Kingdom of Mannaea Mannaea | |||||||
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 The historical territory of the state of Mannaea | |||||||
| Capital | Izirtu | ||||||
| Religion | polytheism | ||||||
| Historical era | Antiquity | ||||||
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| Today part of | Iran | ||||||
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Mannaea (/məˈniːə/, sometimes written asMannea;Akkadian:Mannai,Biblical Hebrew:Minni (מנּי)) was an ancient kingdom that flourished in northwesternIran, primarily south and southeast ofLake Urmia, during the early first millennium BCE, roughly from the10th to the7th century BCE. It developed into a prominent regional power along the northeastern frontier of theNeo-Assyrian Empire, situated between major neighbors likeUrartu and a constellation of smaller buffer states, such asZikirta andMusasir. The capital of Mannaea was likely atIzirtu, near modern-daySaqqez.
Mannaea played a key role in the shifting alliances between the Assyrian and Urartian empires, acting alternately as ally and adversary. Archaeological and textual evidence points to a complex society with fortified cities, regional governors, and a tributary economy. Although its exact ethno-linguistic identity remains uncertain, Assyrian sources suggest the Mannaeans spoke an unidentified language. Some scholars link it to theHurro-Urartian family,[1] while others, based on recent genetic evidence fromHasanlu Tepe, propose ties toArmenian or a distinct non-Indo-Iranian language.[2]
The kingdom ultimately declined under pressure from expanding Assyrian and Median influence, and by the late 7th century BCE, it was absorbed into theMedian kingdom. Mannaea is occasionally referenced in classical and biblical sources under the name "Minni."
The name of Mannaea and its earliest recorded ruler Udaki were first mentioned in an inscription from the 30th year of the rule ofShalmaneser III (828 BC).[3] The Assyrians usually called Manna the "land of the Mannites",[4] Manash,[5] while theUrartians called it the land of Manna.[6]
Describing the march of Salmanasar III in the 16th year (843 BC), it was reported that the king reached the land of Munna, occupying the interior ofZamua. However, the chronicle does not mention any march or taxation on the state of Mannaea. It is possible that the Assyrians either failed to conquer Mannaea, or advanced only to the border of Mannaea, and then changed course and marched on the neighboring country of Allarabia.
In theBible (Jeremiah 51:27), Mannaea is called "Minni", and is mentioned with Ararat and Ashkenaz as some of the future destroyers of neo-Babylon.The Jewish Encyclopedia (1906), identifiedMinni withArmenia:
According to the Peshiṭta and Targum Onkelos, the "Minni" of the Bible (Jer. li. 27) is Armenia—or rather a part of that country, asArarat is also mentioned (Isa. xxxvii. 38; II Kings xix. 37) as a part of Armenia.[7][8]
It can also relate to one of the regions of ancient Armenia, such as Manavasean (Minyas).[9][10] Together with Ararat andAshkenaz, this is probably the same Minni from the Assyrian inscriptions,[11] corresponding to Mannea. The name "Armenia" has been theorized by some scholars as possibly deriving from "ḪAR Minni," meaning, the "mountains of Minni."
Their kingdom was situated east and south of theLake Urmia.[12] Excavations that began in 1956 succeeded in uncoveringZiwiyeh and its branches the fortified city ofHasanlu, once thought to be a potential Mannaean site. More recently, another branch of Ziwiyeh, the site ofQalaichi has been linked to the Mannaeans based on astela with this toponym found at the site.
After suffering several defeats at the hands of bothScythians and Assyrians, the remnants of the Mannaean populace were absorbed by theMatieni and the area became known asMatiene.[13][14] It was then annexed by theMedes in about 609 BC.
According to examinations of place and personal names recorded in Assyrian andUrartian texts, the Mannaeans—especially the ruling class—likely spoke an isolated language that belonged to neither theSemitic nor theIndo-European families. There is a hypothesis suggesting it may have been related to Urartian.[1] However, recent genetic studies of individuals fromHasanlu Tepe have led scholars to suggest a possible Indo-European presence in the region, potentially linked to speakers of a language related toArmenian.[2]
According to the Encyclopædia Iranica:[15]
Manneans were aHurrian group with a slightKassite admixture. It is unlikely that there was any ethnolinguistic unity in Mannea. Like other peoples of theIranian plateau, the Manneans were subjected to an ever increasingIranian (i.e.Indo-European) penetration. Boehmer's analysis of several anthroponyms and toponyms needs modification and augmentation.Melikishvili (1949, p. 60) tried to confine the Iranian presence in Mannea to its periphery, pointing out that both Daiukku (cf. Schmitt, 1973) and Bagdatti were active in the periphery of Mannea, but this is imprecise, as the names of two early Mannean rulers, viz. Udaki and Azā, are explicable in Old Iranian terms.
According to Robert H. Dyson, Jr.[16]
The Mannaeans, a little known people related linguistically to theUrartians and theHurrians of northern Mesopotamia, were settled on the southeastern shore ofLake Urmia and southward into the mountain area of Urmia.
Genetic research has contributed to the debate over the origins and linguistic identity of populations associated with Mannaea. A 2022 study by Lazaridis et al. analyzed individuals fromHasanlu and found that they carried Y-chromosome haplogroups such as R-M12149 (a branch of R1b), linked toYamnaya steppe ancestry, but lacked R1a subclades like R-Z93, typically associated with earlyIndo-Iranian speakers. This suggests that while the population had steppe-related ancestry, it was distinct from contemporaneous Indo-Iranian groups. The same study identified genetic affinities between Hasanlu and Bronze Age populations of theArmenian Highlands, raising the possibility that they spoke either a language related toArmenian or a separate non-Indo-European language indigenous to the region.[17]
These findings are supported by archaeological parallels between Hasanlu and theTrialeti-Vanadzor culture (c. 2400–1500 BCE), which is often associated with the earlyProto-Armenian horizon.[18][19][20] Both cultures show steppe-related ancestry and similar material traits.Genetic analysis suggest that regions such as Mannaea and Hasanlu served as contact zones between steppe-derived and local populations, with Hasanlu playing a role in the Proto-Armenian context. TheArmenian language, a distinct branch of theIndo-European family, shares features withGreek, suggesting a shared contact zone within the Yamnaya horizon.Donald Ringe and Tandy Warnow argue that Pre-Armenian formed a subgroup after 2500 BCE.[21]David W. Anthony places Pre-Armenian's split around 2800 BCE.[22] While the precise linguistic affiliations remain debated, archaeological and genetic evidence suggest that both Hasanlu and Mannaea may have played a role in the broader context ofProto-Armenian ethnogenesis.
The Mannaean kingdom began to flourish around 850 BC. The Mannaeans were mainly a settled people, practicing irrigation and breeding cattle and horses. The capital was a fortified city calledIzirtu (Zirta).
By the 820s BC, Manneaea had expanded to become a large state. By this time they had a prominent aristocracy as a ruling class, which somewhat limited the power of the king.
Beginning around 800 BC, the region became contested ground betweenUrartu, which built several forts on the territory of Mannaea, andAssyria. In the mid-8th century BC, during the open conflict between the Assyrians and the Urartians, Mannaea seized the opportunity to enlarge its holdings. The Mannaean kingdom reached the height of its power during the reign ofIranzu (c. 725–720 BC).
In 716 BC, kingSargon II of Assyria moved against Mannaea, where the ruler of Mannaea, Aza, the son of Iranzu, had been deposed by Ullusunu with the help of the Urartians. Sargon took Izirtu, and stationed troops inParsua (Parsua was distinct from Parsumash located further southeast in what is today known as Fars province in Iran.). The Assyrians thereafter used the area to breed, train and trade horses.
According to one Assyrian inscription, theCimmerians (Gimirru) originally went forth from their homeland ofGamir orUishdish in "the midst of Mannai" around this time. The Cimmerians first appear in the annals in the year 714 BC, when they apparently helped the Assyrians to defeat Urartu. Urartu chose to submit to the Assyrians, and together the two defeated the Cimmerians and thus kept them out of theFertile Crescent. The Cimmerians again rebelled against Sargon by 705 BC, and he was killed while driving them out. By 679 BC the Cimmierians migrated to the east and west of Mannaea.
The Mannaeans are recorded as rebelling againstEsarhaddon of Assyria in 676 BC, when they attempted to interrupt the horse trade between Assyria and its colony of Parsua.
The Mannaean king Ahsheri, who ruled until the 650s BC, continued to enlarge the territory of Mannaea, although paying tribute to Assyria. However, Mannaea suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of the Assyrians around 660 BC, and subsequently an internal revolt broke out, continuing until Ahsheri's death. Also in the 7th century BC, Mannaea was defeated by the advancingScythians, who had already raided Urartu and been repelled by the Assyrians. This defeat contributed to the further break-up of the Mannaean kingdom.
Ahsheri's successor, Ualli, as an ally of Assyria, took the side of the Assyrians against theMedes (Madai), who were at this point still based to the east along the southwest shore of theCaspian Sea and revolting against Assyrian domination. The Medes subjugated by Assyria. However, theNeo-Assyrian Empire, which had dominated the region for three hundred years, began to unravel, consumed by civil war after the death ofAshurbanipal in 627 BC. The upheavals in Assyria allowed the Medes to free themselves from Assyrian vassalage and make themselves the major power in Iran. At the battle of Qablin in 616 BC, the Assyrian and Mannaean forces were defeated byNabopolassar's troops. This defeat laid open the frontiers of Mannaea, which fell under the control of Media between 615 BC and 611 BC.[23]
There are a number of unexcavated tells, or mounds, on the plain of Mahābād in this part of the Azerbaijan region. The region was the centre of the Mannaeans, who flourished in the early 1st millennium BC.
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{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)Later in the Bronze Age (2200–1600 BCE), the Trialeti-Vanadzor culture arose in Armenia. This may have been the first Indo-European culture and possibly the origin of what would become Armenian culture.
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