Soria

Soria is a city in north-central Spain, the capital of the province of Soria in the autonomous community of Castile and León. In 2010 the municipality had a population of c. 39,500 inhabitants, nearly 40% of the population of the province. Situated on the Douro river in the east of the autonomous community, the city is noted for its walls and a number of architecturally distinctive churches.NameIt is claimed that in Roman times there was a castle called Oria, purportedly named after a Greek knight called Doricus. Based on this folk etymology, some historians guessed that the first inhabitants of this city might have been the Dorians. Archaeology has not confirmed that story. Instead it has suggested that the first inhabitants were the Suebi, whose kings (as reported by Tutor and Malo in their Compedio historial de las dos Numancias) established one of their courts there. These two hypotheses have been abandoned because of lack of evidence. It seems more likely that the name Soria may have its origin in the word dauria from the river Durius (Douro).HistoryThe area of Soria was inhabited by the Iberians, who merged with the Celts to form the Celtiberians around the 4th century BC.During the Roman conquest of Iberia, Soria was besieged and its population committed a collective suicide in order to escape slavery. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the rebuilt city was occupied by the Suebi. Later, after the Arab conquest of Spain, it grew in importance due to its proximity to the border of the Christian lands, which in the 8th century had settled along the Duero river.