However, all good things must come to an end, and the Urartu nation was regretfully wiped off the map about the 7th century B.C. We don’t know how it came to this horrific end, but the civilization’s cities were annihilated between 640 and 590 B.C. It’s unknown who was behind the raids, but researchers assume it was either the Cimmerians or the Scythians. It’s also possible that it was done by forces apparently under Urartian command.
Regardless of who was to blame, the Medes were the ones who benefited the most from the Urartu kingdom’s demise. They conquered the Urartians’ territories and later established part of the Achaemenian Empire in Cyprus. According to the Ancient History Encyclopedia, the Urartu language managed to live for a while longer.
