical Paradise.”
29
THE WORLD’S SUMMIT
Bingöl is a Turkish place-name that means “a thousand (bin) lakes or springs (göl),” an allusion to the many mountain streams that take their rise from the glacial lakes that grace its summit. In the Armenian language, Bingöl Mountain is known as Biurakn, which means “a million (bir, byur) eyes (akn),” a reference, once again, to the countless springs, or “eyes,” that take their rise on its summit (although see chapter 33 for a clearer interpretation of this Armenian name).
Bingöl is mentioned also in Armenian texts under the more enigmatic name of Mount Srmantz, or Srmanç1 (again, see chapter 33 for a discussion of the meaning of this name), described as Katar Erkri, the Summit of the Earth,2 or the World’s Summit,3 or, indeed, the Top of the World, from which flowed the “four rivers to the four corners of the world.”4 Bingöl was also a “place of the gods,”5 the habitation of mythical beings identified, almost certainly, with the Peri of Kurdish and Persian folklore (the region’s population until the early twentieth century were mainly Armenians, Kurds, Turks, Yezidi, and Kızılbaş [Alevi], the last two being ethno-religious groups quite separate from the others mentioned here).
Very probably, the Judeo-Christian belief in the four rivers of Paradise flowing out of the Garden of Eden (see figure 29.1, for instance) is simply a variation of the cosmic mountain theme preserved in connection with Bingöl Mountain by the Armenian inhabitants of the region. It was probably for this reason that Martijn Houtsma, in 1927, noted that Armenians considered it “the site of the biblical Paradise,”6 which, if correct, should be extended southward to include the plain of Mush, the proposed site of the Garden of Eden itself.
Figure 29.1. Section of a map of the Middle East by French cartographer and geographer Philippe Buache (1700–1773), published in 1783. Eden is shown to the west of Lake Van, placing it in the vicinity of the Mush Plain and Armenian Highlands. Confusingly, the identities of the Pison and Gihon rivers are transposed: the Araxes is shown as the Pison (written “Phison”), while the Greater Zab becomes the Gihon (written “Gehon”).
Having said this, we know that the Genesis account of the earthly Paradise describes real rivers, three of which—the Tigris, Euphrates, and Araxes—were considered to take their rise from the same primordial fountain that existed somewhere in the vicinity of the Bingöl massif. Only one of the rivers, the Pison, remains somewhat of an enigma, even though the Assyrian Church, as we saw in chapter 27, identifies it with the Greater Zab, which rises in the mountains southeast of Lake Van.
THE PISON RIVER—NEW EVIDENCE
Having said this, compelling evidence suggests
that the Pison was also once seen to take its rise on Bingöl Mountain and is to be identified with the Peri Şu, or Gail River. This flows initially westward before turning south to merge, eventually, with the Eastern Euphrates just north of the ancient fortress town of Kharput, thought to be Carcathiocerta, the lost capital of Sophene.
This connection between the Pison River and the Peri Şu is recorded in a book written in 1870 by German cartographers Wilhelm Strecker and Heinrich Kiepert.7 It examines the geography of the Anabasis, a seven-volume work penned by Greek professional soldier and writer Xenophon (ca. 430–354 BC). He marched with the ten thousand Greek mercenaries hired by Cyrus the Younger, who sought to wrest the throne of Persia from his brother, the king, Artaxerxes II.8 The route of the Ten Thousand, as they are known, to and from the Battle of Cunaxa on the banks of the Euphrates, some 45 miles (72 kilometers) north of Babylon, took them through Colchis (modern Georgia), Armenia, and Mesopotamia. The identity of the rivers, towns, and cities Xenophon describes encountering on this two-way journey has been the subject of debate among scholars for hundreds of years.
The Ten Thousand are known to have marched through the foothills of the Bingöl massif, and discussing the sights they might have encountered Streker and Kiepert make the following observation:
The native people spoken to on my trips to Armenia Major, call this river [i.e., the Peri Şu] Phison, and see it as a river of Paradise, [which they say] lies on Bingöl Mountain.1 That this is not an arbitrary adoption of modern times is proved by the ancient Armenian writer who indicates the existence of a Castell Phison in Sophene, probably identical with the area between the two Euphrates.9
The superscript number 1 after the word “Mountain” in the original text refers the reader to the base of the page. Here we read that although the inhabitants of the region assert the Peri Şu to be the “Phison,” the authors have been unable to verify this claim among the works of the Armenian writers.10
This is a shame. Yet we are still left with the tantalizing possibility that the Peri Şu is the Pison, even though this new information is unlikely to constitute a major challenge to the Greater Zab’s claim to being the self-same river. As stated in chapter 27, the word of the ancient Assyrian Church should not be taken lightly, especially as the Armenian Church seems to have a tendency to move around holy places (the case of the ark’s Place of Descent being a prime example—see chapter 30).
Having said this, the fact that the Armenian population of Armenia Major believed that the Peri Şu was the Pison now links the sources of all four rivers of Paradise with the area around Bingöl Mountain, which, we should not forget, was known in Armenian tradition as Katar Erkri, the Summit of the Earth, its waters carrying the “four rivers to the four corners of the world.”*1711
FOUNTAIN OF LIFE
Quite independent of Judeo-Christian tradition, Muslim Kurds revere Bingöl Mountain as the site of another heavenly, paradisiacal fountain of great renown. Here is to be found Ma’ul Hayat, the Fountain of Life, the waters of which can rejuvenate youth and provide everlasting life.12
According to popular legend, Alexander the Great (called in Persian Iskender and in Turkish Zülkarneyn, meaning “the Horned One” or “the Two-horned,” a reference to the ram horns on his helmet) traveled to “the land of darkness,” beyond the setting sun, in search of the Fountain of Life, which was said to exist “in the north, beneath the Pole Star.”13 His guide and vizier on the journey was the mysterious al-Khidr, a wise man; however, when they came to a fork in the road, both men went in different directions. Only al-Khidr ended up finding the Fountain of Life and drinking from its waters (or eating a fish that swims in the fountain in another version; see figure 29.2). Even though al-Khidr waited for Alexander to catch up, the fountain disappeared as he approached. Al-Khidr also then vanished, having been granted immortality by Allah.
Although the Persian and Turkish accounts of Alexander’s journey do not mention Bingöl by name, local Kurdish folklore does. Its version of the story tells how Alexander, with deep wounds and pains in his body, went in search of the Ab’i Hayat, the Waters of Life, which he found in the vicinity of Bingöl Mountain (named Jabal-i-çur). Here he either drinks or bathes in its waters, an act that cures his ailments. In honor of this miracle Alexander chooses a spot on a nearby river and builds a castle called Çapakçur,14 this being the old name for the town of Bingöl, which lies a short distance from the mountain.
Figure 29.2. Al-Khidr (Turkish Hızır), the Green One, who gains immortality at the Ma’ul Hayat, the Fountain of Life, thought to be located in the vicinity of Bingöl Mountain.
AL-KHIDR, THE GREEN ONE
Al-Khidr, called in Turkish Hızır, means the “Green One.” He features in the Holy Qur’an,15 as well as in Persian literature and various non-Islamic sources, as a mysterious figure, an ever-youthful “servant of Allah” who appears at the right moment to avert a disaster or rectify a fatalistic situation. There are many accounts of people who encounter a bearded holy figure only to find afterward that it was al-Khidr. He is a saint and a holy man, as well as the spiritual head of the Sufi movement, the so-called qutb, the intermediary between Allah and humankind. He is also identified with Saint George and shares the same feast date as him, which is April 23. Some even see the presence of al-Khidr in the proliferation of carved foliate heads, or Green Men, in Norman churches and cathedrals.16
THE CULT OF ENKI
Al-Khidr himself was originally, most probably, a deity belonging to Mesopotamian myth and legend. Very likely he is linked with Enki, the Sumerian god of creation, water, and intelligence, known in the Akkadian and Babylonian language as Ea. In art Enki is generally shown as a human figure wearing a horned helmet with streams of water emerging from his shoulders, like twin fountains (see figure 29.3). Within the flow fish swim upstream, like salmon trying to reach the source of a river. These twin streams represent the Tigris and Euphrates,17 over which Enki presided as god of Eridu, an ancient Mesopotamian city located on the shores of the Shatt al-Arab waterway, where the two rivers come together before emptying into the Persian Gulf. However, there is no reason why Enki should not also have been connected with the sources of these mighty rivers.
Figure 29.3. The Sumerian Anunnaki god Enki (Akkadian Ea, Armenian Haya), with the twin streams of the Euphrates and Tigris emerging from his shoulders.
In Sumero-Akkadian mythology the Tigris and Euphrates were said to take their rise from a primordial water source, a subterranean lake that was the source of all “sweet water” called the Abzu (also written Apsu), which came under the patronage of Enki.
In his Semitic form as Ea, Enki was venerated in Urartu, the ancient kingdom that thrived between the Eastern Taurus Mountains and the Armenian Highlands during the last quarter of the second millennium BC and the first half of the first millennium BC, under the name Haya or Hayya.18 His importance at that time is preserved in Armenia’s Persian name, which is Hayastan, and also in its original Urartian name, which is Hayasa.19 Even today the Armenian term for “Republic of Armenia” is Hayastani Hanrapetutiun. This indicates very strongly that this region, which includes Bingöl Mountain, was formerly associated with the cult of Haya, or Ea, the patron of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, which, as we have seen, emerge as twin streams from his shoulders.
In Armenian folklore Haya was transformed into the culture hero Hayk,20 who was said to have slain Bel, a Titan and king of Babylon synonymous with the biblical character Nimrod. Tradition asserts that before the battle Hayk visited Bingöl Mountain and here immersed his sword in the icy waters of one of its glacial lakes in order to sharpen it.21 After Hayk had killed Bel on the shores of Lake Van, the Titan’s body was apparently buried on the summit of nearby Nemrut Dağ, which is named in honor of Nimrod.
DILMUN—GARDEN OF THE GODS
Enki, Ea, or Haya, was associated with a mythical location called Dilmun, a kind of garden of creation, inhabited by him and his wife in an act that initiated “a sinless age of
complete happiness,” where animals lived in peace and harmony, humans had no rivals, and the god Enlil “in one tongue gave praise.”22 It was also a pure, clean, bright “abode of the immortals,” where death, disease, and sorrow were unknown,23 and some mortals were given “life like a god.”24 One text describes Dilmun as a place “where the raven did not croak and wolves and lion did not devour their prey.”25
Even though Dilmun was a name given by the Sumerians to the island of Bahrain in the Persian Gulf, originally it was a mountainous region that overlooked the Mesopotamia Basin. One text speaks of “the mountain of Dilmun. The place where the sun rises.”26
Some texts refer to Dilmun as the “land of Cedars,” and Mehrdad Izady, professor of Near East studies at New York University, has successfully shown that this is a reference not to distant Lebanon, the country normally celebrated for its cedar forests, but to the Upper Zagros Mountains as far north as Lake Van.27 Cedar forests grew here in abundance until the end of the Neolithic era, when they were cut down and used by the Sumerians and Akkadians to build their towns and cities, which thrived down on the Iraqi plain.
THE DIMLI KURDS
The Bundahishn, the holy book of the Zoroastrians, actually locates a place called Dilamân “at the headwaters of the Tigris,”28 while the archives of the Assyrian Church, located in the ancient city of Arbil in northern Iraq, refer to Beth Dailômâye, the “land of the Daylamites” as existing in the same region.29 The Daylamites were a Kurdish tribal dynasty whose original homeland was Daylamân, or Dilamân, a region of the Armenian Highlands,30 where their modern descendants, the Dimila, or Dimli, Kurds live today. Their actual territory extends from the city of Erzincan and the province of Tunceli in the west, across to the Murad Şu, or Eastern Euphrates, in the east.
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