kingdom · Anatolia and the Levant

Upi

1500 BCE – 1200 BCE (approx.) · capital Damascus

Upi, the Late Bronze Age territory of Damascus, the southernmost Syrian land held by Egypt and a frontier with the Hittites.

Origins

Upi, or Apa, was the oasis of Damascus and the land around it. It came under the Egyptian Empire New Kingdom after the campaigns of Thutmose III in the 15th century BCE, forming one of Egypt's provinces in Syria.

Rule and society

In the Amarna letters, the local ruler Biryawaza acted as Egypt's agent, defending the area against the Hittites and their allies such as Aitakkama of Kadesh. Damascus served as a base for Egyptian officials and troops.

Decline and legacy

Upi remained the Egyptian border district after the Battle of Kadesh and the peace treaty of Ramesses II and Hattusili III c. 1259 BCE. With the collapse of Egyptian power after 1200 BCE, Damascus later rose again as the capital of Aram-Damascus.

Few sources survive for this state; details are uncertain.

Connections (1)

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Upi. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/upi
MLA
“Upi.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/upi. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Upi.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/upi.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Upi’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/upi (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻