Urartu (Assyrian "Urarṭu", Urartian "Biainili") was an ancient kingdom in Armenia. It was in the mountainous plateau between Asia Minor, Mesopotamia, and Caucasus mountains, later known as the Armenian Highland, and it centered around Lake Van (present-day eastern Turkey). The kingdom existed from ca. 860 BC, emerging from Late Bronze Age Nairi polities, until 585 BC. The name corresponds to the Biblical Ararat.