Armenia (Akkadian Urartu; Old Persian Armina): ancient kingdom, situated along the river Araxes (modern Aras), the Upper Tigris and the Upper Euphrates. Its original name was Biainele; its capital the rock fortress Tuapa (modern Van). The country may be envisaged as a big rectangle, with Lake Van as its southwestern, Lake Urmia as its southeastern, Lake Sevan as its northeastern and Lake Atildir as its northwestern corner. Ancient Armenia was larger than modern Armenia.

The country was originally called Urartu or Urartu after the mountain Ararat, which is well known from the biblical story about Noah (Genesis 8.4). The Armenians regarded the Ararat, which they called Baris, as their holy mountain.

From the ninth century on, Urartu was ruled by a single dynasty, which expanded Armenia to the south in a period when Assyria was weak. The Euphrates became Armenia's western border. However, Assyria recuperated and in 714 BCE, the Armenian king Rusa was defeated by the Assyrian king Sargon, who marched almost unopposed through the country and took possession of the statue of the Armenian supreme god Haldi. After this humiliation, Rusa refused to live and committed suicide.