On the question of the origin of the name of the state “Urartu”

The article examines the question of the origin of the name of the ancient state on the territory of the Armenian Highlands – "Urartu". This term in the form of "Uruatri" is first found in the texts of Shalmaneser I, as a designation for the union of tribes in the Oz region. Urmia and the upper reaches of the Upper Zab river. However, according to a number of researchers, the name of the state of Urartu in the form of "Aratta" may be found in Sumerian myths. The purpose of this article is based on the etymological analysis of the ethnonym "Urartu", as well as the analysis of historiographical sources, to show the connection of this term with the names of ancient city–states of Southern Mesopotamia - Ur and Eridu. In addition, the article attempts to link the eponym "Eros" in medieval Georgian sources with the name of the Sumerian city Ur. In studying this issue, historical-genetic, historical-chronological, narrative, historical-comparative and comparative methods were used in the work. According to the author, the name "Urartu" is one of the oldest endo-ethnonyms of the Nakh peoples. In the course of the study, the author comes to the conclusion that the term "Urartu" and its variants (Uruatri, Urartri, Ararat, etc.) is the result of the addition of Semitic forms of the names of the regions Ur(me) and Ard(ini), located in the upper reaches of the Upper Zab River and in the lake area. Urmia, in turn, goes back to the names of the ancient city-states of Southern Mesopotamia – "Ur(im)" and "Eridu(g)". At the same time, a comprehensive analysis of written sources and ethnographic material conducted by the author shows that the terms Ur(im) // Ur(me) and Eridu(g) // Ard(ini) may be based on the name of the cult of the hills Ur(ni) // Ar(ni) and cult the suns (and forces) of Ard, respectively. The novelty of the study lies in the fact that a thorough analysis of a large volume of historiographical sources is carried out, showing the connection of the term Urartu with the names of cities of the Mesopotamian alluvium. The author also outlined promising areas for further research on this issue.