The Relations of Urartu and Etiuni: A Case Study

 The Relations of Urartu and Etiuni: A Case Study

The relations of Biaina (Urartu) with its neighboring regions are usually depicted in cuneiform texts through military campaigns, following the conventional canons of war: destruction, plunder, prisoners, and executions. However, this method of presenting events carries a degree of propaganda and almost certainly replicates the aggressive Assyrian style. The everyday life of non-Biainians on lands controlled by Biainian kings was almost certainly more complex and nuanced.

Miqayel Badalyan 's paper discusses a clay tablet that plausibly describes the integration of Etiuni men into Urartian society. The clay tablet was found in Sardurihinili (Çavuştepe / Haykaberd) in the Van Basin. It contains numbers of people alongside ethnic names—all from the Sevan Basin—who were apparently living in Sardurihinili and performing certain duties there, most likely military service. What is remarkable is that Assyrian sources report the exact same information about Sardurihinili (which they call Sardurihurda). The Assyrians mention an ethnic group on whom the Urartian king relies to protect the Sardurihinili fortress. Although the name of this ethnic group is incomplete (--tina), Grekyan suggests that it could very well be Etiunians. Furthermore, there are other examples of individuals with Etiunian names, such as Abilianiše and Waza, who attained higher positions within the Urartian hierarchy.

We can add on our part that a few DNA samples from Sardurihinili support Badalyan's theory. One of the DNA samples from Sardurihinili belonged to an Etiuni woman. While we obviously do not know her social status in Urartian society, the description of her burial and grave goods—such as a bronze ring—does suggest that she was not an ordinary enslaved person.

Hopefully, in the future, we will see ancient DNA from Etiuni men with clear evidence in their burials of their integration into Urartian society.