Soria

Soria (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈsoɾja]) 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 has a population of c. 39,500 inhabitants, nearly 40% of the population of the province. Situated on the Rio Duero in the east of the autonomous community, the city is noted for its walls and a number of architecturally distinctive churches.

Name

It 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 in Soria. 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 (Duero).