Arame of Urartu
Arame or Aramu was the first known king of Urartu.
Living at the time of King Shalmaneser III of Assyria, Arame fought against the threat of the Assyrian Empire. His capital at Arzashkun was captured by Shalmaneser. Sagunia, a previous capital, which was also captured by Shalamaneser, seems to have been located in the vicinity of Mt. Ararat.
Arame has been suggested as the prototype of both Aram and Ara the Beautiful, two of the legendary forefathers of the Armenian people. Khorenatsi's History puts them six and seven generations after Haik, in the chronology of historian Mikayel Chamchian dated to the 19th to 18th century BC.
The name Arame is likely an Armenian name originally derived from Proto-Indo-European *rēmo-, meaning "black". The name is likely etymologically related to Hindu Rama.
He is not to be confused with the another king Aramu who ruled at the same time in Bit Agusi and also fought Shalemaneser III.
