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Etiuni (other names Etiuḫi, Etiu, Etio) was the name of an earlyIron Age tribal confederation in northern parts ofAraxes River, roughly corresponding to the subsequentAyrarat Province of theKingdom of Armenia.[1]: 50 Etiuni was frequently mentioned in the records ofUrartian kings, who led numerous campaigns into Etiuni territory. It is very likely it was the "Etuna" or "Etina" which contributed to the fall of Urartu, according toAssyrian texts.[1]: 51 [2] Some scholars believe it had anArmenian-speaking population.[1]: 49–53 [3]
Igor Diakonov wrote that Etiuni was aUrartian name meaning "land/people of Etio",[4] whereas Mirjo Salvini preferred to read it as "Etiu". Ethnographer Armen Petrosyan suggested that this name could be a Urartian cuneiform rendering ofHatio (sometimes transliterated asHattiyo orHatiyo), which Diakonov had offered as a reconstructed initial form of the modernArmenian endonym,Hay (հայ).[1][4]
The cuneiform writing system the Urartians used lacked a symbol to designate an "h" sound, so the Urartians used either a symbol usually meant to convey a laryngeal h (ḫ, χ), or opted to not use any symbol to try to convey this sound. Petrosyan, citing Diakonoff andGevorg Jahukyan, said that Urartian "e" may correspond with Armenian "a" when used at the start of words.[1]: 50
Petrosyan, citing 19th-century linguistsFriedrich Spiegel andHeinrich Kiepert, proposed that "Hatio" might ultimately derive from Proto-Indo-European*poti, meaning "lord, master, husband."[1]: 30–31 According to this theory, the name, with plural suffix, developed from*potiio→*hetiyo→*hatiyo→hay.[5]
The Urartians sometimes used the variation, Etiuḫi, which seems to have referred to the people of Etiuni specifically.
Etiuni was composed of a number of small kingdoms and tribes, included Iga (also known as Igani, Iya, and Aia), on the south shore ofLake Cildir, Abiliani and Apuni, probably corresponding to the Armenian Abełean and Havnunik, inKars region, and the Luša, Katarza, Uiṭeruḫi (Witeruḫi), and Gulutaḫi, of theArarat plain.[3] Another region of Etiuni was Liquini, located nearArmavir. Petrosyan suggested that Erkuaḫi, another Etiunian region located on the north side ofMount Ararat, could be a native Armenian name for the two peaks of the mountain (compare to Armenianerkuերկու 'two').[6]
The city of Aza, mentioned byRusa as an important temple-city along the Araxes River, has been connected to the wealthy religious center, Azara, which was later placed byStrabo nearArtashat.
The Etiunian lands ofUelikuni (Welikuni) and Tiluḫu were located on the western shore ofLake Sevan and Kekuni was on the lake's northern shore. The archaeological site ofLchashen, probably corresponding to the city of Ishtikuni, was located in one of these kingdoms.[7]: 81
The Urartians mentioned "the four kings of Uduri-Etiuni." This may have referred to a separate, but perhaps culturally and linguistically connected, confederation from Etiuni, comprising the lands Lueḫi, Kemani, Urteḫini, and Arquqini, stretching along the southern shore of Lake Sevan.[8] The word "Uduri" probably means "water" (referring to its location along Lake Sevan).[9]
Etiuni seems to have been bordered byDiaeuḫi to the west, Urartu and possibly the separate lands ofBiani to the south and Kulḫi to the north or northwest.
During the co-regency ofIshpuini and his son,Menua, Urartu began expanding northward into Etiunian territories, battling the Katarza and Luša tribes, bragging about conquering Liquini and "the mighty land of" Erkuaḫi, and putting Etiuni under tribute as a result.[10]
Menua's son,Argishti, ventured further into Etiunian territory than his predecessors, building the fortress ofErebuni (located inYerevan) on newly conquered land, and bringing to it 6600 warriors fromHatti andShupria. Argišti conquered Apuni, Luša (castrating its king as a result), and Iga, taking many of the inhabitants of these regions as captives.[10]
However, the Etiunians seem to have revolted and invaded Urartu during Argishti's reign, stealing theaštiuzi (perhaps an idol of a god; compare this word to Armenianastuats 'god') of the Urartian religious center,Musasir.[1]: 50–51
Sarduri II, Argishti's son, also launched numerous military campaigns in Etiuni in the 740s BCE, battling with local rulers and the king of Etiuni, Diaṣuni. However, whatever became of this confrontation with Diaṣuni is unknown, as the text breaks off.[10]
According to the Assyrians, "the Etinaeans" revolted three times during the reign of Rusa I, Sarduri II's son. These revolts apparently resulted in Urartian military losses and Urartu being "plundered."[1]
A later Assyrian text mention that Urartu had been "destroyed" by the "people of Etuna."[1]
Igor Diakonov considered it possible that the Etiuni were aHurro-Urartian people, although he did not explain his reasoning for this classification.[4]
More recently, Armen Petrosyan, linguistHrach Martirosyan, and other scholars have suggested Armenian etymologies for a number of Etiunian personal, place, tribal, and religious names.[11][6][12][3] Armenian names and words have been identified in Urartu as well, suggesting the possibility that Armenian speaking tribes could have constituted part of the populations of both lands.[12][1]: 53
In addition to Armenian speaking populations, there were also likelyScythian and/orCimmerian tribes present in Etiuni or its vicinity.[13] The names of the Etiunian land Ishkugul (probably nearGyumri) and its prince, Saga-tur or Sagaputara (perhaps theSkayordi ofMoses of Khorene) are suggestive of the presence of Scythians and/or Cimmerians.[14][15]
The Urartians only named one king of Etiuni, Diaṣuni of Iga (or Iya). Petrosyan etymologized Diaṣuni as being an otherwise unattested Armenian name meaning "born of god" (տիւ +ծնուն), comparing it toGreekDiogenes (Διογένης),ThracianDiazenus,CelticDivogenos, andSanskritDevaja (देवजा).[1]: 34 [6]
Other kings of regions of Etiuni were likely rulers of smaller kingdoms or local chieftains. These included: Murinu of Uelikuni, Murini of Abiliani, Ṣinalbi of Lueḫi, Rashu of Ruishia, and Kapurini of Iga (Iya).[10]
Petrosyan theorized that memories of Etiuni may have been passed down by the medieval Armenian historianMovses Khorenatsi.
In theHistory of Armenia, Khoren says the historically unattested Armenian king,Zarmayr, led an army of "Ethiopians" to aid Troy during theTrojan War. Petrosyan speculated that Khoren or his contemporaries may have confused "Etio" for "Ethiopia" (a name they would have been more familiar with through Biblical studies).[1]: 52–53
Archaeologists connect Etiuni with theLchashen-Metsamor culture.[13][16][17][18] Lchashen-Metsamor culture ultimately descends from theTrialeti-Vanadzor culture.[19]
Ishtikuni, near modern Lchashen, is a notable Etiunian archaeological site.
TheMetsamor site, near modernTaronik, was an important metal-working center during the Iron Age.[20]
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