The effectiveness of imperial dominion was at times shaken by local rebellions, which led to military repression and severe punishment. On the Urarṭian side - the Assyrian one is well attested in royal inscriptions - such a situation is described in no. 166, which tells of the rebellion of a town against the Urarṭian king, and of military intervention by his commander-in-chief, the turtānu, in the context of a military campaign conducted by the king. No. 179 probably deals with the measures taken after a failed revolt in Urarṭian territory, and with the discharge of a governor and other officials m the wake of a general alarm in Urarṭu.
However, the most dangerous occurrence was internal strife caused by dynastic aspirations, which could materialize in open rebellion. A large group of letters informs Sargon on a revolt which took place within the Urarṭian empire, and led to military confrontations, trials and punishments. The main texts are nos. 91 and 93. The first mentions the arrest of 21 people in the Urarṭian capital and the killing of another 100 people, all involved in the revolt. The situation was truly dramatic, since the Urarṭian deputy commander-in-chief and another magnate, otherwise known as the governor of Muṣaṣir (no. 90), went to the capital, to be questioned by the king personally about the revolt, only to be set free later because they were found innocent. These two letters are quite probably linked to SAA I 8, a letter wntten by Sargon to Rusa of Urarṭu, mentioning the revolt against him and the defection of an Urarṭian governor (who was made commander-in-chief in Assyria). This same letter mentions hostile actions of Rusa agamst Mannea, and could refer to the wars of 715 (Urarṭian capture of Mannean forts)[[14]] and 714 (Urarṭian seizure of the Mannean province of Wisdis).[[15]]
The Urarṭian commanders-in-chief were surely of royal lineage, as in no. 93 the "commander-in-chief of the right" is said to be "of the family of Sarduri," clearly the king who preceded Rusa on the Urarṭian throne. This same text seems to describe a crucial moment in Urarṭu: the murder of the sovereign, as the Assyrian informer tells that "his magnates surrounded him ... and killed him."
This important set of letters throws new light upon the feebleness of the Urarṭian dynasty, a matter perhaps hinted at in Sargon's "Letter to the God" with its cryptic references to the towns "of the father's house of Rusa" and "of Sarduri,"[[16]] and to the inscription on the statue of Rusa which was looted in Muṣaṣir, "with two horses and one charioteer of mine he (Rusa) took in his hands the kingship of Urarṭu," perhaps an indication of the illegitimacy of his ascent to the throne.[[17]]
14 Lie Sar. p. 16:101.
15 TCL 3, 91.
16 TCL 3, 404.
17 On this matter, see my contribution quoted above, n. 9.
Giovanni B. Lanfranchi
Giovanni B. Lanfranchi, 'Urarṭu's Internal and Dynastic Instability', The Correspondence of Sargon II, Part II: Letters from the Northern and Northeastern Provinces, SAA 5. Original publication: Helsinki, Helsinki University Press, 1990; online contents: SAAo/SAA05 Project, a sub-project of MOCCI, 2020 [http://oracc.org/saao/saa05/warwithurartu/instabilityofurartu/]