PANORAMA OF A RIVER IN ANTIQUITY: THE ARAXES

Abstract

Rivers are an indispensable part of life. For ancient societies, rivers served not only as sources of water that ensured the sustainability of life. The establishment of ancient settlements and the development of many civilizations around the rivers are important in terms of showing how crucial they are to human life. The Araxes (Ἀράξης) River, today known as Aras, one of the largest rivers of the Eastern Anatolia, also contributed to the rise of civilization. It was understood that the river was not only seen as a river in ancient times but was also used as a trade and travel route that reached from the Caspian Sea to Artaxata, and from there to Asia Minor, and was accepted as a natural border. From these points of view, the authors of ancient period, mentioned the regions through which the Araxes flows and the cities established around the river. In this way, they revealed the political, socio-economic and cultural structure shaped around the river. This study aims to examine, via ancient sources, how the river in question influenced the regions through which it flows and to draw attention to the misinterpretations about the Araxes by evaluating the relationship between the river and people.

Keywords

• Aras
• Araxes
• Araxene
• Caspian Sea
• River.

Antik Çağ'da Bir Nehrin Panoraması: Arakses

Abstract

Nehirler yaşamın vazgeçilmez bir parçasıdır. Antik dönem toplumları için nehirler sadece canlı yaşamının devamını sağlayan su kaynakları olarak hizmet etmemişlerdir. Antik yerleşimlerin daha çok nehirler etrafında kurulması, birçok uygarlığın nehirler etrafında gelişmesi nehirlerin insan hayatında ne kadar belirleyici olduğunu göstermesi açısından önemlidir. Günümüzde Aras olarak bilinen ve Doğu Anadolu bölgesinin en büyük nehirlerinden biri olan Arakses (Ἀράξης) de uygarlığın gelişmesine katkıda bulunmuştur. Nehrin antikçağda sadece bir akarsu olarak değil, hem Kaspia Denizi’nden Artaksata’ya ve oradan da Küçük Asia’ya ulaşan bir ticaret ve seyahat güzergâhı olarak kullanıldığı hem de doğal bir sınır olarak kabul gördüğü anlaşılmaktadır. Bu açılardan bakıldığında, antik dönem yazarları eserlerinde, Arakses’in geçtiği bölgeler ve nehrin etrafında kurulan kentlerden bahsederek aslında bir bakıma nehir etrafında şekillenen siyasi, sosyo-ekonomik ve kültürel yapıyı gözler önüne sermişlerdir. Bu çalışmanın amacı antik kaynaklar temelinde söz konusu nehrin geçtiği bölgeleri nasıl etkilediğini incelemek, nehir ve insan arasındaki ilişkiyi değerlendirerek Arakses’e dair hatalı yorumlamalara dikkat çekmektir.

Keywords

• Aras
• Arakses
• Araksene
• Kaspia Denizi
• Nehir.

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