Izirtu or Zirta was the capital of Mannea in ancient times . The location was unknown for a long time and is represented by an Aramaic inscription from the 8th century BC. About the god Haldi near the modern city of Bukan . A localization, based on the Haldi deity, not far from Musasir was abandoned, since the location of Mannäa has meanwhile been confirmed for the region east and southeast of Lake Urmia through archaeological excavations.
Glazed bricks with the image of a winged billy goat. Ancient Orient Museum Tokyo, Japan (Tanabe 1983)
Izirtu is known as early as the 9th century BC. Mentioned in Assyrian inscriptions and was the target of various campaigns. The 4th and 5th campaigns of Assurbanipal against King Ahšeri are of particular importance , who in connection with the Median confederation efforts and the conquests by the Cimmerians initially felt strong enough to throw off Assyrian supremacy.
The subsequent siege by Assurbanipal's troops forced Ahšeri to flee to his fortress town of Ištatti , where he was killed by the angry population. Izirtu then switched back to the Assyrian side.
literature
Dietz-Otto Edzard: Real Lexicon of Assyriology and Near Eastern Archeology, Volume 5 , de Gruyter, Berlin 1980, p. 212 ISBN 3-11-007192-4
