ararat Summary and Overview

sacred land or high land, the name of a country on one of the mountains of which the ark rested after the Flood subsided (Gen. 8:4). The "mountains" mentioned were probably the Kurdish range of South Armenia. In 2 Kings 19:37, Isa. 37:38, the word is rendered "Armenia" in the Authorized Version, but in the Revised Version, "Land of Ararat." In Jer. 51:27, the name denotes the central or southern portion of Armenia. It is, however, generally applied to a high and almost inaccessible mountain which rises majestically from the plain of the Araxes. It has two conical peaks, about 7 miles apart, the one 14,300 feet and the other 10,300 feet above the level of the plain. Three thousand feet of the summit of the higher of these peaks is covered with perpetual snow. It is called Kuh-i-nuh, i.e., "Noah's mountain", by the Persians. This part of Armenia was inhabited by a people who spoke a language unlike any other now known, though it may have been related to the modern Georgian. About B.C. 900 they borrowed the cuneiform characters of Nineveh, and from this time we have inscriptions of a line of kings who at times contended with Assyria. At the close of the seventh century B.C. the kingdom of Ararat came to an end, and the country was occupied by a people who are ancestors of the Armenians of the present day.

(high or holy ground), a mountainous district of Asia mentioned in the Bible in connection with the following events:-- (1) As the resting-place of the ark after the deluge. #Ge 8:4| (2) As the asylum of the sons of Sennacherib. #2Ki 19:37; Isa 37:38| Authorized Version has "the land of Armenia." (3) As the ally, and probably the neighbor, of Minni and Ashchenaz. #Jer 51:27| [ARMENIA] The name Ararat was unknown to the geographers of Greece and Rome, as it still is to the Armenians of the present day; but it was an ancient name for a portion of Armenia. In its biblical sense it is descriptive generally of the Armenian highlands--the lofty plateau which over looks the plain of the Araxes on the north and of Mesopotomia on the south. Various opinions have been put forth as to the spot where the ark rested, as described in #Ge 8:4| (but it is probable that it rested on some of the lower portions of the range than on the lofty peak to which exclusively) Europeans have given the name Ararat, the mountain which is called Massis by the Armenians, Agri-Dagh, i.e. Steep Mountain, by the Turks, and Kuh-i-Nuh, i.e. Noah's Mountain, by the Persians. It rises immediately out of the plain of the Araxes, and terminates in two conical peaks, named the Great and Less Ararat, about seven miles distant from each other; the former of which attain an elevation of 17,260 feet above the level of the sea and about 14,000 above the plain of the Araxes, while the latter is lower by 4000 feet. The summit of the higher is covered with eternal snow for about 3000 feet. Arguri, the only village known to have been built on its slopes, was the spot where, according to tradition, Noah planted his vineyard. "The mountains of Ararat " are co-extensive with the Armenian plateau from the base of Ararat in the north to the range of Kurdistan in the south, we notice the following characteristics of that region as illustrating the Bible narrative; (1) its elevation. It rises to a height of from 6000 to 7000 feet above the level of the sea. (2) Its geographical position. Viewed with reference to the dispersion of the nations, Armenia is the true centre of the world; and at the present day Ararat is the great boundary-stone between the empires of Russia, Turkey and Persia. (3) Its physical character. The plains as well as the mountains supply evidence of volcanic agency. (4) The climate. Winter lasts from October to May, and is succeeded by a brief spring and a summer of intense heat. (5) The vegetation. Grass grows luxuriantly on the plateau, and furnishes abundant pasture during the summer months to the flocks of the nomad Kurds. Wheat, barley and vines ripen at far higher altitudes than on the Alps and the Pyrenees.

AR'ARAT (holy land, or high land), a mountainous region of Asia which borders on the plain of the Araxes, and is mentioned (1) as the resting-place of Noah's ark, Gen 8:4; (2) as the refuge of the sons of Sennacherib, 2 Kgs 19:37, margin; Isa 37:38, margin; (3) as a kingdom near to Minni and Ashchenaz, Jer 51:27. Ararat was a name unknown to Greek and Roman geographers, as it is now to the Armenian, but it was known to others in b. c. 1750 as the ancient name for a portion of Armenia. In Scripture it refers to the lofty plateau or mountain-highlands which overlook the plain of the Araxes. Various views have prevailed as to the Ararat on which the ark rested. Tradition identifies it with the mountain known as Ararat to Europeans, called "Steep Mountain" by the Turks, and Kah-i-Nah, or "Noah's Mountain," by the Persians. It has two peaks, about 7 miles apart; the highest is 17,750 feet, the other about 4000 feet lower. The highest peak is covered with perpetual snow, and is a volcano, having had at least two violent eruptions within a century. The village of Arguri, built on its slopes, is said to be on the spot where tradition claims that Noah planted his vineyard. The mountains of Ararat, Gen 8:4, more properly refer to the entire range of elevated table-land in that portion of Armenia, and upon some lower part of this range, rather than upon the high peaks before mentioned, the ark more probably rested. For (1) this plateau or range is about 6000 to 7000 feet high; (2) it is about equally distant from the Euxine and the Caspian Seas, and between the Persian Gulf and the Mediterranean, and hence a central point for the dispersion of the race; (3) the region is volcanic in its origin; it does not rise into sharp crests, but has broad plains separated by subordinate ranges of mountains; (4) the climate is temperate, grass and grain are abundant, the harvests quick to mature. All these facts illustrate the biblical narrative. George Smith, however, places Ararat in the southern part of the mountains east of Assyria (Chaldean Account of Genesis, p. 289). View of Ararat. (After Parrot. From I'iehm.)

(Sanskrit; "holy ground".) A mountainous district in Armenia; the resting place of the ark after the deluge (Genesis 8:4). (But see NOAH.) Thither Sennacherib's sons fled after murdering their father (2 Kings 19:37). The ally of Minni and Ashchenaz (Jeremiah 51:27). In Genesis 11:2 translate "they journeyed eastward," Mesopotamia being described relatively to the writer's country, rather than to Ararat, which is N. of Mesopotamia. It overlooks the plain of the Araxes on the N. Berosus the Chaldaean, in Alexander the Great's time, makes the Kurdistan mountains, on the S. frontier of Armenia, the ark's resting place: Nachdjevan, on the Araxes, is thought to be Noah's place of landing, from Josephus' statement (Ant. 1:3), as also his place of burial. The mountain there, the loftiest in the district, is called Massis by the Armenians, Kuh-i-Nuh, i.e. "Noah's mountain," by the Persians. There are two conical peaks, the greater and the less, seven miles apart; the former 17,300 feet above the sea, and 14,300 above the plain of the Araxes; the latter 4,000 feet lower; 3000 feet of the greater covered with perpetual snow. Lava, cinders, and porphyry cover the middle region, marking the vol. came origin of the mountain. A second summit is about 400 yards from the highest; and on the slope between the two the ark is surmised to have rested. On the side of the greater is a chasm, probably once the crater of the volcano; silence and solitude reign all around; Arguri, the only village on the descent, is the traditional site of Noah's vine. yard. In the wide sense Ararat comprises the whole Armenian range in the N. to the Kurdistan range in the S. The plateau of Armenia is a vast extent of plains rising high above the surrounding plain; and from that plateau, as a fresh base, mountain ranges spring, running generally from E. to W.; transverse ridges connect these. The whole stands in the central point between the Euxine and Caspian on the N., and the Mediterranean and the Persian gulf on the S. The Acampsis, the Araxes, the Euphrates, and the Tigris connect it respectively with the four great seas. The greatest nations, the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Medes, and the Colchians, lay along these routes. Ararat even now is the central boundary between Russia, Turkey, and Persia. The Armenian plateau, from the longer period of action of the volcanic powers, and from there being room for the expansion of the molten masses in the region around, is far more accessible than the neighboring region of Caucasus. At Erzroom, 6000 feet above the sea, crops appear in June and are cut in August. The vine ripens at 5000 feet, but in Europe at not higher than 2,650 feet. Thus it appears the Ararat plateau was one especially suited for being the ark's appointed resting place, and its geographical and physical features fitted it as the center for the even distribution of the human race. The severe climate would drive them after a time to the milder plains below; and in the meantime the grass such as feeds now the flocks of nomad Kurds, in the same region, would meet the wants of Noah's descendants in their nomad life. However, in the Babylonian legend of the Flood deciphered by Mr. G. Smith, Nizir answers to Ararat, not the northern mountain near Erivan, but the Ararat of Assyrian and Armenian geography, the precipitous range overlooking the Tigris N.E. of Mosul. Arabic Judi, Assyrian Guli.