Shalmaneser III, descendant of a race of kings, crossed the formidable mountain barrier to reach the 'upper sea of the land of Nairi,' where he washed his weapons in its waters. Before earth and water were hidden beneath the winter snow, he prayed for new strength in his spear and sword that had been blessed by the war gods. When he returned to his homeland of Assyria, he had the story of his victories and campaigns carved in stone. These inscriptions first heralded the emergence of a new kingdom uniting the seminomadic tribes of the mountainous northern lands that his ancestors had been raiding for centuries.

ARCH ENEMIES: URARTIANS AND ASSYRIANS
King Shalmaneser of Assyria, who lived around 2850 years ago, speaks of a land he called Nairi or Uruatri, which stretched from the shores of the Caspian Sea to the Euphrates and encompassed the upper and lower seas (Lake Van in Turkey and Lake Urmiye in northwest Iran). He tells us the names of the first kings of the new Urartian kingdom, Aramu and Sarduri I (840-830 BC).