BIBLE HISTORY DAILY

Cultic Weaponry of Urartu

Bronze shields and a helmet discovered in Ayanis Castle

The Urartian sheilds. Courtesy Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

Excavations at the site of Ayanis Castle in eastern Turkey revealed three magnificent bronze shields and a helmet dedicated to Haldi, the chief god of Urartu, an Iron Age kingdom known in the Bible as Ararat. According to a statement by the Turkish Minister of Culture and Tourism, “The artifacts discovered during the excavations at the monumental temple complex in Ayanis, dedicated to the god Haldi, reflect the richness and high level of Urartian metal craftsmanship.”

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A Forgotten Biblical Kingdom

The fortress of Ayanis was one of the last castles constructed by the Urartians. At its height, the powerful Iron Age kingdom, located north of Assyria, stretched from Armenia and northwestern Iran to the Mediterranean Sea. Located around 22 miles north of the capital city of Tushpa, the castle housed a temple to Haldi, the chief deity of the Urartians. Recent excavations have focused on uncovering the temple, which is one of the best preserved in Urartu. It was in this context that the team uncovered three beautifully crafted bronze shields and a decorated bronze helmet, all dedicated to Haldi. The objects date to the mid-seventh century BCE, shortly after which the castle was destroyed by an earthquake.

Excavations at Ayanis have been ongoing for nearly four decades and have revealed much about the 15-acre fortress, which sits on a hill overlooking Lake Van. The fortress’s sudden destruction has made it an incredible site in Urartian archaeology, with the discovery of bronze weapons, royal and cultic buildings, reliefs, inscriptions, and an entire outer city. In antiquity, the site was known as Rusahinili Eidurukai after the Urartian king, Rusa II (r. 678–654 BCE), who built it.

The bronze Urartian helmet. Courtesy Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

The kingdom of Urartu lasted from the ninth to sixth centuries, often fighting with its southern neighbor, Assyria. Urartu finally lost its sovereignty in 590 BCE, when it was conquered by the Medes and the Persians, shortly after those groups had conquered the Assyrians. Within a hundred years, Urartu’s former realms came to be known as Armenia.

Both the region and the kingdom of Urartu are mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, under the cognate name Ararat. It is first mentioned in Genesis 8:4 when Noah lands on Mount Ararat. Although the exact identification of the mountain this name referred to is highly debated, it likely resides within the kingdom of Ararat/Urartu. The second mention of Ararat comes in 2 Kings 19:37 when the two sons of Sennacherib fled to Ararat after assassinating their father.

Related reading in Bible History Daily:

Where Noah Landed?

The Assassination of Sennacherib

Long-Lost Temple of Haldi Found in Iraqi Kurdistan?

All-Access members, read more in the BAS Library:

Assyrian Palace Discovered in Ashdod

Gilgamesh—Like You’ve Never Seen Him Before

Grisly Assyrian Record of Torture and Death

A Futile Quest: The Search for Noah’s Ark