Menua

Menua
King of Urartu
Reignc. 810–c. 786 BC
PredecessorIshpuini
SuccessorArgishti I
Bornca. 850 BC
Diedca. 786 BC
IssueInushpua, Tariria, Argishti I
FatherIshpuini

Menua (Urartian: mMe-i-nu-a [variations exist]),[1] also rendered Meinua or Minua, was the fifth known king of Urartu from c. 810 BC to approximately 786 BC. In Armenian, Menua is rendered as Menua. The name Menua may be connected etymologically to the Ancient Greek names Minos and Minyas.[2][3]

A younger son of the preceding Urartian King, Ishpuini, Menua was adopted as co-ruler by his father in the last years of his reign. Menua enlarged the kingdom through numerous wars against the neighbouring countries and left many inscriptions across the region, by far the most of any Urartian ruler.[4] He organized a centralised administrative structure, fortified a number of towns and constructed fortresses. Amongst these was Menuakhinili located near Mount Ararat (its exact location is uncertain, perhaps at Bulakbaşı, east of modern-day Iğdır).[5]

He briefly co-ruled with his son, Inushpua, but was succeeded by another son, Argishti I.[6] Menua also had a daughter named Tariria, after whom a certain vineyard was named Taririakhinli.[7]

Apart from the Kepenek Castle inscription, another inscription proving the existence of the Urartian Kingdom in the geography of Muş is the Alazlı/Tirmet inscription. The inscription in question is located 25.5 km east of Muş province and 6.2 km south of Korkut district. In the inscription, the war fought by the Urartian king Menua is mentioned:

Menua, the son of İşpuini, brought this stone to our Lord Haldi. he sewed. Tann Haldi went on a military expedition with his spear. He captured the city of Trtimi in the territory of the country of Urme.

[8]

Fragment of a cuneiform inscription of King Menua on Akdamar Island

It is believed that Menua founded the city of Manazkert (Malazgirt).[9]

  1. ^ Zimansky, Paul (2011). "Urartian and the Urartians". In Steadman, Sharon R.; McMahon, Gregory (eds.). The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Anatolia. Oxford University Press. p. 554. ISBN 9780195376142.
  2. ^ Petrosyan, Armen (2002). The Indo-European and Ancient Near Eastern Sources of the Armenian Epic. Washington D.C. 2002. Washington, D.C.: Institute for the Study of Man. p. 182.
  3. ^ Petrosyan, Armen (April 2019), "On the Ethnic Origin of the Ruling Elite of Urartu", Over the Mountains and Far Away: Studies in Near Eastern History and Archaeology presented to Mirjo Salvini on the occasion of his 80th birthday, Archaeopress, p. 405.
  4. ^ Zimansky, Paul (1985). Ecology and Empire: The Structure of the Urartian State (PDF). Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. p. 59. ISBN 0-918986-41-9. OCLC 469553313.
  5. ^ Zimansky 1985, p. 64.
  6. ^ Chahin, M. (2001). The Kingdom of Armenia: A History. p. 23. ISBN 9780700714520.
  7. ^ Zimansky 1985, p. 69.
  8. ^ "Eski Çağ'da Muş" (in Turkish). Iğdır University Sos Bil Der. 29 July 2019. p. 24.
  9. ^ Neusner, J. (1966). A History of the Jews in Babylon, Volume 1. p. 77.

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