Unlike the states of adjoining Mesopotamia, Ancient Armenia was not a clay civilization. Their cuneiform was carved on rocks. Their fortresses, palaces and temples were not made of clay either. Founded by king Rusa II in the 7th century BC, the city of the god of warfare, Teyshebaini, is one of the rare exceptions. Being a typical ancient Asian city, this unique monument is situated on Karmir-Blur, in the administrative part of Yerevan. During archaeological excavations guided by the prominent orientalist Boris Piotrovski, scientists found whole storehouses. Grains of wheat, sesame, and barley for beer were kept in enormous clay containers (karas). In ancient times Armenia was called the land of barley-drink. At the very end of the 5th century BC, the Greek historian Xenophon wrote in his Anabasis about the wide popularity of beer on the territory of Armenia. One of the major administrative and military centers of Ararat Kingdom, Teyshebaini, existed for a rather short period of time. After the rule of Rusa II the state, which had once been so powerful, began declining little by little. Five other kings ruled the country in subsequent sixty years. However, scarcely any records can be found in verbose Araratian and Assyrian inscriptions. In the 7th – 6th centuries BC, under the attacks of third forces, including the growing Iranian tribal alliances, the two uncompromising great powers, Assyria and Ararat, having always contended for the palm of supremacy, finally sank into oblivion.

Very few cities in the world possess documentary evidence of their own origin. The thirteenth capital city of Armenia, however, is one of them. In 1879, an inhabitant of Erivan came across a basalt stone with cuneiform in the foothills of Arin-Berd, which immediately attracted specialists’ attention. Archaeological excavations revealed a stunning bastion with fortress walls and temples, granaries and storage rooms, residential areas and military quarters. On October 25, 1950, archaeologists found cuneiform text inscribed on basalt steles. This made it possible to establish the fact that the monument under consideration was the Erebuni Fortress, which had been built by one of the greatest monarchs of Ararat, Argishti I. Thus, they managed to ascertain not only the etymology of the Armenian capital, but also its age. According to Khorkoruni chronicle, the king founded Erebuni in his fifth year on the throne, which is 783–782 BC. Argishti I, the son of Menua, who reigned over the country for more than twenty years, was an excellent warrior and the most influential ruler of the time. Under his reign, the country became one of the most powerful monarchies of the ancient world. Even the pathetic Assyrian inscriptions depicted the King with expressions demonstrating badly disguised fear: “Argishti, a Urartian, whose name is as fearful as a tempest, and whose power is extensive…”

The great Kingdom of Van was established on the territory of the Armenian plateau in the 9th century BC. Traditionally regarding the area as a place of worship of reviving Nature, neighboring nations called the new kingdom Ararat, or Urartu according to the Assyrian transcription. And even though it existed for less than three hundred years, it was recognized all over the world. Basalt stones describing the great deeds of powerful kings, the steles, make the advanced stage of its development self-evident. A well-preserved stele that belonged to the rulers of Ararat has been found on the territory of Zvartnots Cathedral, 20 km west from Yerevan. The cuneiform carved on behalf of King Rusa II consists of 47 lines and recounts the King’s economic activity, especially the construction of irrigation canal. Surprisingly enough, the irrigation system that was built about three thousand years ago is still in perfect working order.