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Urartu

Urartu was a proto-Armenian kingdom that ruled over Lake Van in the Armenian Highlands from 860 BC to 547 BC, during the Iron Age. Urartu extended from the eastern bank of the upper Euphrates to the western shores of Lake Urmia and from the mountains of northern Iraq to the lesser Caucasus mountains. Uruatri was one of the confederate states of Nairi before King Shalmaneser I of Assyria conquered Nairi in 1274 BC, and Urartu rose in power as Assyria declined during the early 9th century BC. King Sarduri I (832-820 BC) consolidated his kingdom's military power and moved the capital to Tushpa, while his son Ispuini (820-800 BC) annexed Musasir. King Menua (800-785 BC) enlarged the kingdom greatly, and Urartu reached its height under Argishti I (785-760 BC), who added more territories along the Aras and Lake Sevan and defeated Shalmaneser IV's campaigns against him. In 745 BC, King Tiglath-Pileser III defeated Sarduri II, and Urartu suffered heavily from Cimmerian raids and the campaigns of Sargon II in 714 BC. Urartu recovered under Argishti II (714-685 BC), who made peace with King Sennacherib of Assyria. However, Urartu was forced to become a vassal of Assyria after the 640s BC due to suffering constant attacks by the Cimmerians and Scythians. In 590 BC, the Medes conquered the Urartian capital of Van, but Urartu survived until Cyrus the Great finished it off in 547 BC. The Kingdom of Van was replaced by the Satrapy of Armenia, and many Armenians - as well as Kurds - claim descent from the Urartians.

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