a city in eastern Turkey and administrative center of the vilayet of Van; located near the western shore of Lake Van. Population, 31,000 (1965). Trading center of an agricultural district (wheat). Cement-making and flour-milling industries are found in Van.
From the ninth to the sixth century B.C. the capital of the state of Urartu-Turuspa was located on the site of Van. Turuspa was known as Van from the sixth century B.C. In ancient Armenia under Tigranes II (first century B.C.), Van was a town of considerable importance. In 364 A.D. it was severely damaged by the troops of the Sassanian king Sapor II. It again became an important town in the tenth century as part of the Vaspuragan Kingdom. In 1022 it was seized by Byzantium and then by the Seljuks. In the second half of the 14th century it was destroyed twice by the troops of Timur. In the 17th century the city was seized by the Turks. In 1895-96 under Sultan Abdul-Hamid II the population of Van was subjected to a cruel pogrom, during which thousands of Armenians were slaughtered. During World War I (1914-18) the Armenian population was evicted and annihilated by the Turkish authorities.
B. N. ARAKELYAN
a lake in Turkey located in the Armenian Highlands at an altitude of 1,720 m. Area, approximately 3,700 sq km; depth, more than 145 m.
The origin of the lake bed is basically tectonic, but the lake’s waters were also dammed up by the products of eruptions of the Siukhan and Nemrut volcanoes, which formed the northern and western shores. The lake is without drainage; it softens to a degree the climate of the neighboring mountains. The water of Van Lake is saline (19.1 parts per thousand). The populace living along its shores engages in fishing and salt extraction. The lake is navigable.