Historical place profile
Thospia/Bouana/‘Ospa’/Ṭušpa
Ṭušpa is an Urartian fortress and settlement near the historic center of Van in southeastern Turkey. Here archaeological remains of buildings and inscribed objects of several Urartian kings starting with Sarduri I (ninth century BCE) have been found. Furthermore, the place is frequently mentioned in Urartian inscriptions in connection with the god Haldi, who is addressed as "Lord of Ṭušpa-City". Ṭupša is often referred to as the capital of Urartu, although this remains uncertain. Rather than an administrative center, it was probably a religious one. In later times the place was known as Thospia/Bouana/‘Ospa’ (BAtlas 89 F2 Thospia/Bouana/‘Ospa’). Today the ruins of the fortress are referred to as Van Kalesi (or Van Castle).
Record details
- Research ID
- catholon:place:pleiades:874771
- Catalogue ID
- pleiades:874771
- Place type
- fort, settlement
- Coordinates
- 38.501497, 43.338534
- Precision
- precise
- Locator semantics
- representative_point_not_boundary
Historical description
Ṭušpa is an Urartian fortress and settlement near the historic center of Van in southeastern Turkey. Here archaeological remains of buildings and inscribed objects of several Urartian kings starting with Sarduri I (ninth century BCE) have been found. Furthermore, the place is frequently mentioned in Urartian inscriptions in connection with the god Haldi, who is addressed as "Lord of Ṭušpa-City". Ṭupša is often referred to as the capital of Urartu, although this remains uncertain. Rather than an administrative center, it was probably a religious one. In later times the place was known as Thospia/Bouana/‘Ospa’ (BAtlas 89 F2 Thospia/Bouana/‘Ospa’). Today the ruins of the fortress are referred to as Van Kalesi (or Van Castle).
Geographic evidence
The coordinates are a representative_point_not_boundary. They identify a research anchor and do not by themselves assert an ancient administrative boundary or the full extent of the settlement.
Provenance: Barrington Atlas: BAtlas 89 F2 Thospia/Bouana/‘Ospa’
Source and reuse
This profile derives from the Pleiades current GIS record, licensed CC BY 3.0. Pleiades place record The profile preserves the source name, point, type, description, precision and provenance without silently adding a boundary reconstruction.
Research path
Compare this place with the chronological map at the relevant year, nearby political units, routes, institutions and the period portals. Where the source record is silent about jurisdiction, population or ecclesiastical rank, this profile makes no such claim.