Once King Antiochus I ruled a small state Kommagene, which is between Parthia and the Roman Empire. It seems that this king was a megalomaniac, besides, he considered himself a direct descendant of Darius I and Alexander the Great. Antiochus I ordered on top of Mount Nemrut (altitude 2,150 m) to build a temple and tomb. Among stone statues of heroes and gods such as Apollo, Hercules, Zeus, etc. It has been established and a statue of Antiochus. Since then, it took about 2000 years, which did not spare the ancient buildings and statues, however today this place is extremely beautiful.

Due to the fact that the ruins of the temple of Antiochus are on the east and west side of the mountain, it is best to visit Nemrut early in the morning or in the evening. Mysterious mound height of 50 meters and a diameter of 150 meters was built of bricks and stones. The fence is framed in the form of ridges cut into the rock. On the eastern side of the mountain there are statues, stone wall, and the altar, having the form of a stepped pyramid. Gallery connects the ledges on the east and west of the tomb, and the entrance to the tomb is guarded by two huge stone eagle.

There are also reliefs that depict the ancestors of Antiochus - Alexander the Great (ancestor on the maternal side) and the Persian king Darius (paternal ancestor). The western part of the monument is decorated with a statue of a lion, having a height of 1, 75 meters and a length of 2, 5 meters. The back is decorated with a lion 19 stars, each star comes from the 16-rays (small stars emit rays 8). On the chest of a lion - a crescent moon. The three biggest stars depict Mars, Mercury and Jupiter. Perhaps it was the oldest horoscope in the world. Regarding the exact function of the lion statues unknown.

After the excavation, archaeologists found the remains of King Antiochus were carved into the rock cave. After the burial cave was closed mound. Until our times burial chamber has never been opened.

The ruins of the monument found a German engineer Karl Sisters in 1881. Over the next two years we were organized two expeditions to Turkey. After that the excavations lasted until 1989, when this territory was declared a National Park.