Menua facts for kids

Menua was a powerful king of Urartu, an ancient kingdom. He ruled from about 810 BC to 786 BC. His name can also be spelled Meinua or Minua. Some historians think his name might be linked to old Greek names like Minos.

Menua was the younger son of King Ishpuini. His father made him a co-ruler during the last years of his reign. Menua made the Urartian kingdom much larger by winning many battles against nearby lands. He left behind more written records than any other Urartian ruler.

He also created a strong system for running the kingdom. He built many strong walls around towns and constructed new fortresses. One of these was Menuakhinili, located near Mount Ararat. We are not exactly sure where it was, but it might have been near Bulakbaşı.

Menua briefly ruled with his son, Inushpua. However, another son, Argishti I, became king after him. Menua also had a daughter named Tariria. A vineyard was even named Taririakhinli after her.

An ancient stone carving, called the Alazlı/Tirmet inscription, tells us about King Menua. It is located near the city of Muş. This inscription describes a battle Menua fought:

Menua, the son of İşpuini, brought this stone to our Lord Haldi. he sewed. Tann Haldi went on a military expedition with his spear. He captured the city of Trtimi in the territory of the country of Urme.

It is also believed that Menua founded the city of Manazkert (Malazgirt).

Building the Menua Canal

King Menua was famous for building a huge system of canals and irrigation to bring water to his kingdom. The most important one was a 45-mile-long canal. It brought water from the Hoşap valley all the way to the city of Van. This amazing project was named the Menua Canal after the king himself.

This canal could carry a lot of water, from 1,500 to 3,000 liters per second. This amount changed depending on the time of year. What's even more incredible is that some parts of these ancient canals are still used today!

Menua was the first Urartian king to design and build these large irrigation systems. These canals helped farmers grow more crops and even helped develop vineyards in Urartu. The main canal, called Menuapili, was about 72 kilometers (45 miles) long. It was 4.5 meters (15 feet) wide and 1.5 meters (5 feet) deep. This canal brought water all the way to Tosp (Van), the capital city of Urartu.

In some areas, the canal was dug right into the sides of rocky hills. In other places, it was built with huge stones, forming a strong wall up to 15-20 meters (50-65 feet) high. Many parts of the Menuapili canal still exist and provide water for drinking and farming to the city of Van and nearby villages. It is one of the oldest and most impressive ancient structures in the Middle East.

The Assyrian king Sennacherib was also known for building water systems. However, Menua's canal was much longer. Sennacherib's biggest canal was only 19 km (12 miles) long, while Menua's was 72 km (45 miles). The Urartians were very skilled at building water systems. Assyrian kings even used Urartian experts for their own projects.

The water from these irrigation canals flowed from the Armenian Highland in Urartu down to Mesopotamia in Assyria. Menua was truly a great builder. When he died around 780 BC, Urartu had become a powerful empire, just as strong as its rival, Assyria.

Images for kids

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  Fragment of a cuneiform inscription of King Menua on Akdamar Island

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  Part of the Menua Canal with Lake Van in the background

See also

• List of kings of Urartu
• Malazgirt
• Menua Canal