The Urartian Fortress at Ömerağa-Gölyüzü on the southern slope of Mt. Ağrı (Bozkurt Settlement Complex), in the city of Minuahinili (Karakoyunlu)

Campaigns of Urartian started to the region of Mt Ağrı in the earlier stage of the kingdom in the reigns of Ishpuini (830-810 BC) and Minua (810-785/780 BC). The region became part of Urartian land when the Early Iron Age kingdom of Eriqua captured and the foundation of the new fortress-city at Minua- hinili by King Minua. Major fortresses and fortified cities of Late Bronze-Early Iron Age (pre-Urartu) and Middle Iron Age (Urartu) were mostly located in settlement complexes in the highland of eastern Anatolia. They can be considered as urban and administrative centers of small independent polities of pre-Urartian and Urartians. Settlement complexes at Mt Ağrı, Melekli and Karakoyunlu (Iğdır plain- south of the Araxes valley) on the northern slope were localized respectively as Luhiuni, the capital of Early Iron Age kingdom of Eriqua and Minuahinili, the fortress-city of Urartu. Bozkurt settlement complex (Doğubayazıt plain) on the southern slope must be within the borders of these cities. Urartian settlement at Bozkurt contains a central fortress (Ömerağa-Gölyüzü) and an outpost - road station (Bozkurt Fortress 2). The Urartian fortress at Ömerağa-Gölyüzü can be suggest that it was the primary administrative center on the southwestern slope of Mt Ağrı interconnected with Minuahinili.

Ağrı Dağı bölgesine ilk Urartu seferleri krallığın erken evresinde, kral İşpuini (mö 830-810) ve Minua (mö 810-785/780) dönemlerinde başlamıştır. Bölge, Kral Minua tarafından Erken Demir Çağ krallığı Eriqua ülkesinin başkenti Luhiuni’nin fethi ve yeni kale kent Minuahinili’nin kuruluşuyla Urartu ül- kesinin parçası haline gelmiştir. Doğu Anadolu yüksek yaylasında Son Tunç-Erken Demir Çağ (pre-U- rartu) ve Orta Demir Çağ (Urartu) dönemlerine ait merkezi kaleler ya da kale kentler büyük çoğunluk- la yerleşim kompleksleri içinde yer alırlar. Bu kentler pre-Urartu döneminin küçük bağımsız krallıkları ve sonrasında Urartu Krallığı’nın büyük kentleri ya da yönetim merkezleri olarak kabul edilebilirler.

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