Aramu or Arame was the first known king of Urartu. Living at the time of Shalmaneser III (ruled 859 BC-824 BC), Aram united the Nairi tribe against the threat of the Assyrian Empire. His capital at Arzashkun was captured by Shalmaneser.
Aramu is believed to be the prototype of Aram, one of the legendary forefathers of the Armenian people. Historical Aramu had no Aramaic or connection to Biblical Aram, and the phonetic similarity is coincidental,[1] although it is more likely that the phonetic similarity with Armenia is coincidental, as the Aramaeans had been in the area before, with the Armenians arriving ca. 600 BC.[2]
