The eighth wonder of the ancient world may have an untouched tomb

Atop Mount Nemrut lies what some call the eighth wonder of the world: a religious sanctuary of 10 colossal statues surrounding a mound believed to hold the tomb of an ancient king. These spectacular stone structures represent some of the most significant depictions of the religious and funerary practices of an ancient society that drew on both its Greek and Persian heritage.

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Located in a mountainous region of southeastern Turkey, Commagene was a province of the Hellenistic kingdom of Syria. When Alexander the Great died in 323 B.C., the Macedonian army general Seleucus I Nicator took control of the region. About 160 years later, a satrap (governor) called Ptolemaeus proclaimed himself king of Commagene, and the province broke away from the then crumbling Seleucid Empire. A new dynasty of Hellenistic sovereigns was born.

In the first century B.C., Commagene formed a buffer zone between the Roman Republic and the Parthian Empire as they fought for control of Anatolia. During this time, Commagene enjoyed a golden era. The society was a blend of Greek and Persian culture; culture merging was common for the Hellenistic period. Between approximately 70 and 36 B.C., Commagene’s most famous king, Antiochus I, ruled. He tried to stay neutral in the conflict between the Romans and the Parthians. Unfortunately, Antiochus I’s successors would not fare well, and a few decades later the Roman Empire annexed the province.

Today Commagene is remembered for the extraordinary monument that Antiochus I built on the peak of Mount Nemrut (Nemrut Dağ in Turkish). Nemrut was another name for the biblical king Nimrod, described in the Book of Genesis as a “mighty hunter.” According to local tradition, Nimrod once hunted on the slopes of Mount Nemrut.

Monument to the king

At the top of the mountain, at a height of more than 7,000 feet, Antiochus built a large artificial mound. At the foot of the mound he erected enormous stone statues, standing between 10 and 30 feet high. The construction of Nemrut Dağ would have been a huge challenge both artistically and logistically.

First Antiochus had the summit of the mountain terraced so that an artificial mound, which presumably protects his tomb, could be built. Today this mound stands 164 feet high and almost 500 feet in diameter. When it was first built it would have been as high as 230 feet. Three processional routes coming from different directions provided access to the mound. Three large terraces were built (to the north, east, and west), and this is where the statues were also placed.

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Only the statues on the east and west terraces remain, forming two nearly identical groups whose features are well preserved. The east terrace is dominated by five seated statues. A long inscription engraved on the back of the colossi reveals the identity of each god. The statue on the left represents Antiochus I. Next to him sits the personification of the land of Commagene as a nurturing goddess, while the other three represent various fusions of Greco-Roman and Persian deities. One statue is a combination of Zeus and Oromasdes (Ahura Mazda), supreme gods of Greek and Persian mythology, respectively. The next statue combines attributes of Apollo, Mithras, Helios, and Hermes. And the last brings together the figures of the Greek hero Heracles, the Persian god and protector of kings Artagnes, and the Greek god of war Ares.

These five main statues are flanked by two pairs of guardian statues, an eagle and a lion, which symbolize celestial and earthly power, the realms over which gods and humans exercise their dominion. In front of the figures stands a large altar. On the west terrace the same figures appear, although they are not as well preserved as those on the east terrace. Stelae show Antiochus I shaking hands (an act called dexiosis) with various Greco-Persian deities including Zeus-Oromasdes and Apollo- Mithras-Helios-Hermes. Each object’s design and attributes illustrate the merging of cultures, as well as religious and political traditions.

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The sculptural groups form a border on three sides of the mound. It’s believed the king was buried inside it with his grave goods. The funerary chamber was then covered with thousands of stones to form an artificial peak, which has prevented archaeologists from penetrating the mound and reaching the funerary chamber. The body of Antiochus I is likely in the same place as when he was buried more than 2,000 years ago.

Mausoleum and sanctuary

The monument to Antiochus I is unparalleled in the history of Commagene. Antiochus’s father, Mithridates I, was buried in Arsameia, a city at the foot of Mount Nemrut, in a network of tunnels carved into the rock rather than under a mound. There are other royal tumuli in Commagene—in Karakuş, Üçgöz (formerly Sofraz), and Sesönk—though they have much smaller dimensions.

Externally, construction of Antiochus’s monument bears more similarities to the great tombs built by other Anatolian monarchs, such as those that tradition attributes to the Phrygian king Midas, in Gordium, and the Lydian king Alyattes, in Sardis. Dating between the eighth and sixth centuries B.C., both mausoleums consist of an immense earthen mound covering a funerary chamber accessed through a long corridor.

For his own tomb, Antiochus I used a model with clear Anatolian roots. But he surpassed his predecessors in the lavish sculptural decoration of his tomb, the unbeatable scenery of its mountaintop location, and its visibility.

There’s no doubt that Nemrut Dağ was built for the greater glory of the king of Commagene. In the long inscription of more than 200 lines engraved on the back of the colossal statues, Antiochus I proclaimed:

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I have set up these divine images of Zeus-Oromasdes and of Apollo-Mithras-Helios- Hermes and of Artagnes-Herakles-Ares, and also of my all-nourishing homeland Commagene; and from one and the same quarry, throned likewise among the deities who hear our prayers, I have consecrated the features of my own form.

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He even called himself Theos Dikaios Epiphanes, meaning “just god made manifest.” All of this is characteristic of the theocratic monarchies that developed in the East in the Hellenistic era. Nemrut Dağ was more like a sacred shrine than simply a mausoleum. In another part of the inscription quoted above, the monument is called a hierothesion, a word that in ancient Greek designates both funerary and cultic functions. The configuration of the site indicates that religious ceremonies took place there.

The three paths leading to the base of the mound would have been the processional routes during the ceremonies, which are also detailed in the inscription. A priest, dressed according to Persian custom, officiated at these rites. First, he touched the statues with a golden crown and then, having received tribute from the people, made offerings of perfume and incense on the altars. Finally, he performed animal sacrifices, and meat was then laid out for a communal banquet. Wine was served, and musicians provided the entertainment.

Tests of time

Nemrut Dağ stands at a crossroads where Persia met Greece in the ancient world. Its remote location meant that it was not scrutinized by Greek and Latin authors.

But the site’s glory was rediscovered by the wider world in 1881, when German engineer Karl Sester climbed Mount Nemrut and was fascinated by the beauty of the sculptures he found there. In the millennia following Antiochus I’s reign, the site has been damaged by earthquakes and some vandalism, but the statues and the altars remain awe-inspiring. Since the 19th century, Nemrut Dağ has become known as one of the most famous sites of the ancient Near East, being recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1987.

(This Wonder of the Ancient World shone brightly for more than a thousand years.)