More Urartian Art!

Most of the knowledge regarding Urartu comes from a series of clay tablets found among ancient Assyrian ruins.  They hold the reports from Assyrian intelligence agents that were sent to various cities in Urartu. These clay tablets give us a record of history for a period of time around 714 BCE. 

The people of Urartu referred to themselves as “Biainili.” Urartian texts have shown that the kings of Urartu often called themselves the “king of the land of Biaini,” and in Assyrian texts, Urartian kings were labeled the “king of the land of Nairi.” The land of Nairi/Biaini is known to be the land surrounding Lake Van (or the Sea of Nairi). Hebrew texts referred to Urartu as the “Kingdom of Ararat.” Historians believe that over the entire span of the kingdom’s life, people of Mitanni, Khurry, Khaldea, and Hittite blood lived among the Urartians during its early history. Its later inhabitants, those that eventually brought the kingdom to its end, were the Phrygians, Moskes, Armens, Scythians, Alans, and Cimmerians. Some of these groups were brought to Urartu as prisoners of conquest and were often put to work in labor forces.  - Armenian National Committee of America Western Region.

Lake Van at the heart of the kingdom is a salt water lake which provided salt and an ecosystem that sustained diverse agricultural products including cotton, mulberry trees, grapevines, apricots, peaches, pomegranate, other fruit trees, and rice.  The surrounding mountains were rich in minerals as well, yielding crystals, naphtha, copper, salt, iron, lead, silver, gold, borax, arsenic, and semi-precious stones. Urartians were expert metal workers and also practiced forestry and raised cattle.  Their horses, were trained for cavalry and chariots and Urartian charioteers were renowned.

Griffin-headed demon, blackened ivory. Forms a pair with another similar sculpture, but made in white ivory. They may have been part of the decoration of a throne. 8th-7th century BC, Urartu, from Toprakkale (East Turkey) now in the British Museum, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Zunkir.

Lead figure with glass and ivory inlays, 8th-7th century BCE. From Toprakkale, eastern Turkey, kingdom of Urartu, now in the British Museum, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Zunkir.

Urartian goblet shaped like a shoe courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor EvgenyGenkin

Urartian fresco courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor EvgenyGenkin

Urartian bull head probably once an attachment to a bronze cauldron courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art.

Urartian bronze Lamassu figurine from Toprak-kale, 9th-7th centuries BCE at The Hermitage Museum courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor EvgenyGenkin

Urartian cauldron at the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations in Ankara, Turkey courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Evgeny Genkin

An alloy of gold and silver pectoral depicting a kneeling figure (bringing a sheep; sacrifice) in adoration before an enthroned deity (holding a bowl in one hand and a plant in the other). The scene is flanked by 2 stylized trees. From Toprakkale (Rusahinili), Turkey. Urartian, 8th-7th century BCE. Pergamon Museum, Berlin, Germany, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin FRCP(Glasg).

Fragments of a horse engraving from a wall in Rusahinili, ancient Urartian fortress built by Rusa I, 735–714 BCE, located near the modern city of Van in eastern Turkey courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor EvgenyGenkin now in The Hermitage Museum.

Urartian bronze quiver with chariots motif that once belonged to Sarduri II, 764–735 BCE, at The Hermitage Museum Turkey courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor EvgenyGenkin

Cast and incised bronze furniture fittings. Urartian, late 8th century BC from Toprakkale now in the British Museum courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor ClaireH.

Urartian Bronze Finial in the shape of a winged and horned lion 8th-7th century BCE courtesy of Phoenix Ancient Art.

Pointed Urartian helmet at the Badisches Landesmuseum in Karlsruhe, Germany courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Thomas Ihle.

Urartian throne leg with male ruler or deity standing over a kneeling bull, 8th-7th century BCE at The Hermitage Museum courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor EvgenyGenkin

Urartian bronze Lamassu figurine from Toprak-kale, 9th-7th centuries BCE at The Hermitage Museum courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor EvgenyGenkin

Urartian, about 650 BCE From Toprakkale. Inscription reads "Rusa, son of Erimena, mighty king, great king, lord of the city of Tushpa, now in the British Museum courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor ClaireH.

Urartian pottery with bull protomes at the Erebuni Museum in Armenia courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Gegman.

Ivory carvings of Urartian protective deity now in the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations in Ankara, Turkey, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor EvgenyGenkin

Urartian Tree of Life courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor EvgenyGenkin.

A leg of the Urartian chandelier found at Rusahinili now in the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations in Ankara, Turkey, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor EvgenyGenkin

Urartian bronze quiver with chariots motif that once belonged to Sarduri II, 764–735 BCE, at The Hermitage Museum Turkey courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor EvgenyGenkin

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Part of an Urartian throne with deity on a bull, ca. late 8th–7th century B.C.E.

Assyrian inscriptions of Shalmaneser I (c. 1274 BCE) first mention Uruartri as one of the states of Nairi, a loose confederation of small kingdoms and tribal states in the Armenian Highlands in the thirteenth to eleventh centuries BCE which he conquered. It extended from northeastern Turkey into northwestern Iran with its cultural center around Lake Van. Its settlements were palace-fortresses that protected agricultural production and supported many crafts, especially an extensive metalworking industry. 

The Nairi states were repeatedly subjected to further attacks and invasions by the Middle and Neo-Assyrian Empires.  But Urartu, united under King Arame (860-843 BCE),  reemerged in Assyrian language inscriptions in the ninth century BCE as a powerful northern rival to the Neo-Assyrian Empire. Urartologist Paul Zimansky speculated the Urartian ruling class were few in number and governed over an ethnically, culturally, and linguistically diverse population. This diversity may have extended to the royal line themselves who may have come from various ethnic backgrounds.

Although the Urartian capital was captured by the Assyrians during the reign of Shalmaneser III, Assyria fell into a period of temporary stagnation for decades during the first half of the 8th century BCE, which aided Urartu's growth.  During sporadic periods of peace with Assyria, it is thought Urartu traded cattle, horses, iron, and wine. From cuneiform sources, it is known that in Urartu grew wheat, barley, sesame, millet, and emmer, and cultivated gardens and vineyards. Many regions of the Urartu state required artificial irrigation, which was organized by its rulers. 

The art of Urartu is especially notable for fine lost-wax bronze objects: weapons, figurines, vessels including grand cauldrons that were used for sacrifices, fittings for furniture, and helmets. There are also remains of ivory and bone carvings, frescos, cylinder seals and of course pottery.  Unfortunately, archaeology has produced relatively few examples of the jewelry made of precious metals that the Assyrians boasted of carrying off in great quantities from the Urartian city of Musasir in 714 BCE during the campaigns of Sargon II.  

During this time the Urartian kingdom also suffered heavily from Cimmerian raids as well. but Urartu made peace with Assyria in 705 BCE when Sennacherib ascended the throne and Urartu  entered a long period of development and prosperity.  But when Cimmerians and Scythians resumed their attacks, Urartu became dependent on Assyria, like a vassal state. Inscriptions reveal  Urartu's king Sarduri III (645-635 BCE) referred to Assyrian king Ashurbanipal as his "father"  at this point.

Late during the 7th century BCE, Urartu was once again invaded by Scythians, this time accompanied by their allies—the Medes. In 612 BCE, the Median king Cyaxares the Great together with Nabopolassar of Babylon and the Scythians conquered Assyria after it had been irreversibly weakened by civil war. The Medes then took over the Urartian capital of Van in 590 BCE, effectively ending the sovereignty of Urartu.

Image: Part of a throne with deity on a bull, ca. late 8th–7th century B.C.E., Urartian, courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. This fragment, with the lower part of a figure standing along the flanks of a bull, was most likely part of a throne. From better-preserved examples, we know that the figure wore the horned crown of a deity. The whole would have been gilded. A throne and footstool supported by four deities and their animal companions would have been a potent symbol of the Urartian king's power.

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