The border between Assyria and Urartu was located in the mountain region of eastern Taurus and northern Zagros, whose rugged terrain imposed particular strategies. Due to the nature of the region the confrontation between the two major kingdoms was mediated by some buffer states which became tributary of one or another of the larger polities and derived advantages and high risks from this position. They had an important role also in the circulation of goods and artefacts. If, from a political and military point of view, the mountains were theatre of struggles to control strategical or rich enclaves, and the borders of Assyrian and Urartian hegemony changed over time, from a cultural point of view the boundaries were elusive and wide was the circulation of prestige goods as attested in the archaeological findings.
The movable border between Assyria and Urartu (9th - 7th centuries BC)
S. Ponchia
2019-01-01
Abstract
The border between Assyria and Urartu was located in the mountain region of eastern Taurus and northern Zagros, whose rugged terrain imposed particular strategies. Due to the nature of the region the confrontation between the two major kingdoms was mediated by some buffer states which became tributary of one or another of the larger polities and derived advantages and high risks from this position. They had an important role also in the circulation of goods and artefacts. If, from a political and military point of view, the mountains were theatre of struggles to control strategical or rich enclaves, and the borders of Assyrian and Urartian hegemony changed over time, from a cultural point of view the boundaries were elusive and wide was the circulation of prestige goods as attested in the archaeological findings.
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