Kingdom of Urartu (Assyrian: māt Urarṭu, Babylonian: Urashtu, Hebrew: אֲרָרָט, romanized: Ararat), was an Iron Age kingdom. Territory of the ancient Kingdom of Urartu extended over the modern frontiers of Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and the Republic of Armenia. Its center was the Armenian highland between Lake Van, Lake Urmia, and Lake Sevan.[1] During the seventh century, the Urartians collaborated with a combination of Scythians and Cimmerians in their jockeying for power, but by 590, having been weakened in the constant rivalry between Assyrians, Babylonians, Scythians, and Medes, Urartu was swallowed by the Medes.[2]
Armenians are the heirs of the Urartians.[3] A. E. Redgate says that the Urartians are the "most easily identifiable" ancestors of the Armenians.[4] Philip D. Curtin defined the Kingdom of Urartu as an Armenian kingdom.[5]
Map | Year |
---|---|
860–840 BC | |
820–785 BC | |
785–753 BC | |
745–735 BC | |
743 BC | |
735–715 BC | |
713–680 BC | |
680–610 BC | |
610–585 BC |
The territory of the ancient kingdom of Urartu extended over the modern frontiers of Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and the Republic of Armenia. Its center was the Armenian highland between Lake Van, Lake Urmia, and Lake Sevan.
During the seventh century, the Urartians collaborated with a combination of Scythians and Cimmerians¹² in their jockeying for power, but by 590, having been weakened in the constant rivalry between Assyrians, Babylonians, Scythians, and Medes, Urartu was swallowed by the Medes.
The real heirs of the Urartians, however, were neither the Scythians nor Medes but the Armenians.
However, the most easily identifiable ancestors of the later Armenian nation are the Urartians.
At least three times in history, Armenians rose to unusual territorial power. The first was in the ninth to the sixth century B.C., where the Armenian kingdom of Urartu was an important stopping point for trade between Asia and the Mediterranean world.