Teishebaini (also Teshebani, modern Karmir Blur ( hy, Կարմիր Բլուր) referring more to the hill that the fortress is located upon) was the capital of the
Transcaucasian
The South Caucasus, also known as Transcaucasia or the Transcaucasus, is a geographical region on the border of Eastern Europe and Western Asia, straddling the southern Caucasus Mountains. The South Caucasus roughly corresponds to modern Arme ...
provinces of the ancient kingdom 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 ...
. It is located near the modern city of
Yerevan
Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Y ...
in
Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...
. The site was once a fortress and governmental centre with towered and buttressed perimeter walls, massive gates, a parade ground within its walls, and storage rooms that entirely occupied the ground floor. The site of the city, palace and citadel together measure over . The name ''Karmir Blur'' translates to "Red Hill" because of the hill's reddish hue. It became this color after the city was set on fire and the upper walls which were made of
tuff
Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption. Following ejection and deposition, the ash is lithified into a solid rock. Rock that contains greater than 75% ash is considered tuff, while rock cont ...
fell and crumbled because of the heat. After the tuff was heated by the fire, it took on a more intense red color and therefore the hill became red. The lower portions of the walls were left standing after the fire since they were built with a stronger stone. Teishebaini is situated at a height of .
History
The city of Teishebaini was built by
Rusa II
Rusa II was king of Urartu between around 680 BC and 639 BC. It was during his reign that the massive fortress complex, Karmir-Blur, was constructed.Ian Lindsay and Adam T. Smith, ''A History of Archaeology in the Republic of Armenia'', Journal ...
in mid-7th century BC
[Ian Lindsay and Adam T. Smith, ''A History of Archaeology in the Republic of Armenia'', Journal of Field Archaeology, Vol. 31, No. 2, Summer, 2006:173.] to protect the eastern borders 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 ...
from the barbaric
Cimmerians
The Cimmerians (Akkadian: , romanized: ; Hebrew: , romanized: ; Ancient Greek: , romanized: ; Latin: ) were an ancient Eastern Iranian equestrian nomadic people originating in the Caspian steppe, part of whom subsequently migrated into West A ...
and
Scythians
The Scythians or Scyths, and sometimes also referred to as the Classical Scythians and the Pontic Scythians, were an Ancient Iranian peoples, ancient Eastern Iranian languages, Eastern
* : "In modern scholarship the name 'Sakas' is reserved f ...
. Within the city was a governors palace that contained a hundred and twenty rooms spreading across more than , and
citadel
A citadel is the core fortified area of a town or city. It may be a castle, fortress, or fortified center. The term is a diminutive of "city", meaning "little city", because it is a smaller part of the city of which it is the defensive core.
In ...
named the Citadel of
Teisheba
''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 ...
after the Urartian god of war. The palace was made of stone, with timber ceilings, and timber columns that supported the roof. The construction of the city, palace, and the citadel were not fully finished until the reign of
Rusa III
Rusa III was king of Urartu. He was called "Rusa Erimenahi" ("the son of Erimena"). He may have been the nephew or cousin of Rusa II. Little is known about his reign; his name was inscribed on a massive granary at Armavir and on a series of bro ...
, some 50 years later.
Agriculture was essential to the city, as was raising livestock. The Urartians built massive water canals, some of which are still in use to this day. Archaeological excavations have shown that lentils, hemp, peas, sesame, wheat, and barley were some of the grains that were grown in the area, as well as grapes and plums. The grape seeds that had been found were examined further and it revealed that twelve varieties of grape were grown in the surrounding area of Teishebaini during this time. All of these ancient varieties and more are still grown to this day in modern
Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...
. Smaller ceramic vessels were also found in excavations and are known to have been used in brewing beer made from barley. Other much larger vessels were used for storing foods and wine. Small circular markings on the sides of the containers near the top indicated the amount that could be stored inside. The vessels were usually buried half-way into the soil which naturally kept foods cool.
The site was discovered in 1939 after being buried for more than two and a half millennia. A cuneiform inscription had been found three years earlier that led to the discovery of the ancient city. It read, 'Rusa Argishti-hini' which translates to "Rusa, son of Argishti" also known as Rusa II. Another set of cuneiform inscriptions were found written upon a bronze belt and bronze bolt, both bearing the words "Rusa Argishti, fortress of the city of Teishebaini." The inscriptions helped date the site and tell who its builder was. In 1941 an ivory statuette of the god Teisheba was found within the citadel. The excavations here are considered one of the most important archaeological discoveries and findings in the Middle East, the Near East and Asia Minor. Some of the findings include carved
ivory
Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks (traditionally from elephants) and teeth of animals, that consists mainly of dentine, one of the physical structures of teeth and tusks. The chemical structure of the teeth and tusks of mammals is ...
, stone, ceramics, metal figurines, pottery and an astonishing wide variety of bronze domestic tools and utensils, military equipment decorated with
mythological
Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrat ...
symbols, forms and animals, daggers, swords, helmets, arrows, quivers, shields of an advanced
metallurgy
Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their inter-metallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are known as alloys.
Metallurgy encompasses both the sc ...
, as well as vases, bracelets, earrings and medallions in gold and varied sets of other jewelr
Pottery found in the site was either painted black or had painted designs such as waves of water.
Archaeological evidence shows that the city of Teishebaini was destroyed by fire sometime around the beginning of the 6th century BC. Numerous fragments of cloth, rope, and other items such as seeds have been found charred from the city's destruction. It is thought that Teishebaini was attacked during the night since numerous human remains have been found, and rooms within the buildings still had everything in them as if the people living within the city's walls had no chance to flee. During the excavations, skeletons were found holding objects of gold in their hands. It is theorized that when the city was set on fire, that residents of the city began either to loot or save their own possessions from the burning buildings as the city was under attack.
Gallery
Image:Karmir Blur Town.JPG, Foundations of ancient towns near Teishebaini (Karmir Blur in the distance)
Image:Karmir Blur Walls.JPG, The ancient walls of Teishebaini at Karmir Blur (stone at the bottom, mud-brick at the top)
Image:Karmir Blur Above.JPG, View of Karmir Blur from on top of the hill
Image:Urartu_Helmet_Fragment_1.jpg, Fragment of a bronze helmet discovered during excavations at Karmir Blur depicting the "tree of life"
Notes
References
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{{Authority control
Archaeological sites in Armenia
Castles in Armenia
Forts in Armenia
Tourist attractions in Yerevan
Urartian cities
Buildings and structures in Yerevan