Reign of Ishpuinis

In 825-810 BC the ruler of Tushpa-Van was king Ishpuinis, the son of Sarduri I. The reforms, which began in the reign of Ishpuinis and lasted till the reign of Menua, played a geat role in the process of strengthening of kingdom of Van and in the process of its becoming regional power. The reforms in the first period of the reign of Ishpuinis were connected with his name, and in the second period they were connected with the name of his son Menua too, which becomes obvious from inscriptions. If the writing reform: the invention of cuneiform writing, took place at an early stage of the reign of Ishpuinis, the religious reform: the creation of deities (Pantheon) for the whole kingdom, took place in the second period of his reign. That is why the inscription of the Pantheon on <<Mheri Dur>> (Mher’s Gate) was written by Ishpuinis and Menua. In the Pantheon the deities of Nairi confederation countries were united. That was, in fact, the Pantheon of southern Armenia at the end of IX century BC. The reforms in military field began in the reign of Ishpuinis and continued in the reign of Menua. Former federal levy was superseded by professional regular army, which was subdivided into arms. Rearmament of the army was done and other measures were taken. Due to these measures Ishpuinis had his first great success in late 820-s BC, when he widened his kingdom in southern part of the basin of Lake Urmia. He united land of Ardini-Musasir with his kingdom, the center of which (of the same name) became spiritual center of the country. Then Ishpuinis carried out invasions to the regions of headwaters of Aratsani river and upper stream of Araks clashing against Etiunian confederation forces.
As a result Haykakan Par range (Armenian Range) became the northern border of the kingdom. Then he occupied the territory between mountains Kotur-Vaspurakan up to Araks and he built fortresses in the field of Maku. Then millitary processions were made towards Syunik, from Araks valley towards east, as well as from the basin of Lake Urmia towards south up to land of Parsua.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Artak Movsisyan