Ḫaldi (^d,''Ḫaldi'', also known as Khaldi) was one of the three chief deities of

Urartu Urartu (; Assyrian: ',Eberhard Schrader, ''The Cuneiform inscriptions and the Old Testament'' (1885), p. 65. Babylonian: ''Urashtu'', he, אֲרָרָט ''Ararat'') is a geographical region and Iron Age kingdom also known as the Kingdom of Va ...

. He was a warrior god to whom the kings of Urartu would pray for victories in battle. Ḫaldi was portrayed as a man with or without wings, standing on a lion. His principle shrine was at

Ardini Muṣaṣir (Assyrian cuneiform: and variants, including Mutsatsir, Akkadian for ''Exit of the Serpent/Snake''), in Urartian Ardini was an ancient city of Urartu, attested in Assyrian sources of the 9th and 8th centuries BC. It was acquired by ...

(Muṣaṣir). The temples dedicated to Khaldi were adorned with weapons such as swords, spears, bows and arrows, and shields hung from the walls and were sometimes known as "the house of weapons". Museum of Anatolian Civilizations066

History

According to Urartologist Paul Zimansky, Haldi was not a native Urartian god but apparently an obscure

Akkadian Akkadian or Accadian may refer to: * Akkadians, inhabitants of the Akkadian Empire * Akkadian language, an extinct Eastern Semitic language * Akkadian literature, literature in this language * Akkadian cuneiform Cuneiform is a logo- syllabi ...

deity (which explains the location of the main temple of worship for Haldi in

Musasir Muṣaṣir (Assyrian cuneiform: and variants, including Mutsatsir, Akkadian for ''Exit of the Serpent/Snake''), in Urartian Ardini was an ancient city of Urartu, attested in Assyrian sources of the 9th and 8th centuries BC. It was acquired by ...

, believed to be near modern Rawandiz, Iraq). Haldi was not initially worshipped by Urartians, at least as their chief god, as his cult does not appear to have been introduced until the reign of Ishpuini. Haldi

According to Michael C. Astour, Haldi could be etymologically related to the

Hurrian The Hurrians (; cuneiform: ; transliteration: ''Ḫu-ur-ri''; also called Hari, Khurrites, Hourri, Churri, Hurri or Hurriter) were a people of the Bronze Age Near East. They spoke a Hurrian language and lived in Anatolia, Syria and Northern ...

word "heldi", meaning "high". An alternate theory postulates that the name could be of

Indo-European The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the overwhelming majority of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and the northern Indian subcontinent. Some European languages of this family, English, French, Portuguese, Russian, Dutch ...

(possibly Helleno-Armenian) or

Old Armenian Classical Armenian (, in Eastern Armenian pronunciation: Grabar, Western Armenian: Krapar; meaning "literary anguage; also Old Armenian or Liturgical Armenian) is the oldest attested form of the Armenian language. It was first written down at ...

origin, meaning "sun god" (compare with Greek ''

Helios In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Helios (; grc, , , Sun; Homeric Greek: ) is the deity, god and personification of the Sun (Solar deity). His name is also Latinized as Helius, and he is often given the epithets Hyper ...

'' and Latin '' Sol''). The Urartian Kings used to erect steles dedicated to Ḫaldi in which they inscribed the successes of their military campaigns, the buildings built, and also the agricultural activities that took place during their reign. The word Haldi is sanskrit for the Turmeric plant, a blossom of which Haldi is seen holding in his hand in illustration: it is not a spearpoint, it is a plant. A quote from website on "Curcuma longa" Turmeric blossoms: "The slightly hidden flowers resemble psychedelic pinecones." It illustrates that Haldi was a healer god, too. Shamanistic.

Mythology

Along with Ḫaldi of

, the other two chief deities of

were

Theispas ''Theispas'' (also known as Teisheba or Teišeba) of Kumenu was the Araratian (Urartian) weather-god, notably the god of storms and thunder. He was also sometimes the god of war. He is the son of Habli. He formed part of a triad along with Kh ...

Kumenu Kummanni ( Hittite: ''Kummiya'') was the name of the main center of the Anatolian kingdom of Kizzuwatna. Its location is uncertain, but it may have been near the classical settlement of Comana in Cappadocia. Recent research also proposed as a loca ...

, and

Shivini Shivini ( xur, 𒀭𒅆𒄿𒌑𒄿𒉌, translit=dši-i-u2-i-ni), also known as Siuini, Artinis, Ardinis, was a solar god in the mythology of the Iron Age kingdom of Urartu in the Armenian Highlands. He is the third god in a triad with Khaldi ...

Tushpa Tushpa ( hy, Տոսպ ''Tosp'', Akkadian: ''Turuspa'', tr, Tuşpa; from Urartianbr>tur-, ''to destroy''i.e. victorious) was the 9th-century BC capital of Urartu, later becoming known as Van which is derived from ''Biainili'', the native name ...

. Of all the gods of the Urartian pantheon, the most inscriptions are dedicated to Ḫaldi. His wife was the goddess

Arubani Arubani is the Urartian's goddess of fertility and art. She was also the wife of their supreme god, Khaldi. Sources * Piotrovsky, Boris B. (1969) The Ancient Civilization of Urartu: An Archaeological Adventure. Cowles Book Co. Tacentral.com ...

and/or the goddess

Bagvarti Bagmashtu (also known as Bagparti, Bagvarti, Bagbartu) is an Araratian (Urartian) goddess, and the consort or wife of the chief Urartian god Haldi. Although throughout most of Urartu Arubani is known as Khaldi's wife, at the excavation of Musasir ...

. He was the primary god of the most prominent group of Urartian tribes, which eventually evolved into the Armenian nation. Some sources claim that the legendary patriarch and founder of the Armenians,

Hayk Hayk ( hy, Հայկ, ), also known as Hayk Nahapet (, , ), is the legendary patriarch and founder of the Armenian nation. His story is told in the '' History of Armenia'' attributed to the Armenian historian Moses of Chorene (Movses Khorenatsi ...

, is derived from Ḫaldi, but other theories about the etymology of ''Hayk'' are more widely accepted. Haldi's depiction in Uratian art has been the subject of confusion, and as of 2012 no images of him explicitly labelled as such were known. In 1963, Margarete Riemschneider proposed that Haldi was "pictureless" and never depicted in Uratian imagery, and suggested that he was symbolized by a lance. Zimansky in 2012 wrote that he had been a skeptic of this theory, but "I think it unlikely that the paucity of securely identified depictions of Haldi can be due entirely to the poverty of secure identifications in Uratian art generally" and suggested that one image, of a man surrounded by flames leading a pantheon of gods into battle, might represent the king: a "mortal agent...empowered by the divine".

Gallery

Tample of Khaldi plan.jpg, Khaldi's temple in Erebuni, 782 BCE Stamp of Armenia m31.jpg, Khaldi god standing on a lion,

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

postage stamp, 1993 Urartu God Chaldi.jpg , Urartu God Chaldi RusaCube03.jpg RusaCube04.jpg Erevan - La forteresse d'Erébouni 03.JPG,

Erebuni Fortress Erebuni Fortress ( hy, Էրեբունի) is an Urartian fortified city, located in Yerevan, Armenia. It is above sea level. It was one of several fortresses built along the northern Urartian border and was one of the most important political, e ...

Erevan - La forteresse d'Erébouni 04.JPG,

2014 Erywań, Erebuni, Ruiny twierdzy (18).jpg, Erywań,

Erebuni pattern.jpg, Erebuni pattern Armenia - Close up (5034044461).jpg, Modern Armenian reproduction Urartian Carcanet.jpg, Urartian Carcanet

References

* Urartian deities War gods {{Armenia-hist-stub