Diauehi (Modern ka, დიაოხი , Urartian ''Diauehi'',

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

''Taochoi'',

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

'' Tayk'', possibly Assyrian ''Daiaeni'') was a

tribal The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

union located in northeastern

Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

, that was recorded in

Assyria Assyria (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , ''māt Aššur'') was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization that existed as a city-state from the 21st century BC to the 14th century BC and eventually expanded into an empire from the 14th century BC t ...

n and Urartian sources during the

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

. It is usually (though not always) identified with the earlier Daiaeni (Dayaeni), attested in the Yonjalu inscription of the

Assyrian king The king of Assyria (Akkadian language, Akkadian: , later ) was the ruler of the ancient Mesopotamian kingdom of Assyria, which was founded in the late 21st century BC and fell in the late 7th century BC. For much of its early history, Assyria was ...

Tiglath-Pileser I's third year (1118 BC) and in later records by

Shalmaneser III Shalmaneser III (''Šulmānu-ašarēdu'', "the god Shulmanu is pre-eminent") was king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from 859 BC to 824 BC. His long reign was a constant series of campaigns against the eastern tribes, the Babylonians, the nations o ...

(845 BC). While it is unknown what language(s) they spoke, they may have been speakers of a Kartvelian,A. G. Sagona. ''Archaeology at the North-East Anatolian Frontier'', p. 30.

Iranian Iranian () may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Iran ** Iranian diaspora, Iranians living outside Iran ** Iranian architecture, architecture of Iran and parts of the rest of West Asia ** Iranian cuisine, cooking traditions and practic ...

, or

Hurrian The Hurrians (; ; also called Hari, Khurrites, Hourri, Churri, Hurri) were a people who inhabited the Ancient Near East during the Bronze Age. They spoke the Hurro-Urartian language, Hurrian language, and lived throughout northern Syria (region) ...

language.

Location

Although the exact geographic extent of Diauehi is still unclear, many scholars place it in the Pasinler Plain in today's northeastern

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, while others locate it in the

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

n– Georgian marchlands as it follows the Kura River. Most probably, the core of the Diauehi lands may have extended from the headwaters of the

Euphrates The Euphrates ( ; see #Etymology, below) is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of West Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia (). Originati ...

into the river valleys of

Çoruh The Chorokh ( ka, ჭოროხი ''Ch'orokhi'' , , ''Chorokh'', , , ''Akampsis'') is a river that rises in the Mescit Mountains in north-eastern Turkey, flows through the cities of Bayburt, İspir, Yusufeli, and Artvin, along the Kelkit-� ...

to Oltu. The Urartian sources speak of Diauehi's three key cities—Zua, Utu and Sasilu; Zua is frequently identified with Zivin Kale and Utu is probably modern Oltu, while Sasilu is sometimes linked to the early medieval Georgian

toponym Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of ''wikt:toponym, toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage, and types. ''Toponym'' is the general term for ...

Sasire, near Tortomi (present-day Tortum, Turkey). The Diaeuhian city Šešetina may have corresponded to Şavşat, Turkey (Shavsheti in Georgian). The region of Diauehi seems to have roughly corresponded to,Levan Gordzeiani. "Some Remarks on Qulḫa." ''Over the Mountains and Far Away: Studies in Near Eastern history and archaeology presented to Mirjo Salvini on the occasion of his 80th birthday.'' eds. Pavel S. Avetisyan, Roberto Dan and Yervand H. Grekyan. Archaeopress Archaeology. 2019. pp. 242-243

/ref> or bordered, the previous Hayasa-Azzi territory.

History

In the early 8th century, Diauehi became the target of the newly emerged regional power of

Urartu Urartu was an Iron Age kingdom centered around the Armenian highlands between Lake Van, Lake Urmia, and Lake Sevan. The territory of the ancient kingdom of Urartu extended over the modern frontiers of Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Armenia.Kleiss, Wo ...

. Menua (810–785 BC) conquered part of Diaeuhi, annexing its most important cities: Zua, Utu, and Shashilu, and forcing the king of Diauehi, Utupursi(ni), to pay a tribute of gold and silver. Menua's son Argishti I (785–763 BC), campaigned against the Diauehi kingdom in 783.Trevor Bryce. ''The Routledge Handbook of the Peoples and Places of Ancient Western Asia: The Near East from the Early Bronze Age to the fall of the Persian Empire''. Routledge. 2009. p. 193. Argishti I defeated King Utupursi, annexing his possessions․ In exchange for his life, Utupursi was forced to pay a tribute including a variety of metals and livestock. Toward the end of his reign, Argishti I led yet another campaign against Utuspursi, who led a rebellion against the Urartians.

Possible ethno-linguistic identification

Diauehi is considered by some as a locus of Proto-Kartvelian; it has been described as an "important tribal formation of possible proto-Georgians" by

Ronald Grigor Suny Ronald Grigor Suny (born September 25, 1940) is an American-Armenian historian and political scientist. Suny is the William H. Sewell Jr. Distinguished University Professor of History Emeritus at the University of Michigan and served as directo ...

(1994). According to Robert H. Hewsen, they may have been speakers of a language unrelated to any other in the Caucasus region. However, they are mentioned by

Diodorus Siculus Diodorus Siculus or Diodorus of Sicily (; 1st century BC) was an ancient Greece, ancient Greek historian from Sicily. He is known for writing the monumental Universal history (genre), universal history ''Bibliotheca historica'', in forty ...

as Xaoi, which Hewsen etymologizes as a Greek form of the

endonym, Hayk'. Massimo Forlanini proposed a connection between the name of the Diaeuhi tribe, Baltu, and the Hayasan deity, Baltaik. He also compared these to the name of the Hayasan mercenary, Waltahi.

Connection to Daiaeni (Dayaeni)

Some scholars have linked the Diaeuhi to the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

Daiaeni (Dayaeni) tribe, mentioned in 12th century BC Assyrian sources as being part of the Nairi confederation.James Henry Breasted, ed. ''Ancient Records of Assyria and Babylonia''. University of Chicago Press. p. 81. 1926. https://oi.uchicago.edu/sites/oi.uchicago.edu/files/uploads/shared/docs/ancient_records_assyria1.pdf This connection is mainly due to the phonetic similarities of the names Daiaeni and Diaeuhi. The Daiaeni were powerful enough to counter the Assyrian forays, although in 1112 BC their king, Sien, was defeated by Tiglath-Pileser I. Sien was captured and later released on terms of vassalage. Daiaeni appeared again in Assyrian texts nearly three centuries later when King Asia of Daiaeni (850–825 BC) was forced to submit to the Assyrian king

in 845 BC, after the latter had overrun Urartu and made a foray into Daiaeni. As the Daiaeni of Assyrian records seem to have been located further south than the Diaeuhi of Urartian records, Robert H. Hewsen and

Nicholas Adontz Nicholas Adontz (; ; January 10, 1871 – January 27, 1942) was an Armenians, Armenian historian, specialising in Byzantine studies, Byzantine and Armenian studies, and a philologist. Karen Yuzbashyan, Yuzbashyan, Karen. s.v. Adonts', Nikoghayos ...

proposed that the Diaieni originally inhabited a region between Palu and either Mush Province or

Lake Van Lake Van (; ; ) is the largest lake in Turkey. It lies in the Eastern Anatolia Region of Turkey in the provinces of Van Province, Van and Bitlis Province, Bitlis, in the Armenian highlands. It is a Salt lake, saline Soda lake, soda lake, receiv ...

. They then moved north to

Kars Province Kars Province (; Azerbaijani: Qars Rayonu; ; ) is a province of Turkey, located in the northeastern part of the country. It shares part of its closed border with Armenia. Its area is 10,193 km2, and its population is 274,829 (2022). The pr ...

, where they battled the Urartians and later encountered Greek mercenaries, including

Xenophon Xenophon of Athens (; ; 355/354 BC) was a Greek military leader, philosopher, and historian. At the age of 30, he was elected as one of the leaders of the retreating Ancient Greek mercenaries, Greek mercenaries, the Ten Thousand, who had been ...

. They subsequently moved further northwest. Archibald Sayce suggested that Daiaeni was named after an eponymous founder, Diaus, and thus meant "people of the land/tribe of Diau(s)".A.H. Sayce. ''Cambridge Ancient History, vol. XX''. (1925). pp. 169–186

/ref>

Onomastics

Daiaeni rulers

* Diau(s) (possible founder/patriarch suggested by Archibald Sayce) * Sien * Asia

Location

History

Possible ethno-linguistic identification

Connection to Daiaeni (Dayaeni)

Onomastics

Daiaeni rulers

Diauehi rulers

Diauehi tribes

Diauehi districts

Diauehi cities

See also

References

Explanatory notes

Further reading