| The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001-07. |
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| Nemrut, Mount |
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Turk. Nemrut Da , mountain in SE Turkey, in the Anti-Taurus Mts. Rising 7,052 ft (2,150 m), it is the site of the mausoleum of Antiochus I (c.69–c.34 B.C.), king of ancient Commagene. The complex, which includes a 500-ft- (152-m-) wide and 164-ft- (50-m-) tall pyramidal tomb, gigantic (c.30 ft/9 m) stone busts of the kingdom’s gods and rulers, and a wall with magnificent carved reliefs, is one of the most impressive monuments of Hellenistic civilization. The gods depicted, worshipped by Antiochus and his people, represent an unusual merging of Western (Greek) and Eastern (Persian) cultures, reflected in such divine names as Zeus-Oromasdes and Apollo-Mithras. The Mount Nemrut ruins were discovered in 1881 and declared a UN World Heritage Site in 1987. |
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| | | The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Copyright © 2007 Columbia University Press. |
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