EDITORS NOTE: Graphic content / Mehmet Isikli, head of the Department of Near Eastern Archaeology at Ankara University poses at the fortress of Ayanis near Van, in eastern Turkey, on August 4, 2026. Although it emerged later than the great Mesopotamian kingdoms of Assyria, Sumer, and Babylon, Urartu succeeded in uniting the tribal communities of the Autoru Mountains into a centralized state, building fortresses, provincial capitals, irrigation networks, and vast storage facilities to support an agricultural economy. (Photo by Ali IHSAN OZTURK / AFP via Getty Images)

EDITORS NOTE: Graphic content / This aerial photograph, taken on August 4, 2026 shows the remains of the fortress of Ayanis near Van, in eastern Turkey. Although it emerged later than the great Mesopotamian kingdoms of Assyria, Sumer, and Babylon, Urartu succeeded in uniting the tribal communities of the Autoru Mountains into a centralized state, building fortresses, provincial capitals, irrigation networks, and vast storage facilities to support an agricultural economy. (Photo by Ali IHSAN OZTURK / AFP via Getty Images)

EDITORS NOTE: Graphic content / An archaeologist works on a stone engraved with Urartu language at the fortress of Ayanis near Van, in eastern Turkey, on August 4, 2026. Although it emerged later than the great Mesopotamian kingdoms of Assyria, Sumer, and Babylon, Urartu succeeded in uniting the tribal communities of the Autoru Mountains into a centralized state, building fortresses, provincial capitals, irrigation networks, and vast storage facilities to support an agricultural economy. (Photo by Ali IHSAN OZTURK / AFP via Getty Images)

EDITORS NOTE: Graphic content / An archaeologist works on a stone at the fortress of Ayanis near Van, in eastern Turkey, on August 4, 2026. Although it emerged later than the great Mesopotamian kingdoms of Assyria, Sumer, and Babylon, Urartu succeeded in uniting the tribal communities of the Autoru Mountains into a centralized state, building fortresses, provincial capitals, irrigation networks, and vast storage facilities to support an agricultural economy. (Photo by Ali IHSAN OZTURK / AFP via Getty Images)

EDITORS NOTE: Graphic content / This picture shows an engraved stone at the fortress of Ayanis near Van, in eastern Turkey, on August 4, 2026. Although it emerged later than the great Mesopotamian kingdoms of Assyria, Sumer, and Babylon, Urartu succeeded in uniting the tribal communities of the Autoru Mountains into a centralized state, building fortresses, provincial capitals, irrigation networks, and vast storage facilities to support an agricultural economy. (Photo by Ali IHSAN OZTURK / AFP via Getty Images)

EDITORS NOTE: Graphic content / Mehmet Isikli, head of the Department of Near Eastern Archaeology at Ankara University poses at the fortress of Ayanis near Van, in eastern Turkey, on August 4, 2026. Although it emerged later than the great Mesopotamian kingdoms of Assyria, Sumer, and Babylon, Urartu succeeded in uniting the tribal communities of the Autoru Mountains into a centralized state, building fortresses, provincial capitals, irrigation networks, and vast storage facilities to support an agricultural economy. (Photo by Ali IHSAN OZTURK / AFP via Getty Images)

EDITORS NOTE: Graphic content / This picture shows a bas-relief adorning a wall at the fortress of Ayanis near Van, in eastern Turkey, on August 4, 2026. Although it emerged later than the great Mesopotamian kingdoms of Assyria, Sumer, and Babylon, Urartu succeeded in uniting the tribal communities of the Autoru Mountains into a centralized state, building fortresses, provincial capitals, irrigation networks, and vast storage facilities to support an agricultural economy. (Photo by Ali IHSAN OZTURK / AFP via Getty Images)

EDITORS NOTE: Graphic content / This aerial photograph, taken on August 4, 2026 shows the remains of the fortress of Ayanis near Van, in eastern Turkey. Although it emerged later than the great Mesopotamian kingdoms of Assyria, Sumer, and Babylon, Urartu succeeded in uniting the tribal communities of the Autoru Mountains into a centralized state, building fortresses, provincial capitals, irrigation networks, and vast storage facilities to support an agricultural economy. (Photo by Ali IHSAN OZTURK / AFP via Getty Images)