Teishebaini

Teishebaini was the capital of the Transcaucasian provinces of the ancient kingdom of Urartu [1]. It is located near the modern city of Yerevan in Armenia [1]. The site was once a fortress and governmental centre with towered and buttressed perimeter walls, massive gates, a parade ground within its walls, and storage rooms that entirely occupied the ground floor [1]. The city of Teishebaini was built by Rusa II in mid-7th century BC to protect the eastern borders of Urartu from the barbaric Cimmerians and Scythians [1]. Within the city was a governors palace that contained a hundred and twenty rooms spreading across more than 40,000 m2, and citadel named the Citadel of Teisheba after the Urartian god of war [1]. The palace was made of stone, with timber ceilings, and timber columns that supported the roof [1].