Product Code Database
Shubria or Shupria was a kingdom in the southern Armenian highlands, known from sources in the first half of the 1st millennium BC. It was located north of the upper Tigris and to the southwest of Lake Van, extending eastwards to the frontiers of Urartu. It appears in the 1st millennium BC as an independent kingdom, succeeding the people earlier called Subartu in Assyrian sources in the later centuries of the 2nd millennium BC. It was located between the powerful states of Assyria and Urartu and came into conflict with both. It was conquered by Assyria in 673–672 BC but likely regained its independence towards the end of the 7th century BC with the collapse of Assyrian power.
Some scholars have concluded from the Hurrians etymology of some Shubrian names that Shubria was mainly populated by Hurrians. Some have suggested that it was the last remnant of Hurrian civilization, or even constituted the original homeland of the Hurrians. However, other Shubrian names have been identified as Aramean by origin. Bradley J. Parker writes that the existing evidence indicates that Shubria had a heterogeneous population including Hurrians, Arameans, and likely also Urartians, Assyrians and others. According to some scholars, Shubria was inhabited, at least in part, by speakers of the Proto-Armenian language and played an important role in the formation of the later Armenian state and ethnic group.
Shubria was located south of modern-day Muş, Turkey, north of the upper Tigris and to the southwest of Lake Van, extending eastwards to the frontiers of Urartu. It was located near the northern frontier of the Assyria, across the Tigris from Tushhan and east of the land of Dirru. Geographically, its core district corresponds to the later Armenian region of Sasun. The capital of Shubria was called Ubbumu (also spelled Uppumu). This city may have been located at modern-day Lice, Turkey, with its name likely preserved in the name of the nearby hamlet of Fum. Its other main city was Kullimeri, which may have been located at the mound known as Gre Migro in the Batman River valley. The Urartians referred to Shubria as Qulmeri, after Kullimeri. (1981). 9783882261196, L. Reichert. ISBN 9783882261196 Kullimeri may also be the origin of the biblical klmd (from a putative original * klmr), which is mentioned in Ezekiel 27:23 as one of the trading partners of Tyre and is normally read as Kilmad or Chilmad. In the view of some scholars, Qulmeri is the most likely candidate for the native name of Shubria.
The lands of Arme and Urmiu ( Urumu in Assyrian sources, land of the Urumeans) are mentioned in different Urartian inscriptions from the time of Sarduri II. Giorgi Melikishvili identifies Urmiu with Shubria—a name which does not appear in Urartian inscriptions—and places Arme further west. Igor Diakonoff once considered it likely that Arme and Urmiu were the same land and referred to Shubria as Urme- or Arme-Shubria. However, in a later version of his work, Diakonoff writes that "there is good reason to believe that Urmiu lay to the east of Šubria," while Urartian Arme may have simply meant "Aramaic-speaking country," indicating the area between Amid (modern Diyarbakır) and the upper Tigris where the Aramaic and Proto-Armenian linguistic zones met.
In the 1st millennium BC, Shubria, the continuation of the earlier Subartu, appears as an independent kingdom occupying a difficult geopolitical position: it was wedged between two great powers of Assyria and Urartu. The king of Shubria, Anhitti, is recorded as presenting tribute to King Ashurnasirpal II of Assyria (); here, the older name Shubaru is used. In 854 BC, Ashurnasirpal's successor Shalmaneser III captured Shubrian cities and forced Anhitti to submit and pay tribute. Assyrian letters indicate that Shubria was under Urartian rule during the reign of Rusa I (). It likely acquired its independence after the Urartians under Rusa were defeated by Assyria under Sargon II in 714 BC.
From the late 8th century BC, Shubria successfully preserved its independence, disregarding the interests of Urartu and Assyria. The Shubrian king frequently received refugees and fugitives from Urartu and Assyria and refused to extradite them. This included commoners escaping military or labor obligations. During the reign of Esarhaddon of Assyria, high-ranking military and civil officials, as well as criminals, also found refuge in Shubria. This practice of providing sanctuary to refugees and fugitives may have been rooted in religious tradition. In 673–672 BC, Esarhaddon invaded and conquered Shubria. This conquest is recorded in a letter from Esarhaddon to the god Ashur, which is partially preserved on two tablets. According to the letter, the Shubrian ruler Ik-TeshubRadner, "Between a Rock and a Hard Place," p. 262. rejected Esarhaddon's demand to extradite Assyrian fugitives (possibly conspirators involved in the assassination of Esarhaddon's father Sennacherib), after which the Assyrians besieged Uppumu. The Shubrian king tried to surrender, but Esarhaddon ignored his pleas and conquered the Shubrian cities, taking many captives. After this, Shubria was ruled as two Assyrian provinces: Kullimeri and Uppumu.Baker, "The Assyrian Empire," pp. 317–318. Esarhaddon rebuilt the Shubrian cities, giving them Assyrian names, and populated them with people resettled from elsewhere.Sarkisian, Strana Shubriia, pp. 66–67. In 657 BC, the Urartians made an unsuccessful attempt to conquer Shubria. The Urartian general or governor Andaria was killed in a failed attack on the city of Kullimeri. Assyrian control may have remained weak in Shubria, as the inhabitants of Kullimeri appear to have fought off this attack on their own, although they did send the head of the Urartian commander to the Assyrian king as a sign of their loyalty.Diakonoff, The Pre-History of the Armenian People, p. 91.
According to Diakonoff, it is "quite probable" that Shubria was settled by speakers of Proto-Armenian—who he believes were known as the (eastern) Mushki and possibly also the Urumeans—from the time of Esarhaddon's conquest and deportations.Diakonoff, The Pre-History of the Armenian People, p. 122. Shubria likely regained its independence towards the end of the 7th century BC, like other fringe territories of the Assyrian Empire.Diakonoff, The Pre-History of the Armenian People, p. 116. Based on the Armenian legend about the first Armenian king Paroyr Skayordi, some scholars have hypothesized that an Armenian-populated kingdom emerged in or near Shubria, possibly ruled by a dynasty of Scythians origin, which allied with the Medes to defeat the Assyrian Empire . Suren Yeremian argues that the Armenian ruler of Shubria was recognized as king by the Median king Cyaxares after participating in the victory over the Assyrians. Boris Piotrovsky, who identified Arme and Shubria with each other,Diakonoff, The Pre-History of the Armenian People, p. 130. places this polity ruled by "Paroyr" "in the immediate vicinity of Arme, if it did not constitute it Arme" and also suggests that its ruler received Median recognition after participating in the victory over Assyria. Diakonoff writes that Shubria "undoubtedly played a great role in the emergence of the later Armenian state and nation," although he considers the kingdom of Melid to be a better candidate for the nucleus of the Armenian people and kingdom.Diakonoff, The Pre-History of the Armenian People, pp. 92, 120.
According to some scholars, Shubria was inhabited by speakers of the Proto-Armenian language and formed the nucleus of Armenian statehood.Diakonoff, The Pre-History of the Armenian People, p. 187: "It is now recognized that the rudiments of the Armenian state go back not only to the epoch of the collapse of Urartu and Assyria, but even further. Piotrovsky believes that its nucleus was the kingdom of Šubria, which he identifies with Arme. He supposes that a Scythian-Armenian league emerged here in the 7th and 6th centuries B.C., but that Šubria had already been a state earlier." Diakonoff theorized that the Proto-Armenians migrated eastwards from Anatolia into the western part of the Armenian highlands in the second quarter of the 12th century BC. He identifies the Proto-Armenians with the Mushki and considers an identification with the Urumeans possible. He notes that while Shubria had a Hurrian ruling dynasty and apparently also a Hurrian population, its people were deported after Esarhaddon's conquest, and it is likely that the Proto-Armenians settled Shubria from that time.Diakonoff, The Pre-History of the Armenian People, pp. 121–122.
|
|
