Genesis 10:3

The sons of Gomer; Ashkenaz. First son of Gomer, son of Japheth, Ashkenaz was ancestor of the Indo-European people, the Ashkuza, who lived southeast of Lake Urmiah in the time of Esarhaddon, 7th century B.C. The Ashkenian Lake of Phrygia is named for them. Esarhaddon gave his daughter to the Ashkuza king Bartatua as wife, upon being assured by his sun god that Bartatua would remain loyal to Assyria. Hence we find the Ashkuza joining forces with the Assyrians against the Cimmerians and the Medes. Madyes, Bartatua’s son, tried unsuccessfully to aid the Assyrians when Nineveh was besieged by the Medes and Babylonians. Upon the fall of Assyria the Ashkuza became subject to the Medes. Together with the Indo-European kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Media, they are called up by Jeremiah to destroy Babylon (Jeremiah 51:27).

Riphath. Because of his relationship to Gomer, Ashkenaz, and Togarmah, Riphath was probably the progenitor of another Indo-European tribe of Cappadocia. His name, however, has not yet been found in ancient inscriptions. Josephus identifies his descendants with the Paphlagonians, who lived west of the lower Halys in Asia Minor and whose capital was Sinope.

Togarmah. Ancestor of the Tagarma or Tagarama, mentioned in Hittite records of the 14th century B.C. They are the Tilgarimmu of Assyrian inscriptions, which locate them in the northern Taurus Mountains. Sennacherib, Sargon’s son, mentions them with the Chilakki, who lived on the Halys in Asia Minor. Both Assyrian kings claim to have conquered their country. Ezekiel states (Ezekiel 27:14) that mules and horses were brought from their land to the markets of Phoenicia. Togarmah appears in Ezekiel 38:6 among the allies of Magog. The Armenians trace their genealogy back to Haik, the son of Torgom, and seem therefore to be descendants of Togarmah.