Togarmah

Togarmah (Hebrew: ‫תֹּג ְַרמָה‬

Tōgarmā, Armenian: Թորգոմ
Torgom, Georgian: თარგამოსი
Targamosi) 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]

Togarmah
‫תֹּגַרְ מָה‬

Thargamos and his sons.

The order of the figures from left to
:
 right is: Movakan, Bardos, Kartlos,
Hayk, Lekos, Thargamos, Caucas,
Egros. An opening folio of the
Georgian Chronicles
(Vakhtangiseuli redaction), 1700s.

Parents ... (see the

complete family
tree)
Lamech (great
great
grandfather)
Noah (great
grandfather)
Japheth
(grandfather)
Gomer (father)
:
 Red: Son of Japhet, Yellow: Son of Ham. Blue: Son
of Shem

Biblical attestations and

historical geography

Togarmah is listed in Genesis 10:3

(https://www.biblica.com/bible/?o
:
 sis=niv:Genesis%2010:3) 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 (https://bible.oremu
s.org/?passage=Ezekiel%2038:
6&version=nrsv) mentions
Togarmah together with Tubal as
supplying soldiers to the army of
Gog. Ezekiel 27:14 (https://bible.o
remus.org/?passage=Ezekiel%20
27:14&version=nrsv) 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.

Armenian and Georgian

traditions

Another Togarmah, this one being

the son of both Tiras and Gomer,
is mentioned by Armenian Moses
of Chorene (c. 480) and Georgian
Leonti Mroveli 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,
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]

1. Hayk (Հայկ) - first son of

Thargamos, inherited Mount
Ararat and founded the
:
 Armenian nation.
2. Kartlos (ქართლოსი) -
settled in north-east from
Ararat, founder of Kartli
(Sa'kartvelo) who united
other brothers and founded
the Georgian nation.
3. Bardоs (ancestor of the
Aghbanians/Aghuanians/Ag
huans)
4. Movkan (ancestors of the
Movkans)
5. Lekos ancestors of the "Lek"
tribe of the North Caucasus.
:
 6. Heros (Herans) - settled in
the eastern part of Ararat
7. Caucas (Kovkases) - settled
beyond the Caucasus
Range, ancestor of the
Ingush and Chechens.
8. Egros (Egers) - settled
between the Black Sea and
Likhi Range (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:

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]

1. Agyor (Orkhon Uyghurs?)

2. Tiros (or scribal error for
**Twrq, meaning Turks?)
3. Ouvar (Avars)
4. Ugin (or Uguz: possibly
Oghuz Turks)
5. Bisal (Pechenegs?)
6. Tarna (cf. a Tarniach people
:
 who fled to the Avars from
the Turks)
7. Khazar (Khazars)
8. Zanor (or Janur)
9. Balnod (or Bulgar: Bulgars)
10. Savir (Sabirs)

The anonymous Jewish author of

the medieval historical chronicle
Josippon lists the ten sons of
Togarmas in his Josippon[9][10][11]
as follows:

1. Kwzar (‫( )כוזר‬the Khazars)

2. Pyṣynq (‫( )פיצינק‬the
:
 Pechenegs)
3. ˀln (‫( )אלן‬the Alans)
4. Bwlgr (‫( )בולגר‬the Bulgars)
5. Knbynˀ (‫( )כנבינא‬Kanbina?)
6. Ṭwrq (‫( )טורק‬possibly the
Göktürks)
7. Bwz (‫( )בוז‬Flusser corrected
this to ‫** כוז‬Kwz for Ghuzz
"Oghuzes", east of the
Khazars)
8. Zkwk (‫( )זכוך‬Zakhukh? or
‫** זיכוס‬Zykws = Zikhūs,
meaning the Northwest
Caucasian Zygii?[11][12])
:
 9. ˀwngr (‫( )אוגר‬Ungar; either
the Hungarians or the
Oghurs/Onogurs)
10. Tolmaṣ (‫( )תולמץ‬cf. 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:[11] Togorma's
tribes are these:

1. al-Khazar (Khazars)
2. al-Bajanāq (Pechenegs)
:
 3. al-Ās-Alān (Alans)
4. al-Bulġar (Bulgars)
5. [...]
6. [...]
7. [...]
8. Khyabars (Kabars? or
Sabirs? or scribal error for
*Zyḵws, meaning Zygii?)
9. Unjar (Hungarians or
Oghurs/Onogurs)
10. Ṭalmīs (cf. the Pecheneg
tribe Βορο-ταλµάτ < *Boru-
Tolmaç mentioned by
Byzantine emperor
:
 Constantine VII).

In the Chronicles of Jerahmeel,

[13][14] the three "children" are
listed as:

1. Abihud
2. Shāfaṭ
3. Yaftir

And the ten "families"[15][16] are

listed as:

1. Cuzar (the Khazars)

2. Pasinaq (the Pechenegs)
3. Alan (the Alans)
:
 4. Bulgar (the Bulgars)
5. Kanbinah
6. Turq (possibly the Göktürks)
7. Buz (possibly scribal error
for **Kwz, meaning Oghuz
Turks)
8. Zakhukh (scribal error for
**Zykws, meaning Zygii?)
9. Ugar (either the Hungarians
or the Oghurs/Onogurs)
10. Tulmes (cf. the Pecheneg
tribe Βορο-ταλµάτ < *Boru-
Tolmaç mentioned by
Byzantine emperor
:
 Constantine VII)

Another medieval rabbinic work,

the Book of Jasher,[17][18] give the
names:

1. Buzar (possibly scribal error

for Kuzar, meaning Khazars)
2. Parzunac (the Pechenegs)
3. Elicanum (the Alans?)
4. Balgar (the Bulgars)
5. Ragbib
6. Tarki (possibly the Göktürks)
7. Bid (possibly scribal error for
**Kuz, meaning Oghuz
:
 Turks)
8. Zebuc (scribal error for
Zykws, meaning Zygii?)
9. Ongal (Hungarians or
Oghurs/Onogurs)
10. Tilmaz (cf. the Pecheneg
tribe Βορο-ταλµάτ < *Boru-
Tolmaç mentioned by
Byzantine emperor
Constantine VII)).

In the 18th century, the French

Benedictine monk and scholar
Calmet (1672–1757) placed
Togarmah in Scythia and
:
 Turcomania (in the Eurasian
Steppes and Central Asia).[19]

Notes

a. The legendary ancestor of

Georgians was also stated to be
Tubal.[1]

References

1. 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.
2. "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,
:
 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 (https://bo
oks.google.com/books?id=u
YemhagtCpgC&pg=PA73) .
Wm. B. Eerdmans
Publishing. pp. 73–74.
ISBN 978-0-8028-2536-
0.
3. map on inside cover of
Gurney, The Hittites, Folio
Society edition
4. "The Georgian Chronicle,
:
 4. "The Georgian Chronicle,
History" (http://rbedrosian.c
om/gc2.htm) .
Rbedrosian.com. Retrieved
2015-07-26.
5. "Мовсес Хоренаци,
История Армении в трех
частях. Книга Первая" (htt
p://www.vehi.net/istoriya/ar
menia/khorenaci/01.html) .
Vehi.net. Retrieved
2015-07-26.
6. Bloomberg, Jon: The
Jewish World in the Middle
Ages. Ktav Publishing,
2000, p. 108.
:
 2000, p. 108.
7. "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" (https://sourceb
ooks.fordham.edu/source/k
hazars1.asp) Medieval
Sourcebook: The Medieval
Jewish Kingdom of the
Khazars, 740-1259
8. Korobkin, N. D. (trans.),
1998, The Kuzari: In
Defense of the Despised
:
 Defense of the Despised
Faith, Northvale. p. 351.
Quoted & cited in Feldman,
A. (2018). Ethnicity and
statehood in Pontic-
Caspian Eurasia (8-13th
c.) : contributing to a
reassessment (https://ethes
es.bham.ac.uk/id/eprint/86
19/) . University of
Birmingham. Ph.D
dissertation.
9. Josippon "Table of Nations"
(http://www.vostlit.info/Text
s/Dokumenty/Russ/X/Kniga
_Iossipon/text.htm) (in
:
 _Iossipon/text.htm) (in
Russian) quote: "Тогарма
составляют десять родов,
от них Козар, Пецинаĸ,
Алан, Булгар, Канбина,
Турĸ, Буз, Захуĸ, Уф,
Толмац."
10. Nissan, Ephraim (2009)
"Medieval Hebrew texts and
European river names"
Onomàstica 5 p. 188-9 of
187-203
11. Pritsak, O. (1978) "The
Khazar Kingdom's
Conversion to Judaism", in
Harvard Ukrainian Studies
:
 Harvard Ukrainian Studies
II.3 (https://diasporiana.org.
ua/wp-content/uploads/boo
ks/14056/file.pdf) n. 51 on
p. 268-269 of 261-281
12. Alemany, Agustí (2000).
Sources on the Alans: A
Critical Compilation. p. 336
13. The Chronicles of
Jerahmeel at archive.org (ht
tps://archive.org/details/chr
oniclesofjera00eleaiala) p.
58 (https://archive.org/deta
ils/chroniclesofjera00eleaial
a/page/58/mode/2up)
14. The Chronicles of
:
 14. The Chronicles of
Jerahmeel at sacred-texts (
http://www.sacred-texts.co
m/bib/coj/index.htm) Ch.
XXVII (https://www.sacred-t
exts.com/bib/coj/coj031.ht
m) quote: "Togarmah
branched into ten families,
who are the Cuzar (###),
Paṣinaq (###), Alan (###),
Bulgar (###), Kanbina
(###), Turq (###), Buz
(###), Zakhukh (###), Ugar
(###), and Tulmeṣ (###)"
15. The Chronicles of
Jerahmeel at archive.org (ht
:
 Jerahmeel at archive.org (ht
tps://archive.org/details/chr
oniclesofjera00eleaiala) p.
67 (https://archive.org/detai
ls/chroniclesofjera00eleaial
a/page/66/mode/2up)
16. The Chronicles of
Jerahmeel at sacred-texts (
http://www.sacred-texts.co
m/bib/coj/index.htm) Ch.
XXXI (https://www.sacred-t
exts.com/bib/coj/coj035.ht
m)
17. The Book of Jasher (https://
books.google.com/books?id
=OnBAAQAAMAAJ&pg=PR
:
 1) - 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
18. Plain text: Cumorah
Project: LDS and World
Classics (http://www.cumor
ah.com/etexts/jasher.txt)
(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"
19. The Encyclopedia of
Religious Knowledge.
(1835) B. B. Edwards and J.
Newton Brown. Brattleboro,
Vermont, Fessenden & Co.,
p. 1125.

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