Introduction to the Kingdom of Urartu Ancient Armenia Eastern Anatolia 1

In this episode, we're going to take a look at an ancient state that doesn't get a lot of coverage in most books on ancient history. I'm speaking specifically of the Kingdom of Urartu, a name that appeared quite frequently in Assyrian records and inscriptions, mostly as a great rival that often needed to be subdued. Located in the highlands of eastern Anatolia, areas that today make up much of Armenia, Turkey, Iran, and parts of Azerbaijan, Urartu was one of the more powerful kingdoms of western Asia in the 8th and 7th centuries BCE. Urartu, or Urartri, is actually the Assyrian name for the land that eventually became part of this kingdom. It's from the word Urartu that the name Ararat comes from, as in Mount Ararat in modern Turkey. Some history books even call it the Kingdom of Van, as it was centered around the vicinity of Lake Van. However, the people living there called their land Biyanili. The Urartrians had their own culture, traditions, language, and pantheon of deities, the chief among them being the god Haldi. Most of the sources that we have with regard to Urartrian history come from the inscriptions and records found in the Not surprisingly, these are often quite biased. There are also Urartrian sources, but these are relatively few. The earliest of them date to the reign of Sarduri I, and were actually written in the Assyrian dialect of Akkadian. The scribes of later kings, though, would transition to the Urartrian's native language, which was very similar to Hurrian. The first historical reference to Urartu comes from the 13th century inscriptions of the Assyrian king Shalmaneser I. In his inscriptions, Shalmaneser claims that the Urartri rebelled against him and that he was able to conquer, or rather reconquer, 51 of their cities in a matter of just 3 days. Of course, they were probably not all walled cities, most of them must have been smaller towns or villages. Later Assyrian kings would also campaign there and claim sovereignty over the land, which was rich in natural resources such as iron, copper, timber, stone, and silver, as well as good pasture lands for grazing cattle, goats, and breeding horses. Ultimately, Assyrian incursions into the region created too much instability for the Urartrians, and so around the second half of the 9th century BCE, the petty kingdoms, cities, and towns of Urartu were consolidated into a single great kingdom. Urartu's first known king was Aramu, also pronounced Arame. He's believed to have ruled around the year 840 BCE from the city of Suginia and then later Arzashkun. Another Urartrian king, Sarduri I, founded a dynasty that would go on to rule most of Urartu until its end sometime in the 6th century BCE. Though his initial purpose may have been to defend the kingdom against Assyrian attacks, he soon adopted the role of an aggressor. Sarduri and his successors, especially his grandson, Minua, embarked on campaigns of territorial expansion. The kingdom reached its greatest height between the years 787-766 BCE, during the reign of Minua's son and successor, Arjishti I. It's this king who built the famous fortress of Erebuni, where he proclaimed, By the greatness of the god Haldi, Arjishti, son of Minua, built this mighty stronghold, and proclaimed it Erebuni for the glory of Biyanili, and to instill fear among the king's enemies. Arjishti says, The land was a desert. Before the great works I accomplished upon it. By the greatness of Haldi, Arjishti, son of Minua, is a mighty king, king of Biyanili, and ruler of Tushpa. Such expansion, especially towards the south, inevitably led Urartu into conflict with Assyria. When you look at the map, you can see why. At their greatest extent, Urartu's southernmost borders were only a few days' march from the great Assyrian city of Nineveh. The two sides fought for much of the mid 700s BCE, with the Assyrians mostly being on the defensive. However, in 743 BCE, the powerful Assyrian king, Tiglath-Pileser III, defeated a coalition of Urartian and Aramean forces, forcing Urartu's king, Sarduri II, to flee to the capital of Tushpa. Tiglath-Pileser claims that he was in hot pursuit, and eventually took the Urartian capital in a great victory, although even here, Sarduri II escaped. In 732 BCE, Sarduri's son, Rusa I, succeeded him. It was a dangerous time to be the king of Urartu, because not only did Rusa have to deal with renewed Assyrian attacks, but also with a relatively new and extremely hostile people on his northern frontier, the Cimmerians. In just one battle, the Cimmerians routed Rusa's army and killed or captured 11 of his provincial governors and a substantial number of troops. News of the disarray and instability in Urartu reached the ears of Sargon II, who in 721 BCE became the new king of Assyria. Aided by an intelligence network consisting of spies and defectors who provided him with invaluable information, in 714 BCE, Sargon moved into the northern Zagros mountains and plundered several towns there, before facing the now beleaguered Rusa I in battle. Despite fighting on their own turf, the battle-weary Urartians were no match for the Assyrians, and their army, along with their king, retreated. Sargon didn't stop there. He had delivered a military blow, but for total victory, he wanted to deliver a psychological one as well. He sent his main army back to Assyria with the spoils of war, while he himself, along with 1000 men, ventured just south of Lake Urmia to the city of Musassir, home of the sacred shrine of Urartu's patron god, Haldi. He wasn't there on pilgrimage. He was there to sack and loot it. According to Sargon, when Rusa heard the news of Musassir's desecration, he took his own life out of grief. Of course, this can't be proven, and may have simply been Assyrian propaganda to further break the morale of the Urartians. Despite all of these disastrous events, Urartu was still not fully conquered. Though not really able to challenge Assyria, Rusa's successor, Arjushti II, did launch several campaigns of his own, especially northeast of Tushpa, and his long, 34-year reign was one of It's also believed that he had relatively good relations with the Assyrian king, Sennacherib, since the latter probably felt that a relatively stable Urartian state would be a good buffer between Assyria and the fierce nomads in the north, which included both Cimmerians and Scythians. This increased stability allowed his son and successor, Rusa II, to go on somewhat of a building spree. He's credited with the restoration of the massive Urartian centers of Ayanis, Adil-Sivaz, and Bastam, which are the largest Urartian settlements known to exist outside of Tushpa. Relations with Urartu's southern neighbor, though, declined during the reign of Sennacherib's successor, Isarhaddon, who seized the land of Shubria, which historically had been part of Urartu. After the reign of Assyria's last king, Ashurbanipal, the mention of Urartu in any records or inscriptions is scarce at best. In 610 BCE, the Assyrian empire fell to the combined forces of the Babylonians and the Medes, and not long after that, so too did the kingdom of Urartu. It's not known exactly how this came about, but it's clear that the end was sudden and violent. Most Urartian cities and settlements were destroyed by fire at around the same time. However, it's not agreed as to who destroyed them. While many believe that it was the Medes, since they eventually took over the lands belonging to the kingdom, Urartu could also have been devastated by attacks from wandering bands of Cimmerians and Scythians. Perhaps it was a combination of all three. What we do know is that after about 590 BCE, Urartu ceased to exist as a political entity, becoming part of the Median and later Persian satrapy of Armenia. However, its legacy and memory lived on for several centuries, if not longer. Urartian art was a great influence on both later Persian and Armenian styles. Several noble Armenian houses also claimed their descent from Urartian kings, and the early Armenian state was heavily influenced by Urartian political and religious institutions that helped to give the Armenian people a distinct identity well into late antiquity and the early middle ages, even after they'd adopted Christianity. So I hope that this short video gives you an idea of what the kingdom of Urartu was, and its role in the ancient world. Thanks so much for stopping by, I really appreciate it. If you learned something, or simply just enjoyed the video, please don't hesitate to hit that like button, because it helps the channel out a lot. Also, check out the History with Sai podcast, where I go into more detail with regard to some of the topics discussed on the channel. You can also follow History with Sai on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Thanks again, and I'll catch you in the next episode. Take care, and stay safe.