Thargamos and his sons. The order of the figures from left to right is: Movakan, Bardos,
Kartlos,
Hayk, Thargamos,
Lekos, Heros,
Caucas, Egros. An opening folio of the Georgian Chronicles (
Vakhtangiseuli redaction), 1700s.
Togarmah (
Hebrew: תֹּגַרְמָה Tōgarmā,
Armenian: ԹորգոմTorgom,
Georgian: თარგამოსიTargamosi) is a figure in the "table of nations" in
Genesis 10, the list of descendants of
Noah that represents the peoples known to the
ancient Hebrews. Togarmah is among the descendants of
Japheth and is thought to represent some people located in
Anatolia. Medieval sources claimed that Togarmah was the legendary ancestor of several
peoples of the Caucasus (including
Armenians and
Georgians).[a]
Biblical attestations and historical geography
Togarmah is listed in
Genesis 10:3 as the third son of
Gomer, and grandson of
Japheth, brother of
Ashkenaz and
Riphath. The name is again mentioned in the
Book of Ezekiel as a nation from the "far north".
Ezekiel 38:6 mentions Togarmah together with Tubal as supplying soldiers to the army of
Gog.
Ezekiel 27:14 mentions Togarmah together with Tubal, Javan and Meshech as supplying horses to the
Tyrians.
Most scholars identify Togarmah with the capital city called
Tegarama by the Hittites and Til-Garimmu by the Assyrians.[2] O.R. Gurney placed Tegarama in Southeast Anatolia.[3]
Later traditions
Several later ethnological traditions have claimed Togarmah as the legendary ancestor of various peoples located in western Asia and the Caucasus. Jewish historian
Flavius Josephus (37 – c. 100 AD) and the Christian theologians
Jerome (c. 347 – 420 AD) and
Isidore of Seville (c. 560 – 636 AD) regarded Togarmah as the father of the
Phrygians. Several ancient Christian authors, including Saint
Hippolytus (c. 170-c. 236 AD),
Eusebius of Caesarea (c. 263 – c. 339 AD), and bishop
Theodoret (c. 393 – c. 457 AD), regarded him as a father of
Armenians. Medieval Jewish traditions linked him with several peoples:
Turkic, including the
Khazars.
According to Moses of Chorene's
History of Armenia and to Leonti Mroveli's medieval
Georgian Chronicles, "Thargamos" was thought to have lived in
Babylon, before he received the "land between two Seas and two Mountains" (i.e. the
Caucasus) in his possession. He then settled near
Mount Ararat and divided his land among his sons:[4][5]
Togarmah was linked to several medieval Turkic peoples by Jewish traditions. The Khazar ruler
Joseph ben Aaron (c. 960) writes in his
letters:
You ask us also in your epistle: "Of what people, of what family, and of what tribe are you?" Know that we are descended from Japhet, through his son Togarmah. I have found in the genealogical books of my ancestors that Togarmah had ten sons.
He then goes on to enumerate ten names:[6][7] These names are reconstructed by Korobkin (1998)[8]
Bwz (בוז) (
Flusser corrected this to כוז **Kwz for Ghuzz "
Oghuzes", east of the Khazars)
Zkwk (זכוך) (Zakhukh? or זיכוס **Zykws = Zikhūs, meaning the
Northwest CaucasianZygii?[11][12]) (or a Zabender people who fled to the Avars from the
Turks)
^Cross, James (1915). Christendom's impending doom, or Coming eschatological events: being the future of the British Empire, Russia, the Papacy, the Jews, and Christendom, as revealed in the pages of Holy Writ. New York, America: Marshall. p. 120.
^"Gen. 10:3 identifies Togarmah (along with Ashkenaz and Riphath) as the son of Gomer and the nephew of Javan, Meshech, and Tubal. Most scholars equate the name with the capital of Kammanu (Kummanni), known in Hittite texts as Tegarama, in Akkadian as Til-garimmu, and in classical sources as Gauraen (modern Gurun)." Block, Daniel I. (19 June 1998).
The Book of Ezekiel, Chapters 25 48. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. pp. 73–74.
ISBN978-0-8028-2536-0.
^map on inside cover of Gurney, The Hittites, Folio Society edition
^Josippon"Table of Nations" (in Russian) quote: "Тогарма составляют десять родов, от них Козар, Пецинак, Алан, Булгар, Канбина, Турк, Буз, Захук, Уф, Толмац."
^Nissan, Ephraim (2009) "Medieval Hebrew texts and European river names" Onomàstica 5 p. 188-9 of 187-203
^
abcPritsak, O. (1978) "The Khazar Kingdom's Conversion to Judaism", in Harvard Ukrainian StudiesII.3 n. 51 on p. 268-269 of 261-281
^Alemany, Agustí (2000). Sources on the Alans: A Critical Compilation. p. 336
^The Chronicles of Jerahmeel at sacred-textsCh. XXVII quote: "Togarmah branched into ten families, who are the Cuzar (###), Paṣinaq (###), Alan (###), Bulgar (###), Kanbina (###), Turq (###), Buz (###), Zakhukh (###), Ugar (###), and Tulmeṣ (###)"
^The Book of Jasher - M.M. Noah & A.S Gould, New-York, 1840; with reviews for the 2nd edition, publisher and translators prefaces, translation of Hebrew Venice 1825 preface
^Plain text:Cumorah Project: LDS and World Classics (Based on 1840 translation; Includes translator's preface). "Chapter 10: 10v-12v". Quote: "And the children of Tugarma are ten families, and these are their names: Buzar, Parzunac, Balgar, Elicanum, Ragbib, Tarki, Bid, Zebuc, Ongal and Tilmaz"
^The Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge. (1835) B. B. Edwards and J. Newton Brown. Brattleboro, Vermont, Fessenden & Co., p. 1125.