Description : Teyseba (Armenian: Թեյշեբա; later Ishkanaberd meaning "Lord's Fortress" and Odzaberd meaning "Serpent's Fortress") is located east of the town of Tsovinar and at the south-east corner of Lake Sevan in the Gegharkunik Province of Armenia. It is an important archaeological site because it was once a fortified city of the Urartian Kingdom founded by Rusa I between 735 and 713 BC, and is considered the best preserved Urartian fortification in the Sevan basin. Amongst the ruins, stone foundations and portions of the city wall and gates are still visible. There is also an entrance to a small cave located on the western face of the hill within the ruins of Teyseba. Carved into the rock face on a low cliff at the base of the hill which the city was built upon (located north and along the road), is an ancient cuneiform inscription written by Rusa I. It relates that the city was built in dedication to the god Teisheba and speaks of the conquest by Rusa I of twenty-three nations as well. The etymology of Sevan was also found in the inscription and is considered to be the first such mention of the word that now relates to the lake that the ruins are located.
See on map »