Togarmah - Togarmah's Descendants - Caucasian and Armenian History

Caucasian and Armenian History

Jewish historian Flavius Josephus (37 – c. 100 AD), Roman Catholic priest Jerome (c. 347 – 420 AD) and Isidore of Seville (c. 560 – 636 AD) regarded Togarmah as the father of the Phrygians.

Saint Hippolytus (c. 170-c. 236 AD), the Father of the Church History Eusebius of Caesarea (c. 263 – c. 339 AD), and the Christian bishop Theodoret (c. 393 – c. 457 AD) regarded him as a father of Armenians.

Armenian Moses of Chorene and also Georgian Leonti Mroveli regarded Togarmah as the founder of their nations along with other Caucasian people.

Armenians call themselves Hayer and their county Hayastan (the land of the Hayasa) after their founder Haik, who according to Moses of Chorene was son of Togarmah. In the past the country was historically called by natives Metz Hayk/Hayq (Greater Armenia) and Poqr Hayk/Hayq (Lesser Armenia).

In Georgia names such as (Kartlos/Sakartvelo) are found, and other Peoples of the Caucasus like Kakheti (after Kakhos- son of Kartlos) or Leketi (after Lekos son of Togarmah) according to Leonti Mroveli.

Other names were either changed or replaced by Greek, French or English descriptions, but the native language and self-designation in Caucasus preserve some historical facts and figures reflecting the recorded history of Georgian and Armenian people.

According to the Fausset's Bible Dictionary:

"Togarmah son of Gomer, brother of Ashkenaz and Riphat answering to Armenia. From Toka, Sanskrit for tribe or race and Armah (Armenia)². The Armenians represent Haik to be their founder and son of Thorgau (Moses Choren i. 4,9-11). The Phrygians, the race that overspread Asia Minor, probably migrated from Armenia, their language resembled Armenian (Eudoxus, in Steph. Byz on Armenia). The Phrygian is Indo-Germanic as inscriptions prove, and resembled Greek (Plato, Cartyl). In Ezekiak xxvii 14 Togarmah appears trading with Tyre for horses and mules; so Strabo (xi 13,9) makes Armenians famous for breeding horses. In xxxviii 6 Togarmah comes with Gomer from the north against Palestine, this and Genesis x.3 imply Togarma's connection with the Japhetic races, which modern researches confirms to as Armenia. The Armenian connection with the Celts (Gomer i.e Cimbri, Cimmerians, Crimea, Cymry) implies in Togarmah being Gomer's son, is not unlikely. The Imperial Dictionary makes Togarmah to mean the Torkomans who have always joined the Turks, i.e Gog (Ezk. xxxviii 1-6) or the king of the north (Daniel xi 40); Bochart makes Goghasan the original form, among the Colchians, Armenians, and Chaldeans, for which the Greeks gave Caucasus."

According to The Georgian Chronicles and The History of Armenia Togarmah lived in Babylon who received the land between two Seas (Black Sea and Caspian Sea) and two Mountains (Mount Elbrus and Mount Ararat) in his possession when people started division of lands and migration in different parts of the world. He then settled near Mount Ararat and divided his land among his sons:

1. Haik (Հայք) - first son of Togarmah, 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. Bardos
4. Movakos (Movkans)
5. Lekos (Lak) - Lak people settled in Caucasus Mountains
6. Heros (Herans) - settled in the eastern part of Ararat
7. Caucas (Kovkases) - settled beyond the Caucasus Range
8. Egros (Egers) - settled between the Black Sea and Likhi Range (Western Georgia)