Rusa I.

Rusa I ( reign 735 BC to about 714 BC) was a king of Urartu kingdom. He succeeded his father Sarduri II.

Rule

Before Rusa I. came to power, his father had expanded the kingdom and various Assyrian and Anatolian territories incorporated. As Rusa I. became king, the Assyrians had under King Tiglath -pileser III. collected and again resurgent. So Rusa I was busy at the beginning of his reign with the defense of the Assyrian attacks. The attacks had a devastating impact on Urartu and its economy. Urartu lost most of the country, the Sarduri II had conquered back to Assyria.

Rusa moved to the north against Adaḫuni, Uelikuḫi, Lueruḫi and Arquqini. He boasts of victory over 23 countries and 19 kings " from the other side of the lake, in the terrible mountains ". According to an inscription from Nor Bayazet he defeated the king of Uelikuḫi and appointed a governor.

After Tiglath- pileser III. Death came Shalmaneser V to power. With him, the attacks against Urartu declined. Sargon II resulted in 715 BC, a campaign against Urartu ( 8 campaign ). After the subjugation of the vassal Mettati Urartian Urartu, Sargon attacked themselves. While Sargon II was the Urartian capital Tuspa not conquer, but he defeated the army Rusas and plundered much of the Urartian territory. Rusa fled (on a mare) and " hidden" in the mountains. On the way back to Ashur Sargon plundered Muṣasir, the coronation of the Urartian kings, and the main Temple of the Urartian kingdom of God Haldi. The God's letter Sargon describes very vividly the reaction of the king to this message: As Rusa - who has thrown in a mountain hideout on a bed " like a woman " and an incurable wound inflicted - learns of the looting Muṣasirs, he tears his garments, beating his chest, tears off his royal headband, tearing his hair and rolling on the floor. His liver burns and his heart stands still (God's letter 411-413 ). We know that the Assyrian intelligence had good scouts, in this description, it should however be a literary fiction. Kathryn Kravitz assumes that the episode was inserted at the last minute in the divine letter of Sargon.

Later sources say the suicide Rusas. In a letter of God Sargon II is to read that Rusa I. " from the luminous splendor of the god Assur my Lord overwhelmed with his iron sword pierced the heart like a pig, and so ended his life. ". In the annals, which were probably written later than the letter of God, according to Tadmor 707, the Nimrud stele and the stele Cyprus is also claiming Rusa had committed suicide.

However, this did not leave any lasting consequences, next year he will be listed in the annals again under Sargon enemies. Lanfranchi and Parpola even assume that he reconquered Muṣasir. Assyrian letters tell of uprisings and Kimmerereinfällen in Urartu.

When Rusa I. really died, so it is unclear, only 708 submerged Argišti II, the successor to Rusas in the Assyrian annals.

Buildings

  • Dhal - di -e -i URUKURoberhalb Nor Bayezit. You should probably protect the newly conquered province Ueliḫi.
  • DTeišebaï URUKUR in Zovinar on Lake Sevan

Inscriptions

  • Nor Bayazet / Kamo / Gavar
  • Zovinar / Kelagran
  • Mahmudabad
  • Mergeh Karvan
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