Median invasion of Urartu

Median invasion of Urartu
Datebetween 609–590 BC
Location
Armenian Highlands
Result

Median victory

  • Collapse of the kingdom of Urartu
Territorial
changes		 Medes conquer the Armenian highlands, and later conquer western Anatolia in the aftermath
Belligerents
Median kingdom
Scythians		 Kingdom of Urartu
Kingdom of Manna
Commanders and leaders
Cyaxares Rusa IV

The Median Invasion of Urartu refers to the military campaigns conducted by the Median Empire and King Cyaxares against the Kingdom of Urartu in the late 7th century BC to the early 6th century BC. These invasions were part of a broader series of conflicts involving the Medes, Scythians, and other groups that contributed to the downfall of Urartu and the eventual rise of the Median Empire as a dominant power in the region.

Background

Urartu was an powerful Iron Age kingdom centered around the Armenian highlands between Lake Van, Lake Urmia, and Lake Sevan.[1][2] The territory of the ancient kingdom of Urartu extended over the modern frontiers of Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Armenia.[2] Its kings left behind cuneiform inscriptions in the Urartian language, a member of the Hurro-Urartian language family.[3] However it was almost constantly at war with the Assyrians to their south.[4] This weakened Urartu.[5][6] Meanwhile Cyaxares had just conquered the Assyrian Empire with allied Nabopolassar of Babylon.[7][8][9][10][11] The confidence and noticing that Urartu was weakend probably laid the steps for Cyaxares to invade.

Invasion

When the invasion actually happened is debated between historians, sources vary all the way from 609 BC to 590 BC.[12][4][13][14] Either way, Cyaxares pitted his forces against the kingdoms of Urartu and Manna. This assault resulted in both kingdoms exiting the historical record around 590 BCE , when the Hebrew prophet Jeremiah mentions them as subjects of the Medes.[15] Sources state that Cyaxares "overran" Urartu.[16][17] probably meaning the invasion happened fast and swiftly, with little resistance, considering Urartu was weakened.

Aftermath

The fall of Urartu led to the emergence of a new Armenian kingdom in the mountains of eastern Anatolia that recognized Median Suzerainty. From Armenia, the conquering Medes pushed westward toward the Black sea.[17] They were welcomed there by wandering bands of Cimmerians and Scythians that still roamed the inland region of Asia Minor, which had come to be known as Cappadocia. The occupation of this region precipitated a six-year-long war with the western Anatolian kingdom of Lydia (590-585 BC).[15][18] This resulted the Medes to rule all of Asia Minor across the river Halys.[19] Which ended up becoming the common border between the Medes and the Lydians after the war ended in a stalemate.[6][15][20]

See also

References

  1. ^ Cline, Eric H.; Graham, Mark W. (2011-06-27). Ancient Empires: From Mesopotamia to the Rise of Islam. Cambridge University Press. p. 56. ISBN 978-0-521-88911-7.
  2. ^ a b "URARTU IN IRAN". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Retrieved 2025-05-20.
  3. ^ The Oxford Encyclopedia of Archaeology in the Near East. Oxford University Press. 1997. ISBN 978-0-19-506512-1.
  4. ^ a b Middleton, John (2015-06-01). World Monarchies and Dynasties. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-45157-0.
  5. ^ Coene, Frederik (2009-10-16). The Caucasus - An Introduction. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-135-20301-6.
  6. ^ a b Boyce, Mary (2015-11-02). A History of Zoroastrianism, Zoroastrianism under the Achaemenians. BRILL. p. 12. ISBN 978-90-04-29390-8.
  7. ^ Frahm, Eckart (2017-06-12). A Companion to Assyria. John Wiley & Sons. p. 192. ISBN 978-1-4443-3593-4.
  8. ^ Andrews, Edward D. (2024-10-22). THE BABYLONIAN EMPIRE. Christian Publishing House. p. 37. ISBN 979-8-3440-5812-2.
  9. ^ Chronological Tables: Comprehending the Chronology and History of the World, from the Earliest Records to the Close of the Russian War. R. Griffin. 1857. p. 31.
  10. ^ Wilson, Michael Kenneth (2020-12-21). The Lives of the Wise in an Anti-God World: Daniel 1–6 (in Arabic). Wipf and Stock Publishers. ISBN 978-1-7252-8816-4.
  11. ^ The Statistician and Economist: 1st-23d Issue 1876-1905/06. L.P. McCarty. 1878. p. 65.
  12. ^ West, Barbara A. (2010-05-19). Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Asia and Oceania. Infobase Publishing. p. 518. ISBN 978-1-4381-1913-7.
  13. ^ Пиотровский, Борис Борисович; Бонгард-Левин, Григорий Максимович (1988). Ancient Civilisations of East and West. Progress Publishers. p. 117. ISBN 978-5-01-001823-8.
  14. ^ Nunn, Astrid (2011-05-15). "Robert Rollinger. « The Median 'Empire', the End of Urartu and Cyrus the Great's Campaign in 547 BC (Nabonidus Chronicle II 16) ». Ancient West & East 7, 2008, p. 51-66". Abstracta Iranica. Revue bibliographique pour le domaine irano-aryen (in French). 31. doi:10.4000/abstractairanica.39422. ISSN 0240-8910.
  15. ^ a b c Zaghamee, Reza (2015-09-25). Discovering Cyrus: The Persian Conqueror Astride the Ancient World. Mage Publishers. ISBN 978-1-933823-79-9.
  16. ^ Beitzel, Barry (2009-09-23). The New Moody Atlas of the Bible. Moody Publishers. p. 22. ISBN 978-1-57567-372-1.
  17. ^ a b Chahin, Mack (2013-11-05). The Kingdom of Armenia: New Edition. Routledge. p. 107. ISBN 978-1-136-85243-5.
  18. ^ Kelekna, Pita (2009-04-20). The Horse in Human History. Cambridge University Press. p. 120. ISBN 978-0-521-51659-4.
  19. ^ Thurman, William C. (William Carr) (1867). The sealed book of Daniel opened, or, A book of reference for those who wish to examine the "Sure works of prophecy.". Internet Archive. Boston : For sale at the Office of the "World's Crisis". p. 84.
  20. ^ Farr, Edward (1850). History of the Assyrians, Chaledeans, Medes, Lydians and Carthaginians. p. 162.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.