Mannaea was an ancient kingdom located in northwestern Iran, south of Lake Urmia, around the 10th to 7th centuries BC. It neighbored Assyria and Urartu, as well as other small buffer states between the two, such as Musasir and Zikirta.
Boris Borisovich Piotrovsky, also Piotrovskii was a Soviet Russian academician, historian-orientalist and archaeologist who studied the ancient civilizations of Urartu, Scythia, and Nubia. He is best known as a key figure in the study of the Urartian civilization of the southern Caucasus. From 1964 until his death, Piotrovsky was also Director of the Hermitage Museum in Leningrad.
Argishti I, was the sixth known king of Urartu, reigning from 786 BC to 764 BC. He founded the citadel of Erebuni in 782 BC, which is the present capital of Armenia, Yerevan. Alternate transliterations of the name include Argishtis, Argisti, Argišti, and Argishtish. Although the name is usually rendered as Argišti, some scholars argue that Argisti is the most likely pronunciation. This is due to the belief that the Urartians used the cuneiform symbol š to voice an s-sound, as opposed to representing the digraph sh.
Teishebaini was the capital of the Transcaucasian provinces of the ancient kingdom of Urartu. It is located near the modern city of Yerevan in Armenia. The site was once a fortress and governmental centre with towered and buttressed perimeter walls, massive gates, a parade ground within its walls, and storage rooms that entirely occupied the ground floor. The site of the city, palace and citadel together measure over 0.45 km2. The name Karmir Blur translates to "Red Hill" because of the hill's reddish hue. It became this color after the city was set on fire and the upper walls which were made of tuff fell and crumbled because of the heat. After the tuff was heated by the fire, it took on a more intense red color and therefore the hill became red. The lower portions of the walls were left standing after the fire since they were built with a stronger stone. Teishebaini is situated at a height of 901 metres (2,956 ft).
Muṣaṣir, in Urartian Ardini was an ancient city of Urartu, attested in Assyrian sources of the 9th and 8th centuries BC.
Erebuni Fortress is an Urartian fortified city, located in Yerevan, Armenia. It is 1,017 metres (3,337 ft) above sea level. It was one of several fortresses built along the northern Urartian border and was one of the most important political, economic and cultural centers of the vast kingdom. The name Yerevan itself is derived from Erebuni.
Sugunia was the first capital of Arame of Urartu. The city was mentioned in an inscription by the Assyrian king Shalmaneser III, who destroyed it in 858 BC.
Konstantine Hovhannisyan was an Armenian professor, architect and archaeologist. He was the head of an excavation team that was responsible for the excavations of the ancient Urartian city of Erebuni.
Rusa IV was king of Urartu from 590 BC to 585 BC. Rusa IV was the son and a successor of Rusa III, and the successor of Sarduri IV. His name is mentioned on a number of clay tablets found at Karmir Blur, including tablets bearing his own royal inscriptions. However, almost nothing is known about his reign. He is possibly the Hrachya mentioned by the Armenian historian Moses of Khorene.
Urartu 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. The kingdom emerged in the mid-9th century BC and dominated the Armenian Highlands in the 8th and 7th centuries BC. Urartu frequently warred with Assyria and became, for a time, the most powerful state in the Near East. Weakened by constant conflict, it was eventually conquered by the Iranian Medes in the early 6th century BC. Archaeologically, it is noted for its large fortresses and sophisticated metalwork. Its kings left behind cuneiform inscriptions in the Urartian language, a member of the Hurro-Urartian language family. Since its re-discovery in the 19th century, Urartu, which is commonly believed to have been at least partially Armenian-speaking, has played a significant role in Armenian nationalism.
The History Museum of Armenia is a museum in Armenia with departments of Archaeology, Numismatics, Ethnography, Modern History and Restoration. It has a national collection of 400,000 objects and was founded in 1920. Of the main collection, 35% is made up of archaeology-related items, 8% is made up of ethnography-related items, 45% is made of numismatics-related items, and 12% is made up of documents. It is regarded as Armenia's national museum and is located on Republic Square in Yerevan. The state financially supports the museum and owns both the collection and the building. The museum carries out conservation and restoration work and publishes works on Armenian architecture, archaeology, ethnography, and history. They also have published a series of reports on archaeological excavations since 1948. The museum carries out educational and scientific programs on Armenian history and culture as well.
Sarduri IV was one of the last kings of Urartu, reigning from 615 to 595 BC.
The economy of Urartu refers to the principles of management of Urartu, the ancient state of Western Asia which existed from the thirteenth to the sixth century BC. It peaked around the eighth century BC but was destroyed with the fall of the state about a century later. The economy of Urartu was typical of ancient Oriental Despotism and was closely associated with that of neighboring Assyria.
Argishtikhinili was a town in the ancient kingdom of Urartu, established during the expansion of the Urartians in the Transcaucasus under their king Argishti I, and named in his honour. It lasted between the 8th and 6th centuries BC. The ruins of the Argishtikhinili fortifications are 15 kilometres (9 mi) southwest of the present-day town of Armavir, Armenia, between the villages of Nor-Armavir and Armavir in the Armenian marz of Armavir. The town was founded on the left bank of the middle reaches of the Aras River. Over the centuries, the river channel has shifted to several kilometres south of the town.
The Statuette of God Teisheba is an Urartian bronze statuette made in the 8-7th century BC, found near Teishebaini in 1941, depicting the Araratian (Urartian) god of storms and thunder Teisheba. It is at the History Museum of Armenia, in Yerevan. The statuette was found by Hripsime Janpoladyan who was the wife of the head of expedition Boris Piotrovsky.
Etiuni was the name of an early Iron Age tribal confederation in northern parts of Araxes rivers, roughly corresponding to the subsequent Ayrarat Province of the Kingdom of Armenia. Etiuni was frequently mentioned in the records of Urartian kings, who led numerous campaigns into Etiuni territory. It is very likely it was the "Etuna" or "Etina" which contributed to the fall of Urartu, according to Assyrian texts. Some scholars believe it had an Armenian-speaking population.
Erimena, according to tradition, was the twelfth king of Urartu and reigned from 625 to 605 BC. He was the successor of Sarduri III and father of Rusa III, who ruled Urartu from 610-590 B.C. Little is known about Erimena; his name was mentioned in an inscribed bronze shield found at Toprakkale by Hormuzd Rassam in 1880 that is now located in the British Museum. Erimena, according to a Babylonian chronicle, held an expedition in the mountainous region of Bit Hanounia, under the rule of Nabopolassar. He also suffered many attacks from the Babylonians which led to the decline of Urartu.
Urartu religion is a belief system adopted in the ancient state of Urartu, which existed from the 8th to 6th centuries BC. It was typical of despotic states from Near East. The Urartu religion was polytheistic in nature and derived from the earlier beliefs of Mesopotamia and Anatolia. As in other beliefs of the ancient East, Urartu had a pantheon of deities, patronizing various phenomena. The main deity was Haldi. The worlds of humans and gods were united through ritual sacrifices. The Urartu religion absorbed the motifs of the tree of life, the serpent and the winged solar disk characteristic of the ancient East. Against the background of Mesopotamian beliefs, Urartu was distinguished by a high level of religious tolerance, which was conditioned by the multinationality of the state.
