The Urartian Fortress at Ömerağa-Gölyüzü on the southern slope of Mt. Ağrı (Bozkurt Settlement Complex), in the city of Minuahinili (Karakoyunlu)
Abstract
Campaigns of Urartian started to the region of Mt Ağrı in the earlier stage of the kingdom in the reigns of Ishpuini 830 -810 bc and Minua 810 -785 /780 bc . The region became part of Urartian land when the Early Iron Age kingdom of Eriqua captured and the foundation of the new fortress-city at Minua - hinili by King Minua. Major fortresses and fortified cities of Late Bronze-Early Iron Age pre-Urartu and Middle Iron Age Urartu were mostly located in settlement complexes in the highland of eastern Anatolia. They can be considered as urban and administrative centers of small independent polities of pre-Urartian and Urartians. Settlement complexes at Mt Ağrı, Melekli and Karakoyunlu Iğdır plainsouth of the Araxes valley on the northern slope were localized respectively as Luhiuni, the capital of Early Iron Age kingdom of Eriqua and Minuahinili, the fortress-city of Urartu. Bozkurt settlement complex Doğubayazıt plain on the southern slope must be within the borders of these cities. Urartian settlement at Bozkurt contains a central fortress Ömerağa-Gölyüzü and an outpost - road station Bozkurt Fortress 2 . The Urartian fortress at Ömerağa-Gölyüzü can be suggest that it was the primary administrative center on the southwestern slope of Mt Ağrı interconnected with Minuahinili.
Keywords
Urartu, Minuahinili, Ömerağa-Gölyüzü, Bozkurt, Doğubayazıt plain, Mt Ağrı
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