SCIENTRA — The Global Research Platform

Mount Judi, Not Mount Ararat: A Reassessment of the Traditional Search Location for the Resting Place of Noah's Ark

Dr. Zuhair Ahmed

Published in SCIENTRA on 19 October 2026. Previously appeared in Zenado.

Abstract

This paper presents a combined historical-linguistic and geographic analysis of the Qur'anic account of the Flood of Nuh (Noah). It argues, in three connected parts, that: (1) the Qur'anic account is consistent with the archaeologically attested Shuruppak flood horizon (c. 2900 BCE) and with the broader cuneiform Mesopotamian flood tradition, including the Sumerian King List, the Atra-Hasis Epic, the Gilgamesh flood narrative, and the Old Babylonian 'Ark Tablet' published by Irving Finkel (2014); (2) the physical design of the vessel described in the cuneiform tradition a large circular coracle, not an elongated rectangular ship has direct implications for how and where physical remains should be sought, and is inconsistent with the rectangular, ship-shaped formations that most popular expeditions have searched for; and (3) the textual, geographic, and local-historical evidence converges on Mount Judi (Cudi Dagi) in southeastern Turkey, not Mount Ararat (Agri Dagi), as the location named in the primary texts. The paper is written to academic standard, with sources explicitly stratified by evidentiary tier, and closes with an explicit statement of its own limitations.

Keywords

Noah’s ArkFlood of NuhMount JudiCudi DagiMesopotamian Flood TraditionQur’anic StudiesArchaeological EvidenceAncient Near Eastern HistoryShuruppak Flood HorizonCuneiform StudiesMesopotamian ArchaeologyHistorical LinguisticsComparative Religious StudiesHistorical GeographyArk TabletAtra-Hasis EpicEpic of GilgameshSumerian King ListIrving FinkelFlood ArchaeologyAncient Flood NarrativesQur’an and ArchaeologyMount AraratAncient MesopotamiaInterdisciplinary Historical ResearchIslamic Historical Studies

References

  1. Qur'an, surahs 7, 10, 11, 23, 26, 29, 37, 54, 66, 71 (Sahih International, Yusuf Ali, and Pickthall translations consulted).
  2. Genesis 6-9 (Hebrew Bible).
  3. Sahih al-Bukhari, Book 60 (Ahadith al-Anbiya), Hadith 3339 and associated commentary citing Mujahid and Qatadah.
  4. Ibn Kathir, Tafsir al-Qur'an al-'Azim, commentary on Surah Hud (11) and Surah Nuh (71).
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  6. Finkel, I. (2014). The Ark Before Noah: Decoding the Story of the Flood. London: Hodder & Stoughton.
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  8. Lambert, W. G. & Millard, A. R. (1969). Atra-hasis: The Babylonian Story of the Flood. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
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  10. The Sumerian King List, Weld-Blundell Prism (Ashmolean Museum).
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  12. Franz, G. 'Report on the International Noah and Judi Mountain Symposium, Sirnak, Turkey.' Associates for Biblical Research / Life and Land.
  13. Crouse, B. & Franz, G. (2006), cited in the Sirnak University symposium proceedings on Jewish, Christian, and pagan source identification of Cudi Dagh.
  14. Aleteia (2018). 'Did Noah's Ark Really Land in the Biblical Mountains of Ararat?' — reporting on the Durupinar site and David Fasold's 1997 repudiation.
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