Philologos
Bible Prophecy Research
Submitted by: research-bpr@philologos.org
Updated: April 06, 2001

Eclipse Path Contents

August 11, 1999 Eclipse Path
Turkey, Iraq

1. Capital of Kastamonu prov. It is a manufacturing center, noted for its textiles and copper utensils, and is the chief city of a region rich in minerals. It was captured by the Ottoman Turks in 1393, was taken by Tamerlane in 1403, and was regained by the Ottomans in 1460.

1. Amasiya, chief district town in northern Turkey. The Turks found a small Greek-speaking Jewish community in Amasiya. After 1492 exiles from Spain settled there in a separate street, where they were merchants and craftsmen. In their neighborhood lived Greeks, and Armenians, popularly called "Amalekites." Amasiya was an important town during the rule of Sultan Suleiman I, the Magnificent (1520–66). His son Mustafa, was sanjakbey ("district governor") and was known for his hatred of the Jews. Blood libel proved false and government punished the accusers. There is no longer a Jewish community there.

1. Zela, ancient city of Pontus, NE Asia Minor. There Mithridates VI defeated Triarius c.67 B.C., and in 47 B.C. Julius Caesar defeated Pharnaces, king of Pontus, recording the victory in his famous dispatch “Veni, vidi, vici” [I came, I saw, I conquered]. It is the modern Zile, Turkey.

1. Capital of Tokat prov., N central Turkey. It is an agricultural market with copper manufactures. An important town in Roman times, it declined under the Byzantines but revived after its capture by the Ottoman Turks in 1402.

2. Blood libel, Jews were able to prove their innocence. There are two Jewish cemeteries and an old synagogue. Jews originally handled the town's commerce, but they were gradually replaced by the Armenians who used more up-to-date methods and mastered the foreign languages required for the export-import trade. As a result of this, the Jewish community scattered.

1. Capital of Sivas prov., central Turkey, on the Kizil Irmak. An important trade and manufacturing center. Iron ore is mined nearby. Known as Sebaste, Sebastia, or Cabira in ancient times, it was an important city of Asia Minor under the Romans, the Byzantines, and the Seljuk Turks. Part of the Seljuk empire of Rum in the late 12th cent., Sivas fell to the Mongols and later (15th cent.) to the Ottoman Turks. In 1919, Kemal Atatürk held an important nationalist congress there.

1. Anc. Amida, capital of Diyarbakir prov., on the Tigris (Dicle) River. It is the trade center for a region producing grains, melons, cotton, copper ore, and petroleum. A Roman colony from A.D. 230, the city was taken (mid-4th cent.) by Shapur II of Persia. It was conquered by the Arabs in 638 and later was held by the Seljuk Turks and Persians. The Ottoman Turks captured Diyarbakir in 1515. It is a Kurdish population center.

2. The city retains the magnificent black basalt fortification walls mainly constructed by Constantine I in the 4th cent. Diyarbakir Univ. is there.

1. Town in the province of Mosul in Iraqi Kurdistan; location of an ancient Jewish community. 1891 Muslims attacked Jewish community, looting the houses of the Jews, and set fire to one of the synagogues which was burned down together with its Scrolls of the Law. In 1892 the persecutions increased in intensity. Jews were murdered; heavy taxes were imposed on members of the community; they were required to pay ransom, and many were arrested and tortured. The Tigris overflowed its banks and destroyed 150 Jewish houses; many Jews drowned and synagogues were destroyed. Jews from Zakho were the first after 1920 to emigrate to Palestine. Six thousand settled in Jerusalem before the establishment of the State of Israel. With the establishment of the state, all the remaining Jewish inhabitants of Zakho emigrated to Israel.

1. Capital of Ninawa Governorate, on the Tigris R. It is the largest city in N Iraq and the third largest city in the country. The city is linked by rail with other major cities in the country and, by way of a series of highways, to Turkey. Mosul is an important trade and market center for the surrounding agricultural region. Rich oil fields are also located in this area. While most of the urban population is Arab, the surrounding region is inhabited largely by Kurds. Mosul was the chief city of N Mesopotamia from the 8th to 13th cent., when it was devastated by the Mongols. The city remained poor and shabby through its occupation by the Persians (1508) and the Turks (1534–1918). Under the British occupation and mandate (1918–32) it regained its stature as the chief city of the region. Its possession by Iraq was disputed by Turkey (1923–25) but was confirmed by the League of Nations (1926). Mosul is Iraq's third largest city. The city was an important trade centre in the Abbasid era, because of its strategic position on the caravan route between India, Persia and the Mediterranean. Mosul's chief export was cotton, and today's word muslin is derived from the name of the city. In the 13th century, Mosul was almost completely destroyed by the Mongol invasion, but rebuilding and revival began under Ottoman rule. Rich oil fields are also located in this area. While most of the urban population is Arab, the surrounding region is inhabited largely by Kurds. Mosul was the chief city of N Mesopotamia from the 8th to 13th cent., when it was devastated by the Mongols. The city remained poor and shabby through its occupation by the Persians (1508) and the Turks (1534–1918). Under the British occupation and mandate (1918–32) it regained its stature as the chief city of the region. Its possession by Iraq was disputed by Turkey (1923–25) but was confirmed by the League of Nations (1926). The city is a center of Nestorian Christianity.

2. In the city are the University of Mosul (1967) and a technical institute. Across the Tigris R. are ruins of Nineveh, capital of the ancient kingdom of Assyria. Is a center of Nestorian Christianity. Mosul was once a walled city, and the remains of part of the city wall are still in existence at Bash Tapia castle, on the western bank of the Tigris. An ethnically diverse city, Mosul has the highest proportion of Christians of all the Iraqi cities, and contains several interesting old churches, including the Clock and Latin Church, which contains some fine marble and stained glass. The Chaldean Catholic Church of Al- Tahira was built as a monastery in AD300 and became a church in 1600, when various additions were built. The Mosul Museum contains many interesting finds from the ancient sites of Nineveh and Nimrud. The Mosul House is a beautiful, old- style building, constructed around a central courtyard and with an impressive facade of Mosul marble. It contains displays of Mosul life depicted in tableau form. An interesting mosque in the city is the Mosque of Nebi Yunus, said to be the burial place of the Biblical Jonah. It is built on a mound beneath which are thought to be part of the ruins of the ancient city of Nineveh. Any attempt to verify this is impossible, however, as the site is sacred and cannot be disturbed. The Great Nuriddine Mosque, built in 1172, has a famously crooked minaret standing 52 metres high. It is built of very elaborate brickwork and is named after its builder, Nuriddin Zanqi. (additional info from: http://cbs.infoplease.com)(http://www.funkandwagnalls.com; http://www.arab.net/iraq/tour/iq_mosul.html)

1. Also Arbil or Erbil (anc. Arbela), city, N Iraq, capital of Irbil Governorate. One of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, it was founded before 2300 BC by the Sumerians and called Urbillum. On the caravan route between Baghdad and Mosul, Irbil became, and continues to be, an important commercial center. The ancient name, Arbela, is often erroneously applied to the battle fought in 331 BC at Gaugamela, a village W of Arbela, in which Alexander the Great defeated Darius III, king of Persia. In the 1990s, Irbil served as the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan and was the site of fierce fighting between Kurdish factions. (http://www.funkandwagnalls.com)
*Jewish community continuously from end of Second Temple period when it was the capital of the Adiabene kingdom until the 1950s. At the end of the 12th century and during the first half of the 13th century, Irbil was the capital of an independent principality. During that period there was a large community there; it was considered as one of the most important in northern Babylonia. There was also an important community in Irbil under the Turkish rule. In 1951 all the Jews of the town emigrated to Israel, in the great exodus of Iraqi Jewry.

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