The Cultural Heritage of Urartu Kingdom

The Urartians were one of the most fascinating Near Eastern civilizations of the first half of the first millennium BC. They were known for their highly developed architecture and organized government.

The Kingdom of Urartu was ruled by a centralized government that was closely tied to religion. The king had a large group of administrators and a private army that was directly under his command. The capital city of Tushpa was home to both the government and the army.

The inscription on the Gate of Meher is undoubtedly the most important inscription providing detailed information about the Urartian state religion. The inscription is in Urartian language and is carved into the main rock. It has three moldings.

The inscription lists the Urartu pantheon. The list contains the names of 79 gods and goddesses and the number of sacrifices that should be offered to them. The three most important gods are the chief deity Haldi, the storm god Teišeba, and the god of the sun Šiuini.

As it is understood from the Urartian depictions, bulls, lions, winged lions, sphinxes and the tree of life are important sacred motifs (Shield from the Anzaf castle, Van Museum).

A series of ceremonies were held in the name of Haldi. These ceremonies were directed by the priests; ordinary people were probably not included. Sacrifices were presented, offerings were made and seeds were scattered to increase fertility.

The gifts presented to the god Haldi were hung on the temple walls. Among these gifts were weapons such as decorated shields, helmets, quivers, spears and arrow tips.

The inscriptions devoted to the kings of Urartu describe their military expeditions and victories, the public works they built, and other activities. Inscriptions are carved on hard stones such as limestone, andesite and basalt.

These inscriptions can be found on steles, rock surfaces, temples and rock tombs such as the one in Van Castle. In addition, there are inscriptions on many bronze artifacts, especially on the objects used as offerings to gods.

Urartians built magnificent castles. They shaped stone and made it aesthetically pleasing with reliefs built using scraping, carving and pouring techniques. All excavated examples of stonework reveal the monumentality of Urartian art.

One of the most important areas of Urartu art was metal processing. Jewelry was used to signify social status and was widely used by the Urartian elites.

The belts are decorated with mythological and religious scenes, geometric and herbal motifs, chariots, mounted warriors, pedestrians, hunting scenes, animals, ceremonial scenes and paintings of castles (Urartian belt piece, Istanbul Archaeological Museums).

The ceramics had a dark red color, brought out due to the high heat during firing and the iron minerals in the dough (Urartian libation vessel and chalice, Van Museum).

There are traces of gold on these ivory artifacts. It is believed that these ivory artifacts were processed and covered with gold leaves. They were decorated with motifs such as winged genies, mythological creatures, animals, and the tree of life.