City of Van (view from Van Kalesi)Ruins of ancient Van
Van[a] is a city in eastern Turkey'sVan Province, on the eastern shore ofLake 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 millenniumBCE, initially asTushpa, the capital of the kingdom ofUrartu from the 9th century BCE to the 6th century BCE, and later as the center of the Armenian kingdom ofVaspurakan. Turkic presence in Van and in the rest ofAnatolia started as a result ofSeljuk victory at theBattle of Malazgirt (1071) against theByzantine Empire.[3][4][5]
Archaeological excavations and surveys carried out inVan Province indicate that the history of human settlement in this region goes back at least as far as 5000 BCE. TheTilkitepe Mound, which is on the shores of Lake Van and a few kilometres to the south ofVan Castle, is the only source of information about the oldest culture of Van.
Under the ancient name ofTushpa, Van was the capital of theUrartian kingdom in the 9th century BCE. The early settlement was centered on the steep-sided bluff now known asVan Castle (Van Kalesi), close to the edge of Lake Van and a few kilometers west of the modern city. Urartiancuneiform inscriptions dating to the 8th and 7th centuries BCE have been found here. The name 'Van' comes from theUrartian endonymBiaina.[8] A "conservative" estimate byCharles A. Burney put the population ofTushpa and its suburbs at 50,000.[9][10]
The region came under the control of theOrontids in the 7th century BCE and quickly later thePersians in the mid 6th century BCE.Van Fortress, located outside Van city center, holds an inscribed stereotyped trilingual inscription ofXerxes the Great from the 5th century BCE upon a smoothed section of the rock face, some 20 metres (66 feet) above the ground near the fortress. The inscription survives in near perfect condition and is divided into three columns of 27 lines written in (from left to right)Old Persian,Babylonian, andElamite. In 331 BCE, Van was conquered byAlexander the Great and after his death became part of theSeleucid Empire. By the early 2nd century BCE it was part of theKingdom of Armenia. It became an important center during the reign of theArmenian king,Tigranes II, who founded the city ofTigranakert in the 1st century BCE.[11] In the early centuries BCE, it fell to the emergingArsacid dynasty of Parthia until the 3rd century CE. However, it also fell once to theArsacid dynasty of Armenia in this timespan. In theHistory of Armenia attributed toMovses Khorenatsi, the city is calledTosp, from UrartianTushpa.[12]
Following the fall of the Parthians and the emergence of the Neo-Persian Empire, better known as theSassanian Empire,[13] the town fell into the possession of the latter. During the over 700 years-longRoman-Persian Wars, some of the wars were waged at and around the location of modern-day Van. TheByzantine Empire briefly held the region from 628 to 640, following the victory in the climacticByzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628, after which it was invaded by the Muslim Arabs, who consolidated their conquests as the province ofArminiya.[14] Decline in Arab power eventually allowed localArmenian rulers to re-emerge, with theArtsruni dynasty soon becoming the most powerful.[15] Initially dependent on the rulers of the Kingdom ofAni, they declared their independence in 908, founding the ArmenianKingdom of Vaspurakan.[16] The kingdom had no specific capital: the court would move as the king transferred his residence from place to place, such as Van city, Vostan,Aghtamar, etc.[16] In 1021 the last king of Vaspurakan,John-Senekerim Artsruni, ceded his entire kingdom to the Byzantine empire, who established the Vaspurakantheme on the former Artsruni territories. Van was called Eua or Eva (Ancient Greek:Εύα) during Byzantine rule.[17]
Incursions by theSeljuk Turks into Vaspurakan started in the 1050s. After their victory in 1071 at thebattle of Manzikert the entire region fell under their control.[18] After them, local Muslim rulers emerged, such as theAhlatshahs and theKurdishAyyubids (1207). For a 20-year period, Van was held by theAnatolian Seljuk Sultanate until the 1240s when it was conquered by theMongols. In the 14th century, Van was held by theTimurids, followed subsequently by the TurkomanKara Koyunlu andAk Koyunlu confederations.
Hz. Ömer Mosque in VanA replica of a 19th-century house
The first half of the 15th century saw the Van region become a land of conflict as it was disputed by theOttoman Empire and the neighboringPersianSafavid Empire. The Safavids captured Van in 1502, as it went naturally with all former territories of the Ak Koyunlu. The Ottomans took the city in 1515 following the climacticBattle of Chaldiran and held it for a short period. The Safavids retook it again in 1520 but the Ottomans gained an almost definite hold of it in 1548 during another Ottoman-Safavid War. Ottoman control over the town was confirmed in the 1555Peace of Amasya which came as a result after the end of the war. They first made Van into asanjak dependent on theErzurum eyalet, and later into a separateVan eyalet in about 1570. In 1604, the Safavids under kingAbbas the Great recaptured Van alongside other swaths of lost territories in Eastern Anatolia. However, Ottoman control over it was at last now made final and definite in 1639 with theTreaty of Zuhab.
During the early 1900s, the city of Van had eleven Armenian schools and ten Turkish schools.[19] Towards the second half of the 19th century Van began to play an increased role in the politics of the Ottoman Empire due to its location near the borders of the Persian, Russian and Ottoman Empire, as well as its proximity to Mosul. During the period leading up to the breakup of the Ottoman Empire, Armenians were well represented in the local administration.[20]
The demographics of Ottoman Van are a debated and contentious point as they relate directly to claims of ownership by either side prior to the outbreak of World War I. For the city of Van itself it has been estimated that it had around 50,000 inhabitants prior to World War I, of whom 30,000 were Armenian and 20,000 were Muslims. Based on the official 1914 Ottoman census, the population of Van province consisted of 179,422 Muslims and 67,797Armenians.[21] The Ottoman census figures include only male citizens, excluding women and children, and according to more recent research, an estimate for Van province (including women and children) is that it had 313,000 Muslims, 130,000 Armenians, and 65,000 others, includingAssyrians.[22]
The demographics of Van are a greatly debated point also given the changing provincial borders. For example, in 1875 the province was divided; Van and Hakkari were separated, only to be rejoined in 1888, drastically changing the census numbers. Some writers argue that this merging was done to keep the Armenians from forming a majority.[23] In 1862 it was estimated that in Van there were 90,100 Christians (includingSyriac Christians) and 95,100 Muslims.[24] The French Consul in Van reported that in Van and Bitlis 51.46% wereKurds, 32.70% wereArmenians and 5.53% were Turks.[25] On the other hand, the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople estimated 185,000Armenians in Van, 18,000Assyrians, 72,000Kurds, 47,000Turks, 25,000Yezidis, 5,000Zazas and 3,000Gypsies.[26] Both sides have been accused of over-counting the numbers at the time given theArmenian genocide and population statistics became important during theBerlin Conference.[27]
During this war theKurdish Sheikh Jelaludin led thousands of soldiers to massacreArmenians of the province and destroyed and plundered many of their villages.[28] These events are described inArmenia and the Campaign of 1877 by British war correspondent Charles B. Norman and in the fictional novellaJalaleddin by the Armenian novelistRaffi in very similar terms.[29]
Ruins of the old walled city of Van seen from the castle rock
TheArmenian genocide in Van Province started in late 1914 with attacks by the Ottoman Empire'sSpecial Organization and affiliated paramilitaries.[30] The regional Albanian administrator,Djevdet Bey, was reported to have said that "We have cleansed theArmenians andSyriac Christians fromAzarbaijan, and we will do the same in Van".[31] Numerous reports from Ottoman officials, such as a parliament deputy, the governor ofAleppo as well as the German consul in Van, suggested that deliberate provocations against the Armenians were being orchestrated by the local government.[31] In mid-April 1915, Cevdet Bey ordered the execution of four Armenian leaders,[32][33] and he demanded that all Armenian males of military age gather before him, which drove the Armenians to take up arms in self-defense.[34] On the other hand, historian and sociologistTaner Akçam acknowledges that in the case of Van, the deportations may have been driven by military necessity[35] and states the resistance in Van should be examined as a separate case, although this is very similar to official turkish positions denying the Armenian Genocide.[36]
Van region in the administrative-territorial division of the regions of Turkey occupied by Russian troops during World War I 1916–1917
In April 1915, as slaughter was being inflicted upon the rural populations surrounding Van, the Armenian residents of the citylaunched a rebellion hoping to avoid the same fate, defending themselves in the Armenian quarters of the city against the Turks.[37] The Russians finally relieved the Armenian defenders of Van in late May 1915 and local Armenians gave the keys of the city to Russian generalNikolai Yudenich on May 21. In August, a victory over the Russian army allowed the Ottoman army to retake Van. In September 1915, the Russians forced the Turks out of Van for the second time. Russian forces began to leave the area after theOctober Revolution in Russia in 1917, and by April 1918, it was recaptured by the Ottoman army again. According to Taner Akçam, citing theOsmanli Belgelerinde Ermeniler 1915–1920 (Armenians in Ottoman Documents, 1915–1920), after the Turks took back the city from the Russians, they killed the Armenian population in the city.[38]Clarence Ussher, an American physician and missionary in Van, and an eye-witness to the events, reported that 55,000 Armenians had been killed.[39][40] The end of World War I forced the Ottoman army to surrender its claim to Van.
By the end of the conflicts, the town of Van was empty and in ruins. The city was rebuilt after the war a few kilometers east of the ancient citadel, which is now known asVan Castle (Van Kalesi). The city now lies at about 1,750 metres (5,741 feet) above sea level.
HDP won in a landslide in Van in the 2019 municipal elections.
In the2019 municipal elections,Bedia Özgökçe Ertan of theHDP party was elected mayor of Van. In August 2019 she was dismissed and subsequently sentenced to 30 years imprisonment accused of supporting terrorism as part of a government crackdown against politicians of theKurdishHDP party; the Turkish state appointed an unelected state-trustee,Mehmet Emin Bilmez, in her place. Many other Kurdish mayors in other Kurdish cities across the region also suffered a similar fate.[42][43] Protests against the decision arose which were suppressed by the Turkish police with the use of water cannons; some protestors were killed.[44][45][46]
At the end of 2024 the population figure for the city of Van was 522 885 (Ipekyolu, Tusba),[1] but former Mayor Burhan Yengun is quoted as saying it may be as high as 600,000.[47] The former Van Central (Merkez) District stretched over 1,938.14 km2, but has subsequently been split into two new districts (İpekyolu andTuşba).[48] Today, Van has aKurdish majority andTurkish minority.[49]
Van has aMediterranean-influenced humid continental climate (Köppen:Dsa,Trewartha: Dc) with cold, snowy winters and very warm, dry summers. Precipitation can be observed for the majority of the year, with a slight peak during spring and autumn, and a brief dry summer from July to September.
Climate data for Van (1991–2020, extremes 1939–2023)
The modern city is located on the plain extending from theLake Van, at a distance of 5 kilometres (3 miles) from the lake shore. Reports have appeared over the years of a certainLake Van Monster said to live in the lake.Lake Erçek is the second largest lake in the region and lies just east of Lake Van.
Van has often been called "The Pearl of the East" because of the beauty of its surrounding landscape. An old Armenian proverb in the same sense is "Van in this world, paradise in the next".[53] This phrase has been slightly modified in Turkish asDünyada Van, ahirette iman or "Van for this world, faith for the next".
The city is home toVan Yüzüncü Yıl Üniversitesi (Van 100th Year University) and recently came to the headlines for two highly publicized investigations initiated by the Prosecutor of Van, one of which was focused on accusations against the university'srector,Hasan Ceylan, who was kept in custody for a time. He was finally acquitted but lost his rectorate. He is a grandson ofAgop Vartovyan, an Ottoman Armenian who is accepted as the founder of modern Turkish theatre. Hasan Ceylan is also the department chairman of Environmental Engineering atVan Yüzüncü Yıl University.
In 1941, Van suffered a destructive5.9 Mw earthquake.[54] A more severe7.2 Mw earthquake occurred on 23 October 2011.[55] On the 9 November 2011, another earthquake caused several buildings to collapse.[56]
In culinary terms, as some cities in Turkey became renowned for theirkebab culture or other types of traditional local dishes, Van has distinguished itself with its breakfast culture.[57]
Van stands on Highway D300, which runs from the Iranian border 100 km east at Kapikoy through Van then along the south lake shore toTatvan (100 km), and westwards to the rest of Turkey. Highway D975 runs north to Dogubeyazit and south towards Hakkari. Frequent buses and dolmuses ply these highways.
Van is the western terminus ofthe railway line from Iran, with freight and passenger trains (suspended between 2015 and 2018). There is atrain ferry (upgraded in 2015) across the lake to Tatvan. There is no railway around the lake; it is intended eventually to build one but to date there are no plans.[citation needed] This would actually create an unbroken rail link between Europe and the Indian subcontinent, as Tatvan is the terminus of the line to Ankara and Istanbul.
Van has daily flights to Istanbul, Ankara and other major Turkish cities fromFerit Melen Airport.
Near Van, there is alongwave broadcasting station with a 250-metre-tall (820-foot) guyed mast. It went in service in 1990 and operates on 225 kHz with 600 kW. It has also local news outlets likeVan Gazetesi orGazete Van.[58]
Hanımzer Melet (born 1993), national team wheelchair basketball player.[59]
Vardan Ajemian (born 1905), Van born, Armenian theatrical director and actor. He was named People's Artist of USSR in 1965 and Hero of Socialist Labour in 1975.
^Edmund Herzig, Marina Kurkchiyan,The Armenians: Past And Present In The Making Of National Identity, p. 31.
^Burney, Charles (December 1972)."Urartian Irrigation Works".Anatolian Studies.22: 183.doi:10.2307/3642562.ISSN2048-0849.JSTOR3642562.S2CID131657710.The construction of the Menua canal would have made a population of fifty thousand in Van itself, the city and its garden suburbs, a conservative estimate. Since the population in the nineteenth century A.D. exceeded that figure, there is no need to suggest a smaller population in the Urartian capital.26 This may have reached its highest level under Rusa II...
^Çevik, Özlem (January 2005). "The Change of Settlement Patterns in Lake Van Basin: Ecological Constrains caused by Highland Landscape".Altorientalische Forschungen.32 (1).doi:10.1524/aofo.2005.32.1.74.S2CID163661607.According to Burney's conservative estimate, the population of Tushpa was 50.000 people.59 [Burney (1972,182).]
^The Journal of Roman Studies – Page 124 by Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies
^Moulet, Benjamin (15 December 2016),"Chapitre I. Hiérarchie ecclésiastique et maillage du territoire",Évêques, pouvoir et société à Byzance (viiie-xie siècle) : Territoires, communautés et individus dans la société provinciale byzantine, Byzantina Sorbonensia (in French), Paris: Éditions de la Sorbonne, pp. 39–126,ISBN978-2-85944-831-8, retrieved11 July 2021{{citation}}: CS1 maint: work parameter with ISBN (link)
^"The Turks in History", Roderic H. Davison,Essays in Ottoman and Turkish History, 1774–1923: The Impact of the West, (University of Texas Press, 1990), 3.
^Hewsen, Robert H. (2000), "2: 'Van in This World: Paradise in the Next' – The Historical Geography of Van/Vaspurakan Armenian churches within the walled city included Saint Tiramayr (Armenian:Սուրբ Տիրամայր), Saint Vardan (Armenian:Սուրբ Վարդան), Saint Poghos (Armenian:Սուրբ Պողոս), Saint Nshan (Armenian:Սուրբ Նշան), Saint Sahak (Armenian:Սուրբ Սահակ), and Saint Tsiranavor (Armenian:Սուրբ Ծիրանաւոր); in Aygestan (Armenian:Այգեստան), Haykavank (Armenian:Հայկավանք), Norashen (Armenian:Նորաշէն), Arark (Armenian:Արարք), Hankoysner, and other quarters each had a church.", inHovannisian, Richard G. (ed.),Armenian Van/Vaspurakan, Historic Armenian Cities and Provinces, Costa Mesa, California: Mazda Publishers, p. 40,OCLC44774992
^Ter Minassian, Anahide (2000), "10: The City of Van at the Turn of the Twentieth Century", inHovannisian, Richard G. (ed.),Armenian Van/Vaspurakan, Historic Armenian Cities and Provinces, Costa Mesa, California: Mazda Publishers,OCLC44774992
^Sarkis Y. Karayan: "Demography of Van Province, 1844–1914". In:Richard G. Hovannisian:Armenian Van/Vaspurakan. Mazda Publishers, Costa Mesa/CA 2000, p. 196.
^"Kardeş Şehirler".Bursa Büyükşehir Belediyesi Basın Koordinasyon Merkez. Tüm Hakları Saklıdır. Archived fromthe original on 23 May 2016. Retrieved27 July 2013.
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