Teyseba

Teyseba (Armenian: Թեյշեբա; later Ishkanaberd meaning "Lord's Fortress" and Odzaberd meaning "Serpent's Fortress") is located east of the town of Tsovinar and at the south-east corner of Lake Sevan in the Gegharkunik Province of Armenia. It is an important archaeological site because it was once a fortified city of the Urartian Kingdom founded by Rusa I between 735-713 BC, and is considered the best preserved Urartian fortification in the Sevan basin. Amongst the ruins, stone foundations and portions of the city wall and gates are still visible. There is also an entrance to a small cave located on the western face of the hill within the ruins of Teyseba.

Carved into the rock face on a low cliff at the base of the hill which the city was built upon (located north and along the road), is an ancient cuneiform inscription written by Rusa I. It relates that the city was built in dedication to the god Teisheba and speaks of the conquest by Rusa I of twenty-three nations as well. The etymology of Sevan was slso found in the inscription and is considered to be the first such mention of the word that now relates to the lake that the ruins are located.

Folklore

Local folklore tells that Lake Sevan was at a much higher elevation during this time, and that the city of Teyseba had been built along its shoreline. During the Soviet era the lake was lowered 19 meters, and has now stabilized to 20 meters (65 feet) below where it once was. It is said that the cuneiform inscription had been carved into the cliff face to prevent it from being defaced. Due to the water level being so much higher at the time, the location of the inscription would have been virtually inaccessible.

It is also said that what is now a modern cemetery located on a rocky outcrop north of the village of Tsovinar, was during Urartian times an island with a small village that had been destroyed by lava flow that came up from below the lake. Local residents tell that ancient coins and bones have been found when digging new graves in the cemetery. The island has since dwindled in size.

During the medieval period, one of the lords of the land rebuilt the stone defences to serve as his fortress at the same site and it went by the name Ishkanaberd meaning "Lord's Fortress". It was taken by the lord of the nearby town of Khrber because of a dispute between the two over his wife. After destroying the fortress he said, “Now nothing shall live in this land except snakes and scorpions!” It was referred to henceforth as Odzaberd meaning “Serpent’s Fortress”.

References

• Chahin, Mack (2001), The Kingdom of Armenia: New Edition (Caucasus World), Richmond, England: Curzon Press, ISBN 0700714529 
• Kiesling, Brady (2005), Rediscovering Armenia: Guide, Yerevan, Armenia: Matit Graphic Design Studio 
• Brady Kiesling, Rediscovering Armenia, p. 46; original archived at Archive.org, and current version online on Armeniapedia.org.