Sugunia was the first capital of Arame of Urartu. The city was mentioned in an inscription by the Assyrian king Shalmaneser III, who destroyed it in 858 BC.[1]

The Monolith Inscription of Shalmaneser III:

To the city of Sugunia, the stronghold of Aram of the land of Ararat, I advanced the city, I besieged, I took. Many of their warriors I slew.[2]

Although its exact location is unknown, Shalamaneser III's placement of Sugunia near "the sea of Nairi" has led some scholars to place it near Lake Van[3][4][5] or near Lake Urmia.[6][7]

After Sugunia was sacked and burnt by Shalmaneser III, Arame moved his capital to Arzashkun, which was subsequently attacked by the Assyrians in 856 BC.[8]

References

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  1. ^ The Origins of the Urartians in the Light of the Van/Karagündüz Excavations, by Veli Sevin, p.159
  2. ^ The Monolith Inscription of Salmaneser II, by James A. Craig, p.207
  3. ^ Rollinger, Robert. "Robert Rollinger, From Sargon of Agade, and the Assyrian Kings to Khusrau I and beyond: on the persistence of Ancient Near Eastern Traditions. In: Giovanni B. Lanfranchi - Daniele Morandi Bonacossi - C. Pappi - Simonetta Ponchia (Eds.), LEGGO! Studies presented to Prof. Frederick Mario Fales on the Occasion of his 65th Birthday (=Leipziger Altorientalische Studien, 2), Wiesbaden, Harrassowitz 2012, 725-743". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  4. ^ The Cambridge Ancient History 3rd Edition.
  5. ^ Chahin, Mack (2013-11-05). The Kingdom of Armenia: New Edition. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-136-85250-3.
  6. ^ Trevor Bryce. The Routledge Handbook of the Peoples and Places of Ancient Western Asia. Taylor & Francis. p. 665. 2009.
  7. ^ Kamal-Aldin Niknami, Ali Hozhabri, eds. Archaeology of Iran in the Historical Period. p. 41. 2020.
  8. ^ Bryce, Trevor (2009-09-10). The Routledge Handbook of the Peoples and Places of Ancient Western Asia: The Near East from the Early Bronze Age to the Fall of the Persian Empire. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-134-15908-6.