Urartu
Iron-Age kingdom of the Ancient Near East / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Urartu (/ʊˈrɑːrtuː/; Assyrian: māt Urarṭu,[5] Babylonian: Urashtu, Hebrew: אֲרָרָט Ararat) was an Iron Age kingdom centered around Lake Van in the Armenian Highlands. It extended from the eastern bank of the upper Euphrates River to the western shores of Lake Urmia and from the mountains of northern Iraq to the Lesser Caucasus Mountains.[6] Its kings left behind cuneiform inscriptions in the Urartian language, a member of the Hurro-Urartian language family.[6] Since its re-discovery in the 19th century, Urartu, which is commonly believed to have been at least partially Armenian-speaking,[2][7][8][9][10] has played a significant role in Armenian nationalism.[11]
Urartu (exonym)[lower-alpha 1] | |||||||||||||
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860 BC – 590 BC | |||||||||||||
Capital | |||||||||||||
Common languages | |||||||||||||
Religion | Urartian polytheism[3] | ||||||||||||
Government | Monarchy | ||||||||||||
• 858–844 | Aramu | ||||||||||||
• 844–834(?) | Lutipri(?) | ||||||||||||
• 834–828 | Sarduri I | ||||||||||||
• 828–810 | Ishpuini | ||||||||||||
• 810–785 | Menua | ||||||||||||
• 785–753 | Argishti I | ||||||||||||
• 753–735 | Sarduri II | ||||||||||||
• 735–714 | Rusa I | ||||||||||||
• 714–680 | Argishti II | ||||||||||||
• 680–639 | Rusa II | ||||||||||||
• 639–635 | Sarduri III | ||||||||||||
• 629–590 or 629–615 | Rusa III | ||||||||||||
• 615–595 | Sarduri IV | ||||||||||||
• 590–585 | Rusa IV | ||||||||||||
Historical era | Iron Age | ||||||||||||
• Established | 860 BC | ||||||||||||
• Median conquest (or Achaemenid conquest in 547[4]) | 590 BC | ||||||||||||
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The kingdom emerged in the mid-9th century BC and dominated the Armenian Highlands in the 8th and 7th centuries BC.[12] Urartu frequently warred with Assyria and became, for a time, the most powerful state in the Near East.[12] Weakened by constant conflict, it was eventually conquered by the Iranian Medes in the early 6th century BC.[13] Archaeologically, it is noted for its large fortresses and sophisticated metalwork.[14]