Shupria

Shubria or Shupria was a kingdom in the southern Armenian highlands, known from Assyrian sources in the first half of the 1st millennium BC. It was located north of the upper Tigris River 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 Shubaru 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 Hurrian 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.