The Kelashin Stele () (also Kelishin or Keli-Shin; from

Kurdish Language Kurdish (, , ) is a Northwestern Iranian languages, Northwestern Iranian language or dialect continuum, group of languages spoken by Kurds in the region of Kurdistan, namely in southeast Turkish Kurdistan, Turkey, northern Iraqi Kurdistan, Ira ...

: Blue Stone) found in Kelashin,

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

, bears an important Urartian- Assyrian bilingual text dating to , first described by

Friedrich Eduard Schulz Friedrich Eduard Schulz (1799–1829, also known as Friedrich Edward Schulz) was a German philosopher and orientalist, who was one of the first to uncover evidence of the Kingdom of Urartu. Research on Urartu In 1827, the French scholar ...

in 1827. Part of Schulz's notes were lost when he was killed by

Kurd Kurds (), or the Kurdish people, are an Iranian peoples, Iranic ethnic group from West Asia. They are indigenous to Kurdistan, which is a geographic region spanning southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Iraq, and northeastern Syri ...

ish "bandits", and later expeditions were either prevented by weather conditions or Kurdish brigands, so that a copy (

latex Latex is an emulsion (stable dispersion) of polymer microparticles in water. Latices are found in nature, but synthetic latices are common as well. In nature, latex is found as a wikt:milky, milky fluid, which is present in 10% of all floweri ...

squeeze) of the inscription could only be made in 1951 by G. Cameron, and again in 1976 by an Italian party under heavy military protection. The inscription describes the acquisition of the city of Musasir (Ardini) by the Urartian king Ishpuini.

References

Warren C. Benedict, ''The Urartian-Assyrian Inscription of Kelishin'', Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 81, No. 4 (1961), pp. 359–385. 9th-century BC steles 1827 archaeological discoveries Hurro-Urartian languages Akkadian literature Ancient Near East steles {{Semitic-lang-stub Archaeological discoveries in Asia