Urartu: War and Aesthetics

First mentioned in Assyrian documents of the 13th century, the Urartians commanded a large kingdom stretching from the Euphrates in the west to Transcaucasia in the north and the Taurus mountains in the south. This book accompanies an exhibition held in 2003 and 2004 at Yapi Kredi Vedat Nedim Tör Museum, covering the history, art, architecture and religion of Urartian culture. Eight dual-language essays in Turkish and English discuss Urartian language and writing, the history of the kingdom, its topography, the capital of Tuspha and its architectural legacy, through to the apparent violent destruction of many sites around the 7th century. These are followed by a large catalogue of objects from the exhibition including those relating to daily life, jewellery and ornaments, the army and warfare, religion and belief.