MythicLake Van (Turkey), name preservation, NOT the HQ location
UBVan's highland headquarters
Van's highland headquarters = Lake Van (Turkey), name preservation, NOT the HQ location
The Connection
Van's actual highland headquarters was in the Kopet Dag region, EAST of the Caspian Sea (modern Turkmenistan), roughly 1,000 km east of Lake Van in Turkey. The name "Van" survives in Lake Van, but the connection is linguistic (name preservation), not geographic identity. The kingdom of Urartu (UR + Ararat) surrounds Lake Van. The name traveled west while the headquarters was in the east.
UB Citation
UB 73:1, 77:3
Academic Source
Zimansky, Ecology and Empire: The Structure of the Urartian State (1985)
Historical Evidence(Moderate evidence)
Lake Van is the largest lake in Turkey, located in the Armenian highlands. The Urartian capital Tushpa was near modern Van. "Biainili, possibly pronounced Vanele or Vanili, became Van in Old Armenian." However, the UB places Van's highland HQ in the Kopet Dag mountains east of the southern Caspian Sea (UB 73:3.1), a separate location ~1,000 km to the east. The name "Van" at Lake Van is a case of name preservation (the character's name surviving in a regional place name), not proof that the headquarters was at Lake Van itself.