- TURY.CLUB
- Tourist Objects
- Armenia
- Yerevan
- Erebuni Fortress
In 1968, in honor of the founding of the city of Erebuni, which was then 2750 years old, the Erebuni Museum was opened on the slope of Arin-Berd Hill, where valuable examples of Urartu culture are exhibited. Near the museum you can also visit the ruins of the ancient fortress of Erebuni. In the southeastern part of the city of Yerevan, on the Arin-Berd hill, the Erebuni fortress was built, which was the first major military strategic center of the country of Aza on the Ararat plain. Until the first half of the twentieth century, no one knew about the whereabouts of Erebuni. Only in 1950, during reconnaissance of the Arin-berd monument, a cuneiform inscription of Argishti I was discovered, which, as it turned out after decryption, was a document on the construction of the fortified city of Erebuni. The cuneiform script says: “God Khaldi, the greatness of Argishti, the son of Menua, built this powerful fortress, established the name Erebuni for it, for the might of the country of Biainili and for intimidation of enemy countries. By the greatness of God Khaldi, the son of Menua, the mighty king, the king (of the country) Biainili, the ruler of the city of Tushpa. " This confirms that the city was founded in 782 BC. e. king of Argishti I. As it turned out from cuneiform writing, in the past Yerevan was called Erebuni, which was renamed Irpuni, Erivuni, Erivan, Yerevan. Erebuni fortress is an architectural complex with palace, religious and household buildings. Beautiful and luxurious frescoes on religious and secular themes: hunting, agricultural work testify to the rich interior of the palace. The walls of the temples were decorated with paintings with scenes of sacrifice and a procession of the gods. Frescoes are valuable examples of Urartu art. One century after the foundation of Erebuni, in the Ararat Valley, King Rus II builds the city of the god Teisheb - Teishebaini, which turns into a large economic center. Numerous items made in Erebuni, which are now on display at the Erebuni Museum, are being transferred here. After the fall of the state of Urartu in the VI century BC and in later times, Erebuni existed as a city of the early Armenian and Hellenistic periods. This is evidenced by archaeological materials found, as well as two Milesian coins and a Caesar Augustus coin, three silver rhytons and a jug. During the reign of the Achaemenids, a number of buildings were rebuilt in Arin-Berd - the temple of the god Khaldi was turned into a multi-columned hall of the Apadan. The Susi Temple and the peristyle courtyard were also rebuilt, and thereby the entire plan of the fortress was changed. All these buildings indicate that Erebuni continued to exist as an administrative center in the Ararat Valley. In subsequent years, archaeological excavations of the fortress resumed. We can say with confidence that the monument is still fraught with a lot of secrets, the discovery and study of which will greatly complement the history of the city of Erebuni.
