World Heritage Identification Number: 448
World Heritage since: 1987
Category: Cultural Heritage
WHE Type: Natural Landscapes & Geographic Features
Transboundary Heritage: No
Endangered Heritage: No
Country: 🇹🇷 Türkiye
Continent: Asia
UNESCO World Region: Europe and North America
Map
Nemrut Dağ: A Unique Blend of Cultures atop a Taurus Mountain
Nemrut Dağ, meaning "Mountain of Nemrut" in Turkish, is a historical and archaeological site located in southeastern Turkey. This 2,134-meter high peak is part of the eastern Taurus Mountains and is renowned for its colossal statues that adorn the summit, believed to mark a royal tomb from the 1st century BC. In 1987, UNESCO recognized the significance of this site by inscribing it as a World Heritage Site.
More to come…UNESCO Description of the World Heritage Site
The mausoleum of Antiochus I (69–34 B.C.), who reigned over Commagene, a kingdom founded north of Syria and the Euphrates after the breakup of Alexander's empire, is one of the most ambitious constructions of the Hellenistic period. The syncretism of its pantheon, and the lineage of its kings, which can be traced back through two sets of legends, Greek and Persian, is evidence of the dual origin of this kingdom's culture.
UNESCO Justification of the World Heritage Site
Criterion (i): The tomb of Antiochos I of Commagene is a unique artistic achievement. The landscaping of the natural site of Nemrut Dağ is one of the most colossal undertakings of the Hellenistic period (some of the stone blocks used weigh up to nine tons).
Criterion (iii): The tomb or the Hierotheseion of Nemrut Dağ bears unique testimony to the civilization of the kingdom of Commagene. Antiochos I is represented in this monument as a descendant of Darius by his father Mithridates, and a descendant of Alexander by his mother Laodice. This semi-legendary ancestry translates in genealogical terms the ambition of a dynasty that sought to remain independent of the powers of both the East and the West.
Criterion (iv): More so than the tombs at Karakus and Eski Kahta, the tumulus at Nemrut Dağ illustrates, through the liberal syncretism of a very original pantheon, a significant, historical period. The assimilation of Zeus with Oromasdes (the Iranian god Ahuramazda), and Heracles with Artagnes (the Iranian god Verathragna) finds its artistic equivalent in an intimate mixture of Greek, Persian and Anatolian aesthetics in the statuary and the bas-reliefs.
Encyclopedia Record: Mount Nemrut
Mount Nemrut or Nemrud is a 2,134-metre-high (7,001 ft) mountain in southeastern Turkey, notable for the summit where a number of large statues are erected around what is assumed to be a royal tomb from the 1st century BC. It is one of the highest peaks in the east of the Taurus Mountains.Additional Site Details
Area: 11 hectares
Number of Components: 1
(iii) — Unique or exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition
(iv) — Outstanding example of a type of building or landscape
Coordinates: 38.03661 , 38.76369
Image
© Bjørn Christian Tørrissen, CC BY-SA 3.0 Resized from original. (This derivative is under the same CC BY-SA license.)
