Cultural Heritage and Tourism Research Center has released a book on research related to inscriptions from Urartu Civilization.
The book “Urartuian Hieroglyphic Inscriptions From Iran” has been authored by researcher Maryam Dara, ILNA reported.
Urartu, also known as the Kingdom of Urartu or the Kingdom of Van, was a civilization which developed in the Bronze and Iron Age of ancient Armenia, eastern Turkey, and northwestern Iran from the 9th century BCE. The first joint chapter of history between Iran and Armenia is said to have taken place in Urartu where Armenians aided and abetted Iranian tribes against Assyrians and Mannaeans.
Controlling territories through military might and the construction of fortresses, the kingdom boasted a lively production in the arts, especially metalwork. Surviving only two centuries, the kingdom mysteriously disappeared in the 6th century BCE and was only rediscovered as a distinct and recognizable ancient culture by excavations carried out in the 19th century CE, the website Ancient.eu wrote.
According to Dara’s introduction to her book, there are other logographic writing systems known among researchers as hieroglyph other than ancient Egyptian writing systems, such as those of Hittite Empire (the Hittites were an Anatolian people who played an important role in establishing an empire centered on Hattusa in north-central Anatolia around 1600 BC) and the Urartuian civilization.
In her book Dara explains 72 hieroglyphic inscriptions of the civilization. Of these inscriptions, all preserved in Iran, three are written on metal, while the rest are on baked clay. The book includes images of each inscription.
Also included in the foreword are history of research on Urartuian hieroglyphic system and a table including hieroglyphic signs that have so far been recognized by researchers.
