Below is the eighteenth in a series of articles from Mark McLaughlin showcasing the civilizations in Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East. You can find the first seventeen articles in the series here.

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As we anxiously await the map from GMT’s art department, we the designers of Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East realize that although we already have 16 playable civilizations in the game, we have room for one more: that of the Urartians, the ancestors of the Armenian people.

For the God, Khaldi, the lord, Argishti, son of Menua, built this temple and this mighty fortress. I proclaimed it Irbuni or the glory of the countries of Biai and for holding the Lului countries in awe. By the greatness of God Khaldi, this is Arghisti, son of Menua, the mighty king, the king of the countries of Biai, ruler of the city of Tushpa.

Urartian cuneiform inscription on display in  Erebuni Museum, Yerevan, Armenia  (Biai was an older name for Urartu/Armenia; LuLui means enemies)

The first mention of the Urartian peoples can be found in Assyrian documents dating from the 13^th Century BC. The Urashtu or Uruatri were described as a loose confederation of hill tribes whose raids provoked punitary campaigns by the Assyrian kings. Although King Shalmenesser claimed to have subdued them in the mid-13^th Century, the Urartians apparently never fully submitted to the Assyrian Empire.

By the 9^th Century BC the Urartian peoples grew strong enough to defy the Assyrians and to establish an independent kingdom. Its core area stretched from the slopes of  Mount Ararat to the shores of  Lake Van. Their rulers were variously referred to as the “kings of Van,” “kings of the land of Nairi,” or”kings of the Suri-lands.” For 200 years these ancestors of modern-day Armenia fought off Assyrian, Cimmerian and even Scythian invaders, and at their peak established fortress cities in the Caucasus, including Erebuni – modern day Yerevan.

After  a coaltion of Babylonians and Medes finally crushed Assyria in 612 BC, the Median king Cyaxares the Great turned his armies toward Urartu, which he conquered 22 years later. These lands eventually became the Satrapy of Armenia of the Persian Empire and its powerful, armored cavalry were a key unit in the army that Xerxes led into Greece in 480 BC.

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Previous Articles in this Series:

Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East: Meet the Sumerians

Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East: Meet the Egyptians

Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East: Meet the Elamites

Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East: Meet the Indus Valley Civilizations (or “Dravidians, Harappans, and Mauryans, oh my!”)

Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East: Meet the Assyrians

Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East: Meet the Akkadians

Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East: Meet the Babylonians

Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East: Meet the Hittites

Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East: Meet the Mittani

Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East: Meet the Sea Peoples

Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East: Meet the Israelites

Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East: Meet the Cimmerians

Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East: Meet the Medes & Persians

Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East: Meet the Chaldeans

Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East: Meet the Scythians

Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East: Meet the Greeks

Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East: Happy Ides of March: Meet the Romans, Pontics and Parthians