Bingöl ( diq, Çolig; ku, Çewlik; hy, Ճապաղջուր, translit=Chapaghjur) is a city in Eastern

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

and the capital of Bingöl Province.

Etymology

One of the historical names for the city, ''Bingöl'' literally means ''thousand lakes'' in Turkish; however, there aren't any lakes of considerable size within the boundaries of the

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

. The name rather refers to many

tarns A tarn (or corrie loch) is a proglacial mountain lake, pond or pool, formed in a cirque excavated by a glacier. A moraine may form a natural dam below a tarn. Etymology The word is derived from the Old Norse word ''tjörn'' ("a small mount ...

found around the city.

History

Bingöl is located in what was historically the region of

Sophene Sophene ( hy, Ծոփք, translit=Tsopkʻ, grc, Σωφηνή, translit=Sōphēnē or hy, Չորրորդ Հայք, lit=Fourth Armenia) was a province of the ancient kingdom of Armenia, located in the south-west of the kingdom, and of the Ro ...

(first an independent kingdom and later an

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 ...

and

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

province). The settlement is mentioned by its Armenian name, Chapaghjur (meaning "spread out water" in Armenian), by the 11th-century Armenian historian

Stepanos Asoghik Stepanos Asoghik ( hy, Ստեփանոս Ասողիկ), also known as Stepanos Taronetsi ( hy, Ստեփանոս Տարոնեցի), was an Armenian historian of the 11th century. His dates are unknown but he came from Taron and earned the nickname ...

, who mentions it while describing the

995 Balu earthquake The 995 Balu earthquake took place in 995 or 996. It reportedly affected the Armenian areas of Balu, Cop'k (or Covk'), Palnatun (or Palin), and the districts of Hasteank and Xorjean.Guidoboni, Traina, 1995, p. 126-127 The areas affected were distri ...

. Chapaghjur is sometimes identified with the Roman fortress-town of

Citharizum Citharizum (from el, Κιθαριζων) was a town and fortress on the south arm of the Euphrates in the Roman province of Armenia III. According to Procopius of Caesarea, the city was located in the Asthianene region. The fortress was separa ...

(Ktʻaṛich in Armenian). Bingöl Airport

In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

, Bingöl was known as ''Romanoupolis'' ( gr, Ῥωμανούπολις) after the

Byzantine 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 Constantinopl ...

emperor

Romanos I Lekapenos Romanos I Lekapenos ( el, Ρωμανός Λεκαπηνός; 870 – 15 June 948), Latinized as Romanus I Lecapenus, was Byzantine emperor from 920 until his deposition in 944, serving as regent for the infant Constantine VII. Origin Romanos ...

, who incorporated it permanently into 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 Constantinopl ...

in 942. It initially formed a subdivision of the '' thema'' of

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the F ...

, but it was later (ca. 970) elevated into a separate theme. Bingöl was ruled by the Suwaydid dynasty, a cadet branch of the

Barmakids The Barmakids ( fa, برمکیان ''Barmakiyân''; ar, البرامكة ''al-Barāmikah''Harold Bailey, 1943. "Iranica" BSOAS 11: p. 2. India - Department of Archaeology, and V. S. Mirashi (ed.), ''Inscriptions of the Kalachuri-Chedi Era'' vol ...

, from the 13th century until mid-Ottoman rule, autonomously from the

Ottomans The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922). Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...

. Bingöl and the surrounding district had a large Armenian population prior to the

Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was ...

. Until the middle of the 20th century, the city was known as Çapakçur/Çabakçur, derived from its Armenian name. The place was then renamed Bingöl, meaning "thousand lakes" in Turkish.

Kurdish-Turkish conflict

Bingöl has been the site of several violent incidents of the Kurdish-Turkish conflict. On 23 October 2016, a car bombing targeting an armored police vehicle perpetrated by

PKK The Kurdistan Workers' Party or PKK is a Kurdish militant political organization and armed guerrilla movement, which historically operated throughout Kurdistan, but is now primarily based in the mountainous Kurdish-majority regions of sout ...

militias killed 2 police officers and injured 19 others. On 8 June 2018, a group of PKK militias attacked a military station and killed 1 Turkish soldier while injuring 3 others.

Geography

Bingöl is east of

Elazığ Elazığ () is a city in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey, and the administrative centre of Elazığ Province and Elazığ District. It is located in the uppermost Euphrates valley. The plain on which the city extends has an altitude of . El ...

and is situated in the high region of

Eastern Anatolia The Eastern Anatolia Region ('' tr, Doğu Anadolu Bölgesi'') is a geographical region of Turkey. The most populous province in the region is Van Province. Other populous provinces are Malatya, Erzurum and Elazığ. It is bordered by the Bl ...

. Bingöl is a mountainous area with heights reaching 3000 m, Bingöl city is at about 1120 m above sea level. The Gayt River (''Gayt Çayı''), a right-bank tributary of the Eastern Euphrates (

Murat River The Murat River, also called Eastern Euphrates ( tr, Murat Nehri, , hy, Արածանի, translit=Aratsani), is a major source of the Euphrates River. The Ancient Greeks and Romans used to call the river ''Arsanias'' ( gr, Ἀρσανίας). It ...

), runs through the city.

Earthquakes

On 1 May 2003 the whole area suffered from a magnitude 6.4 earthquake, leaving 176 dead and 520 injured. On 8 March 2010, the area suffered

another earthquake ''Another Earthquake!'' is the fourth studio album by American teen pop singer Aaron Carter, released on September 3, 2002. The album made its chart debut at number 18 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 (with 41,000 units sold), but fell to number 41 ( ...

, of magnitude 5.9, with its epicenter in

Elazığ Province Elazığ Province ( tr, ; Zazaki: Suke Xarpêt; ku, Parêzgeha Xarpêtê) is a province of Turkey with its seat in the city of Elazığ. The province had a population of 568,753 in 2014. The population of the province was 569,616 in 2000 and ...

, west of Bingöl. On 14 June 2020, a relatively small earthquake occurred in the region, killing a village guard and injuring 21 others.

Population

Transport

Bingöl Airport Bingöl Airport is an airport located in Çeltiksuyu, 20 km away to the south-east of the city of Bingöl, in the Bingöl Province of Turkey. It was inaugurated in July 2013 by prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdoğ ...

opened on 12 July 2013. It has a passenger capacity of 500'000 a year.

Education

Bingöl University Bingöl University () is a university located in Bingöl, Turkey. It was established in 2007. The University is led by Prof. Dr. İbrahim Çapak. Bingol University, Web of Science database, according to 2019 data, 108 state universities in terms ...

opened on 29 May 2007.Bingöl University
The University continues its activities with 9 faculties, 6 vocational schools and 5 institutes.

Climate

Bingöl has a

continental climate Continental climates often have a significant annual variation in temperature (warm summers and cold winters). They tend to occur in the middle latitudes (40 to 55 north), within large landmasses where prevailing winds blow overland bringing som ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

: ''Dsa, or

Trewartha climate classification The Trewartha climate classification (TCC) or the Köppen–Trewartha climate classification (KTC) is a climate classification system first published by American geographer Glenn Thomas Trewartha in 1966. It is a modified version of the Köppen ...

: Dca''), with hot, dry summers and cold, snowy winters. The driest months are July and August and the wettest is February and December.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bingol Cities in Turkey Populated places in Bingöl Province Districts of Bingöl Province Kurdish settlements in Turkey