During their 1898–1899 journey through the Armenian Highlands and Northern Mesopotamia, the German orientalist C.F. Lehmann-Haupt and the chemist W. Belck, among other archaeological sites, also explored the supposed region of Musasir, the spiritual center of Biainili-Urartu. It is noteworthy that they also copied the Topzawa inscription, already known from various testimonies.1 According to C.F. Lehmann-Haupt, this bilingual inscription constitutes a primary source for reconstructing the events that unfolded between Urartu and Assyria during the reign of Rusa, son of Sarduri. It is noteworthy that a number of reconstructions suggested by this pioneer of Urartian studies in connection with the Topzawa inscription remain debated and contested to this day. They concerned the identity of the king who left the inscription, the chronology and nature of the events described, as well as the causes and route of the Assyrian king Sargon II’s campaign against Urartu in 714 BCE (reigned 721–705 BCE).2 At the beginning of the twentieth century, when C.F. Lehmann-Haupt addressed the route of Sargon II’s campaign in the Urmian basin, the boundaries of Urartu were still unclear, and his hypotheses were largely disregarded.

KeywordsTopzawa inscription Lake Urmia Mana Musasir Sargon II Urzana campaign.