Togarmah (

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

: ''Tōgarmā'') is a figure in the "table of nations" in

Genesis 10 The Generations of Noah, also called the Table of Nations or Origines Gentium, is a genealogy of the sons of Noah, according to the Hebrew Bible (Genesis ), and their dispersion into many lands after the Flood, focusing on the major known socie ...

, the list of descendants of

Noah Noah ''Nukh''; am, ኖህ, ''Noḥ''; ar, نُوح '; grc, Νῶε ''Nôe'' () is the tenth and last of the pre-Flood patriarchs in the traditions of Abrahamic religions. His story appears in the Hebrew Bible (Book of Genesis, chapters 5– ...

that represents the peoples known to the

ancient Hebrews The terms ''Hebrews'' (Hebrew language, Hebrew: / , Modern Hebrew, Modern: ' / ', Tiberian vocalization, Tiberian: ' / '; ISO 259-3: ' / ') and ''Hebrew people'' are mostly considered synonymous with the ancient Semitic-speaking peoples, Sem ...

. Togarmah is among the descendants of

Japheth Japheth ( he, יֶפֶת ''Yép̄eṯ'', in pausa ''Yā́p̄eṯ''; el, Ἰάφεθ '; la, Iafeth, Iapheth, Iaphethus, Iapetus) is one of the three sons of Noah in the Book of Genesis, in which he plays a role in the story of Noah's drunk ...

and is thought to represent some people located in

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

. Medieval sources claimed that Togarmah was the legendary ancestor of several

peoples of the Caucasus The peoples of the Caucasus, or Caucasians, are a diverse group comprising more than 50 ethnic groups throughout the Caucasus. By language group Language families indigenous to the Caucasus Caucasians who speak languages which have lo ...

(including

Armenians Armenians ( hy, հայեր, ''hayer'' ) are an ethnic group native to the Armenian highlands of Western Asia. Armenians constitute the main population of Armenia and the ''de facto'' independent Artsakh. There is a wide-ranging diaspora ...

and

Georgians The Georgians, or Kartvelians (; ka, ქართველები, tr, ), are a nation and indigenous Caucasian ethnic group native to Georgia and the South Caucasus. Georgian diaspora communities are also present throughout Russia, Turkey, G ...

) as well as several

Turkic peoples The Turkic peoples are a collection of diverse ethnic groups of West, Central, East, and North Asia as well as parts of Europe, who speak Turkic languages.. "Turkic peoples, any of various peoples whose members speak languages belonging t ...

Biblical attestations and historical geography

Togarmah is listed in as the third son of

Gomer Gomer ( he, ''Gōmer'', ; el, Γαμὲρ, translit=Gamér) was the eldest son of Japheth (and of the Japhetic line), and father of Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah, according to the "Table of Nations" in the Hebrew Bible (Genesis 10). The epo ...

, and grandson of

, brother of

Ashkenaz Ashkenaz ( he, ''ʾAškənāz'') in the Hebrew Bible is one of the descendants of Noah. Ashkenaz is the first son of Gomer, and a Japhetic patriarch in the Table of Nations. In rabbinic literature, the descendants of Ashkenaz were first associa ...

and

Riphath Riphath (Hebrew: ריפת) was great-grandson of Noah, grandson of Japheth, son of Gomer (Japheth's eldest), younger brother of Ashkenaz, and older brother of Togarmah according to the Table of Nations in the Hebrew Bible (, ). The name appears in s ...

. The name is again mentioned in the

Book of Ezekiel The Book of Ezekiel is the third of the Latter Prophets in the Tanakh and one of the major prophetic books, following Isaiah and Jeremiah. According to the book itself, it records six visions of the prophet Ezekiel, exiled in Babylon, during ...

as a nation from the "far north". mentions Togarmah together with Tubal as supplying soldiers to the army of Gog. mentions Togarmah together with Tubal, Javan and Meshech as supplying horses to the

Tyrians Tyre (; ar, صور, translit=Ṣūr; phn, 𐤑𐤓, translit=Ṣūr, Greek ''Tyros'', Τύρος) is a city in Lebanon, one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world, though in medieval times for some centuries by just a tiny pop ...

. Most scholars identify Togarmah with the capital city called

Tegarama Tegarama (Old Assyria: Tergarma; Hittite: Takarama, Luwian: Lakarma/Lukarma) was a city in Anatolia during the Bronze Age. It is often identified with Gürün and biblical Togarmah. A fortified city in Kammanu (on the border of Tabal) mentioned i ...

by the Hittites and Til-Garimmu by the Assyrians."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)." O.R. Gurney placed Tegarama in Southeast Anatolia.

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 Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for ''The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly d ...

(37 – c. 100 AD) and the Christian theologians

Jerome Jerome (; la, Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was a Christian presbyter, priest, Confessor of the Faith, confessor, th ...

(c. 347 – 420 AD) and

Isidore of Seville Isidore of Seville ( la, Isidorus Hispalensis; c. 560 – 4 April 636) was a Spanish scholar, theologian, and archbishop of Seville. He is widely regarded, in the words of 19th-century historian Montalembert, as "the last scholar of ...

(c. 560 – 636 AD) regarded Togarmah as the father of the

Phrygians The Phrygians (Greek: Φρύγες, ''Phruges'' or ''Phryges'') were an ancient Indo-European speaking people, who inhabited central-western Anatolia (modern-day Turkey) in antiquity. They were related to the Greeks. Ancient Greek authors used ...

. Several ancient Christian authors, including Saint Hippolytus (c. 170-c. 236 AD),

Eusebius of Caesarea Eusebius of Caesarea (; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος ; 260/265 – 30 May 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilus (from the grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος τοῦ Παμφίλου), was a Greek historian of Christianity, exegete, and Christia ...

(c. 263 – c. 339 AD), and bishop

Theodoret Theodoret of Cyrus or Cyrrhus ( grc-gre, Θεοδώρητος Κύρρου; AD 393 – 458/466) was an influential theologian of the School of Antioch, biblical commentator, and Christian bishop of Cyrrhus (423–457). He played a pi ...

(c. 393 – c. 457 AD), regarded him as a father of

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

s. Medieval Jewish traditions linked him with several peoples: Turkic, including the

Khazars The Khazars ; he, כּוּזָרִים, Kūzārīm; la, Gazari, or ; zh, 突厥曷薩 ; 突厥可薩 ''Tūjué Kěsà'', () were a semi-nomadic Turkic people that in the late 6th-century CE established a major commercial empire coverin ...

Armenian and Georgian traditions

Another Togarmah, this one being the son of both

Tiras Tiras ( he, ''Ṯīrās'') is, according to the Book of Genesis () and 1 Chronicles, the seventh and youngest son of Japheth in the Hebrew Bible. A brother of biblical Javan (associated with the Greek people), its geographical locale is sometimes ...

and

, is mentioned by

Moses of Chorene Movses Khorenatsi (ca. 410–490s AD; hy, Մովսէս Խորենացի, , also written as ''Movses Xorenac‘i'' and Moses of Khoren, Moses of Chorene, and Moses Chorenensis in Latin sources) was a prominent Armenian historian from the late a ...

(c. 480) and

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

Leonti Mroveli Leonti Mroveli ( ka, ლეონტი მროველი) was the 11th-century Georgian chronicler, presumably an ecclesiastic. ''Mroveli'' is not his last name, but the adjective for the diocese of Ruisi, whose bishop he probably was. Rayfi ...

who regarded Togarmah as the founder of their nations along with other Caucasian peoples. 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 ''Bābili(m)'' * sux, 𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠 * arc, 𐡁𐡁𐡋 ''Bāḇel'' * syc, ܒܒܠ ''Bāḇel'' * grc-gre, Βαβυλών ''Babylṓn'' * he, בָּבֶל ''Bāvel'' * peo, 𐎲𐎠𐎲𐎡𐎽𐎢 ''Bābiru'' * elx, 𒀸𒁀𒉿𒇷 ''Babi ...

, before he received the "land between two Seas and two Mountains" (i.e. the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historically ...

) in his possession. He then settled near

Mount Ararat Mount Ararat or , ''Ararat''; or is a snow-capped and dormant compound volcano in the extreme east of Turkey. It consists of two major volcanic cones: Greater Ararat and Little Ararat. Greater Ararat is the highest peak in Turkey and th ...

and divided his land among his sons: # Hayk (Հայկ) - first son of Thargamos, inherited

and founded the

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...

n nation. #

Kartlos Kartlos () is the eponymous ancestor of the Georgians (Kartvelians) in Georgian mythology, more specifically of the nation of Kartli (Caucasian Iberia). Kartlos is introduced in the medieval Georgian Chronicles (''Kartlis Tskhovreba''), presuma ...

(ქართლოსი) - settled in north-east from Ararat, founder of

Kartli Kartli ( ka, ქართლი ) is a historical region in central-to-eastern Georgia traversed by the river Mtkvari (Kura), on which Georgia's capital, Tbilisi, is situated. Known to the Classical authors as Iberia, Kartli played a crucial rol ...

( Sa'kartvelo) who united other brothers and founded the Georgian nation. # Bardos (ancestor of the Aghbanians/Aghuanians/Aghuans) # Movkan (ancestors of the Movkans) #

Lekos Lekos (Lek, Lekas, Lekan) - the legendary ancestor-eponym of "Lek" tribe of the North Caucasus. In Georgian sources, the fifth son (or offspring) of Togarmah. Ancient History According to Leonti Mroveli: "Gave to Lekan territories from the Sea of ...

ancestors of the "Lek" tribe of the North Caucasus. # Heros (Herans) - settled in the eastern part of Ararat #

Caucas Caucas or Kavkasos ( ka, კავკასოსი, tr) was the supposed ancestor of Chechens and Ingush according to ''The Georgian Chronicles''. His story is narrated in the compilation of the medieval Georgian chronicles, '' Kartlis Tskhovr ...

(Kovkases) - settled beyond the

Caucasus Range The Caucasus Mountains, : pronounced * hy, Կովկասյան լեռներ, : pronounced * az, Qafqaz dağları, pronounced * rus, Кавка́зские го́ры, Kavkázskiye góry, kɐfˈkasːkʲɪje ˈɡorɨ * tr, Kafkas Dağla ...

# Egros (Egers) - settled between the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Roma ...

and

Likhi Range Likhi Range ( ka, ლიხის ქედი, tr) or Surami Range ( ka, სურამის ქედი, tr) is a mountain range in Georgia, a part of the Caucasus mountains. It connects the Greater Caucasus and Lesser Caucasus ranges and be ...

(Western Georgia)

Jewish traditions

Togarmah was linked to several medieval Turkic peoples by Jewish traditions. The Khazar ruler Joseph ben Aaron (c. 960) writes in his

letters Letter, letters, or literature may refer to: Characters typeface * Letter (alphabet), a character representing one or more of the sounds used in speech; any of the symbols of an alphabet. * Letterform, the graphic form of a letter of the alphabe ...

: :''"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:"The letter of Joseph the king, son of Aaron the king, the Turk-may his creator preserve him to the head of the assembly, Hasdai, the son of Isaac, son of Ezra-about 960"
''Medieval Sourcebook: The Medieval Jewish Kingdom of the Khazars, 740-1259'' These names are reconstructed by Korobkin (1998) # ''Agyor'' ( Orkhon Uyghurs?) # ''Tiros'' (or scribal error for **''Twrq'', meaning

Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic ...

?) # ''Ouvar'' ( Avars) # ''Ugin'' (or ''Uguz'': possibly Oghuz Turks) # ''Bisal'' (

Pechenegs The Pechenegs () or Patzinaks tr, Peçenek(ler), Middle Turkic: , ro, Pecenegi, russian: Печенег(и), uk, Печеніг(и), hu, Besenyő(k), gr, Πατζινάκοι, Πετσενέγοι, Πατζινακίται, ka, პა� ...

?) # ''Tarna'' (cf. a ''Tarniach'' people who fled to the Avars from the

) # ''Khazar'' (

) # ''Zanor'' (or ''Janur'') # ''Balnod'' (or ''Bulgar'':

Bulgars The Bulgars (also Bulghars, Bulgari, Bolgars, Bolghars, Bolgari, Proto-Bulgarians) were Turkic semi-nomadic warrior tribes that flourished in the Pontic–Caspian steppe and the Volga region during the 7th century. They became known as nomad ...

) # ''Savir'' (

Sabirs The Sabirs (Savirs, Suars, Sawar, Sawirk among others; el, Σάβιροι) were nomadic people who lived in the north of the Caucasus beginning in the late-5th -7th century, on the eastern shores of the Black Sea, in the Kuban area, and possibly ...

) The anonymous Jewish author of the medieval historical chronicle

Josippon ''Josippon'' ( ''Sefer Yosipon'') is a chronicle of Jewish history from Adam to the age of Titus. It is named after its supposed author, Josephus Flavius, though it was actually composed in the 10th century in Southern Italy. The Ethiopic vers ...

lists the ten sons of Togarmas in his ''

''Pritsak, O. (1978) "The Khazar Kingdom's Conversion to Judaism", in ''Harvard Ukrainian Studies'
II.3
n. 51 on p. 268-269 of 261-281 as follows: # ''Kwzar'' (כוזר) (the

) # ''Pyṣynq'' (פיצינק) (the

) # ''ˀln'' (אלן) (the

Alans The Alans (Latin: ''Alani'') were an ancient and medieval Iranian nomadic pastoral people of the North Caucasus – generally regarded as part of the Sarmatians, and possibly related to the Massagetae. Modern historians have connected the Al ...

) # ''Bwlgr'' (בולגר) (the

) # ''Knbynˀ'' (כנבינא) (''Kanbina''?) # ''Ṭwrq'' (טורק) (possibly the

Göktürks The Göktürks, Celestial Turks or Blue Turks ( otk, 𐱅𐰇𐰼𐰰:𐰉𐰆𐰑𐰣, Türük Bodun; ; ) were a nomadic confederation of Turkic peoples in medieval Inner Asia. The Göktürks, under the leadership of Bumin Qaghan (d. 552) and ...

) # ''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 Caucasian The Northwest Caucasian languages, also called West Caucasian, Abkhazo-Adyghean, Abkhazo-Circassian, Circassic, or sometimes ''Pontic languages'' (from the historical region of Pontus, in contrast to ''Caspian languages'' for the Northeast Cauc ...

Zygii The Zygii ( grc-gre, Ζυγοί, ''Zygoí'') or Zygians were described by Strabo as a nation to the north of Colchis. He wrote: ''And on the sea lies the Asiatic side of the Bosporus, or the Syndic territory. After this latter, one comes to the ...

?) # ''ˀwngr'' (אוגר) (''Ungar''; either the

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars ( ; hu, magyarok ), are a nation and ethnic group native to Hungary () and historical Hungarian lands who share a common culture, history, ancestry, and language. The Hungarian language belongs to the Urali ...

or the

Oghurs The Onoğurs or Oğurs (Ὀνόγουροι, Οὔρωγοι, Οὔγωροι; Onογurs, Ογurs; "ten tribes", "tribes"), were Turkic nomadic equestrians who flourished in the Pontic–Caspian steppe and the Volga region between 5th and 7th cen ...

Onogurs The Onoğurs or Oğurs (Ὀνόγουροι, Οὔρωγοι, Οὔγωροι; Onογurs, Ογurs; "ten tribes", "tribes"), were Turkic nomadic equestrians who flourished in the Pontic–Caspian steppe and the Volga region between 5th and 7th cen ...

) # ''Tolmaṣ'' (תולמץ) (cf. the Pecheneg tribe Βορο-ταλμάτ < *''Boru-Tolmaç'' mentioned by Byzantine emperor Constantine VII). In an 11th-century Arabic translation of Josippon by a Yemenite Jew: Togorma's tribes are these: # ''al-Khazar'' (

) # ''al-Bajanāq'' (

) # ''al-Ās-Alān'' (

) # ''al-Bulġar'' (

) # ..# ..# ..# ''Khyabars'' (

Kabars The Kabars ( el, Κάβαροι), also known as Qavars (Qabars) or Khavars were Khazar rebels who joined the Magyar confederation possibly in the 9th century as well as the Rus' Khaganate. Sources The Byzantine Emperor Constantine VII is th ...

? or

? or scribal error for *''Zyḵws'', meaning

?) # ''Unjar'' (

) # ''Ṭalmīs'' (cf. the Pecheneg tribe Βορο-ταλμάτ < *''Boru-Tolmaç'' mentioned by Byzantine emperor Constantine VII). In the ''

Chronicles of Jerahmeel The ''Chronicles of Jerahmeel'' is a voluminous work that draws largely on Pseudo-Philo's earlier history of Biblical events and is of special interest because it includes Hebrew and Aramaic versions of certain deuterocanonical books in the Septua ...

'', the three "children" are listed as: # ''Abihud'' # ''Shāfaṭ'' # ''Yaftir'' And the ten "families" are listed as: # ''Cuzar'' (the

) # ''Pasinaq'' (the

) # ''Alan'' (the

) # ''Bulgar'' (the

) # ''Kanbinah'' # ''Turq'' (possibly the

) # ''Buz'' (possibly scribal error for **''Kwz'', meaning Oghuz Turks) # ''Zakhukh'' (scribal error for **''Zykws'', meaning

?) # ''Ugar'' (either the

or the

) # ''Tulmes'' (cf. the Pecheneg tribe Βορο-ταλμάτ < *''Boru-Tolmaç'' mentioned by Byzantine emperor Constantine VII) Another medieval rabbinic work, the ''

Book of Jasher Sefer haYashar is a reference to the Five Books of Moses, Joshua 10:13, see Targum Jonathan, "sifra d'oriaitho"; named on behalf of the Patriarchs who were call "Yesharim", see Numbers 23:10. Sefer haYashar (Hebrew language, Hebrew ספר הישר ...

'', give the names: # ''Buzar'' (possibly scribal error for ''Kuzar'', meaning

) # ''Parzunac'' (the

) # ''Elicanum'' (the

?) # ''Balgar'' (the

) # ''Ragbib'' # ''Tarki'' (possibly the

) # ''Bid'' (possibly scribal error for **''Kuz'', meaning Oghuz Turks) # ''Zebuc'' (scribal error for ''Zykws'', meaning

?) # ''Ongal'' (

) # ''Tilmaz'' (cf. the Pecheneg tribe Βορο-ταλμάτ < *''Boru-Tolmaç'' mentioned by Byzantine emperor Constantine VII)). In the 18th century, the French

Benedictine monk The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict ( la, Ordo Sancti Benedicti, abbreviated as OSB), are a Christian monasticism, monastic Religious order (Catholic), religious order of the Catholic Church following the Rule of Saint Benedic ...

and scholar Calmet (1672–1757) placed Togarmah in ''

Scythia Scythia (Scythian: ; Old Persian: ; Ancient Greek: ; Latin: ) or Scythica (Ancient Greek: ; Latin: ), also known as Pontic Scythia, was a kingdom created by the Scythians during the 6th to 3rd centuries BC in the Pontic–Caspian steppe. Hi ...

and Turcomania'' (in the Eurasian Steppes and

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...

).''The Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge''. (1835) B. B. Edwards and J. Newton Brown. Brattleboro, Vermont, Fessenden & Co., p. 1125.

Notes

References

{{Sons of Noah Georgian mythology Prehistoric Armenia Hebrew Bible nations History of the Turkic peoples Book of Genesis people Japheth Noach (parashah)