Tmorik () was a region and system of defenses in the south of the Kingdom of Armenia. It was named after its main fortress, which was also known as Alki. It was built in ancient times (2nd millennium BCE) as a bulwark against threats coming from Mesopotamia. Once a district () of its own the province of Korchayk, it was later attached to the district of Kordrik, probably under the Arsacid dynasty. It is identified with the or mentioned in 13th–7th-century BCE Assyrian cuneiform inscriptions as one of the Nairi lands. It may be one of the lands mentioned by

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-si ...

which were conquered by

Artaxias I Artaxias I (from ) was the founder of the Artaxiad dynasty of Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity), Armenia, ruling from 189 BC to 160 BC. Artaxias was a member of a branch of the Orontid dynasty, the earlier ruling dynasty of Armenia. He expanded his ...

in the 2nd century BCE. Strabo refers to a land called , which has alternatively been read as * and identified with Tmorik. Robert Hewsen identifies Tmorik as the region surrounding the fortress of Tman on the slopes of Mt. Sararad/Ararad (modern-day Mount Judi in southeastern Turkey). However, this is disputed by Michał Marciak, who, following Heinrich Hübschmann, identified the fortress of Tmorik/Alki with the town of Elki (modern-day Beytüşşebap, Turkey) on the east bank of the Khabur River (a tributary of the

Tigris The Tigris ( ; see #Etymology, below) is the eastern of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of the Armenian Highlands through the Syrian Desert, Syrian and Arabia ...

References

Early medieval Armenian regions {{Armenia-geo-stub

See also

References