The Kingdom of Urartu: Armenia's Iron Age Precursor

Long before the kingdom of Armenia, the Armenian highlands were home to Urartu, a powerful Iron Age kingdom that rivaled Assyria and forged the cultural and political landscape of the region. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the rise and fall of Urartu, its fortified cities like Tushpa and Erebuni, its gods Haldi and Shivini, and its cuneiform inscriptions that survive to this day. They discuss the kingdom's sophisticated irrigation systems, its wars with Assyrian kings like Shalmaneser III and Sargon II, and the mysterious origins of the Urartian people—possibly ancestors of the Armenians. Lucas draws on the annals of Argishti I and Sarduri II, the rock-cut tombs of Van, and the legacy of Urartu in later Armenian culture. A fresh angle on Armenia's deep history, this episode traces the roots of Armenian identity back to the Bronze and Iron Ages, showing how Urartu laid the groundwork for everything from Armenian architecture to the worship of Mount Ararat. #Urartu #KingdomOfUrartu #Tushpa #Erebuni #ArgishtiI #SarduriII #ShalmaneserIII #SargonII #Haldi #Shivini #Van #ArmenianHighlands #IronAge #AncientNearEast #Assyria #Cuneiform #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo