Ecbatana and Rages in Media

Part One: Clearing away the various misconceptions by Damien F. Mackey Whereas the journey from Tobit’s Ecbatana to Rages normally took “two full days”, the almost 200-mile journey from the conventional Median Ecbatana to Rhages would have taken significantly longer. In fact it took the army of Alexander the Great 11 days at full gallop to march from the one to the other. Rightly then does Jan Simons observe (according to a conventional context) that the journey referred to in the Book of Tobit “would be a forced ‘journey of two days’ even for an express messenger”. Introduction According to critics of the Book of Tobit, the author(s) of the book had a very poor knowledge of both history and geography. However, the Book of Tobit is an inspired book of the Bible, at least from a Catholic point of view, and it has the capacity to confound the critics and the conventional context to which they adhere. Far from the author(s) of the Book of Tobit having been historically ignorant - in this case, with regard to the kingdom of Assyria - we find on closer examination that: [The] Book of Tobit corrects the textbook history (5) Book of Tobit corrects the textbook history Read also my related article: Book of Tobit and the Neo-Assyrian Kings (5) Book of Tobit and the Neo-Assyrian Kings And, far from the author(s) of the Book of Tobit having been geographically ignorant - in this case, with regard to the location of the land of Media - we find on closer examination that it was we who have been abysmally ignorant on this score: Search for the Median empire (3) Search for the Median empire The travelling party in the Book of Tobit was always heading in the right direction: that is, westwards, from: (i) Nineveh (possibly meaning Calah here); to (ii) the Tigris River; to (iii) Charan (Haran/Harran); to (iv) Media (in Anatolia), in which country lay (v) Ecbatana; and (vi) Rages. I had been critical in articles such as: [The] Geography of the Book of Tobit presents a fascinating challenge (5) Geography of the Book of Tobit presents a fascinating challenge of exegetes such as Fr. D. Dumm, who had shown scant respect for the Book of Tobit -I having expected a Catholic priest, at least, to seek to defend, rather than to ridicule, a biblical text: … The Jerusalem Bible says that “the geography is inexact”, and … Fr. D. Dumm (article, “Tobit”) in The Jerome Biblical Commentary, exclaims that: “[The angel] Raphael knows the journey of life far better than the route to Media!” Unfortunately, though, Fr. Dumm just leaves it at that, without being willing, or able, to defend the accuracy of the Bible with a proper explanation of what is happening here. But, as I confessed in my “Geography of … Tobit” article (above), I, too, was confounded - even though I was actually trying to ‘save’ the geography of the book. ‘Go West, young man’ I had it half right, having the travelling party heading westwards, unlike the critics’ eastwards, and correctly (so I think) identifying 3 of the 6 locations: Nineveh = Nineveh (Calah?) River Tigris = River Tigris Charan = Haran But I, as well, had taken for granted the conventional location of Media, Ecbatana and Rages (in the east), and so felt myself forced to seek for alternatives - wrong ones. Thus: Media = Midian Ecbatana = Bashan Rages = Damascus Even after Royce (Richard) Erickson had (in 2020) saved the geographical situation by re-locating Media to Anatolia (see above articles), I had still persisted with these last 3, faulty identifications. * * * * * The sad fact is that we, in our fallen humanity, can often be groping in the dark and in need of divine enlightenment from One who knows, when, often, we don’t. This situation was recognised by John the Baptist, who proclaimed (John 3:30-31): ‘He must increase, but I must decrease. He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: he that cometh from heaven is above all’. Part Two: A possible location for Tobit’s Ecbatana ‘Yes’, he replied, ‘I have been there many times; I am acquainted with it and know all the roads. I have often traveled to Media, and would stay with our kinsman Gabael who lives in Rages of Media. It is a journey of two days from Ecbatana to Rages; for it lies in a mountainous area, while Ecbatana is in the middle of the plain’. Tobit 5:6 In terms of the name, Royce (Richard) Erickson appears to have chosen very well for his identification of Ecbatana in Media, opting for Abadaniye (see his Figure 1 below). In his brilliant (2020) article: A PROBLEM IN CHALDAEAN AND ELAMITE GEOGRAPHY (3) A PROBLEM IN CHALDAEAN AND ELAMITE GEOGRAPHY | Royce Erickson - Academia.edu Royce Erickson wrote on this: …. Introduction – A Geographic Anomaly Herodotus attempted to describe the origins of the Median and Persian nations in the 8th and 7th centuries BC while both were still intermittently subject to Assyrian domination. He described how a man named Deioces became king, unified the Medes and founded Agbatana, their first capital city: “Thus settled upon the throne, he (Deioces) further required them to build a single great city, and, disregarding the petty towns in which they had formerly dwelt, make the new capital the object of their chief attention. The Medes were again obedient, and built the city now called Agbatana (Ecbatana), the walls of which are of great size and strength, rising in circles one within the other. The plan of the place is that each of the walls should out-top the one beyond it by the battlements. The nature of the ground, which is a gentle hill, favours this arrangement in some degree, but it was mainly effected by art. The number of the circles is seven, the royal palace and the treasuries standing within the last. The circuit of the outer wall is very nearly the same with that of Athens.” (Herodotus …. Agbatana (variant version Ecbatana) no longer exists. Its ruins and location have never been positively identified. Modern scholars believe they are on a tell near Hamadan, Iran, based on the similarity of names and assumptions about the location of ancient Media. There is a small town in central Tukey north of Konya called Abadaniye, very similar phonetically to Agbatana. A little more than 100 years ago its Armenian name was Egdavama. Next to it lies a barren, gentle hill with a circumference of about 6 miles, very much like the circuit wall of classical Athens, 5.25 miles. its gentle slope would favor the arrangement of seven concentric walls rising one above the other, just as Herodotus describes the walls of Agbatana. According to Greek tradition, other Median major cities were Laodicea, Rhages ,and Apamea, all three not far from Ecbatana. These are their later classical Greek names; their original Median names are unknown. Modern scholars tentatively locate these sites near Tehran, based on the assumption that Agbatana was in Iran, but with admittedly very sparse historical or archaeological support. Strangely enough in south central Turkey very near modern Abadaniye described above, lie the modern towns of Dinar and Ladek, previously named Apamea and Laodicea by the Greeks. Thus there is strong circumstantial evidence that the core of the ancient Median Empire around 700 BC was not in Iran, but in central Turkish Anatolia, over 600 miles to the West. This could be written off as an absurd concept supported by astounding coincidence, so allow me add a few more facts to strengthen the case. Early Persians were closely intertwined with the Medes geographically and historically. Originally Median vassals, the Persians later ousted the Median king Astyages by means of a coup d’etat aided by the defection of most of the Median army, and established the Persian Empire under Cyrus the Great, incorporating the entire Median Empire. The original capital of the Persian Empire was founded by Cyrus II on the site of his victory over Astyages, known to the ancients as Pasargadae. Until today its location remains unknown, but is assumed by experts to be somewhere in southwest Iran, based once again on historical deduction without strong material archaeological support, despite numerous attempts to find any. Once again, we find in central Anatolia today two towns with the modern Turkish names of Pazarkaye and Khorasi not far from Abadaniye. I propose that Pazarkaye is the modern site of ancient Persian Pasargadae, and Khorasi (pronounced Khorashi) is on the site of a proposed Persian town named after either Cyrus I or Cyrus II, Persian kings whose names were pronounced “Kurush.” Finally, detailed Neo-Assyrian military campaign records mention several other towns that they specifically connect with Persia and Media. These towns are supposed by modern scholars to be located somewhere in Iran, where they cannot be found. Their Assyrian names are Amadi, Urak, Allabria, and Bustus. The first two are associated by the Persians with Media and the second two with Persia. The names of all four of these towns are very closely matched by four modern sites in Turkish Anatolia, very close to the proposed Median and Persian town sites already discussed. …. Assyrian Name Variants Modern Turkish Name Associated With Matching Rationale Amadi Kar-Amadazi, Karamadazi Çubuklu, Konya Media Kar-Amadazi is the variant Assyrian name of Amadi. Recent previous name of Turkish Cubuklu was Karamadazi Bit-Matti Matiana Goreme, Nevsehir Media Recent previous historical name of Turkish Goreme was Matiana. Located close to Abadaniye (Agbatana) and Ladek (Laodiceia) Allabria Alabag, Konya Persia Name very similar to Turkish Alabag (-ag is a common Turkish word ending). Location in close proximity to Pazarkaya (Pasargadae) and Khorasi (Khurush). Bustus Bushtu, Push, Pusutu Pusat, Konya Persia Clear name similarity with Turkish Pusat, located close to Pazarkaya and Khorasi Table 1 - Cities with Persian and Median Names in Anatolia …. [End of quote] My problem, though, with Royce’s choice of Abadaniye, north of Konya - now that I am trying to take more seriously than hitherto the Book of Tobit’s geographical indicators - is that it could not really enable for Charan (Haran) to be, as according to Tobit 10:13: “… in the midway to Ninive …”. Though, admittedly, his Abadaniye is far better situated in this regard than was my own poor choice of Bashan (Batanaea) for Ecbatana. And I am now fully realising just how inappropriate my choice was. For Bashan, unlike the Ecbatana of the Book of Tobit, was a land, not a city. Nor was Ecbatana a plain, but lay ‘in the middle of the plain’. This is how the angel Raphael will describe the geography and topography of Median Ecbatana and Rages (Tobit 5:6): ‘Yes’, he replied, ‘I have been there many times; I am acquainted with it and know all the roads. I have often traveled to Media, and would stay with our kinsman Gabael who lives in Rages of Media. It is a journey of two days from Ecbatana to Rages; for it lies in a mountainous area, while Ecbatana is in the middle of the plain’. Adana An important city, with an Ecbatana-like name, and which does, indeed, lie in the middle of a plain, is “Adana …. Situated in the middle of the Cukurova Plain (Cilician Plain) ….”: https://www.allaboutturkey.com/adana.html And a glance at the next map will show that Adana (given there as Adanya) - rather than Royce Erickson’s Abadaniye - appears to fit rather well with regard to Charan’s (Haran’s) being “… in the midway to Ninive …”. (Map: Adanya … Harrān … Ninive) With Konya some 345 km to the NW of Adana, hence going further away from Haran, then Abadaniye to Konya’s north would be located too far westwards, I should think, for it to fit the geography of the Book of Tobit concerning its location of Ecbatana. Adana may possibly be the Abdadana of neo-Assyrian (the era of Tobit and Tobias) inscriptions: https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/bdadana-region-in-western-media/ “In 716 B.C. Sargon II during his eighth campaign received tribute from Bīt-Abdadāni, Namar, Sangibutu, and the country of the “mighty Medes” (see F. Thureau-Dangin, Une relation de la huitième campagne de Sargon, Paris, 1973, line 39)”. Adana was a city of great administrative importance and it was centrally located: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adana Adana … is a large city in southern Turkey. The city is situated on the Seyhan River, 35 km (22 mi) inland from the northeastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea. It is the administrative seat of the Adana province, and has a population of 1,816,750 (Seyhan, Yuregir, Cukurova, Saricam) … making it the largest city in the Mediterranean Region of Turkey. Adana lies in the heart of Cilicia, which some say, was once one of the most important regions of the classical world. …. Home to six million people, Cilicia is an important agricultural area, owing to the large fertile plain of Çukurova. Adana is a centre for regional trade, healthcare, and public and private services. Agriculture and logistics are important parts of the economy. The city is connected to Tarsus and Mersin by TCDD train. The closest public airport is Çukurova International Airport. Etymology The name Adana (Turkish pronunciation: [aˈda.na] …; Armenian: Ադանա; Greek: Άδανα) has been used for over four millennia. …. …. History Hittite warrior in Adana Archaeological Museum Bronze Age Inhabited by Luwians and Hurrians, Kizzuwatna had an autonomous governance under Hittite protection, but they had a brief period of independence from the 1500s to 1420s BC. [sic] According to the Hittite inscription of Kava, found in Hattusa (Boğazkale), Kizzuwatna was ruling Adana, under the protection of the Hittites, by 1335 BC. With the collapse of the Hittite Empire around 1191–1189 BC, native Denyen sea peoples took control of Adana and the plain until around 900 BC. …. Iron Age Then Neo-Hittite states were founded in the region with the Quwê state centred on Adana. Quwê and other states were protected by the Neo-Assyrian Empire, though they had periods of independence too. After the Greek migration into Cilicia in the 8th century BC, the region was unified under the rule of the Mopsos dynasty … and Adana was established as the capital. …. The Assyrians took control of the regions several times before their collapse in 612 BC. …. [End of quote] Of potential significance for Adana’s (as Ecbatana) connecting to Rages in the mountains (‘… for it lies in a mountainous area, while Ecbatana is in the middle of the plain’), is this piece of information from Britannica (emphasis added): https://www.britannica.com/place/Adana-Turkey Adana, city, south-central Turkey. It is situated in the plain of Cilicia, on the Seyhan River (the ancient Sarus River). An agricultural and industrial centre and the country’s fourth largest city, it probably overlies a Hittite settlement that dates from approximately 1400 bce [sic], and its history has been profoundly influenced by its location at the foot of the Taurus Mountain passes leading to the Syrian plains. …. Part Three: A possible location for Tobit’s Rages For what need we now to be looking in relation to Tobit’s Rages? Well, if Adana is Tobit’s Ecbatana, then Rages must needs be - as according to Tobit 5:6 - two days’ distance from Adana in the plain, and Rages must be situated in the (presumably Taurus) mountains. Moreover, according to the Book of Tobit, two camels were employed on the trip (9:5): “So Raphael with the four servants and two camels went to Rages in Media and stayed with Gabael”. That potential mode of transport likely needs to be taken into account with regard to the time needed to cover the distance. I am no expert on camels - had a nervous ride on one in 1990 to the Giza pyramids. But I would estimate that Rages ought not to be much in excess of, say, 100 km from Ecbatana (Adana). Ancient conditions, topography, tracks, etc., would also need to be factored in. Perhaps some generous, informed reader will help out here. Anyway, after much consideration, I have picked out Karatepe as the best candidate for ancient Rages that I can come up with at this stage. And this, despite none of its known names having any likeness to Rages. Karatepe, like Rages, was in the mountains: https://www.bibleplaces.com/karatepe/?srsltid=AfmBOoqbrVR5uWGJa_Jon1b8YAI1QG0WGM4NHJRU9bQpT5TA7F3_AEiT “Karatepe is situated in the foothills of the Taurus Mountains, on the west bank of the Ceyhan River in the northeast corner of the Cilician Plain” It was prominent in the neo-Assyrian (Tobit’s) century: “It is a single-period, hilltop fortress that was built by a local ruler named Azatiwata at the end of the 8th century BC”. Karatepe is about 115 km distance from Adana (by car). 1 hr 26 min (115.4 km) via O-52/E90 The distance may be stretching those two camels! And it was under the rule of Adana (Ecbatana): “… a local ruler named Azatiwata … was a dependent of Wariku/Awariku, king of Que, whose capital was at Adana”. 15th August, 2025