 The citadel of Van and the ruins of Tushpa below | |
  Tushpa Shown within Turkey | |
| Location | Turkey |
|---|---|
| Region | Van Province |
| Coordinates | 38°30′00″N43°20′33″E / 38.50000°N 43.34250°E /38.50000; 43.34250 |
Tushpa (Armenian:Տոսպ, Տուշպա֊ՎանTosp,Tushpa-Van,Akkadian:Turuspa, fromUrartiantur-,to destroy i.e. victorious) was the 9th-century BC capital ofUrartu, later becoming known asVan which is derived fromBiainili, the native name of Urartu. The ancient ruins are located just west ofVan and east ofLake Van in theVan Province ofTurkey.[1] In 2016 it was inscribed in theTentative list of World Heritage Sites in Turkey.[2]
It was possibly pronounced as "Tospa" in ancient times as there was no symbolicO equivalent inAkkadian cuneiform so the symbol used forU was frequently substituted.
Archaeological excavations and surveys carried out in the Van Province indicate that the history of human settlement in this region dates back at least as far as 5000 BC. TheMound located along the shores of Lake Van and a few kilometres to the south of the citadel of Van, is the only known source of information about the oldest cultures of Van contributing to the founding of Tushpa.
Tushpa was the capital of the Urartian kingdom in the 9th century BC. The early settlement was centered upon the steep-sided bluff now referred to as Van Fortress (Van Kalesi), not far from the shores ofLake Van and a few kilometers west of the modern city ofVan.
Thefortress of Van is a massive stone fortification built by the ancient kingdom ofUrartu and held from the 9th to 7th centuries BC. It overlooks Tushpa, and is the largest example of this kind of complex. A number of similar fortifications were built throughout the Urartian kingdom, usually cut into hillsides and outcrops in places where modern-dayArmenia, Turkey andIran meet. Successive groups such as the Armenians, Romans, Medes,Achaemenid andSassanid Persians, Arabs, Seljuqs, Ottomans and Russians each controlled the fortress at one time or another.
The lower parts of the walls of Van Citadel were constructed of unmortaredbasalt, while the rest was built from mud-bricks. Such fortresses were used for regional control, rather than as a defense against foreign armies. The ancient ruins of the fortress support walls constructed during themedieval era. Other cuneiform inscriptions have been found at the site and are typically off limits unless to large tour groups due to vandalism.[3]
In the trilingualBehistuninscription, carved in the order ofDarius the Great ofPersia, the country referred to asUrartu in Babylonian is calledArmenia in Old Persian.
The region came under the control of theOrontid dynasty ofArmenia in the 7th century BC and laterPersians in the mid-6th century BC.
A stereotyped trilingual inscription ofXerxes the Great of the 5th century BC is inscribed upon a smoothed section of the rock face, some 20 metres (66 feet) above the ground near the fortress of Van. The niche was originally carved out by Xerxes' fatherKing Darius in the 6th–5th century, but left the surface blank. The inscription is written in 27 lines inOld Persian,Babylonian, andElamite.[4] The inscription reads:[4][5][6]
"A great god isAhuramazda, the greatest of the gods, who created this earth, who created yonder sky, who created man, created happiness for man, who made Xerxes king, one king of many, one lord of many.
I (am) Xerxes, the great king, king of kings, king of all kinds of people, king on this earth far and wide, the son of Darius the king, the Achaemenid.
Xerxes the great king proclaims:King Darius, my father, by the favor of Ahuramazda, made much that is good, and this niche he ordered to be cut; as he did not have an inscription written, then I ordered that this inscription be written.
Me may Ahuramazda protect, together with the gods, and my kingdom and what I have done."
When it was published byEugène Burnouf in 1836,[7] through his realization that it included a list of thesatrapies of Darius (repeated by Xerxes in nearly identical language), he was able to identify and publish an alphabet of thirty letters, most of which he had correctly deciphered. Burnouf's reading of the Van trilingual inscription had made a significant contribution to the deciphering ofOld Persian cuneiform.[8]
In 331 BC, Tushpa was conquered byAlexander the Great and after his death became part of theSeleucid Empire. By the early 2nd century BC it was part of theKingdom of Armenia. It became an important center during the reign of theArtaxiad Armenian king,Tigranes II, who founded the city ofTigranakert in the 1st century BC.[9] This region was ruled by theArsacid dynasty of Armenia before the 4th century AD. In theHistory of Armenia attributed to Moses of Chorene, the city is calledTosp, from UrartianTushpa.[1]
TheByzantine Empire briefly held the region from 628 to 640, after which it was invaded by the Muslim Arabs, who consolidated their conquests as the province of Ermeniye. Decline in Arab power eventually allowed localArmenian rulers to re-emerge, with theArtsruni dynasty soon becoming the most powerful. Initially dependent on the rulers of the Kingdom ofAni, they declared their independence in 908, founding the kingdom ofVaspurakan. The kingdom had no specific capital: the court would move as the king transferred his residence from place to place, such as Van city, Vostan,Aghtamar, etc. In 1021 the last king of Vaspurakan,John-Senekerim Artsruni, ceded his entire kingdom to the Byzantine empire, who established the Vaspurakantheme on the former Artsruni territories.
Incursions by theSeljuq Turks into Vaspurakan started in the 1050s. After their victory in 1071 at thebattle of Manzikert the entire region fell under their control. After them, local Muslim rulers emerged, such as theAhlatshahs and theAyyubids (1207). For a 20-year period, Van was held by theAnatolian Seljuq Sultanate until the 1240s when it was conquered by theMongols. In the 14th century, Van was held by theKara Koyunlu, and later by theTimurids.[citation needed]
The first half of the 15th century saw the Van region become a land of conflict as it was disputed by theOttoman Empire and the PersianSafavid Empire. The Safavids captured Van in 1502. The Ottomans took the city in 1515 and held it for a short period. The Safavids took it again in 1520 and the Ottomans gained final and definite control of the city in 1548. They first made Van into asanjak dependent on theErzurum eyalet, and later into a separateVan eyalet in about 1570.[citation needed]
Towards the second half of the 19th century Van began to play an increased role in the politics of the Ottoman Empire due to its location near the borders of the Persian, Russian and Ottoman Empire, as well as its proximity toMosul.[citation needed]
Media related toTushpa at Wikimedia Commons
