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65-472: The names, and some characteristics, of these established deities subsequently influenced other figures: Both Vedic Mitra and Avestan Mithra derive from an Indo-Iranian common noun *mitra- , generally reconstructed to have meant " covenant , treaty , agreement, promise ." This meaning is preserved in Avestan miθra "covenant". In Sanskrit and modern Indo-Aryan languages , mitra means "friend", one of

130-413: A Cyprinid fish related to chub and dace , which is caught during the spring floods. In May and June, these fish migrate from the lake to less alkaline water, spawning either near the mouths of the rivers feeding the lake or in the rivers themselves. After spawning season it returns to the lake. In 2018, a new species of fish, which is deemed as Oxynoemacheilus ercisianus , has been discovered inside

195-659: A meson ("in the middle") between "the good Horomazdes and the evil Aremanius [...] and this is why the Pérsai call the Mediator Mithra". Zaehner attributes this false etymology to a role that Mithra (and the sun) played in the now extinct branch of Zoroastrianism known as Zurvanism . Vedic Mitra is a prominent deity of the Rigveda distinguished by a relationship to Varuna , the protector of rta as described in hymn 2, Mandala 1 of Rigveda. Together with Varuna, he counted among

260-420: A microbialite . 103 species of phytoplankton have been recorded in the lake including cyanobacteria , flagellates , diatoms , green algae , and brown algae . 36 species of zooplankton have also been recorded including Rotatoria , Cladocera , and Copepoda in the lake. In 1991, researchers reported the discovery of 40 m (130 ft) tall microbialites in the lake. These are solid towers on

325-525: A borrowing from the Avesta," the genuine Old Persian form being reconstructed as *Miça . (Kent initially suggested Sanskrit but later changed his mind). Middle Iranian myhr (Parthian, also in living Armenian usage) and mihr (Middle Persian), derive from Avestan Mithra . Greek/Latin "Mithras," the focal deity of the Greco-Roman cult of Mithraism is the nominative form of vocative Mithra. In contrast to

390-561: A brief period of stability and then retreat) seems to be rising again. The level rose approximately 2 m (6.6 ft) in the 10 years immediately prior to 2004. But in the early 2020s it fell. Lake Van is in the highest and largest region of Turkey, which has a Mediterranean-influenced humid continental climate . Average temperatures in July are between 22 and 25 °C, and in January between −3 °C to −12 °C. On some cold winter nights

455-460: A divinity and preferred the more religious "piety". Because present-day Sanskrit mitra means "friend", and New Persian mihr means "love" or "friendship", Gonda (1972, 1973) insisted on a Vedic meaning of "friend, friendship", not "contract". Meillet's analysis also "rectified earlier interpretations" that suggested that the Indo-Iranian common noun *mitra- had anything to do with the light or

520-705: A gradual change in Vedic Sanskrit, but there is disappearance of these archaic correspondences and linguistics in the post-Rigvedic period. This period includes both the mantra and prose language of the Atharvaveda (Paippalada and Shaunakiya), the Ṛg·veda Khilani , the Samaveda Saṃhitā, and the mantras of the Yajurveda . These texts are largely derived from the Ṛg·veda, but have undergone certain changes, both by linguistic change and by reinterpretation. For example,

585-441: A maximum depth of about 250 m (820 ft) on its northwest side where it joins the rest of the lake. The Erciş arm is much shallower, mostly less than 50 m (160 ft), with a maximum depth of about 150 m (490 ft). The lake water is strongly alkaline ( pH 9.7–9.8) and rich in sodium carbonate and other salts. Some is extracted in salt evaporation ponds alongside, used in or as detergents . Lake Van

650-465: A strict tripartite division of vocalic length between hrasva (short, 1 mora), dīrgha (long, 2 morae) and pluta (prolated, 3+ morae). Pluta vowels are recorded a total of 3 times in the Rigveda and 15 times in the Atharvaveda , typically in cases of questioning and particularly where two options are being compared. For example: The pluti attained the peak of their popularity in

715-605: A team including Degens in the early 1980s determined that the highest lake levels (72 metres (236 ft) above the current height) had been during the last ice age, about 18,000 years ago. Approximately 9,500 years ago there was a dramatic drop to more than 300 metres (980 ft) below the present level. This was followed by an equally-dramatic rise around 6,500 years ago. As a deep lake with no outlet, Lake Van has accumulated great amounts of sediment washed in from surrounding plains and valleys, and occasionally deposited as ash from eruptions of nearby volcanoes. This layer of sediment

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780-460: Is a saline soda lake, receiving water from many small streams that descend from the surrounding mountains. It is one of the world's few endorheic lakes (a lake having no outlet) of size greater than 3,000 square kilometres (1,200 sq mi) and has 38% of the country's surface water (including rivers). A volcanic eruption blocked its original outlet in prehistoric times. It is situated at 1,640 m (5,380 ft) above sea level. Despite

845-420: Is also protector and keeper of all aspects of interpersonal relationships, such as friendship and love. Related to his position as protector of truth, Mithra is a judge ( ratu ), ensuring that individuals who break promises or are not righteous ( artavan ) are not admitted to paradise . As also in Indo-Iranian tradition, Mithra is associated with (the divinity of) the sun but originally distinct from it . Mithra

910-575: Is close to the western tip of the lake. There is hydrothermal activity throughout the region. For much of its history, until the Pleistocene , Lake Van has had an outlet towards the southwest (into the Murat River and eventually into the Euphrates river ). However, the level of this threshold has varied over time, as the lake has been blocked by successive lava flows from Nemrut volcano westward towards

975-506: Is closely associated with the feminine yazata Aredvi Sura Anahita , the hypostasis of knowledge. There is a deity Mithra mentioned on monuments in Commagene . According to the archaeologist Maarten Vermaseren, 1st century BC evidence from Commagene demonstrates the "reverence paid to Mithras" but does not refer to "the mysteries". In the colossal statuary erected by King Antiochus I (69–34 BC) at Mount Nemrut , Mithras

1040-457: Is estimated to be up to 400 metres (1,300 ft) thick in places, and has attracted climatologists and vulcanologists interested in drilling cores to examine the layered sediments. In 1989 and 1990, an international team of geologists led by Stephan Kempe from the University of Hamburg retrieved ten sediment cores from depths up to 446 m (1,463 ft). Although these cores only penetrated

1105-535: Is first noticed in the inscriptions of North India from about the second half of the 1st century BCE. Sanskrit gradually ousted Prakrit from the field of Indian epigraphy in all parts of the country. Five chronologically distinct strata can be identified within the Vedic language: The first three are commonly grouped together, as the Saṃhitās comprising the four Vedas: ṛg, atharvan, yajus, sāman, which together constitute

1170-551: Is primarily a tectonic lake , formed more than 600,000 years ago by the gradual subsidence of a large block of the Earth's crust due to movement on several major faults that run through this portion of Eastern Anatolia. The lake's southern margin demarcates: a metamorphic rock zone of the Bitlis Massif and volcanic strata of the Neogene and Quaternary periods. The deep, western portion of

1235-500: Is shown beardless, wearing a Phrygian cap , and was originally seated on a throne alongside other deities and the king himself. On the back of the thrones there is an inscription in Greek, which includes the name Apollo-Mithras-Helios in the genitive case ( Ἀπόλλωνος Μίθρου Ἡλίου ). Vermaseren also reports about a Mithras cult in Fayum in the 3rd century BC. R.D. Barnett has argued that

1300-473: Is still close to Vedic Sanskrit. This is the last stratum of Vedic literature, comprising the bulk of the Śrautasūtras and Gṛhyasūtras and some Upaniṣad s such as the Kaṭha Upaniṣad and Maitrāyaṇiya Upaniṣad . These texts elucidate the state of the language which formed the basis of Pāṇini's codification into Classical Sanskrit. Vedic differs from Classical Sanskrit to an extent comparable to

1365-554: Is the term for the phenomenon of protracted or overlong vowels in Sanskrit ; the overlong or prolated vowels are themselves called pluta . Pluta vowels are usually noted with a numeral "3" ( ३ ) indicating a length of three morae ( trimātra ). A diphthong is prolated by prolongation of its first vowel. Pāṇinian grammarians recognise the phonetic occurrence of diphthongs measuring more than three morae in duration, but classify them all as prolated (i.e. trimoraic) to preserve

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1430-677: The Adityas , a group of solar deities , also in later Vedic texts. Vedic Mitra is the patron divinity of honesty, friendship, contracts and meetings. The first extant record of Indo-Aryan Mitra, in the form mi-it-ra- , is in the inscribed peace treaty of c. 1400 BC between Hittites and the Hurrian kingdom of the Mitanni in the area southeast of Lake Van in Asia Minor . Mitra appears there together with four other Indic divinities as witnesses and keepers of

1495-800: The Ayyubid dynasty . Following the disintegration of the Seljuq-ruled Sultanate of Rum , Lake Van and its surroundings were conquered by the Ilkhanate Mongols, and later switched hands between the Ottoman Empire and Safavid Iran until Sultan Selim I took control for good. Reports of the Lake Van Monster surfaced in the late 1800's and gained popularity. A news article was published by Saadet Gazetesi issue number 1323, dated 28 Shaban 1306 Hijri year , corresponding to 29 April 1889 during

1560-637: The Brahmana period of late Vedic Sanskrit (roughly 8th century BC), with some 40 instances in the Shatapatha Brahmana alone. Lake Van Lake Van ( Turkish : Van Gölü ; Armenian : Վանա լիճ , romanized :  Vana lič̣ ; Kurdish : Gola Wanê ) is the largest lake in Turkey . It lies in the Eastern Anatolia Region of Turkey in the provinces of Van and Bitlis . It

1625-537: The Gandhara grave culture from about 1700 BCE. According to this model, Rigvedic within the larger Indo-Aryan group is the direct ancestor of the Dardic languages . The early Vedic Sanskrit language was far less homogeneous compared to the language described by Pāṇini , that is, Classic Sanskrit. The language in the early Upanishads of Hinduism and the late Vedic literature approaches Classical Sanskrit. The formalization of

1690-500: The Muş Plain . This threshold has then been lowered at times by erosion. The first acoustic survey of Lake Van was performed in 1974. Kempe and Degens later identified three physiographic provinces comprising the lake: The deepest part of the lake is the Tatvan basin, which is almost completely bounded by faults. Land terraces (remnant dry, upper banks from previous shorelines) above

1755-655: The Turkish State Railways , the largest of their kind in Turkey, entered service in Lake Van. Ferit Melen Airport abuts Van . Turkish Airlines , AnadoluJet , Pegasus Airlines , and SunExpress are the airlines which have regular flights. Lake Van occasionally hosts several water sports , sailing , and inshore powerboat racing events, such as the UIM World Offshore 225 Championship 's IOC Van Grand Prix, and

1820-659: The Vedic language , is an ancient language of the Indo-Aryan subgroup of the Indo-European language family. It is attested in the Vedas and related literature compiled over the period of the mid- 2nd to mid-1st millennium BCE. It is orally preserved , predating the advent of writing by several centuries. Extensive ancient literature in the Vedic Sanskrit language has survived into

1885-603: The "tool suffix" -tra- "that which [causes] ..." (also found in man-tra- , "that which causes to think"), then literally means "that which binds", and thus "covenant, treaty, agreement, promise, oath" etc. Pokorny's interpretation also supports "to fasten, strengthen", which may be found in Latin moenia "city wall, fortification", and in an antonymic form, Old English (ge)maere "border, boundary-post". Meillet and Pokorny's "contract" did however have its detractors. Lentz (1964, 1970) refused to accept abstract "contract" for so exalted

1950-574: The 11th century the lake was on the border between the Eastern Roman Empire , with its capital at Constantinople , and the Turko-Persian Seljuk Empire , with its capital at Isfahan . In the uneasy peace between the two empires, local Armenian-Byzantine landowners employed Turcoman gazis and Byzantine akritai for protection. The Greek-speaking Byzantines called the lake Thospitis limne ( Medieval Greek : Θωσπῖτις λίμνη ). In

2015-701: The Armenian Kingdom of Vaspurakan . Along with Lake Sevan in today's Armenia and Lake Urmia in today's Iran , Van was one of the three great lakes of the Armenian Kingdom, referred to as the seas of Armenia (in ancient Assyrian sources: "tâmtu ša mât Nairi" (Upper Sea of Nairi ), the Lower Sea being Lake Urmia ). Over time, the lake was known by various Armenian names, including Armenian : Վանա լիճ (Lake of Van), Վանա ծով (Sea of Van), Արճեշի ծով (Sea of Arčeš), Բզնունեաց ծով (Sea of Bznunik), Ռշտունեաց ծով (Sea of Rshtunik), and Տոսպայ լիճ (Lake of Tosp) . By

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2080-606: The Van Lake Festival. The four main islands in Lake Van are Adır , Akdamar , Çarpanak , and Kuş islands. Adır Island is the biggest Island in Lake Van. Each island has Armenian religious structures: Lim Monastery (Adır Island), Holy Cross Cathedral (Akdamar Island), Ktuts monastery (Çarpanak Island) and a small monastery on Kuş Island. Large lakes near Lake Van are Lake Erçek (16km), Lake Turna (23km), Lake Nemrut (12km), Lake Nazik (16km), Lake Batmış (10km), Lake Aygır (5km) and Lake Süphan (18km). Lake Erçek

2145-506: The archaic Vedic Sanskrit verb system has been abandoned, and a prototype of pre-Panini Vedic Sanskrit structure emerges. The Yajñagāthās texts provide a probable link between Vedic Sanskrit, Classical Sanskrit and languages of the Epics. Complex meters such as Anuṣṭubh and rules of Sanskrit prosody had been or were being innovated by this time, but parts of the Brāhmaṇa layers show the language

2210-473: The aspects of bonding and alliance. The Indo-Iranian reconstruction is attributed to Christian Bartholomae, and was subsequently refined by A. Meillet (1907), who suggested derivation from the Proto-Indo-European root *mey- "to exchange". A suggested alternative derivation was *meh "to measure" (Gray 1929). Pokorny ( IEW 1959) refined Meillet's *mei as "to bind". Combining the root *mei with

2275-464: The difference between Homeric Greek and Classical Greek . The following differences may be observed in the phonology: Vedic had a pitch accent which could even change the meaning of the words, and was still in use in Pāṇini's time, as can be inferred by his use of devices to indicate its position. At some latter time, this was replaced by a stress accent limited to the second to fourth syllables from

2340-485: The end. Since a small number of words in the late pronunciation of Vedic carry the so-called "independent svarita " on a short vowel, one can argue that late Vedic was marginally a tonal language . Note however that in the metrically-restored versions of the Rig Veda almost all of the syllables carrying an independent svarita must revert to a sequence of two syllables, the first of which carries an udātta and

2405-558: The first few meters of sediment, they provided sufficient varves to give proxy climate data for up to 14,570 years BP . A team of scientists headed by palaeontologist Professor Thomas Litt at the University of Bonn has applied for funding from the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP) for an akin deeper-drilling project. This expects to find it "stores the climate history of

2470-572: The future millennium, and universal salvation. Possible objections are that these characteristics are not unique to Zoroastrianism, nor are they necessarily characteristic of the belief in Maitreya . The name Mithra was adopted by the Greeks and Romans as Mithras , chief figure in the mystery religion of Mithraism. At first identified with the Sun-god Helios by the Greeks, the syncretic Mithra-Helios

2535-408: The high altitude and winter averages below 0 °C (32 °F), high salinity usually prevents it from freezing; the shallow northern section can freeze, but rarely. Lake Van is 119 kilometres (74 mi) across at its widest point. It averages 171 metres (561 ft) deep. Its greatest known depth is 451 metres (1,480 ft). The surface lies 1,640 metres (5,380 ft) above sea level and

2600-435: The lake bed formed by coccoid cyanobacteria ( Pleurocapsa group), which create mats of aragonite that combine with calcite precipitating out of the lake water. The region hosts the rare Van cat breed of cat, having – among other things – an unusual fascination with water. The lake is mainly surrounded by fruit orchards and grain fields, interspersed by some non-agricultural trees. According to legend,

2665-399: The lake hosts the mysterious Lake Van Monster that lurks below the surface, 30-to-40 ft (9-to-12 m) long with brown scaly skin, an elongated reptilian head and flippers. Apart from some inconclusive amateur photographs and videos, there has never been any evidence of it. The claimed profile resembles an extinct mosasaurus or basilosaurus . Tushpa , the capital of Urartu , near

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2730-536: The lake is an antidome basin in a tectonic depression. This was formed by normal and strike-slip faulting and thrusting. The lake's proximity to the Karlıova triple junction has led to molten fluids of the Earth's mantle accumulating in the strata beneath, still driving gradual change. Dominating the lake's northern shore is the stratovolcano Mount Süphan . The broad crater of a second, dormant volcano, Mount Nemrut ,

2795-399: The last 800,000 years—an incomparable treasure house of data which we want to tap for at least the last 500,000 years." A test drilling in 2004 detected evidence of 15 volcanic eruptions in the past 20,000 years. Similar but smaller fluctuations have been seen recently. The level of the lake rose by at least 3 m (9.8 ft) during the 1990's, drowning much agricultural land, and (after

2860-524: The late form of Vedic Sanskrit language into the Classical Sanskrit form is credited to Pāṇini 's Aṣṭādhyāyī , along with Patanjali 's Mahabhasya and Katyayana 's commentary that preceded Patanjali's work. The earliest epigraphic records of the indigenous rulers of India are written in the Prakrit language. Originally the epigraphic language of the whole of India was mainly Prakrit and Sanskrit

2925-643: The locus of the division of Indo-Aryan from Iranian in the Bronze Age culture of the Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex (BMAC). Parpola (1999) elaborates the model and has "Proto-Rigvedic" Indo-Aryans intrude the BMAC around 1700 BCE. He assumes early Indo-Aryan presence in the Late Harappan horizon from about 1900 BCE, and "Proto-Rigvedic" (Proto-Dardic) intrusion to Punjab as corresponding to

2990-495: The modern era, and this has been a major source of information for reconstructing Proto-Indo-European and Proto-Indo-Iranian history. The separation of Proto-Indo-Iranian language into Proto-Iranian and Proto-Indo-Aryan is estimated, on linguistic grounds, to have occurred around or before 1800 BCE. The date of composition of the oldest hymns of the Rigveda is vague at best, generally estimated to roughly 1500 BCE. Both Asko Parpola (1988) and J. P. Mallory (1998) place

3055-494: The more ancient injunctive verb system is no longer in use. An important linguistic change is the disappearance of the injunctive , subjunctive, optative, imperative (the aorist ). New innovations in Vedic Sanskrit appear such as the development of periphrastic aorist forms. This must have occurred before the time of Pāṇini because Panini makes a list of those from the northwestern region of India who knew these older rules of Vedic Sanskrit. In this layer of Vedic literature,

3120-638: The more mobile Turkish horsemen and Diogenes was captured. Alp Arslan divided the conquered eastern portions of the Byzantine empire among his Turcoman generals, with each ruled as a hereditary beylik , under overall sovereignty of the Seljuq Empire . Alp Arslan gave the region around Lake Van to his commander Sökmen el-Kutbî , who set up his capital at Ahlat on the western side of the lake. The dynasty of Shah-Armens , also known as Sökmenler , ruled this area from 1085 to 1192. The Ahlatshahs were succeeded by

3185-489: The oldest texts in Sanskrit and the canonical foundation both of the Vedic religion, and the later religion known as Hinduism. Many words in the Vedic Sanskrit of the Ṛg·veda have cognates or direct correspondences with the ancient Avestan language, but these do not appear in post-Rigvedic Indian texts. The text of the Ṛg·veda must have been essentially complete by around the 12th century BCE. The pre-1200 BCE layers mark

3250-519: The original Avestan meaning of "contract" or "covenant" (and still evident in post-Sassanid Middle Persian texts), the Greco-Roman Mithraists probably thought the name meant "mediator". In Plutarch's 1st-century discussion of dualistic theologies, Isis and Osiris (46.7) the Greek historiographer provides the following explanation of the name in his summary of the Zoroastrian religion: Mithra is

3315-419: The pact. In Zoroastrianism , Mithra is a member of the trinity of ahuras , protectors of asha /arta , "truth" or "[that which is] right". Mithra's standard appellation is "of wide pastures" suggesting omnipresence. Mithra is "truth-speaking, ... with a thousand ears, ... with ten thousand eyes, high, with full knowledge, strong, sleepless, and ever awake." ( Yasht 10.7). As preserver of covenants , Mithra

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3380-506: The present shore have long been recognized. On a visit in 1898, geologist Felix Oswald noted three raised beaches at 15, 50 and 100 feet (5, 15 and 30 meters) above the lake then, as well as recently drowned trees. Research in the past century has identified many similar terraces, and the lake's level has fluctuated significantly during that time. As the lake has no outlet, the level over recent millennia rests on inflow and evaporation. The water level has vacillated greatly. Investigation by

3445-519: The reign of Sultan Abdul Hamid II . Near the Van Fortress and the southern shore, on Akdamar Island lies the 10th century Cathedral of the Holy Cross, Aghtamar ( Armenian : Սուրբ Խաչ , Surb Khach), which served as a royal church to the kingdom of Vaspurakan . The ruins of Armenian monasteries also exist on the other three islands of Lake Van: Lim , Arter , and Ktuts . The area around Lake Van

3510-450: The royal seal of King Saussatar of Mitanni from c.  1450 BC depicts a tauroctonous Mithras. Maitreya is sometimes represented seated on a throne, and venerated both in Mahāyāna and non-Mahāyāna Buddhism. Some have speculated that inspiration for Maitreya may have come from the ancient Iranian deity Mithra . The primary comparison between the two characters appears to be

3575-562: The second a so-called dependent svarita . Early Vedic was thus definitely not a tonal language like Chinese but a pitch accent language like Japanese , which was inherited from the Proto-Indo-European accent . Pitch accent was not restricted to Vedic. Early Sanskrit grammarian Pāṇini gives accent rules for both the spoken language of his post-Vedic time as well as the differences of Vedic accent. However, no extant post-Vedic text with accents are found. Pluti , or prolation ,

3640-452: The second half of the 11th century Emperor Romanus IV Diogenes launched a campaign to re-conquer Armenia and head off growing Seljuk control. Diogenes and his large army crossed the Euphrates and confronted a much smaller Seljuk force led by Alp Arslan at the Battle of Manzikert , north of Lake Van on 26 August 1071. Despite their greater numbers, the cumbersome Byzantine force was defeated by

3705-420: The shore length is 430 kilometres (270 mi). It covers 3,755 km (1,450 sq mi) and contains (has a volume of) 607 cubic kilometres (146 cu mi). The western portion of the lake is deepest, with a large basin deeper than 400 m (1,300 ft) lying northeast of Tatvan and south of Ahlat . The eastern arms of the lake are shallower. The Van-Ahtamar portion shelves gradually, with

3770-464: The shores, on the site of what became medieval Van's castle, west of present-day Van city . The ruins of the medieval city of Van are still visible below the southern slopes of the rock on which Van Castle stands. In 2017, archaeologists from Van Yüzüncü Yil University and a team of independent divers who were exploring Lake Van reported the discovery of a large underwater fortress spanning roughly one kilometer. The team estimates that this fortress

3835-466: The similarity of their names. According to Tiele (1917) " No one who has studied the Zoroastrian doctrine of the Saoshyants or the coming saviour-prophets can fail to see their resemblance to the future Maitreya. " Paul Williams claims that some Zoroastrian ideas like Saoshyant influenced the beliefs about Maitreya , such as expectations of a heavenly helper, the need to opt for positive righteousness,

3900-573: The sun. When H. Lommel suggested that such an association was implied in the Younger Avesta (since the 6th century BCE), that too was conclusively dismissed. Today, it is certain that "(al)though Miθra is closely associated with the sun in the Avesta , he is not the sun" and "Vedic Mitra is not either." Old Persian Miθra or Miθa – both only attested in a handful of 4th-century BCE inscriptions of Artaxerxes II and III – "is generally admitted [to be]

3965-446: The temperature has reached −30 °C. The lake, particularly on its urban townscape shore, tempers the climate in the city of Van, where the average temperature in July is 22.5 °C, and in January −3.5 °C. The average annual rainfall in the basin ranges from 400 to 700 mm. Prior to 2018, the only fish known to live in the brackish water of Lake Van was Alburnus tarichi or Pearl Mullet ( Turkish : inci kefali ),

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4030-537: Was also the home to a large number of Armenian monasteries, among the most prominent of these being the 10th century Narekavank and the 11th century Varagavank , the former now destroyed. The Ahlatshahs left a large number of historic headstones in and around the town of Ahlat . Local administrators are currently trying to have the tombstones included in UNESCO 's World Heritage List , where they are currently listed tentatively. The railway connecting Turkey and Iran

4095-415: Was built in the 1970's, sponsored by CENTO . It uses a train ferry (ferry for decanted passengers) across between the cities Tatvan and Van , rather than building tracks around rugged terrain. This limits passenger capacity. In May 2008, talks started between Turkey and Iran to replace the ferry with a double-track electrified railway. In December 2015, the new generation of train ferries operated by

4160-524: Was constructed during the Urartian period, based on their visual assessments. The archaeologists believe that the fortress, along with other parts of the ancient city that surrounded it at the time, had slowly become submerged over the millennia by the gradually rising lake. The lake was the centre of the kingdom of Urartu from about 1000 BC, afterwards of the Satrapy of Armenia , Kingdom of Greater Armenia , and

4225-645: Was transformed into the figure Mithras during the 2nd century BC, probably at Pergamon . This new cult was taken to Rome around the 1st century BC and was dispersed throughout the Roman Empire . Popular among the Roman military, Mithraism was spread as far north as Hadrian's Wall and the Germanic Limes . [REDACTED] The dictionary definition of Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-Iranian/mitra at Wiktionary Vedic Sanskrit Vedic Sanskrit , also simply referred as

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