Rusa I

Rusa I (ruled 735-713 BC) was the king of Urartu. He succeeded his father, the great Sarduri II.

Reign

Before Rusa I, his father Sarduri II the Great had already expanded the kingdom as far as Nineveh and had annexed various Assyrian and Anatolian territories. However, when Rusa I inherited the throne, the Assyrians had regrouped under the war-general Tiglath-Pileser III and had become a formidable force. They were continually attacking the Urartian Kingdom. Rusa I spent his early ruling years fighting these forces of Assyria. The conflict took a heavy toll on the Urartian Kingdom and its economy. The Urartians lost most of the portions it had annexed under Sarduri II to Tiglath-Pileser III.

After Tiglath-Pileser III's death, the region became restive during the reign of Shalmanassar V, but not for long. Sargon II, who came to the throne in 722 BC continued the hostility against the Urartians. He declared war against the Urartians in 715 BC. After defeating the Urartian ally Mettati, the Assyrians attacked Urartu. Rusa I was decisively defeated in this war and the Urartians had to pay heavy ransom from then on.