Defense of Van (1915)

Van (Armenian: Վան; Kurdish: Wan; Syriac: ܘܢ) is a city in eastern Turkey's Van Province, on the eastern shore of Lake Van. It is the capital and largest city of Van Province. Van has a long history as a major urban area. It has been a large city since the first millennium BCE, initially as Tushpa, the capital of the kingdom of Urartu from the 9th century BCE to the 6th century BCE, and later as the center of the Armenian kingdom of Vaspurakan. Turkic presence in Van and in the rest of Anatolia started as a result of Seljuk victory at the Battle of Malazgirt (1071) against the Byzantine Empire. Van was densely populated by Armenians until the Armenian genocide in the 1910s. Today, it is mostly inhabited by Kurds.

The occupation of Western Armenia by the Russian Empire during World War I began in 1915 and was formally ended by the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. It was sometimes referred to as the Republic of Van by Armenians. Aram Manukian of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation was the de facto head until July 1915. It was briefly referred to as "Free Vaspurakan". After a setback beginning in August 1915, it was re-established in June 1916. The region was allocated to Russia by the Allies in April 1916 under the Sazonov–Paléologue Agreement. From December 1917, it was under Transcaucasian Commissariat, with Hakob Zavriev as the Commissar, and during the early stages of the establishment of First Republic of Armenia, it was included with other Armenian National Councils in a briefly unified Armenia. This provisional government relied on Armenian volunteer units, forming an administrative structure after the siege of Van around April 1915. Dominant representation was from the Armenian Revolutionary Federation. Aram Manukian, or "Aram of Van," was the administration's most famous governor.

Vanspor FK, formerly Van Büyükşehir Belediyespor, is a Turkish professional football club based in Van, a city in eastern Turkey.

Van railway station (Turkish: Van garı) is the main railway station in Van, Turkey. Up until July 2015, the Trans-Asia Express, from Tehran, Iran, stopped at the station. The train would continue to the Van Pier, where passengers would travel to Tatvan via ferry, and the western half of the train would continue to Ankara. As of mid-2015, freight trains are the only rail traffic at the station. However, as of September 2018, a twice weekly service to Tabriz is due to resume. Van station was opened in 1971 by the Turkish State Railways.

Rusahinili ("city of (King) Rusa I)", modern Toprakkale (Turkey), is an ancient Urartian fortress built by Rusa I, located near the modern city of Van in eastern Turkey. The site has been excavated by archaeological teams from Germany, the United Kingdom, and other countries.

Tushpa (Armenian: Տոսպ, Տուշպա֊Վան Tosp, Tushpa-Van, Akkadian: Turuspa, from Urartian tur-, to destroy i.e. victorious) was the 9th-century BC capital of Urartu, later becoming known as Van which is derived from Biainili, the native name of Urartu. The ancient ruins are located just west of Van and east of Lake Van in the Van Province of Turkey. In 2016 it was inscribed in the Tentative list of World Heritage Sites in Turkey. It was possibly pronounced as "Tospa" in ancient times as there was no symbolic O equivalent in Akkadian cuneiform so the symbol used for U was frequently substituted.

Urartu was an Iron Age kingdom centered around the Armenian highlands between Lake Van, Lake Urmia, and Lake Sevan. The territory of the ancient kingdom of Urartu extended over the modern frontiers of Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Armenia. Its kings left behind cuneiform inscriptions in the Urartian language, a member of the Hurro-Urartian language family. Urartu extended from the Euphrates in the west 850 km2 to the region west of Ardabil in Iran, and 500 km2 from Lake Çıldır near Ardahan in Turkey to the region of Rawandiz in Iraqi Kurdistan. The kingdom emerged in the mid-9th century BC and dominated the Armenian Highlands in the 8th and 7th centuries BC. Urartu frequently warred with Assyria and became, for a time, the most powerful state in the Near East. Weakened by constant conflict, it was eventually conquered, either by the Iranian Medes in the early 6th century BC or by Cyrus the Great in the middle of the 6th century BC. Archaeologically, it is noted for its large fortresses and sophisticated metalwork.

The Fortress of Van (also known as Van Citadel; Turkish: Van Kalesi; Armenian: Վանի Բերդ; Kurdish: Kela Wanê) is a massive stone fortification built by the ancient kingdom of Urartu during the 9th to 7th centuries BC, and is the largest example of its kind. It overlooks the ruins of Tushpa, the ancient Urartian capital during the 9th century, which was centered upon the steep-sided bluff where the fortress now sits. A number of similar fortifications were built throughout the Urartian kingdom, usually cut into hillsides and outcrops in places where modern-day Armenia, Turkey and Iran meet. Successive groups such as the Medes, Achaemenids, Armenians, Parthians, Romans, Sassanid Persians, Byzantines, Arabs, Seljuks, Safavids, Afsharids, Ottomans and Russians each controlled the fortress at one time or another. The ancient fortress is located just west of Van and east of Lake Van in the Van Province of Turkey. Silva Tipple New Lake led an American expedition to the ruins in 1938-40. Most of the finds and field records from this were lost in the sinking of the S.S. Athenia in 1940. The lower parts of the walls of Van Citadel were constructed of unmortared basalt, while the rest was built from mud bricks. Such fortresses were used for regional control, rather than as a defense against foreign armies. The ruins of this fortress sit outside the modern city of Van, where they support walls built in the medieval era.

İpekyolu is a municipality and district of Van Province, Turkey. Its area is 956 km2, and its population is 348,046 (2022). The district İpekyolu was created at the 2013 reorganisation from part of the former central district of Van, along with the new district Tuşba. It covers the central and eastern part of the agglomeration of Van and the adjacent countryside. The name İpekyolu means Silk Road; Van was an important stop on the Silk Road.

Bostaniçi is a neighbourhood of the municipality and district of İpekyolu, Van Province, Turkey. Its population is 31,714 (2022). Before the 2013 reorganisation, it was a town (belde) in the central district of Van Province. It lies within the metropolitan area of the city of Van. The Armenian name of the town was Sghka. Bostaniçi is located at the foot of Mount Erek (Erek Dağı), the highest mountain of Van.

Tuşba is a municipality and district of Van Province, Turkey. Its area is 1,948 km2, and its population is 163,301 (2022). The district Tuşba was created at the 2013 reorganisation from part of the former central district of Van, along with the new district İpekyolu. It covers the northern part of the agglomeration of Van and the adjacent countryside. The name Tuşba refers to Tushpa, the capital of the 1st millennium BC Urartu kingdom which was situated in Van.

Van Pier railway station (Turkish: Van İskele istasyonu) is a railway station and pier in Van, Turkey. Situated on the eastern shore of Lake Van, 5.8 km (3.6 mi) west of the city center, the station serves as a connection between modes of transport, with two slips carrying a total of seven tracks. TCDD Taşımacılık operates a ferry between Van and Tatvan, which also carries freight railcars and automobiles across the lake. Up until July 2015, the Trans-Asia Express, from Tehran, Iran, stopped at the station. Passengers would travel to Tatvan via ferry, where the western half of the train would continue to Ankara. As of mid-2015, freight trains are the only rail traffic at the station. Van Pier is the western terminus of the Van-Sufian railway, which is not connected to the rest of the Turkish railway network. Van Pier station was opened in 1971 by the Turkish State Railways.