Urartu
Geography

Urartu comprised an area of approximately 200,000 square miles (520,000 km), extending from the Euphrates in the West to Lake Urmia in the East and from the Caucasus Mountains south towards the Zagros Mountains in northern Iraq. More specifically, Urartu was an area directly surrounded by the mountain chains of the eastern Pontus at the north, the Lesser Caucasus at to the northeast, and the Taurus mountains at the south. It was centred around Lake Van, which is located in present-day eastern Anatolia.

At its apogee, Urartu stretched from the borders of northern Mesopotamia to the southern Caucasus, including present-day Turkey, Nakhchivan, Armenia and southern Georgia (up to the river Kura). The Taurus mountains also served as a natural barrier against southern threats, particularly from the Assyrians. Archaeological sites within its boundaries include Altintepe, Toprakkale, Patnos and Haykaberd. Urartu fortresses included Erebuni Fortress (present-day Yerevan), Van Fortress, Argishtihinili, Anzaf, Haykaberd, and Başkale, as well as Teishebaini (Karmir Blur, Red Mound) and others.
detectable_format:json_format