About the “Scythian” Akinak from Rusahinili in Front of Mount Eiduru

Abstract

The paper examines an iron sword and a bouterol made of horn found in one of the Urartian sites of Rusa son of Argishti – Rusahinili period in front of Mount Eiduru (Ayanis). The sword is a specimen of a blade weapon of nomads of the period of Near Eastern campaigns – an akinax of the Early Scythian Kelermes type. The archaeological context allows us to date the sword no later than 650 BC. It is assumed that the sword from Ayanis was acquired during the western military campaigns of Rusa II and can be regarded as a gift of one of the Cimmerian “chiefs” to King Biannini. Based on the workmanship and technique of the “staff” of Queen Qaquli from Ayanis, as well as the swords found at Kelermes and Melgunov, it can be assumed that all these objects were made in an Urartian royal workshop. The swords from Kelermes and Melgunov are dip-lomatic gifts of Tsar Biannini to the Scythian chiefs who led the nomads in an alliance with Urartu, or a token of the imminent conclusion of an alliance. The fact that Urartian toreutic craftsmen inscribed the dynastic emblem of Urartian kings (I.M. Diakonoff) on the sword scab-bards of nomads rather indicates that in the eyes of Urartian donors their future owners were considered almost equal in rank to the owner of the Tushpin throne. This does not exclude the possibility that the covers could have been made during the reign of Argishti II.