Erebuni

The ruins of Erebuni Fortress.
Building
Architectural style	Urartian fortification
Town	Yerevan
Country	Armenia
Client	Argishti I

Coordinates: 40°08′26″N 44°32′17″E / 40.14056°N 44.53806°E / 40.14056; 44.53806 Erebuni Fortress is a fortification and city from the ancient kingdom of Urartu, located now in modern-day Yerevan, Armenia. It was one of several fortress built along the northern border of Urartu and was one of the most important political, economic and cultural centers of the kingdom. The name Yerevan itself is derived from Erebuni.^[1]

[edit] Etymology

On an inscription found at Karmir Blur, the verb "erebu-ni" is used in the sense of "to seize, pillage, steal, or kidnap" followed by a changing direct object. As an unchanging direct object, scholars have conjectured that the word may also mean "to take" or "to capture" and thus believe that the Erebuni at the time of its founding meant "capture", "conquest", or "victory."^[2]

[edit] History

A maquette of the Erebuni fortress.

Modern reproductions of the ancient wall-paintings at Erebuni Fortress.

Erebuni was founded by the Urartian King Argishti I (r. ca. 785 – 753 BC) in 782 BC. It was built on top of a hill called Arin Berd (Fortress of Blood) overlooking the Arax River Valley to serve as a military stronghold to protect the kingdom's northern borders.^[3] According to Margarit Israelyan, Argishti began the construction of Erebuni after conquering the territories north of Yerevan and west of Lake Sevan, roughly corresponding to where the town of Abovyan is currently located. Accordingly, the prisoners he captured in these campaigns, both men and women, were used to help build his town.^[4]

In the autumn of 1950, an archaeological expedition led by Konstantine Hovhannisyan discovered an inscription at Arin Berd dedicated to the city's founding which was carved during Argishti's reign. It read:

By the greatness of the God Khaldi, Argishti, son of Menua, built this mighty stronghold and proclaimed it Erebuni for the glory of Biainili [Urartu] and to instill fear among the king's enemies. Argishti says: The land was a desert, before the great works I accomplished upon it. By the greatness of Khaldi, Argishti, son of Menua, is a mighty king, king of Biainili, and ruler of Tushpa [Van].^[5]

Argishti left a similar inscription at the Urartian capital Tushpa (current-day Van) as well, stating that he brought 6,600 prisoners of war from Khate and Tsupani to populate his new city.^[6] Similar to other Urartian cities of the time, it was built on a triangular plan on top of a hill and ensconced by 10-12 meter high ramparts. Behind them, the buildings were separated by central and inner walls. The walls were built from a variety of materials, including basalt, tuff, wood and adobe.^[6] Argishti constructed a grand palace here and excavations conducted in the area have revealed that other notable buildings included a colonnaded royal assembly hall, a temple dedicated to Khaldi, a citadel, where the garrison resided, living quarters, dormitories and storerooms.^[7] The inner walls were richly and opulently decorated with murals and other wall paintings, displaying religious and secular scenes.^[8]

Successive Urartian kings made Erebuni their place of residence during their military campaigns against northern invaders.^[9] Kings Sarduri II and Rusa I also utilized Erebuni as a staging site for new campaigns of conquest directed towards the north.^[10] In the early sixth century the Urartian state, under constant foreign invasion, collapsed. The Urartians were formally replaced by the Armenians,^[11] but the region soon fell under the control of the Achaemenian Empire. The strategic position that Erebuni occupied did not diminish, however, becoming an important center of the satrapy of Armenia.^[6]

Despite numerous invasions by successive foreign powers, the city was never truly abandoned and was continually inhabited over the following centuries, eventually branching out to become the city of Yerevan.^[10][12] Erebuni's close affinity to Yerevan was celebrated in a splendid festival held in September 1968, commemorating Erebuni's 2,750th birthday.^[6]

[edit] Excavations

Systematic excavations at Erebuni began in 1952, under the joint sponsorship of the Armenian Academy of Sciences' Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography and the Pushkin Museum's Board for the Preservation and Restoration of Architectural Monuments. The team was led by Konstantine Hovhannisyan and Boris Piotrovsky, who served as an on-site adviser.^[13] In the course of the early stage of the excavations (1950 – 1968), Argishti's palace, the royal assembly hall, temples and over a 100 rooms were excavated. Dozens of Urartian and Achaemenian artifacts, such as pottery, earthenware, belt-buckles, bracelets, beads, drinking vessels, helmets, arrows and silver coins, were also uncovered.^[13] The murals that were uncovered were found to be decorated with important religious themes, including "processions of gods, sacred animals, and trees of life", as well as scenes of everyday life, displaying scenes of "hunting, cattle breeding, and agriculture."^[14]

[edit] Gallery

Walls of Erebuni Fortress	The facade of the museum	The statue of King Argishti at the entrance of the museum	Cuneiform Urartian inscription on stone (Erebuni Museum, Yerevan).
An Urartian mortar (Erebuni Museum)	Depiction of the Urartian god Teisheba	Column base; the god Teisheba stands on a lion, holding in his left hand a bowl and in his right hand a spearhead (or a plant)

[edit] See also

• Van Fortress
• Yerevan

[edit] Notes

[edit] Further reading

• (Armenian) Israelyan, Margarit A. Էրեբունի: Բերդ-Քաղաքի Պատմություն (Erebuni: The History of a Fortress-City). Yerevan, Armenian SSR: Hayastan Publishing Press, 1971.
• Hovhannisyan, Konstantine. The Wall Paintings of Erebuni. Yerevan: Armenian Academy of Sciences, 1973. In Armenian, Russian and English.
• Piotrovsky, Boris. The Ancient Civilization of Urartu: An Archaeological Adventure. New York: Cowles Book Co., 1969.

[edit] External links

• Erebouni Fortress at Armenica.org
• Erebuni Fortress
• Erebuni - Cuneiform Foundations

v • d • e Cities and fortresses of Urartu (Kingdom of Van) Argistinikhili  · Arzashkun1  · Erebuni  · Haykaberd  · Musasir  · Teishebaini  · Teyseba  · Tushpa2 1 First capital city until 832 B.C. 2 Second capital city from 832 B.C.