Batman Province ( tr, , ku, Parêzgeha Êlihê) is a province in the Southeast Anatolia Region of Turkey. It was created in May 1990 with the Law No. 3647 taking some parts from the eastern Province of Siirt and some from the southern Province of Mardin. The province's population exceeded 500,000 in 2010. The city of

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in the 27th issue of the comic book '' Detective Comics'' on March 30, 1939 ...

with 460,955 inhabitants, is the provincial capital. Its current Governor is Hulusi Şahin. The province is considered part of Turkish Kurdistan and has a Kurdish majority with a large Arab minority found in the northern parts of the province ( Sason and Kozluk) and Hasankeyf.

History

The Batman Province contains the strategic

Tigris The Tigris () is the easternmost of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of the Armenian Highlands through the Syrian and Arabian Deserts, and empties into the ...

river with fertile lands by its sides, as well as rocky hills with numerous caves providing a natural shelter. Therefore, it was inhabited from prehistoric times, likely from the

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several part ...

(

Paleolithic The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic (), also called the Old Stone Age (from Greek: παλαιός '' palaios'', "old" and λίθος ''lithos'', "stone"), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone to ...

) period, according to archeological evidence. First documented evidence of settlements in the province dates back to 7th century BC. An artificial "island" was created in this marshy area. It was named ''Elekhan'', and had an independent status for 194 years from 546 BC till the invasion of

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip II to ...

in 334 BC. The Batman Province was a religious center in the 4th–6th centuries AD and a part of the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantin ...

. In the 11th–12th centuries it was ruled by the Great Seljuq Empire and Artuqids, a part of which was based in the province, in the city of Hasankeyf. The city is a cultural center of the Batman Province and as such was declared as a natural conservation area in 1981. Around 4th–6th centuries AD the province became an outpost of the Silk Road. It was populated by Assyrian (Non-Syriac) Christians and Armenians, also had a significant presence of

Pontic Greeks The Pontic Greeks ( pnt, Ρωμαίοι, Ρωμίοι, tr, Pontus Rumları or , el, Πόντιοι, or , , ka, პონტოელი ბერძნები, ), also Pontian Greeks or simply Pontians, are an ethnically Greek group in ...

, Baghdadi Jews. Significant changes in the language and management of the province were brought in 1515 by Mahmoud Pasha Elekhani. It is believed that a variant of his name, ''Elah'', was transformed into ''Iluh'' and gave the old name to Batman city.Batman
, gap.gov.tr
kultur.gov.tr, 18 June 2008 (in Turkish)
, kultur.gov.tr, 21 February 2007 (in Turkish) From July 1987 to October 1997 Batman Province was included in the OHAL state of emergency region. Development of oil fields resulted in relocation of Turkish people into a mostly Kurd-populated Batman Province. This brought ethnic conflicts which escalated in 1990s. More than 180 civilians were killed in the Batman city area by unidentified gunmen between 1992 and 1993. The province became a stronghold of the Turkish Hezbollah and it was reported that Batman hosted a camp where the militants received military and political training. Recent individual incidents include the following: 1 Turkish soldier was killed and 2 wounded during clashes in the province on 15 April 2010. One Turkish soldier was killed and 2 injured after a Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) attack on a Turkish military outpost on 7 July 2010. Four Kurdish civilians were killed on 1 August 2010 after their vehicle struck a roadside bomb. Later on 9 August 2010 5 PKK militants were killed in clashes with the Turkish military. Batman districts

Districts

The province occupies an area of (4,659 according to other source) and is divided into six districts:

(capital, population 324,402 in 2008), Beşiri (32,282), Gercüş (26,111), Hasankeyf (7,412), Kozluk (62,114) and Sason (33,295). There are 270 villages in the province.

Demographics

The population of the province is rapidly growing as a result of the inflow of workforce to the capital. Between 1990 and 2000, its population was rising at a rate of 5% per year. The population was stable in Beşiri and Gercüş, increasing by 1% per year in Kozluk and Sason and decreasing by 3% per year in Hasankeyf. The total population was 608,659 in 2019 with 460,955 people living in the urban areas, mostly in the capital. It was 49.8% female.

Geography

The province lies in the mountainous area with the average elevation of 550 meters which contains several thousands of caves. The tallest mountains are Sason Dağları (2500 m), Meleto (2967 m), Kuşaklı Dağı (1947 m), Avcı Dağı (2121 m), Meydanok Tepesi (2042 m), Kortepe (2082 m) and Raman Dağı (1288 m). Several rivers ( tr, Çay or ) flow through the province, including

, Sason and Garzan. The long Batman River flowing approximately from north to south forms a natural border between the Batman Province and Diyarbakır Province lying to the west. The historic Malabadi Bridge (built in 1146–1147) crosses the river near the town of Silvan. The Tigris flows from west to east, merges with the Batman River and exits the province. The Garzan River flowing from north to south enters the Tigris and separates Batman from the Siirt Province lying to the east.Batman. Coğrafya
, kultur.gov.tr, 21 February 2007 (in Turkish) The province is also of interest from an archaeological point of view. Sights include the Imam Abdullah Dervish monastery, the bridge of Camiü‘r Rızk and Hasankeyf.

Oil industry

Search for oil in the Batman Province was started in 1935. On 20 April 1940, oil was found at a depth of 1048 meters at the Raman oil field, south-east of Batman, nearby the city. The first experimental well started producing 10 tonnes (about 62 barrels) per day from 6 June 1940. The field was expanded for commercial production by 1945, but the production was delayed to 1947 by the lack of storage. A small refinery was built at the site with a capacity of 9 tonnes/day by 1947 and by November 1948 a bigger refinery capable of processing up to 200 tonnes/day was built in Batman. Even bigger refinery (330 tonnes/d) was built in Batman by 1955.History of petroleum
, tpao.gov.tr Several other oil fields were later discovered in the province with the Batı Raman oil field, which produces about 7,000 barrels daily, being the largest oil field in Turkey. A long oil pipeline was brought in 1967 from Batman to the port city of Dörtyol near the easternmost point of the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on th ...

coast to transport the Batman crude oil. The pipeline has an annual capacity of 3.5 million tonnes and was transporting about 20 million barrels (about 2.7 million tonnes) in the 1990s and about twice less between 2003 and 2007. Another, short () pipeline connected Batman with Şelmo – the location of the second largest oil field in Turkey. It was transferring between 1.5 and 0.5 million barrels per year in the period 1990–2007. Both pipelines are operated by BOTAŞ.

Batman dam

The

Batman dam Batman Dam is one of the 22 dams of the Southeastern Anatolia Project of Turkey, built on the Batman River, north of Batman, in southeastern of Turkey. It was constructed between 1986 and 1999. There is a hydroelectric power Hydroelectricit ...

construction was started in 1986 and completed in 1999. It has a height of 85 meters and annual power generation capacity of 483 GWh (peak power 198 MW). The associated reservoir has a surface area of 49 km² and a volume of 1.175 km³. The dam supplies water for the area of .Batman Dam
, General Directorate of State Hydraulic Works

Famous personalities

* Karapetê Xaço (1900–August 2005) – traditional singer of Kurdish Dengbêj music * Cigerxwîn (1903–1984) – Kurdish poet, writer, journalist, historian, lexicographer and nationalist. *

Ali Rıza Alan Ali Rıza Alan (born 3 February 1947 Batman, Turkey) is a Turkish and former wrestler who competed in the 1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 ...

(born 1947) – wrestler *

Ibrahim Bilgen Ibrahim ( ar, إبراهيم, links=no ') is the Arabic name for Abraham, a Biblical patriarch and prophet in Islam. For the Islamic view of Ibrahim, see Abraham in Islam. Ibrahim may also refer to: * Ibrahim (name), a name (and list of people w ...

(1949–2010) – politician, electrical engineer and activist. *

Hüseyin Kalkan Hüseyin Kalkan () was mayor of Batman in Southeast Anatolia, Turkey, and a member of the Democratic Society Party (DTP). He gained international notoriety November 2008 after he announced plans to sue Christopher Nolan, director of '' The Dar ...

(born 1950) – former mayor of Batman city *

Hüseyin Velioğlu Hüseyin Velioğlu (born Hüseyin Durmaz; 1952 – 17 January 2000) was the leader of the Kurdish Hezbollah, a militant extremist organization in the early 1990s. Velioğlu led one of the wings of this organization. He was killed in a police ope ...

(1952–2000) – leader of the

Kurdish Hezbollah Kurdish Hezbollah ( ku, Hizbullahî Kurdî)
, turkishweekly.net known in

* Mehmet Şimşek (born 1967) – politician, former Minister of Finance of Turkey *

Nalin Pekgul Nalin Pekgul (née Baksi, born 30 April 1967) is a Swedish Social Democratic politician, nurse and former parliamentarian. She was the first Muslim woman to sit in the Swedish Parliament. Life Pekgul was born in Batman, Turkey, but migrated to ...

(born 1967) – politician * Ayşe Acar Başaran (born 1985) – politician * Mehmet Demir – politician *

Alan Ciwan Alan Ciwan is a Kurdish actor and TV presenter from Batman, Turkey. He is a presenter of the Kurd Idol ''Kurd Idol'' ( ku, کورد ئایدڵ / Kurd Aydil) is the first International franchise in Kurdish television history. Kurd Idol realit ...

– actor *

Şehmus Hazer Şehmus Hazer (born February 15, 1999) is a Turkish professional basketball player for Bahçeşehir Koleji S.K., Bahçeşehir Koleji of the Basketbol Süper Ligi (BSL) and EuroCup Basketball, EuroCup. Professional career On August 6, 2020, Hazer ...

– professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player * Sevgi Yorulmaz (born 1982) – Paralympic archer *

Mansur Çalar Mansur Çalar (born 24 February 1986) is a Kurdish footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Amed. He became the captain of his team. After a scandal during a league match, in which he assaulted several Sakaryaspor players with a razo ...

(born 1986) – footballer * Nurullah Kaya (born 1986) – footballer *

Ahmet Arı Ahmet Arı (born 13 January 1989) is a Turkish professional footballer who currently plays as a midfielder for Mardin Fosfatspor. He was a youth international. Club career Arı began his career with local club 72 Batmanspor in 2003. He was tran ...

(born 1989) – footballer * Erdal Akdarı (born 1993) – footballer *

Mizgin Ay Mizgin Ay (born 22 June 2000) is a Kurdish track and field athlete who competes in the 100 m, 200 m and 400 m events for Turkey. Early years Mizgin Ay was born in Batman, southeastern Turkey on 22 June 2000. She started with running already in ...

(born 2000) – track and field athlete

References

External links

Maps of Kurdish Regions
by GlobalSecurity.org
Map of Kurdish Population Distribution
by GlobalSecurity.org {{coord, 38, 04, 55, N, 41, 24, 26, E, region:TR-72_type:adm1st, display=title Provinces of Turkey Turkish Kurdistan