| Popis: |
The article, relying mainly on the data of modern Turkish archeology of the eastern part of Asia Minor, examines the relationship between the state of Urartu and the Eurasian nomads — the Cimmerians and the Scythians, — who migrated through the Caucasus to the Southwest Asia in the VIII–VII c. BC. Particular attention is paid to the contribution of these peoples, primarily theScythians, to the military defeat of the Urartian Kingdom. Due to the fact that after the latter left the historical scene (no later than 585) its territory was incorporated into Media, the point of view about the decisive role of the Medes in the dismantling of Urartian statehood became widespread in historiography. Meanwhile, archaeological material discovered in recent decades as a result of excavations in the Urartian centers of the Van and neighboring regions of Eastern Turkey, shows theabsence of any traces of the activity of the Medes in the layers of destruction and fires of the late VII — early VI c. BC, while the artifacts related to the Scythians (mainly bronze, occasionally iron socketed and spiked arrowheads, as well as horse equipment, decorations in the ‘animal style’, etc.) are quite numerous there. Along with isolated evidence from written sources, this provides a basis for conclusion about the crucial role of the nomads in suppressing the resistance of the garrisons of most Urartian fortified cities. However, owing to the fact that the Scythians, who sought to expand their predatory campaigns in the Syro–Palestinian direction, did not settle in the occupied territory, it soon came under the political control of the Median state. |
