Historical Overview Section
Uratu is an Iron Age kingdom also known by the modern rendition of its endonym, the Kingdom of Van, centered around Lake Van in the historic Armenian Highlands (present-day eastern Anatolia). The kingdom rose to power in the mid-9th century BC, but went into gradual decline and was eventually conquered by the Iranian Medes in the early 6th century BC. The geopolitical region would re-emerge as Armenia shortly after. The peoples of Urartu are the most easily identifiable ancestors of the Armenians
Assyrian inscriptions of Shalmaneser I (c. 1274 BCE) first mention Uruartri as one of the states of Nairi, a loose confederation of small kingdoms and tribal states in the Armenian Highlands in the thirteenth to eleventh centuries BCE which he conquered. Uruartri itself was in the region around Lake Van. The Nairi states were repeatedly subjected to further attacks and invasions by the Middle and Neo-Assyrian Empires, which lay to the south in Upper Mesopotamia ("the Jazirah") and northern Syria, especially under Tukulti-Ninurta I (c. 1240 BCE), Tiglath-Pileser I (c. 1100 BCE), Ashur-bel-kala (c. 1070 BCE), Adad-nirari II (c. 900 BCE), Tukulti-Ninurta II (c. 890 BCE), and Ashurnasirpal II (883–859 BC).
Assyria fell into a period of temporary stagnation for decades during the first half of the 8th century BC, which had aided Urartu's growth. Within a short time it became one of the largest and most powerful states in the Near East29
Sarduri I (c. 832–820 BCE), the son of Lutipri, established a new dynasty and successfully resisted Assyrian attacks from the south led by Shalmaneser III, consolidated the military power of the state, and moved the capital to Tushpa (modern Van, Turkey on the shore of Lake Van). His son, Ispuini (c. 820–800 BCE) annexed the neighbouring state of Musasir, which became an important religious center of the Urartian Kingdom, and introduced the cult of Ḫaldi
Urartu reached the highest point of its military might under Menua's son Argishti I (c. 785–760 BCE), becoming one of the most powerful kingdoms of ancient Near East. Argishti I added more territories along the Aras and Lake Sevan, and frustrated Shalmaneser IV's campaigns against him. At its height, the Urartu kingdom stretched north beyond the Aras and Lake Sevan, encompassing present-day Armenia and even the southern part of present-day Georgia almost to the shores of the Black Sea; west to the sources of the Euphrates; east to present-day Tabriz, Lake Urmia, and beyond; and south to the sources of the Tigris
Tiglath-Pileser III of Assyria conquered Urartu in the first year of his reign (745 BCE). There the Assyrians found horsemen and horses, tamed as colts for riding, that were unequalled in the south, where they were harnessed to Assyrian war-chariots
Using the army in ADLG
- It's sort of a poor mans Ugaritic, and that in turn is a poor mans Assyrian.
- Perhaps massed mixed bow might work if you come up against the right opponent
- Defending in Mountains is possible, and will mess up a lot of potential opponents plans if you get the terrain in the right place
Useful Links
User-contributed links about this army. Add links in this format:
- name of link description of link
- Building a viable list for this army : A Madaxeman.com Podcast, List discussion starts at the 1 hour 10 minute mark
- Uratu & Uvavu Army usage statistics from the ADLG ranking site
Army Lists
Sample army lists for this army
Briliant General
2 Chariots Full fat
2 Qurabuti HF Sword Armour Elite
3 Medium Sword
3 LF Javelin
==
Competent
3 Medium Cv Bow
3 Royal Guard Mixed Sw/Bow MF
==
Competent
3 Medium Cv Bow
3 Royal Guard Mixed Sw/Bow MF