ABSTRACT
The kingdom of Biainili, better known as Urartu, was perhaps the most powerful political entity to emerge on Anatolian soil in the pre-classical era. Most of the archaeological evidence for the early Iron Age comes from graves, and substantial habitation sites do not appear in the Van region until the 9th century, when they arise as part of the process that culminates in the formation of the creation of Biainili's empire. The testimony of Urartu's inscriptions, abundance of its metalwork, and scale of its architecture leave no doubt of the resplendence of this civilization. It is perhaps significant that the first native Urartian king to leave an inscription, writing around 830 BC in the style and language of the Assyrians, called his kingdom 'Nairi'. By this time, however, he was in control of a politically unified area which the Assyrians themselves were calling Urartu.
