Turmasgade Explained

Turmasgade is a little known god, known from about 10 inscriptions from the Roman Empire. The name 'Turmasgade' is Aramaic and means "mountain of worship" or "mountain of sanctuary". Tur means "mountain"; msgd - "worship" or "sanctuary". This may indicate that Turmasgade was a holy mountain, but also a deity. In some inscriptions he is identified with Zeus, but in other there is no evidence of such identification. It has been suggested that the god from the originates from the Kingdom of Commagene.^[1] So far there are only nine certain mentions of the god, most of which come from the east of the Roman Empire; one inscription comes from Trier, another from Rome. A sanctuary of God has been excavated in Dura Europos, Dolicheneum.^[1]

Further reading

• Michael Blömer: A New Altar for the God Turmasgade from Dülük Baba Tepesi, in Engelbert Winter (Herausgeber) Vom eisenzeitlichen Heiligtum zum christlichen Kloster. Neue Forschungen auf dem Dülük Baba Tepesi, Bonn 2017 ISBN 978-3-7749-4079-6, S. 99–121

Notes and References

1. Jones . A. H. M. . M. I. Rostovtzeff, A. R. Bellinger, F. E. Brown, and C. B. Welles, The Excavations at Dura-Europos Conducted by Yale University and the French Academy of inscriptions and letters, Preliminary Report of the Ninth Season of Work, 1935–6. Part III, The Palace of the Dux Ripae and the Dolicheneum. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1952. Pp. XVI + 134, 24 plates and 11 text-figures (including plans, elevations, and reconstructions). No price stated. . The Journal of Roman Studies . November 1955 . 45 . 1–2 . 201–202 . 10.2307/298783 . 298783 . 250354239 . 18 December 2021 . en . 1753-528X.