Sugunia

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]

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References

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.