Urartu Empire: Introduction imprimir
 
To have an accurate notion about how the ancient world was constituted at the time of the born of the Kingdom of Urartu, we have to mention that the early Asia had been scenario of a series of splendid states arising, which rapid changes have their cause, most of all, in the antagonism among peoples of Indo-European and Semitic culture.
In Central Anatolia, in the 14th century (before our era), emerged the called New Hittite Empire. A people of Aryan origin, with language and culture belonged to the Indo-European trunk. Under the reign of Subbiliuma (1380-1345 before our era) it becomes in an empire again, rivaling with Egypt, Assyria and the Kingdom of Mitanni.
Also in the Mesopotamia, the Assyrian Empire under the reign of Salmanasar I, in 13th century before our era, begun to expand its frontiers combating to the Hittites, Urartians and Babylonians. The Assyrian, with semitic race and culture, lived under the domination of the Kingdom of Mitanni until the beginning of 14th century before this era, when the Hittite Empire attacks to Mitanni and the Assyrian reach independence.
The kingdom of Mitanni had its biggest expansion about the 16th century before this Era, dominating part of Anatolia and the north of Mesopotamia. This kingdom was composed mostly by Hurrians (from the Zagros mountains) and other Indo-European groups. It was a feudal state, ruled by Aryan warrior nobility. The king Saustatar (1440 – 1410 before this Era) was the responsible of the mitannian rising.
This kingdom made war to the Hittite, Assyrian and Egyptian. Hurrian influences are perceived in both the Hittite and Urartian pantheons. It is also important to note that a number of Hittite sovereigns had Hurrian names before coronation.
The mitannian nobility had marriage liaisons with nobles of the Hittite reign of Tudhaliya II and Arnuwanda I in the 15th century before this Era, as well as with Egyptian nobles of the same period. The successors of Saustatar, Artatama I and Shuttarna II made their sisters to married the pharaoh Thutmosis IV (1400 – 1390 before this Era) and Amenothep III (1390 – 1353 before this Era).
Egypt was another powerful empire at that time, and its domains extended to part of the north of Africa and the eastern Mediterranean coasts. In some occasions during the reign of the 18th and 19th dynasties of Thebes (1574 – 1200 before this Era), in continuous war with the Hittite and Mitannian, they had to sign peace treaties due to the weakness caused by internal fights, specially under the rule of Amenophis IV (Akenaton).
He tried, with no success, to eliminate the cult of Amon-Ra (or Amun-Ra) and to establish the cult of Aton, as well as to cut the power of the Thebes priests of Amon, goal that he never accomplished, taking the Egyptian empire to one of the most decadent periods in its entire history.
Meanwhile, the Aryan Kasitas (from the Zagros mountains) dominated Babylon, which under the Kasitas reign had a remarkable development, with its kings reaching a level of power similar to the one of the Egyptians pharaohs. They built wide commercial relationships and battling constantly with the Assyrian, especially in the 13th century.
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