Armenian
Armenian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent
** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
as Paghin and Dedebağ in
Turkish
Turkish may refer to:
*a Turkic language spoken by the Turks
* of or about Turkey
** Turkish language
*** Turkish alphabet
** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
*** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey
*** Turkish communities and mi ...
is a hamlet and historical town in what is now
Mazgirt
Mazgirt (from hy, Մեծկերտ, ''Medzgerd'', literally "big town", ku, Mêzgir), is a small city and its surrounding district in Tunceli Province of Turkey. The city has a population of 1,712, most of which are Alevi. The current mayor is Mura ...
district, Turkey. Its remains are located by the bank of the
Peri Su
In Persian mythology, peris (singular: peri; from fa, پَری, translit=parī, , plural , ; borrowed in European languages through ota, پَری, translit=peri) are exquisite, winged spirits renowned for their beauty. Peris were later ado ...
river, downstream from
Kiğı
Kiğı ( ku, Gêxî, hy, Քղի, translit=Kʿġi) is a town and district of Bingöl Province in the Eastern Anatolia Region, Turkey, Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey. The mayor is Hikmet Özüağ (Justice and Development Party (Turkey), AKP). Th ...
and northwest of
Karakoçan
Karakoçan ( ota, تپه ''Tepe'', ku, Dep, hy, italic=yes, Oxi) is a town of Elazığ Province in the Eastern Anatolia Region, Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey. It is the seat of Karakoçan District. Between Bağın and Kiğı, there are only "isolated clusters of houses" down in the valley, while the main villages are above. The present-day hamlet consists of a handful of houses and is tucked between the riverbank and a large rocky outcropping that juts up from the surrounding flat land. This outcropping is the site of an ancient and medieval fortress, while the surrounding flat land is under cultivation.
A short distance upstream from Bağın are
hot spring
A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a spring produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow bodies of magma (molten rock) or by circ ...
s, where people come to bathe hoping to cure themselves of
rheumatism
Rheumatism or rheumatic disorders are conditions causing chronic, often intermittent pain affecting the joints or connective tissue. Rheumatism does not designate any specific disorder, but covers at least 200 different conditions, including art ...
. A bathing establishment with several cabins for visitors exists here just to the west of the springs. Nearby, on the west bank of the Peri Su, the land forms a shelf overhanging the river. Salt deposits formed by water dripping off the cliff face have created icicle-like formations on the overhanging part.
History
The
Urartians
Urartu (; Assyrian: ',Eberhard Schrader, ''The Cuneiform inscriptions and the Old Testament'' (1885), p. 65. Babylonian: ''Urashtu'', he, אֲרָרָט ''Ararat'') is a geographical region and Iron Age kingdom also known as the Kingdom of Va ...
used Bağın's citadel as a fortress, and there was probably a town here as well. A block reused for medieval wall contains half of a Urartian inscription, the other half of which is now in the Elazig Museum. The inscription refers to someone named Titia being appointed governor - possibly of Bağın. There was likely a town here at this point, and its dependent district likely "primarily the Karakoçan plain, secondarily its own little square of cultivable land, and thirdly any villages there may have been in the hills surrounding the town". The population was likely culturally Urartian instead of just Urartian-ruled; there may have also been an
Aramaic
The Aramaic languages, short Aramaic ( syc, ܐܪܡܝܐ, Arāmāyā; oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; tmr, אֲרָמִית), are a language family containing many varieties (languages and dialects) that originated in ...
-speaking minority.
Ancient Bağın was the largest of several small fortresses on the road connecting the Urartian heartland around
Lake Van
Lake Van ( tr, Van Gölü; hy, Վանա լիճ, translit=Vana lič̣; ku, Gola Wanê) is the largest lake in Turkey. It lies in the far east of Turkey, in the provinces of Van and Bitlis in the Armenian highlands. It is a saline soda lake ...
with the upper basin of the Murat Su. It likely functioned as a "road station and barracks for the troops patrolling the road".
In classical Armenia, Bağın served as the capital of the canton of Paghnatun. Paghnatun probably had the same geographical scope as the unnamed Urartian district based at Bağın. No separate prince of Paghnatun is known, and it was probably politically dependent on the neighboring canton of Balahovit, based at
Palu
Palu, which is officially known as the City of Palu (Indonesian: ''Kota Palu''), is the capital and largest city of Central Sulawesi. Palu is located on the northwestern coast of Sulawesi and borders Donggala Regency to the north and west, Pari ...
.
In the Middle Ages, Bağın was a flourishing market town with a mixed Armenian and Syriac population. Its prosperity was helped by its distance from major conflict zones, allowing agriculture and animal husbandry to carry on unimpeded. The local hot springs may have drawn visitors during this period, just like today. After the 11th century, Bağın declined in importance, and by
Artukid
The Artuqid dynasty (alternatively Artukid, Ortoqid, or Ortokid; , plural, pl. ; ; ) was a Turkoman (ethnonym), Turkoman dynasty originated from tribe that ruled in eastern Anatolia, Northern Syria (region), Syria and Northern Lower Mesopotamia, ...
times it was little more than a village, although the fortress remained in use.
19th-century Bağın was a much larger village than it is now. A çeşme, or fountain, was constructed sometime in the 1800s to serve the village, and there are remains of a large house probably dating from the 1800s or early 1900s.