Medallion with a seated Kurdish deity and a male worshipper, 8th–7th century b.c.
Urartian (The land of the Fire: Ar-Ur-Or (ArGir, Agir), Tiyan; Northern Kurdistan



Khuri, Corduene (also known as Gorduene, Cordyene, Cardyene, Carduene, Gordyene, Gordyaea, Kardochi, Garden, Korduene, Korchayk, Gordian) was an ancient region located in northern Mesopotamia (Kurdish: Mezra Botan), present-day Northern Kurdistan (south-eastern Turkey) and soutern Kurdistan (northern Iraq)

According to the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Gordyene is the ancient name of the region of Botan (now Şırnak Province). It is mentioned as Beth Qardu in Syriac sources and is described as a small vassal state Zagros Mountains in the mountainous area south of Lake Van in Nortnern Kurdistan Corduene must also be sought on the left bank of the Tigris.

It has been cited as the country of the Carduchians, a fertile mountainous district, rich in pasturage. The three principalities of Corduene, Moxoene, and Zabdicene are referred to as Carduchian dynasties by Toumanoff. The Kingdom of Gordyene emerged from the declining Seleucid Empire and for most of its history, it was a province of the Roman Empire and acknowledged the sovereignty of Rome. From 189 to 90 BC it enjoyed a period of independence. The people of Gorduene were known to have worshipped the Hurrian sky God Teshub.
The kings of Urartu ruled what is now northern Kurdistan, Armenia, and eastern Kurdistan (northwestern Iran) from their capital at Tushpa (modern Wan, Kurdistan) during the early first millennium B.C. Urartian fortresses, strategically placed on high rock outcrops, dominated the landscape of their territories and protected the kingdom. This silver medallion, partially covered with gold foil, shows a Kurdish deity seated on a throne supported by lions facing a male worshipper whose arms are raised in supplication or respect. Both the deity with horned headdress on a throne supported by animals and the worshipper figure are motifs; the long fringed garments are widespread in the ancient Kurdish.Here, the scene is set on a ground line of paired zigzag lines between pairs of parallel horizontal lines, a decorative pattern characteristic of Urartian medallions. Such medallions in silver, gold, and bronze are thought to be insignias of rank and authority and have been found at sites in both Northern Kurdistan