"Alalu Songs and the Image of Astghik": Traits of Organization of Irrigated Agriculture in Ancient Vaspurakan

The present work reveals the mechanisms of formation of irrigated agricultural landscapes in ancient Armenia, refers to the features of their ritualization, taking the area of historical Vaspurakan as a case study. Moreover, Vaspurakan is chosen as a research target not only because the most important data on the irrigated agricultural landscape of the region originate from here, but also because it is the key zone of the first highly organized society of the Armenian Highland, the kingdom of Urartu, a society that greatly contributed to the history of organization of irrigated agricultural areas at the interregional level.

Written (cuneiform, Armenian) and archaeological data restore a stable model of organization of the irrigated agricultural area for the Armenian Highland, the semantic bundle of which consists of the following elements: the construction of a canal by the initiative of the elite (bringing water from the high mountainous regions) – creation of a fertile zone (garden, field, meadow) – construction of cultic structures (statue, tower) - ceremonies accompanied by ritual songs and sacrifices.

Based on archaeological data of recent years, related to the research of dragon stones placed at the sources of irrigation systems, the roots of this model can be traced back to the early agricultural societies.

It becomes clear that the organization of the agricultural landscape, regardless its being communal or state-oriented, has always been accompanied by ritual practices, which legitimized = sanctified the economic initiative.