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'Aratta' was an ancient state formation of renown somewhere in the Middle East or South Asia, since ca. 2500-2100 BC. It is mentioned in the oldest Sumerian legends, particularly ''Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta'', as being a wealthy, mountainous, up-river country ruled by a king called Ensuh-keshdanna, who is engaged in competition with Enmerkar, ruler of Uruk. The two main candidates for Aratta's identity are the mountainous region of later Urartu, and the newly-discovered Jiroft civilization in southeast Iran.
Aratta was known for its stone, metals, craftsmen and artisans. ^[1] It was also a source of silver, gold and lapis lazuli.Elst 1999 The goddess Inanna is said to have transferred her allegiance as consort, from Aratta to Uruk, playing a role something like that of a kingmaker.

Contents

Mentions in Sumerian literature

Urartu hypothesis

Jiroft hypothesis

Notes and References

Mentions in Sumerian literature

There are four Sumerian texts describing the conflicts between Aratta and Uruk.

★ ''Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta'' tells how Enmerkar of Uruk fails to convince the Lord of Aratta to send him tribute to construct the ziggurat in Eridu, causing Inanna to abandon Aratta for Enmerkar.

★ ''Enmerkar and Ensuh-keshdanna'' describes a similar contest between Enmerkar of Uruk and Ensuh-keshdanna, the Lord of Aratta.

★ ''Lugalbanda in the Mountain Cave'' and ''Lugalbanda and the Anzu Bird'' (also known as ''Lugalbanda I & II'') describe when Lugalbanda, listed as Enmerkar's successor, was among the troops arrayed against Aratta.
In these epics, the heralds from Uruk are depicted as passing through Susin and "the seven mountains of Anshan" to deliver Enmerkar's proclamations to other inhabited lands while ''en route'' to Aratta. ''Anshan'' was the name of a particular Elamite city lying within the Zagros mountains, that was far to the east, which would seem to fit the theory identifying Aratta with the Jiroft civilization. The identification with the Urartu region is also feasible by such a route, if "the mountains of Anshan" are taken to mean the Zagros range in general.

Urartu hypothesis

According to one theory, Aratta included the Northwest of Iran and present-day Azerbaijan. Its borders were purportedly from the Caucasus mountains to the Zagros mountains, and from the Caspian Sea to the Black Sea.
Aratta is thought to be related to the later Urartu Armenian kingdom, because of its geographical location and name (hence the theory that Aratta was the oldest Armenian state). The name also resembles Ararat, and the mountain is indeed located in the possible area of Aratta.
Aratta is often mentioned by modern historians in connection with the later regional powers of Mannai, Urartu and the Medes. Its legendary capital city may have been Phraaspa, site of a little Parthian-era castle recently discovered (in April 2005) near the river Aras River (along the Armenia-Iran-Azerbaijan border). However, the castle is firmly dated to the Atropatene (c. 300 BC) and Parthian (c. 200 BC) eras, thousands of years after the mysterious references to ''Aratta'' in Sumerian inscriptions.
Some would more specifically locate Aratta on the eastern side of Lake Van near the Turkish-Iranian border. A significant population and a flourishing landscape is known to have existed there in the third millennium BC.
In certain theories for locating the Urheimat (homeland) of the Proto-Indo-European language, this culture is identified with the speakers of the Anatolian languages, and even as an earlier Urheimat. Scholars Tamaz Gamkrelidze and Vyacheslav Vsevolodovich Ivanov place the homeland in Armenia.
:''See also'': Kura-Araxes culture

Jiroft hypothesis

Main articles: Aratti theory

Yousef Madjidzadeh speculated in 1976 that Aratta may be identical with the Southeast Iranian city of Jiroft. Excavations started in 2001, and unearthed a pyramid with edges 400m in length. Pottery with Sumerian-like design was found. The depictions seemed to resemble Sumerian legends. These findings have been dated to around 2500 BC. ^[2]
The Jiroft hypothesis is linked to Dr. J. Derakhshani's theory that the kingdom of Aratta was located in the eastern parts of ancient Persia (modern eastern Iran and Afghanistan), pointing to the Lapis lazuli mentioned in ancient sources which is found in the Hindu Kush mountains of Afghanistan. In fact, Badakhshan is the oldest known source for Lapis lazuli.
:''See also'': Jiroft civilization

Notes and References

★ Artak Movsisyan, ''Aratta: Land of the Sacred Law'', Yerevan, 2001.

★ Artak Movsisyan, ''Sacred Highland: Armenia in the spiritual conception of the Near East'', Yerevan, 2000.

★ Update on the Aryan Invasion Debate, , Koenraad, Elst, Aditya Prakashan, 1999, ISBN 81-86471-77-4

1. Daily Life in Ancient Mesopotamia By Karen Rhea Nemet-Nejat - Page 95
2. [1]