Thanahat (A 11-3)
The top part of a basalt stele, inscribed on both faces, was found in 1975 in the ruins of the church of Thanahat, near the village of Arevis, about 17 km southwest of the city of Sisian, Armenia. The inscription on the obverse was entirely destroyed after a large cross and decorations were carved to convert it into a grave. The present fragment measures 118 cm in height, 53 cm in width, and 20.5 cm in thickness and is on display in the Erebuni Museum in Yerevan. The text concerns the military activities of Argišti II.
Transliteration:
obverse
1 ⸢d⸣[hal-di]-⸢e⸣ [EN] ⸢i-ni?⸣
2 ⸢NA₄⸣.[pu-lu-si mar-giš-ti]-še
3 [m]⸢ru⸣-[sa-hi-ni-še ku-gu]-⸢ni⸣
4 ul-[gu]-⸢ši-ia-ni⸣ e-⸢di⸣-ni
5 [mar-giš]-ti-še [a-li-e?]
6 [x x x] a?-⸢ni?⸣ KUR [x x x x]
7 [x x x] x še [x] x ⸢di?⸣
8 [x x x] x x [x x] x
9 x x [x x] x x [x x] x
10 [x x] da x x x i? ra? x ⸢di?⸣
11 ⸢še-ep⸣-tú-⸢si-na⸣-ṣi LÚ⸢A.SIMEŠ-ṣi⸣
12 x x x [x] x x [x x x x]
13 x ru [x x] ⸢ṣi? ni⸣ [x x x x]
14 [x] ni? [x x x] du?-⸢za?⸣ [x x x]
15 x [x x x] x ⸢nu⸣ [x x]-⸢ni⸣
16 ⸢URU?⸣.[x x x] i e [x x] ⸢ni⸣
17 d[x x x] x m⸢ka?⸣ [x x x]
18 ⸢tú?⸣ [x x x] x x x [x]
19 x x [x x] mar-[x x x x x]
20 [x x x x x] x x šú ⸢ni?⸣
21 [x x] ka x x x x x x
22 [x x] x x x x [x x x]
23 [x x x x] x ka? [x x x]
24 [x x x x] sa a ú? x [x x]
25 [x x šú-si-ni] U4-ME-ni áš-[gu-bi]
reverse
1 ⸢nu⸣-na-bi ka-gu-ki [m?x-x MAN?]
2 KURe-ti-ú-hi a-⸢li?⸣ [x x x]
3 KURe-ba-ni-e a-li-li URU⸢MEŠ⸣
4 ha-ši-a-li ku?-lu? x x e-si?
5 a-li-li gu-nu-ši-ni-e
6 a-ri-bi-ri-⸢da-di⸣ x x x x-ni
7 ⸢za⸣-du-bi ʾa-še MUNUSlu-tú ši-ú-bi
8 ⸢URU⸣MEŠ ⸢GÍBIL⸣ É.[GALMEŠ har-har-šú-bi?]
9 ⸢i⸣-ši-a-ṣi-e ⸢šú-ga šú-i-ni-ni⸣
10 gu-nu-še ⸢ma⸣-a-⸢nu ma?-ri-ni?⸣
11 KURṣu-lu-qu-ú-e x x x-e-di
12 URUir-du-a-ka-⸢a-i nu⸣-na-bi
13 ka-gu-ki ⸢KÚR-ni?⸣ DAN-NU? bu-ra-áš-tú-bi
14 me-še e-di-a te-ru-bi dhal-di-ni-ni
15 al-su-i-ši-ni iš-te-di
16 mar-giš-ti-ni mru-sa-a-[hi]
17 MAN DAN-NU MAN KURbi-a-i-na-a-ú-e
18 a-lu-si URUṭu-uš-pa-a ⸢URU⸣
19 dhal-di-ni-ni ba-ú-ši-ni
20 mar-giš-ti-še a-li i-si-⸢ni?⸣
21 dUTU-ni-ni-ni ir-du-si bi-[x-x]
22 a-šá-di i-ni ha-a-ri-⸢e⸣
23 URUa-mu-šá-di ʾa-še20 [pa-ru-bi?]
24 MUNUSlu-tú-ni-e KURbi-⸢a⸣-[i-na-di]
25 mar-giš-ti-še [a-li-e]
26 [a]-lu-še ti-ni-ni [tú-li-e]
27 [ma]-⸢si ti⸣-[ni te-li-e tú-ri-ni-ni]
28 [dhal-di-še dIM-še dUTU-še]
29 [ma-ni ti-ni ar-mu-zi dUTU-ni pi-ni]
Translation:
“(obv. 1) For the god Haldi, [(his) lord, Argišti], son of R[usa, erect]ed this [stele] for his li[fe]. (5) [Argiš]ti [says?]: . . . (lines 6–24 untranslatable) . . . (25) [. . . in one] day [I] de[feated …]
(rev. 1) X came to me [ . . . , king(?)] of the land Etiuhi, who [. . . ] in the land, the cities that listened . . ., … that (where?) in battle. I showed up [ . . . ] I made; I deported men (and) women, I burnt down settlements, [I destroyed(?)] fort[resses]. (9) . . . from all, there was battle . . . in the land Ṣuluqu . . . in front of the city Irdua he came [to me]. (13b) I subjugated the strong(?) enemy(?), I established there a tribute. (14b) Through the greatness of the god Haldi I am Argišti, [son of] Rusa, strong king, king of the Bia lands, lord of Ṭušpa-City. (19) Through the command of the god Haldi Argišti says: from the place(?) of the Sun-God a stronghold(?) . . . I set off on this campaign towards the city Amuša, [I carried away] men and women [to] the Bia lands. (25) Argišti [says]: (as for the one) who [erases (my)] name and [puts hi]s (own) n[ame], may [the god Haldi, the Weather-God, (and) the Sun-God annihilate him, his name (and) his seed under the sun].”
References:
Haroutiounian, N. V. 1982. “La nouvelle inscription ourartéenne découverte en Arménie soviétique,” in Gesellschaft und Kultur im alten Vorderasien, ed. H. Klengel, Berlin, pp. 89–93.
Salvini, M. 2008–2018. Corpus dei Testi Urartei, v. 1 pp. 540–542, v. 3 p. 328–331, v. 5 pp. 308–310.
Salvini, M. 2009. “Die Ausdehnung des Reiches Urartu unter Argišti II. (713–ca 685 v. Chr.),” Caucasian and Near Eastern Studies XIII (Gs Melikishvili), Tbilisi, pp. 203–227.
eCUT – Electronic Corpus of Urartian Texts (https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/ecut/Q007094).
CTU A 11-3 = KUKN 411
Image Sources:
M. Salvini, 2008
Jona Lendering, 2017