Toprakkale - Meherkapi

Toprakkale - Meherkapi

Toprakkale, an ancient city of the Urartian Kingdom, is situated on a rocky hill to the southwest of Zım Zım Mountain in the northeast of Van Plain. The city is strategically important and is located 7 km from Tuspa in the west of Zım Zım Mountain and 600 meters from Meher Kapi in the east.

For many years, historians have been perplexed about the origins of Toprakkale. However, it is now known that Rusa, the son of Erimena, founded the city after fulfilling the terms of his father's will and becoming king. Rusa is also referred to as the hero of Tushpa in ancient texts.

Toprakkale - Meherkapi

The Toprakkale Citadel measures 400 meters by 60 meters and has foundation beds for the fortification walls of the settlement. Excavations have uncovered a storage room, a temple, and rock places. The Haldi Temple is an example of a square-planned Urartian temple with walls 4-5 meters high and 5.3 meters from the outside. The temple measures 13.80 meters on each side.

Toprakkale has yielded many artifacts, including ivory figurines, bronze statues of lions and bulls, gold medallions, and bronze candlesticks. The Meherkapi Inscription, or Meher Gate, is located approximately 600 meters from Toprakkale and is a crucial artifact of the Urartians. The gate was named Meher, meaning "illuminating," as it was believed that God Haldi would emerge from it in a beam of light.

The Meher Gate was built between 820-810 BC by the Urartian King Ispuini and his son Menua. It consists of two frames that are 2.60 meters wide by 4 meters high. The inner surface of the door has a cuneiform script consisting of 47 lines, which was smoothed like glass. To preserve it, the original text was renewed, and the inscription now consists of 94 lines.

In the Urartian Kingdom, polytheism was recognized, and gods of conquered regions were also given reverence. The Meher Gate inscription lists all the gods of the Urartian Kingdom in a specific order, and it states when and what kind of animals would be sacrificed to them. God Haldi is at the top of the list of gods.