Corduene Armenian: Կորճայք, romanized: Korchayk; Greek: Κορδυηνή, romanized: Kordyene; Hebrew: קרטיגיני romanized: Kartigini) was an ancient historical region, located south of Lake Van, present-day eastern Turkey. Many believe that the Kardouchoi—mentioned in Xenophon’s Anabasis as having given his 10,000 troops a mauling as they retreated from Persia in 401 BCE—were the ancestors of the Kurds.