Tomb relief
Tomb relief

The rock tombs of Qyzqapan[1] or Qizqapan (Kurdish: Ashkawt-i Qizqapan (ئه‌شكه‌وتي قزقاپان),is a rock-cut tomb lying near the Palaeolithic cave of Zarzi in Iraqi Kurdistan.[2]

Story

In Kurdish language 'Kec' means 'daughter'[3] and in Arabic 'K' becomes 'q' and 'c' or 'ch' was not pronounced and other letters have been used instead. This happened after Muslim invasion (7th AD) and such phonetic changes occurred in many Iranian languages. some believes the word is 'qiz' in some Altaic languages that also means 'daughter'.[2] the word 'qapan' in Persian (root: verb: qapidan, (قاپیدن) means 'to steal' and 'snatch'[4] qapan is a (imperative verb of 'qapidan (qap) + persian plural sign (an) and Generally 'qyz-qapan' means 'Girl thieves'. A common story behind this cave is that a man had abducted an elite girl. He took her to that cave and married her. They lived together for many years and, finally, both were buried there after their death.[2]

History

The rock-cut tomb has three burial chambers, each with a hewn grave in the left corner, all accessible from the central chamber.[5][2] The entrance into the tomb lies approximately 8 meters above the ground level.

Different dates from the Medes, Achaemenid, Seleucid, and Parthian periods have been proposed for the construction of the tomb.[6][7] The general belief of scientists is that the tomb was built by the Medes people [8] [9]

The symbols of the tomb refers to Mithraism,[10] with Mithra being the supreme deity of Medes.[2] Some scholars such as Igor Diakonov believe that the tomb was built for the Median ruler Huvaxshatra or Cyaxares.[11] if the Qyzqapan tomb is a royal one (which is very likely) the warrior is none other than Cyaxares.[12]

References

  1. ↑ Gershevitch, Ilya (1985). The Cambridge History of Iran - Vol2 - The Median and Achaemenian Periods. Cambridge University Press.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Shukir, Osama (2018). "The Rock-Cut Tombs of Qizqapan, Iraqi Kurdistan".
  3. ↑ "english to central kurdish". tradukka.
  4. ↑ "Farsi–English Dictionary". www.farsidictionary.net. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
  5. ↑ "Qyzqapan Tomb".
  6. ↑ "QIZQAPAN: A ROCK-CUT TOMB FROM THE MEDIAN, ACHAEMENID, SELEUCID OR PARTHIAN PERIOD?".
  7. ↑ name=":0">Shukir, Osama (2018). "The Rock-Cut Tombs of Qizqapan, Iraqi Kurdistan".
  8. ↑ Gershevitch, Ilya (1985). The Cambridge History of Iran - Vol2 - The Median and Achaemenian Periods. Cambridge University Press.
  9. ↑ Diakonoff, Igor. "Media".
  10. ↑ "Qizqapan".
  11. ↑ Diakonoff, Igor. "Media".
  12. ↑ Gershevitch, Ilya (1985). The Cambridge History of Iran - Vol2 - The Median and Achaemenian Periods. Cambridge University Press.
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