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31-567: It was left and destroyed in the 1st century BC. In the Middle Ages, it was called Ashmushat. In Roman and Byzantine times, it bore the names Armosota (Ἀρμόσοτα) and Arsamosota (Ἀρσαμόσοτα). It was also known in Byzantine times as Asmosaton . It was called Shimshat in Arabic. A prominent native of Arsamosata was the 10th-century poet Abu'l-Hasan Ali al-Shimshati . Arsamosata has been identified with

62-508: A fortified administrative center. Another large settlement existed at Norşuntepe , although it was unfortified during this period. The local population was at least partly Urartian; there may have also been members of the Mushki people present. The ancient towns at Harput and Norşuntepe dispersed around the Achaemenid period. From then until the foundation of Arsamosata in the mid-3rd century BCE,

93-542: A major city with a mixed population of Armenians and Assyrians. Later, in the period after the Arab conquest, Dadima shrank to a small town, probably because it was close to the Arab-Byzantine border and therefore prone to attack. Many of its residents moved to Arsamosata, which was in a safer position further east. Some of Melitene 's population probably moved to Arsamosata at this point as well. With Dadima's decline, Arsamosata

124-473: A notable example of an early pointed arch bridge, has been permanently submerged by the dam. The area of rescue excavations is well covered in the work by Fahri Dikkaya. The Keban Dam is a combined rockfill and concrete gravity hydroelectric dam operated by the State Hydraulic Works (DSİ). The dam is 1,097 metres (3,599 ft) long and its crest is 207 metres (679 ft) above the level of

155-540: A scholar lies in his testimony of the great, and largely lost, literary heritage found in libraries east of the Caspian Sea , being one of the last visitors before their destruction by Mongol invaders . He gained much material from the libraries of the ancient cities of Merv  – where he had studied for two years  – and of Balkh . Circa 1222, he was working on his "Geography" in Mosul and completed

186-668: A surface area of 675 square kilometres (261 sq mi) and is reputedly the fourth-largest lake in Turkey after Lake Van , Lake Tuz , and the reservoir created by the Atatürk Dam . Construction of the Keban Dam was first proposed in 1936 by the newly established Electric Affairs Survey Administration, but not started before 1966. Construction was carried out by the French-Italian consortium SCI-Impreglio and completed in 1974. Estimates of

217-532: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This geographical article about a location in Elazığ Province , Turkey is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Keban Dam The Keban Dam ( Turkish : Keban Barajı ) is a hydroelectric dam on the Euphrates , located in the Elazığ Province of Turkey . The dam is the first and uppermost of several large-scale dams to be built on

248-511: Is here that archaeological (and modern) settlement was concentrated. The Aşvan region, covering about 115 square kilometres (44 sq mi), contained eleven archaeological sites, all relatively small. The largest, Aşvan Kale , covered about 0.9 hectares (2.2 acres) in total; this site, as well as three others were excavated by the British Institute of Archaeology at Ankara : Taşkun Mevkii, Çayboyu and Taşkun Kale. The other broadening of

279-683: Is relatively low at 0.48 cubic kilometres (0.12 cu mi) per year compared to reservoirs in Syria or Iraq. Apart from the Euphrates Valley directly upstream of the dam, the lake has also flooded parts of valleys of the Murat River and the Karasu , the two rivers from which the Euphrates emerges. Although the dam was not originally intended for irrigation, 63,872 hectares (157,830 acres) of agricultural land

310-529: The Altınova plain had no large towns. Arsamosata may have been founded as a display of prestige. Its original population was probably mostly drawn from the surrounding villages. Its location was probably chosen because its distance from the region's main route, which came through the Ergani pass to Tomisa further west, made it relatively safe from attack. However, being off the main trade route also meant that Arsamosata

341-527: The Persian Gulf . In 1194, ‘Askar stopped his salary over some dispute and Yāqūt found work as copyist to support himself. He embarked on a course of study under the grammarian Al-‘Ukbarî . Five years later he was on another mission to Kish for ‘Askar. On his return to Baghdad he set up as a bookseller and began his writing career. Yāqūt spent ten years travelling in Iran, Syria , and Egypt and his significance as

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372-403: The public domain :  Smith, William , ed. (1854–1857). "Armosota". Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography . London: John Murray. 38°39′39″N 39°30′39″E  /  38.6609°N 39.5109°E  / 38.6609; 39.5109 This Ancient Near East –related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This Armenian history -related article

403-461: The Byzantines again. After the Byzantine conquest, Arsamosata was made the capital of a small theme . This theme probably only covered the immediately surrounding plains to the north and east; i.e. the easternmost part of Anzitene. In the 970s, the theme of Arsamosata was broken up. Arsamosata shrank to a medium-sized town and some of its population probably migrated to Harput, the new main capital of

434-552: The Euphrates by Turkey. Although the Keban Dam was not originally constructed as a part of the Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP), it is now a fully integrated component of the project, which aims to stimulate economic development in Southeastern Turkey. Construction of the dam commenced in 1966 and was completed in 1974. Keban Dam Lake ( Turkish : Keban Baraj Gölü ), the reservoir created by Keban Dam, has

465-515: The abandoned settlement site known as Haraba , located by the Murat River, near the east end of the Altınova plain , some 60 km east of Elazig,. Much of the site now lies submerged under the waters of the Keban Dam . The hill that served as the former city's citadel now juts out toward the northeast into a shallow lake created by the dam. The city itself appears to have been just below the hill on

496-468: The construction of the Keban Dam , the city ruins (below the citadel) were already underwater due to the meandering of the Murat Su , and by the mid-20th century not much of them remained visible. However, one traveler reported seeing some khachkars here. Archaeologists conducted excavations at the citadel before the dam was built, in 1969, 1970, and 1973. They dug six trenches, mostly on the southeast side of

527-446: The dam and its subsequent reservoir resulted in involuntary resettlement of approximately 25,000 people. From 1968 to 1974, the Euphrates and Murat River valleys were the scene of intense archaeological survey and excavation in advance of flooding. The lake formed by the dam is mostly narrow, hemmed in by deep rock valleys. No archaeological sites were found in the survey of these valleys. The Murat valley opens up in two places, and it

558-422: The downstream countries of Syria and Iraq . However, as a result of the fact that Syria was at that time filling the reservoir of its newly constructed Tabqa Dam as well, in 1975 a dispute broke out between Syria and Iraq over the amount of water that flowed into Iraq. This dispute, exacerbated by drought which reduced the amount of available water even further, was solved by mediation of Saudi Arabia . After

589-481: The early 13th century, he found it "in ruins, with only a tiny population". The citadel garrison was eventually withdrawn at some point, possibly after the Seljuk conquest of Anzitene in 1234, and Arsamosata was finally abandoned. Its population dispersed to villages on the surrounding plain and in the hills beyond. The name "Arsamosata" continued to be used until modern times, to denote a group of several villages near where

620-463: The hill where walls were already visible. Arsamosata was historically the seat of a Syriac Orthodox bishop which was responsible for the entire surrounding district of Anzitene. Its last mention is in 1199. No longer a residential bishopric, Arsamosata is today listed by the Catholic Church as a titular see . [REDACTED]  This article incorporates text from a publication now in

651-478: The initial filling of the lake, geological weaknesses in the bedrock on which the dam was built necessitated a temporary lowering of the lake level in order to carry out extensive reinforcement works. Reportedly, Keban Dam was the world's eighteenth-tallest dam at completion, creating Turkey's largest man-made reservoir and third-largest lake until the filling of the reservoir of the Atatürk Dam. The construction of

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682-475: The old city had once stood. As of the 20th century, there were seven of them, collectively known as "Arşimşat" (from the Arabic form of the city's name). The closest one to the old city was Haraba (from Arabic "kharaba", meaning "ruin"), about half a kilometer to the southwest of the ruins. A local tradition recorded around the turn of the 20th century held that there had once been a large city here, divided into two parts called "Samusat" and "Ashmushat". Even before

713-508: The region. A garrison was still kept at Arsamosata's citadel, but the town walls were probably now too big for the dwindling settlement within and must have fallen into disuse. Arsamosata still existed under the Artukid principality of Harput, but it was no longer a major city. It survived until at least 1199, when its bishopric is last attested, and probably continued into the early 13th century as well. When Yaqut al-Hamawi visited Arsamosata in

744-519: The river-bed (848 metres (2,782 ft) above sea-level). Its eight water turbines are capable of producing 1,330  MW . The storage capacity of Lake Keban is 30.6 cubic kilometres (7.3 cu mi) and the surface area of the lake is 675 square kilometres (261 sq mi), although the lake has reportedly reached higher levels in the past. Due to Lake Keban's relatively high elevation at 845 metres (2,772 ft) above sea-level and its location in an area with high precipitation, evaporation

775-489: The southeast, although this is not entirely certain. Limited archaeological evidence, consisting of a few pottery finds that strongly resemble Urartian ceramics, point to the existence of a settlement at Arsamosata in ancient times—perhaps between the 10th and 7th centuries BCE. However, any settlement here was probably not very significant. The main Urartian settlement in the region was at Harput , which seems to have served as

806-513: The total construction cost vary between US$ 85 million and US$ 300 million. At that time, archaeological rescue missions had also been carried out at important sites that were to be flooded. Flooding of the reservoir started in 1974 and led to the displacement of 25,000 people. During the flooding of the Keban Reservoir, Turkey maintained the discharge of the Euphrates at 450 cubic metres (16,000 cu ft) per second, as agreed with

837-629: The valley, at the Altınova plain ( Elazığ Province ), was a well-defined area of thick and fertile alluvial soil. Archaeological survey located 36 sites, of which one, Norşuntepe , covered 8.2 hectares (20 acres), being by far the largest site in the region. It was excavated by a German team led by Harald Hauptmann . The Altınova plain contained other relatively large mounds, including Tepecik (3.4 ha (8.4 acres)), Korucutepe (2.0 ha (4.9 acres)), Değirmentepe (2.0 ha (4.9 acres)) and Körtepe (1.7 ha (4.2 acres)). The late Roman Karamagara Bridge ,

868-507: Was irrigated from Lake Keban in 1999. Yaqut al-Hamawi Yāqūt Shihāb al-Dīn ibn-ʿAbdullāh al-Rūmī al-Ḥamawī (1179–1229) ( Arabic : ياقوت الحموي الرومي ) was a Muslim scholar of Byzantine ancestry active during the late Abbasid period (12th–13th centuries). He is known for his Mu'jam ul-Buldān , an influential work on geography containing valuable information pertaining to biography , history and literature as well as geography. Yāqūt ( ruby or hyacinth )

899-399: Was not a major commercial center during this period. Its economy was mostly based on agriculture instead. In late antiquity, Arsamosata formed one of the main settlements in the district of Anzitene . The nearby city of Dadima appears to have grown due to commerce from Ergani and Tomisa by the late 6th century, probably absorbing some of Arsamosata's population. However, Arsamosata remained

930-575: Was now the lone major city in the region. However, despite its more secure position, Arsamosata still lay in a contested region, and it changed hands several times during this period. A Byzantine offensive in 837, led by the emperor Theophilos , captured Arsamosata along with Melitene. By autumn 938, the city was back under Arab control - the Hamdanid amir Sayf al-Dawla retreated toward Arsamosata that autumn while being pursued by Byzantine forces. In 939, according to James Howard-Johnston, Arsamosata fell to

961-720: Was the kunya of Ibn Abdullāh ("son of Abdullāh "). He was born in Constantinople , the capital of the Byzantine Empire , called in Arabic al-Rūm , whence his nisba "al-Rūmi". Captured in war and enslaved, Yāqūt became " mawali " to ‘Askar ibn Abī Naṣr al-Ḥamawī, a trader of Baghdad , Iraq , the seat of the Abbasid Caliphate , from whom he received the laqab "al-Hamawī". As ‘Askar's apprentice, he learned about accounting and commerce, becoming his envoy on trade missions and travelling twice or three times to Kish in

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