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Aarat -

Bible Dictionary

Aarat
(high or holy ground), a mountainous district of Asia mentionedin the Bible in connection with the following events:-- (1) Asthe resting-place of the ark after the deluge. (genesis 8:4)(2) As the asylum of the sons of Sennacherib. (2 kings 19:37;isaiah 37:38) Authorized Version has "the land of Armenia." (3)As the ally, and probably the neighbor, of Minni and Ashchenaz.(jeremiah 51:27) [[2]Armenia] The name Ararat was unknown tothe geographers of Greece and Rome, as it still is to theArmenians of the present day; but it was an ancient name for aportion of Armenia. In its biblical sense it is descriptivegenerally of the Armenian highlands--the lofty plateau whichover looks the plain of the Araxes on the north and ofMesopotomia on the south. Various opinions have been put forthas to the spot where the ark rested, as described in (genesis8:4) (but it is probable that it rested on some of the lowerportions of the range than on the lofty peak to whichexclusively) Europeans have given the name Ararat, the mountainwhich is called Massis by the Armenians, Agri-Dagh, i.e. SteepMountain, by the Turks, and Kuh-i-Nuh, i.e. Noah s Mountain, bythe Persians. It rises immediately out of the plain of theAraxes, and terminates in two conical peaks, named the Greatand Less Ararat, about seven miles distant from each other; theformer of which attain an elevation of 17,260 feet above thelevel of the sea and about 14,000 above the plain of theAraxes, while the latter is lower by 4000 feet. The summit ofthe higher is covered with eternal snow for about 3000 feet.Arguri, the only village known to have been built on itsslopes, was the spot where, according to tradition, Noahplanted his vineyard. "The mountains of Ararat " areco-extensive with the Armenian plateau from the base of Araratin the north to the range of Kurdistan in the south, we noticethe following characteristics of that region as illustratingthe Bible narrative; (1) its elevation. It rises to a height offrom 6000 to 7000 feet above the level of the sea. (2) Itsgeographical position . Viewed with reference to the dispersionof the nations, Armenia is the true centre of the world; and atthe present day Ararat is the great boundary-stone between theempires of Russia, Turkey and Persia. (3) Its physicalcharacter . The plains as well as the mountains supply evidenceof volcanic agency. (4) The climate . Winter lasts from Octoberto May, and is succeeded by a brief spring and a summer ofintense heat. (5) The vegetation . Grass grows luxuriantly onthe plateau, and furnishes abundant pasture during the summermonths to the flocks of the nomad Kurds. Wheat, barley andvines ripen at far higher altitudes than on the Alps and thePyrenees.