ABSTRACT
Sarduri I, son of Lutipri, claims that Aramu became one of the ‘kings’ of whom he was the overlord. 1 Nothing is yet known of Lutipri, except that, according to the Vannic inscriptions, he was Sarduri’s father. Sarduri was the founder of the royal dynasty which endured almost to the end of the Vannic empire (c. 590 BC). It was Sarduri who transferred the capital from Arzashkun to Tushpa, on the east coast of Lake Van, on the site of modern Van.
