n.
City (pop., 1997: 226,965), eastern Turkey, on the eastern shore of Lake Van .
The ruins of stone buildings there date from the 8th century BC, when it was the chief centre of the kingdom of Urartu . After the fall of Nineveh (612 BC), it was occupied in succession by the Medes, the kings of Pontus, Arabs (7th century AD), and Armenians (8th century AD). It fell to the Selj 016B; q dynasty after 1071 AD and to the Ottoman Empire in 1543. Russian forces held it (191517) during World War I. It has a large Kurdish population. It once had a large Armenian population that was brutally expelled following the war (see Armenian massacres ). Van is a shipping point for hides, grains, fruits, and vegetables.