Sugunia was the first capital of Arame of

Urartu Urartu (; Assyrian: ',Eberhard Schrader, ''The Cuneiform inscriptions and the Old Testament'' (1885), p. 65. Babylonian: ''Urashtu'', he, אֲרָרָט ''Ararat'') is a geographical region and Iron Age kingdom also known as the Kingdom of V ...

. The city was mentioned in an inscription by the

Assyria Assyria ( Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , romanized: ''māt Aššur''; syc, ܐܬܘܪ, ʾāthor) was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization which existed as a city-state at times controlling regional territories in the indigenous lands of the A ...

n king

Shalmaneser III Shalmaneser III (''Šulmānu-ašarēdu'', "the god Shulmanu is pre-eminent") was king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from the death of his father Ashurnasirpal II in 859 BC to his own death in 824 BC. His long reign was a constant series of campaig ...

, who destroyed it in 858 BCE. The Monolith Inscription of Shalmaneser III: 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 Lake Van ( tr, Van Gölü; hy, Վանա լիճ, translit=Vana lič̣; ku, Gola Wanê) is the largest lake in Turkey. It lies in the far east of Turkey, in the provinces of Van and Bitlis in the Armenian highlands. It is a saline soda lake ...

or near

Lake Urmia Lake Urmia; az, اۇرمۇ گؤلۆ, script=Arab, italic=no, Urmu gölü; ku, گۆلائوو رمیەیێ, Gola Ûrmiyeyê; hy, Ուրմիա լիճ, Urmia lich; arc, ܝܡܬܐ ܕܐܘܪܡܝܐ is an endorheic salt lake in Iran. The lake is l ...

. After Sugunia was sacked and burnt by

, Arame moved his capital to

Arzashkun Arzashkun or Arṣashkun ( Armenian: Արծաշկուն) was the capital of the early kingdom of Urartu in the 9th century BC, before Sarduri I moved it to Tushpa in 832 BC. Arzashkun had double walls and towers, but was captured by Shalmaneser I ...

, which was subsequently attacked by the Assyrians in 856 BCE.Trevor Bryce. ''The Routledge Handbook of the Peoples and Places of Ancient Western Asia''. Taylor & Francis. p. 58. 2009. https://books.google.com/books?id=E1aF0hq1GR8C&pg=PA58&lpg=PA58&dq=Arzashkun+856+destroyed&source=bl&ots=Z9iOk4Nk-u&sig=ACfU3U3C9ta2C99w4tPPoKlTEM6o62fFhA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiUgeDXv-XvAhVoB50JHYFxCxkQ6AEwAnoECAEQAw#v=onepage&q=Arzashkun%20856%20destroyed&f=false

References

Urartian cities Former populated places in Turkey Archaeological sites in Eastern Anatolia {{Armenia-hist-stub