Urartu: The Forgotten Kingdom

A 2019 History Documentary narrated by Dylan Waller. Written and Directed by Vaga Vardanyan; PARA TV Armenia and HAYASA Production

In the modern world, we can often hear about ancient Egypt, Sumer, Babylon, but very few have heard about the kingdom of Urartu, referred to in the Bible as the land of Ararat. Everyone remembers from the sacred texts that the righteous Noah found the salvation of the human race in the mountains of Ararat. Urartu, an early first millennium BC kingdom located in the Armenian highlands, was first discovered in the 19th century and became a worldwide sensation for its rich cultural heritage.

Due to its animosity with Assyria, it was militaristic society and is thought to be the first kingdom to convert form bronze to iron weaponry leading Assyria to quickly follow suit. According to the scientists' latest discoveries, the inhabitants of Urartu, along with the Sumerians, had advanced culture, economy, astronomy and religious life, and the art of architecture was unsurpassed throughout the ancient world. The kingdom is also known for an aqueduct, the Channel of Semiramis, a remarkable engineering feat for it's time. The main influence of Urartian culture, especially letters, fell on the Persian Empire of the Achaemenids, who fought Alexander the Great. Many elements of Urartian art can be seen in the architecture of ancient Greece. Much of its history is now well documented but as of this writing the story of its beginnings and disappearance are still unclear.

"Urartu: The Forgotten Kingdom of Noah" was filmed for the 2800th anniversary of Yerevan and is the first documentary drama representing the history of the state of Urartu from the moment of its emergence to its fall. The viewer will see scenes from the ancient history of Armenia come to life, as well as famous historical characters - Kings Menua, Argishti and the beautiful Queen of Assyria, Queen Semiramis.

This documentary shows us Urartu's beautiful history, shot with an abundance of computer graphics, thus recreating the era of that time. The costumes and all the props - helmets, swords, shields - were made especially for the film according to real patterns 3000 years ago. Historians and archaeologists, specialists in the ancient world include Irving Finecle (British Museum), Mikhail Piotrovsky (Hermitage), Ashot Melkonyan (Institute of History of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia) among others. Filming took place in Armenia in the Ararat Valley, in the places where the cities and towns of the ancient state of Urartu were once located.