Muṣaṣir (Assyrian cuneiform: KURMu-ṣa-ṣir and variants, including Mutsatsir,
Akkadian for Exit of the Serpent/Snake), in
UrartianArdini was an ancient city of
Urartu, attested in Assyrian sources of the 9th and 8th centuries BC.
It was acquired by the Urartian King
Ishpuini ca. 800 BC (see the
Kelashin Stele). The city's tutelary deity was
dḪaldi.
Urartologist Paul Zimansky speculated that the Urartians (or at least the ruling family) may have emigrated northwest into the
Lake Van region from Musasir.[3]
Temple
The Musasir temple, built in 825 BC, was an important temple in Musasir, the holy city of
Urartu. The Temple at Musasir appears in an
Assyrian bas-relief which adorned the palace of
King Sargon II at
Khorsabad, to commemorate his victory over "the seven kings of Urartu" in 714 BC.[4]
(1802 - 1870) During the early 1850s, the
BritishAssyrian Excavation Fund entered the field under
William Kennett Loftus and many antiquities and accurate drawings of wall sculptures were apportioned between the
British Museum and the Louvre. However, a convoy of antiquities was attacked by
Arab robbers while being shipped down the
Tigris River, and today lies buried somewhere in the bed of that river. That particular bas-relief was copied at its original location in the palace onto a drawing by Eugene Flandin(2) as Botta's chief artist.[5]
During Rusa I's reign (735-714 BC), Musasir was governed by a king named Urzana.[6][7]
Potential locations
Altintepe: Since 1959, the Historical Society and the Department of Antiquities have conducted excavations in the Yerznka area, west of Karin. Here at Altintepe was revealed an
Urartian temple and other monuments. Only the foundations of the temple are in view. Obviously this is not the temple of Musasir as it is located far away from the concerned area.[8]
Rabat Tepe: Recently a site excavated in Iran, which is called Rabat Tepe and located at the southwestern side of Lake Urmia, was identified as Musasir.
[1]Schurtz, Marshall Wheeler, "Like a Snake in Difficult Mountains: A Historical and Archaeological Analysis of the Character and Origin of the Iron Age Kingdom of Muṣaṣir", Dissertation, University of Pennsylvania, 2022