Table of Contents

Chronology of the Ancient Near East Maps Preface Introduction Prologue: Some milestones in the ancient history of the Near East Part I. The Kingdom or Urartu 1. The Land of Armenia 2. The 'Lost' Kingdom of Urartu 3. The rise of the Kingdom of Urartu 4. Aramu (858-844 BC): The first known king of Urartu 5. Sarduri I (844-828 BC): The first Vannic inscriptions 6. Ishpuini the Establisher (828-810 BC) & Menua the Conqueror (810-785 BC) 7. Argishti I (785-753 BC) and the Zenith of Urartian military power 8. Sarduri II (753-735 BC): The Golden Age of Vannic Power 9. Rusa I (735-714 BC): Urarto-Assyrian balance of power upset 10. Argishti II (714-681 BC): Urarto military recovery 11. Rusa II (680-639 BC): Urartu & Assyria at peace 12. The last kings of Urartu 13. Political organisation: Towns & buildings 14. Trade & commerce 15. Religion of Urartu 16. Art of Urartu 17. Military equipment & costume 18. Ararat & Assyria: A brief review Part II. The Kingdom of Armenia 19. Introduction 20. Early history 21. The Royal House of Ervand (the Orontids) 22. The Royal House of Artashes (the Artaxiads) 23. The Royal House of Arshak (the Arsacids) 24. The Royal House of Bagrat (the Bagratids) 25. The Kingdom of Armenia in Cilicia 26. Religion 27. Language & learning 28. Armenia's wealth of ecclesiastical architecture Epilogue Plates Notes Bibliography Index

About the Author

M. Chahin lectured on the Ancient History of the Near East at the University of Bristol.