Sason

Sason belongs to the rugged mountain country of Sasun, southwest of Lake Van. Its valleys sheltered Armenian communities and Kurdish tribes, and a Kurdish emirate endured in the region under Ottoman rule. Sasun also gave its name to an Armenian oral epic centred on the hero David of Sasun, whose legendary struggle against invaders grew from traditions of resistance to Arab rule. The mountains and their fortified settlements are woven into the stories of generations of the heroic family.