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Meaning of Urartian in English:

Urartian

Pronunciation /ʊˈrɑːtɪən/

adjective

  • Relating to the ancient kingdom of Urartu in eastern Anatolia (c.1500–585 BC).

    ‘The skill of Urartian craftspeople is manifest in Van museum exhibits: terracotta figures, ornate bronze belts and some very covetable gold jewellery.’
    • ‘The city has existed for at least 5,000 years and saw successive periods of Urartian, Assyrian and Persian rule before succumbing to Alexander the Great.’

noun

  • 1A native or inhabitant of ancient Urartu.

    ‘She rightly concludes, ‘despite their geographical position and their entanglement with Assyrians, Urartians, Persians, Arabs, and Turks, both ancient and early medieval Armenians have a European significance.’’
    • ‘The earliest Armenian history was related to the Hittites and the Urartians as well as with the peoples of Mesopotamia.’
    • ‘This impression is created by simply tacking the history of the Urartians onto that of the Haik.’
    • ‘These perches with huge vistas were just the sort of place the Urartians favoured for their strongholds.’
    • ‘The ways in which the Urartians built and governed their state are shown in the present volume.’
    • ‘The Urartians used highly developed techniques of irrigation and construction of fortified cities.’
    • ‘Contemporary accounts show a series of attacks and counter-attacks between the Urartians and local kingdoms.’
    • ‘On display were many inscriptions in the cuneiform language which the Urartians borrowed from the Assyrians.’
    • ‘It is generally agreed that the Urartians arose from the Hurrians and employed a language similar to Hurrian.’
    • ‘Urartu (or Bianili as the Urartians called it) had a different culture and language from Armenians.’
    • ‘The Urartians, who had to adjust to harsh natural conditions, were successful in agriculture and animal husbandry.’
    • ‘This explains to us that Urartians like Hittites had people form various stocks.’
    • ‘Eventually, the Urartians were decimated when nomadic tribes came through the Caucasian passes in the north and wiped the Urartian cities off the map.’

  • 2mass noun The language of Urartu, related to Hurrian.