The Urartu Civilization
After the fall of the Hittite empire, at
the beginning of the first millennium B.C., a new kingdom was formed in
eastern Anatolia, which was to survive for
three hundred years. This was the kingdom of the Urartu, who were related
to the Hurrians and were closely related
to the Hittites in origin. However, the Urartu
are historically looked upon as a civilization that had its own particular
set of characteristics. The Urartu carried many of the customs and traditions
of the Hittites into the first millennium, and
can be said to have been a typically Anatolian
culture. During the Early Urartu period, they were grouped in a series
of emirates known as the Nairi, but in 900 B.C., they formed a confederation
under a central monarch.
We know from inscriptions that the first Urartu ruler was Aramu (860-840
B.C.), followed by Sardur I (840-830 B.C.). Sardur I was responsible for
adding a tower to the fortress of Van, which was
completed during his reign. The inscription refers to him as the ruler
of the Nairi, suggesting that the other emirates had rallied around him
by this time. During the reigns of Sardur I and his successor Ishpuinis,
(830-810 B.C.) the capital of Urartu was Van, which
became steadily larger and more prosperous. Ishpuinis appointed his son
Menuas as co-administrator during his reign and extended the Urartu frontiers,
taking the city of Mushashir near Gevas. This made the Urartu a significant
threat to the Assyrians. King Ishpuinis died in
810 B.C. and was succeeded by his son Menuas (810-780 B.C.). He was followed
by Argishtish I (780-760 B.C.). The latter extended the Urartu frontiers
even further and built up a chain of fortresses against potential foes.
After the death of Argishtish I, Sardur II came to the throne (760-730
B.C.), and it was during his reign that the Urartu state reached its greatest
proportions. Upon his death, he was succeeded by Rusas I (730-713 B.C.),
during whose reign the Urartu were confronted with fierce opposition from
the Assyrians. The frontiers of Urartu were threatened
on several occasions, and to combat this, the Urartu built buffer towns
on the edges of their territory that were abandoned in times of danger,
and later inhabited.
Rusas I was succeeded by his son Argishtish II (713-685 B.C.) after
whom Rusas II (685-645 B.C.), Sardur III (645-625 B.C.), Erimena (625-605
B.C.), and Rusas III (605-590 B.C.) reigned in turn. He was followed by
Sardur IV, who reigned between 590-585 B.C. The Urartu were weakened by
the constant raids of the Assyrians, Medes and Scythians.
In the end, the state of Urartu was annihilated in 585 B.C. by the Scythian
invasion. The Urartu, a tribe of powerful warriors in times of war, were
farmers in times of peace. They were ruled by monarchs who also bore the
title of chief-priest or envoy of Haldi, the major deity. Other deities
in the Urartu pantheon included Teisiba, god of the heavens, who was known
as Teshub among the Hittites and the Hurrians,
and Siwini, the sun goddess. Many temples dedicated to Haldi, some of which
were adjoining royal palaces, while others were free-standing structures,
have been unearthed in excavations at Altintepe, Toprakkale, Patnos and
Cavustepe. Urartu excavations have revealed not only palaces and temples
of the Haldiye period, but also houses of the period, complete with windows
and balconies. The interiors of these houses were decorated with various
motifs. However far away the water source may have been, each settlement
had a complete water supply and drainage system. One feature of Urartu
architecture that was to be very influential in the Near East was the blind
arch, and we can see that the layout of Urartu buildings was the precursor
to that of the Iranian apadana layouts. Urartu fortresses, solid structures
of dressed stone blocks were thought to have numbered thirty in all. The
most important of these were the fortresses at Van,
Anzaf, Cavustepe and Baskale. The art of metalwork was certainly highly
advanced in Urartu, and perhaps the greatest proof of this was the fact
that Urartu artifacts were exported to Phrygia and
Etruria. This is how the magnificent bull-headed cauldrons of the Urartu
came to be found in Italy.