Diyarbakır (; ; ; ) is the largest
Kurdish
Kurdish may refer to:
*Kurds or Kurdish people
*Kurdish languages
*Kurdish alphabets
*Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes:
**Southern Kurdistan
**Eastern Kurdistan
**Northern Kurdistan
**Western Kurdistan
See also
* Kurd (dis ...
-majority city in
Turkey. It is the administrative center of
Diyarbakır Province
Diyarbakır Province ( tr, Diyarbakır ili, Zazaki: Suke Diyarbekır ku, Parêzgeha Amedê) is a province in southeastern Turkey. The province covers an area of 15,355 km2 and its population is 1,528,958. The provincial capital is the cit ...
.
Situated around a high plateau by the banks of the
Tigris river on which stands the historic
Diyarbakır Fortress
Diyarbakır Fortress, is a historical fortress in Sur, Diyarbakır, Turkey. It consists of an inner fortress and an outer fortress. , it is the administrative capital of the
Diyarbakır Province
Diyarbakır Province ( tr, Diyarbakır ili, Zazaki: Suke Diyarbekır ku, Parêzgeha Amedê) is a province in southeastern Turkey. The province covers an area of 15,355 km2 and its population is 1,528,958. The provincial capital is the cit ...
of southeastern
Turkey. It is the second-largest city in the
Southeastern Anatolia Region. As of December 2021, the Metropolitan Province population was 1,791,373 of whom 1,129,218 lived in the built-up (or metro) area made of the 4 urban districts (
Bağlar,
Kayapınar,
Sur and
Yenişehir).
Diyarbakır has been a main focal point of the
conflict between the Turkish state and various
Kurdish
Kurdish may refer to:
*Kurds or Kurdish people
*Kurdish languages
*Kurdish alphabets
*Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes:
**Southern Kurdistan
**Eastern Kurdistan
**Northern Kurdistan
**Western Kurdistan
See also
* Kurd (dis ...
separatist groups, and is seen by many Kurds as the de facto capital of
Kurdistan. The city was intended to become the capital of an
independent Kurdistan following the
Treaty of Sèvres, but this was disregarded following subsequent political developments.
Names and etymology
The name Diyarbakır derives from the
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
''The abode of Bakr'', which was named after the Arab tribe of
Banu Bakr who settled the wider region of
Diyar Bakr during the 6th century. The name ''Amit'' is found in
Empire of Trebizond official documents from 1358.
Later on, the city became known as the ''
Diyar Bakr'' ( land of the Bakr tribe; ar, ديار بكر, Diyar Bakr). In November 1937,
Turkish President
Atatürk visited the city and, after expressing uncertainty on the exact etymology of the city, in December of the same year ordered that it be renamed "Diyarbakır", which means "land of copper" in Turkish after the abundant resources of
copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...
around the city. This was one of the early examples of the
Turkification
Turkification, Turkization, or Turkicization ( tr, Türkleştirme) describes a shift whereby populations or places received or adopted Turkic attributes such as culture, language, history, or ethnicity. However, often this term is more narrowly ...
process of non-Turkish place names, in which non-Turkish (Kurdish, Armenian, Arabic and other) geographical names were changed to Turkish alternatives.
The modern Armenian name of the city is (Tigranakert) and in
Kurdish
Kurdish may refer to:
*Kurds or Kurdish people
*Kurdish languages
*Kurdish alphabets
*Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes:
**Southern Kurdistan
**Eastern Kurdistan
**Northern Kurdistan
**Western Kurdistan
See also
* Kurd (dis ...
.
Western Armenian
Western Armenian ( Classical spelling: , ) is one of the two standardized forms of Modern Armenian, the other being Eastern Armenian. It is based mainly on the Istanbul Armenian dialect, as opposed to Eastern Armenian, which is mainly base ...
pronunciation: ''Dikranagerd''; Moreover, the
Syriac Syriac may refer to:
*Syriac language, an ancient dialect of Middle Aramaic
*Sureth, one of the modern dialects of Syriac spoken in the Nineveh Plains region
* Syriac alphabet
** Syriac (Unicode block)
** Syriac Supplement
* Neo-Aramaic languages a ...
name is (Āmīd).
History
Antiquity
People have inhabited the area around Diyarbakr since the Stone Age and the area continues to be inhabited.
The first major civilization to establish itself in the region of Diyarbakır was the
Hurrian kingdom of the
Mitanni
Mitanni (; Hittite cuneiform ; ''Mittani'' '), c. 1550–1260 BC, earlier called Ḫabigalbat in old Babylonian texts, c. 1600 BC; Hanigalbat or Hani-Rabbat (''Hanikalbat'', ''Khanigalbat'', cuneiform ') in Assyrian records, or ''Naharin'' in ...
. It was then ruled by a succession of nearly every polity that controlled
Upper Mesopotamia
Upper Mesopotamia is the name used for the uplands and great outwash plain of northwestern Iraq, northeastern Syria and southeastern Turkey, in the northern Middle East. Since the early Muslim conquests of the mid-7th century, the region has been ...
, including the
Arameans,
Assyrians,
Urartu
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 V ...
,
Armenians
Armenians ( hy, հայեր, '' hayer'' ) are an ethnic group native to the Armenian highlands of Western Asia. Armenians constitute the main population of Armenia and the ''de facto'' independent Artsakh. There is a wide-ranging diasp ...
,
Achaemenid Persians,
Medes,
Seleucids
The Seleucid Empire (; grc, Βασιλεία τῶν Σελευκιδῶν, ''Basileía tōn Seleukidōn'') was a Greek state in West Asia that existed during the Hellenistic period from 312 BC to 63 BC. The Seleucid Empire was founded by the M ...
, and
Parthians. The
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Ki ...
gained control of the city in 66 BC, by which stage it was named "Amida". In 359,
Shapur II of Persia captured Amida after a siege of 73 days.
[''The Eye of Command'', Kimberly Kagan, p. 23]
According to the ''
Synecdemus'' of
Hierocles, as Amida, Diyarbakır was the major city of the
Roman province
The Roman provinces (Latin: ''provincia'', pl. ''provinciae'') were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was rule ...
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 ...
.
It was the
episcopal see of the Christian
diocese
In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
History
In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associa ...
of Mesopotamia.
Ancient texts record that ancient Amida had an
amphitheatre
An amphitheatre (British English) or amphitheater (American English; both ) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ...
, ''
thermae
In ancient Rome, (from Greek , "hot") and (from Greek ) were facilities for bathing. usually refers to the large imperial bath complexes, while were smaller-scale facilities, public or private, that existed in great numbers throughout ...
'' (public baths), warehouses, a
tetrapylon monument, and
Roman aqueducts
The Romans constructed aqueducts throughout their Republic and later Empire, to bring water from outside sources into cities and towns. Aqueduct water supplied public baths, latrines, fountains, and private households; it also supported mining ...
supplying and distributing water.
The Roman historian
Ammianus Marcellinus
Ammianus Marcellinus (occasionally anglicised as Ammian) (born , died 400) was a Roman soldier and historian who wrote the penultimate major historical account surviving from antiquity (preceding Procopius). His work, known as the ''Res Gestae ...
was serving in the
late Roman army during the
Siege of Amida by the
Sasanian Empire under
Shapur II (), and described the successful siege in detail.
Amida was then enlarged by refugees from ancient Nisibis (
Nusaybin
Nusaybin (; '; ar, نُصَيْبِيْن, translit=Nuṣaybīn; syr, ܢܨܝܒܝܢ, translit=Nṣībīn), historically known as Nisibis () or Nesbin, is a city in Mardin Province, Turkey. The population of the city is 83,832 as of 2009 and is ...
), which the emperor
Jovian () was forced to evacuate and cede to Shapur's Persians after the defeat of his predecessor
Julian's Persian War
Julian's Persian expedition was the last military undertaking of the Roman emperor Julian which began in March 363. It was a war against the Sasanian Empire which was ruled by Shapur II.
Aiming for the Sasanian winter capital Ctesiphon, Julia ...
, becoming the main Roman stronghold in the region.
The
chronicle attributed to
Joshua the Stylite Joshua the Stylite (also spelled Yeshu Stylite and Ieshu Stylite) is the attributed author of a chronicle which narrates the history of the war between the Byzantine Empire and Persians between 502 and 506, and which is generally considered to be on ...
describes the capture of Amida by the Persians under
Kavad I
Kavad I ( pal, 𐭪𐭥𐭠𐭲 ; 473 – 13 September 531) was the Sasanian King of Kings of Iran from 488 to 531, with a two or three-year interruption. A son of Peroz I (), he was crowned by the nobles to replace his deposed and unpopular un ...
() in the second
Siege of Amida in 502–503, part of the
Anastasian War
The Anastasian War was fought from 502 to 506 between the Byzantine Empire and the Sasanian Empire. It was the first major conflict between the two powers since 440, and would be the prelude to a long series of destructive conflicts between the t ...
.
Either the emperor
Anastasius Dicorus () or the emperor
Justinian the Great () rebuilt the walls of Amida, a feat of defensive architecture praised by the Greek historian
Procopius
Procopius of Caesarea ( grc-gre, Προκόπιος ὁ Καισαρεύς ''Prokópios ho Kaisareús''; la, Procopius Caesariensis; – after 565) was a prominent late antique Greek scholar from Caesarea Maritima. Accompanying the Roman gen ...
.
As recorded by the works of
John of Ephesus
John of Ephesus (or of Asia) ( Greek: Ίωάννης ό Έφέσιος, c. 507 – c. 588) was a leader of the early Syriac Orthodox Church in the sixth century and one of the earliest and the most important historians to write in Syriac. John of ...
,
Zacharias Rhetor
Zacharias of Mytilene (c. 465, Gaza – after 536), also known as Zacharias Scholasticus or Zacharias Rhetor, was a bishop and ecclesiastical historian.
Life
The life of Zacharias of Mytilene can be reconstructed only from a few scattered rep ...
, and Procopius, the Romans and Persians continued to contest the area, and in the
Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628 Amida was captured and held by the Persians for twenty-six years, being recovered in 628 for the Romans by the emperor
Heraclius (), who also founded a church in the city on his return to
Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...
(
Istanbul
)
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code = 34000 to 34990
, area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side)
, registration_plate = 34
, blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD
, blank_i ...
) from Persia the following year.
Ecclesiastical history
Syriac Christianity took hold in the region between the 1st and 4th centuries AD, particularly amongst the Assyrians of the city. The
Byzantine Emperor
This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Byzantine Empire, Eastern Roman Empire, to Fall of Constantinople, its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. On ...
Theodosius II
Theodosius II ( grc-gre, Θεοδόσιος, Theodosios; 10 April 401 – 28 July 450) was Roman emperor for most of his life, proclaimed ''augustus'' as an infant in 402 and ruling as the eastern Empire's sole emperor after the death of his ...
(408–450) divided the
Roman province
The Roman provinces (Latin: ''provincia'', pl. ''provinciae'') were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was rule ...
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 ...
into two, and made Amida the capital of Mesopotamia Prima, and thereby also the
metropolitan see
Metropolitan may refer to:
* Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories
* Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England
* Metropolitan county, a ...
for all the province's
bishopric
In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
History
In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...
s.
At some stage, Amida became a see of the
Armenian Church
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 ...
. The bishops who held the see in 1650 and 1681 were in
full communion with the
Holy See
The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...
, and in 1727 Peter Derboghossian sent his profession of faith to Rome. He was succeeded by two more bishops of the
Armenian Catholic Church
, native_name_lang = hy
, image = St Elie - St Gregory Armenian Catholic Cathedral.jpg
, imagewidth = 260px
, alt =
, caption = Cathedral of Saint Elias and Saint Gregory the Illuminat ...
, Eugenius and Ioannes of
Smyrna
Smyrna ( ; grc, Σμύρνη, Smýrnē, or , ) was a Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna rose to promi ...
, the latter of whom died in
Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...
in 1785. After a long vacancy, three more bishops followed. The diocese had some 5,000 Armenian Catholics in 1903, but it lost most of its population in the 1915
Armenian genocide
The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was implemented primarily through t ...
. The last
diocesan bishop of the see, Andreas Elias Celebian, was killed with some 600 of his flock in the summer of 1915.
[Pius Bonifacius Gams]
''Series episcoporum Ecclesiae Catholicae''
Leipzig 1931, p. 456[Pius Bonifacius Gams]
''Series episcoporum Ecclesiae Catholicae''
Complementi, Leipzig 1931, p. 93
An eparchy for the local members of the
Syriac Catholic Church was established in 1862.
Persecution of Christians in the Ottoman Empire during the First World War brought an end to the existence of both these Syrian residential sees.
Middle Ages
In 639, as part of the
Muslim conquest of the Levant during the early
Arab–Byzantine wars, Amida fell to the armies of the
Rashidun Caliphate led by
Iyad ibn Ghanm, and the Great Mosque of Amida was constructed afterwards in the city's centre, possibly on the site of the Heraclian Church of Saint Thomas.
There were as many as five Christian
monasteries
A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...
in the city, including the
Zuqnin Monastery and several ancient churches mentioned by John of Ephesus.
One of these, the
Church of the Virgin Mary, remains the city's
cathedral
A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...
and the see of the
bishop of Diyarbakır in the
Syriac Orthodox Church.
Another ancient church, the Church of Mar Cosmas, was seen by the British explorer
Gertrude Bell
Gertrude Margaret Lowthian Bell, CBE (14 July 1868 – 12 July 1926) was an English writer, traveller, political officer, administrator, and archaeologist. She spent much of her life exploring and mapping the Middle East, and became highl ...
in 1911 but was destroyed in 1930, while the former
Church of Saint George, in the walled citadel, may originally have been built for Muslim use or for the
Church of the East.
The city was part of the
Umayyad Caliphate
The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by th ...
and then the
Abbasid Caliphate
The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib ...
, but then came under more local rule until its recovery in 899 by forces loyal to the caliph
al-Mu'tadid
Abū al-ʿAbbās Aḥmad ibn Ṭalḥa al-Muwaffaq ( ar, أبو العباس أحمد بن طلحة الموفق), 853/4 or 860/1 – 5 April 902, better known by his regnal name al-Muʿtaḍid bi-llāh ( ar, المعتضد بالله, link=no, ...
() before falling under the sway of first the
Hamdanid dynasty
The Hamdanid dynasty ( ar, الحمدانيون, al-Ḥamdāniyyūn) was a Twelver Shia Arab dynasty of Northern Mesopotamia and Syria (890–1004). They descended from the ancient Banu Taghlib Christian tribe of Mesopotamia and Eastern A ...
and then the
Buyid dynasty
The Buyid dynasty ( fa, آل بویه, Āl-e Būya), also spelled Buwayhid ( ar, البويهية, Al-Buwayhiyyah), was a Shia Iranian dynasty of Daylamite origin, which mainly ruled over Iraq and central and southern Iran from 934 to 1062. Coupl ...
, followed by a period of control by the
Marwanids. The city was taken by the
Seljuks
The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; fa, سلجوقیان ''Saljuqian'', alternatively spelled as Seljuqs or Saljuqs), also known as Seljuk Turks, Seljuk Turkomans "The defeat in August 1071 of the Byzantine emperor Romanos Diogenes
by the Turk ...
in 1085 and by the
Ayyubids
The Ayyubid dynasty ( ar, الأيوبيون '; ) was the founding dynasty of the medieval Sultanate of Egypt established by Saladin in 1171, following his abolition of the Fatimid Caliphate of Egypt. A Sunni Muslim of Kurdish origin, Saladin ...
in 1183. Ayyubid control lasted until the
Mongol invasions of Anatolia, and the Mongol capture of the city in 1260. Between the Mongol occupation and conquest by the
Safavid dynasty of Iran, the
Kara Koyunlu
The Qara Qoyunlu or Kara Koyunlu ( az, Qaraqoyunlular , fa, قره قویونلو), also known as the Black Sheep Turkomans, were a culturally Persianate, Muslim Turkoman "Kara Koyunlu, also spelled Qara Qoyunlu, Turkish Karakoyunlular, En ...
and
Aq Qoyunlu – two
Turkoman confederations – were in control of the city in succession. Diyarbakır was conquered by the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
in 1514 by
Bıyıklı Mehmed Pasha, in the reign of the sultan
Selim I ().
Mohammad Khan Ustajlu, the Safavid governor of Diyarbakir, was evicted from the city and killed in the following
Battle of Chaldiran
The Battle of Chaldiran ( fa, جنگ چالدران; tr, Çaldıran Savaşı) took place on 23 August 1514 and ended with a decisive victory for the Ottoman Empire over the Safavid Empire. As a result, the Ottomans annexed Eastern Anatolia and ...
in 1514.
Safavids and Ottomans
The
Classical Age of the Ottoman Empire
The Classical Age of the Ottoman Empire ( tr, Klasik Çağ) concerns the history of the Ottoman Empire from the Conquest of Constantinople in 1453 until the second half of the sixteenth century, roughly the end of the reign of Suleiman the Magnif ...
saw it expand into
Western Armenia and all but the eastern regions of
Kurdistan at the expense of the Safavids. From the early 16th century, the city and the wider region was the source of intrigue between the Safavids and the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
, both of whom sought the support of the Kurdish chieftains around
Idris Bitlisi.
It was conquered by the Ottoman Empire in 1514 in the campaigns of
Bıyıklı Mehmed Pasha, under the rule of Sultan
Selim I.
Mohammad Khan Ustajlu, the Safavid Governor of Diyarbakir, was evicted from the city and killed in the following
Battle of Chaldiran
The Battle of Chaldiran ( fa, جنگ چالدران; tr, Çaldıran Savaşı) took place on 23 August 1514 and ended with a decisive victory for the Ottoman Empire over the Safavid Empire. As a result, the Ottomans annexed Eastern Anatolia and ...
in 1514.
Following their victory, the Ottomans established the
Diyarbekir Eyalet
Eyālet-i Diyār-i Bekr
, common_name = Eyalet of Diyarbekir
, subdivision = Eyalet
, nation = the Ottoman Empire
, year_start = 1515
, year_end = 1846
, date_start = Nov ...
with its administrative centre in Diyarbakır. The Eyalet of Diyarbakır corresponded to today's
Turkish Kurdistan, a rectangular area between the
Lake Urmia
Lake Urmia;
az, اۇرمۇ گؤلۆ, script=Arab, italic=no, Urmu gölü;
ku, گۆلائوو رمیەیێ, Gola Ûrmiyeyê;
hy, Ուրմիա լիճ, Urmia lich;
arc, ܝܡܬܐ ܕܐܘܪܡܝܐ is an endorheic salt lake in Iran. The lake is l ...
to
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, Par ...
and from the southern shores of
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 ...
to
Cizre
Cizre (; ar, جَزِيْرَة ٱبْن عُمَر, Jazīrat Ibn ʿUmar, or ''Madinat al-Jazira'', he, גזירא, Gzira, ku, Cizîr, ''Cizîra Botan'', or ''Cizîre'', syr, ܓܙܪܬܐ ܕܒܪ ܥܘܡܪ, Gāzartā,) is a city in the Cizre Di ...
and the beginnings of the
Syrian desert, although its borders saw some changes over time. The city was an important military base for controlling the region and at the same time a thriving city noted for its craftsmen, producing glass and metalwork. For example, the doors of
Rumi's tomb in
Konya
Konya () is a major city in central Turkey, on the southwestern edge of the Central Anatolian Plateau, and is the capital of Konya Province. During antiquity and into Seljuk times it was known as Iconium (), although the Seljuks also called it ...
were made in Diyarbakır, as were the gold and silver decorated doors of the tomb of
Ebu Hanife
Nuʿmān ibn Thābit ibn Zūṭā ibn Marzubān ( ar, نعمان بن ثابت بن زوطا بن مرزبان; –767), commonly known by his '' kunya'' Abū Ḥanīfa ( ar, أبو حنيفة), or reverently as Imam Abū Ḥanīfa by Sunni Musl ...
in
Baghdad
Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon. I ...
. Ottoman rule was confirmed by the 1555
Peace of Amasya
The Peace of Amasya ( fa, پیمان آماسیه ("Peymān-e Amasiyeh"); tr, Amasya Antlaşması) was a treaty agreed to on May 29, 1555, between Shah Tahmasp of Safavid Iran and Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent of the Ottoman Empire at the ci ...
which followed the
Ottoman–Safavid War (1532–1555).
Concerned with independent-mindedness of the
Kurdish
Kurdish may refer to:
*Kurds or Kurdish people
*Kurdish languages
*Kurdish alphabets
*Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes:
**Southern Kurdistan
**Eastern Kurdistan
**Northern Kurdistan
**Western Kurdistan
See also
* Kurd (dis ...
principalities, the Ottomans sought to curb their influence and bring them under the control of the central government in
Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...
. However, removal from power of these hereditary principalities led to more instability in the region from the 1840s onwards. In their place,
sufi sheiks and religious orders rose to prominence and spread their influence throughout the region. One of the prominent Sufi leaders was ''
Shaikh Ubaidalla Nahri'', who began a revolt in the region between Lakes
Van and
Urmia. The area under his control covered both Ottoman and
Qajar
Qajar Iran (), also referred to as Qajar Persia, the Qajar Empire, '. Sublime State of Persia, officially the Sublime State of Iran ( fa, دولت علیّه ایران ') and also known then as the Guarded Domains of Iran ( fa, ممالک م ...
territories. Shaikh Ubaidalla is regarded as one of the earliest proponents of
Kurdish nationalism
Kurdish nationalism (, ) is a nationalist political movement which asserts that Kurds are a nation and espouses the creation of an independent Kurdistan from Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey.
Early Kurdish nationalism had its roots in the Ottoman ...
. In a letter to a
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
Vice-Consul, he declared: "The Kurdish nation is a people apart... we want our affairs to be in our hands."
In 1895 an estimated 25,000
Armenians
Armenians ( hy, հայեր, '' hayer'' ) are an ethnic group native to the Armenian highlands of Western Asia. Armenians constitute the main population of Armenia and the ''de facto'' independent Artsakh. There is a wide-ranging diasp ...
and
Assyrians were
massacred in
Diyarbekir Vilayet
The Vilayet of Diyâr-ı Bekr (, ota, ولايت ديار بكر, ) was a first-level administrative division ( vilayet) of the Ottoman Empire, wholly located within what is now modern Turkey. The vilayet extended south from Palu on the Euphrate ...
, including in the city.
At the turn of the 19th century, the Christian population of the city was mainly made up of Armenians and
Syriac Orthodox Christians.
The city was also a site of
ethnic cleansing during the 1915
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
Assyrian genocide; nearly 150,000 were expelled from the city to the death marches in the
Syrian desert.
Republic of Turkey
In January 1928, Diyarbakır became the center of the
First Inspectorate-General, a regional subdivision for an area containing the provinces of
Hakkari,
Van,
Şırnak
Şırnak ( ku, شرنەخ, Şirnex) is a town in southeastern Turkey. It is the capital of Şırnak Province, a new province that split from the Mardin and Siirt provinces. The Habur border gate with Iraq which is one of Turkey's main links to Arab ...
,
Mardin,
Siirt
Siirt ( ar, سِعِرْد, Siʿird; hy, Սղերդ, S'gherd; syr, ܣܥܪܬ, Siirt; ku, Sêrt) is a city in southeastern Turkey and the seat of Siirt Province. The population of the city according to the 2009 census was 129,188.
History
P ...
,
Bitlis and
Şanlıurfa. In a reorganization of the provinces in 1952, Diyarbakır city was made the administrative capital of the
Diyarbakır Province
Diyarbakır Province ( tr, Diyarbakır ili, Zazaki: Suke Diyarbekır ku, Parêzgeha Amedê) is a province in southeastern Turkey. The province covers an area of 15,355 km2 and its population is 1,528,958. The provincial capital is the cit ...
. In 1993, Diyarbakir was established as a Metropolitan Municipality. Its districts are
Bağlar,
Bismil,
Ergani
Ergani ( ota, عثمانيه, translit=Osmaniye, ku, Erxenî), formerly known as Arghni or Arghana, is a district of Diyarbakır Province of Turkey. The district's area is 1489 km. Ergani District is located in the administrative as the Sou ...
,
Hazro,
Kayapinar,
Çermik
Çermik ( hy, Ջերմուկ, lit=hot springs, Jermuk; ku, Çermûk) is a town and district of Diyarbakır Province of Turkey. The population is 50,390 as of 2021. The mayor is Şehmus Karamehmetoğlu from the Justice and Development Party (AKP), ...
,
Çinar,
Eğil
Eğil ( Hittite: 𒅔𒃲𒀀𒉿 ''Ingalawa'', ota, اکيل, ku, Egil) is a town and district of Diyarbakır Province of Turkey. As of 2018, the district's population is 23,369. The elected mayor Mustafa Akkul of the Peoples' Democratic Party ...
,
Dicle
Dicle ( ku, Pîran, ota, پيران) is a town and district of Diyarbakır Province, Turkey. The population was 8,436 in 2010. The Mayor is Felat Aygören from the Peoples' Democratic Party (Turkey), HDP.
Dicle is the Turkish language, Turkish n ...
,
Kulp,
Kocaköy,
Lice,
Silvan,
Sur,
Yenişehir,
Hani and
Çüngüş.
The American-Turkish
Pirinçlik Air Force Base near Diyarbakır, was operational from 1956–1997.
Diyarbakır has seen much violence in recent years, involving Turkish security forces, the
Kurdistan Workers Party
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 south ...
(PKK), and the
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic term ...
(ISIL). Between 8 November 2015 and 15 May 2016
large parts of Sur were destroyed in fighting between the
Turkish military
The Turkish Armed Forces (TAF; tr, Türk Silahlı Kuvvetleri, TSK) are the armed forces, military forces of the Turkey, Republic of Turkey. Turkish Armed Forces consist of the General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces, General Staff, the Turki ...
and the PKK.
A 2018 report by Arkeologlar Derneği İstanbul found that, since 2015, 72% of the city's historic Sur district had been destroyed through demolition and redevelopment, and that laws designed to protect historic monuments had been ignored. They found that the city's "urban regeneration" policy was one of demolition and redevelopment rather than one of repairing cultural assets damaged during the recent civil conflict, and because of that many registered historic buildings had been completely destroyed. The extent of the loss of non-registered historic structures is unknown because any historic building fragments revealed during the demolition of modern structures were also demolished.
As of 2021, large parts of the city and district have been restored and government officials are looking towards tourism again.
Sports
The most notable
football clubs of the city are
Diyarbakırspor (established 1968) and
Amed SK (established 1990), with
Deniz Naki being one of the most notable footballers from the city. The women's football team
Amed SFK were promoted at the end of the 2016–17
Turkish Women's Second Football League
The Turkish Women's Second Football League ( tr, Kadınlar 2. Futbol Ligi) is the third tier league competition for women's association football in Turkey.
Format
Teams promoted to Women's First League
Format
As of 2021-22 Season, 26 te ...
season to the
Women's First League.
Politics
In the
2014 local elections,
Gültan Kışanak
Gültan Kışanak (born 15 June 1961) is a Kurdish journalist, author and politician from Turkey. Kışanak was born in Elazığ in 1961. Her family is originally from Dersim. She is a former member of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey and ...
and
Fırat Anlı of the
Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) were elected co-mayors of Diyarbakır. However, on 25 October 2016, both were detained by Turkish authorities "on thinly supported charges of being a member of the
Kurdistan Workers Party
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 south ...
(PKK)".
The Turkish government ordered a general internet blackout after the arrest. Nevertheless, on 26 October, several thousand demonstrators at Diyarbakir city hall demanded the mayors' release.
Some days later, the Turkish government appointed an unelected state trustee as the mayor. In November, public prosecutors demanded a 230-year prison sentence for Kışanak.
In January 2017, the unelected state trustee appointed by the Turkish government ordered the removal of the
Assyrian sculpture of a mythological winged bull from the town hall, which had been erected by the BDP mayors to commemorate the Assyrian history of the town and its still resident Assyrian minority. All Kurdish language street signs were also removed, alongside the shutting down of organisations concerned with Kurdish language and culture, removal of Kurdish names from public parks, and removal of Kurdish cultural monuments and linguistic symbols.
In the
2019 municipal elections,
Adnan Selçuk Mızraklı of the
HDP party was elected mayor of Diyarbakir. In August 2019 he was dismissed and subsequently sentenced to 9 years and 4 months imprisonment accused of supporting terrorism as part of a government crackdown against politicians of the
Kurdish
Kurdish may refer to:
*Kurds or Kurdish people
*Kurdish languages
*Kurdish alphabets
*Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes:
**Southern Kurdistan
**Eastern Kurdistan
**Northern Kurdistan
**Western Kurdistan
See also
* Kurd (dis ...
HDP party; the Turkish state appointed
Münir Karaloğlu in his place. Other Kurdish mayors in Kurdish cities across the region also suffered a similar fate, with
Turkish President Erdogan vowing to remove any future Kurdish mayors too. Protests against the decision arose which were suppressed by the Turkish police with the use of water cannons; some protestors were killed.
Diyarbakir's prison has become home to many
political prisoners, mainly
Kurdish activists and politicians accused of terrorism charges by the Turkish state. Inmates have been subject to torture, rape, humiliation, beating, murder and other abuses.
Economy
Historically, Diyarbakır produced
wheat
Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...
and
sesame.
They would preserve the wheat in
warehouse
A warehouse is a building for storing goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial parks on the outskirts of cities ...
s, with coverings of
straw and twigs from
licorice
Liquorice (British English) or licorice (American English) ( ; also ) is the common name of ''Glycyrrhiza glabra'', a flowering plant of the bean family Fabaceae, from the root of which a sweet, aromatic flavouring can be extracted.
The liq ...
trees. This system would allow the wheat to be preserved for up to ten years.
In the late 19th and early 20th century, Diyarbakır exported
raisin
A raisin is a dried grape. Raisins are produced in many regions of the world and may be eaten raw or used in cooking, baking, and brewing. In the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, and Australia, the word ''raisin'' is reserved for the ...
s,
almonds, and
apricots to Europe.
Angora goats were raised, and wool and
mohair was exported from Diyarbakır. Merchants would also come from
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...
,
Istanbul
)
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code = 34000 to 34990
, area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side)
, registration_plate = 34
, blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD
, blank_i ...
, and
Syria, to purchase goats and
sheep
Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated ...
.
Honey
Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants (primar ...
was also produced, but not so much exported, but used by locals.
Sericulture
Sericulture, or silk farming, is the cultivation of silkworms to produce silk. Although there are several commercial species of silkworms, '' Bombyx mori'' (the caterpillar of the domestic silkmoth) is the most widely used and intensively stud ...
was observed in the area, too.
Prior to World War I, Diyarbakır had an active
copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...
industry, with six mines. Three were active, with two being owned by locals and the third being owned by the Turkish government.
Tenorite was the primary type of copper mined. It was mined by hand by Kurds. A large portion of the ore was exported to England. The region also produced
iron
Iron () is a chemical element with Symbol (chemistry), symbol Fe (from la, Wikt:ferrum, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 element, group 8 of the periodic table. It is, Abundanc ...
,
gypsum
Gypsum is a soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate, with the chemical formula . It is widely mined and is used as a fertilizer and as the main constituent in many forms of plaster, blackboard or sidewalk chalk, and drywal ...
,
coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.
Coal is formed when ...
,
chalk
Chalk is a soft, white, porous, sedimentary carbonate rock. It is a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite and originally formed deep under the sea by the compression of microscopic plankton that had settled to the sea floor. Ch ...
,
lime
Lime commonly refers to:
* Lime (fruit), a green citrus fruit
* Lime (material), inorganic materials containing calcium, usually calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide
* Lime (color), a color between yellow and green
Lime may also refer to:
Botany ...
,
jet, and
quartz
Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica ( silicon dioxide). The atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon-oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall chemical ...
, but primarily for local use.
The city is served by
Diyarbakır Airport
Diyarbakır Airport is a military airbase and public airport located in Diyarbakır, Turkey.
Overview
Diyarbakır Airport is home to the 8th Air Wing (''Ana Jet Üs'' or ''AJÜ'') of the 2nd Air Force Command (''Hava Kuvvet Komutanligi'') of th ...
and
Diyarbakır railway station. In 1935 the railway between
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 . ...
and Diyarbakır was inaugurated.
Demographics
Demographic history
At the turn of the 19th century, the Christian population of the city was mainly made up of Armenians and Assyrians.
The Assyrian and Armenian presence dates to antiquity. There was also a small Jewish community in the city.
Konu: Diyarbakır Tarihi ve Demografik Yapısı According to the
Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition
The ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' Eleventh Edition (1910–1911) is a 29-volume reference work, an edition of the '' Encyclopædia Britannica''. It was developed during the encyclopaedia's transition from a British to an American publication. S ...
from 1911, the population numbered 38 thousand, almost half being Christian and consisting of Turks, Kurds, Arabs, Turkomans, Armenians, Chaldeans, Jacobites, and a few Greeks. During the Governorship of
Mehmed Reshid
Mehmed Reshid ( tr, Mehmet Reşit Şahingiray; 8 February 1873 – 6 February 1919) was an Ottoman physician, official of the Committee of Union and Progress, and governor of the Diyarbekir Vilayet (province) of the Ottoman Empire during World ...
in the
Vilayet of Diyarbakır, the Armenian population of Diyarbakir was resettled and exterminated.
Present day
After World War II, as the Kurdish population moved from the villages and mountains to urban centres, Diyarbakir's Kurdish population continued to grow.
Diyarbakır grew from a population of 30,000 in the 1930s to 65,000 by 1956, to 140,000 by 1970, to 400,000 by 1990,
and eventually swelled to about 1.5 million by 1997. During the 1990s, the city grew dramatically due to the immigrant population from thousands of
Kurdish villages depopulated by Turkey during the
Kurdish-Turkish conflict.
According to a November 2006 survey by the Sûr Municipality, 72% of the inhabitants of the municipality use
Kurdish
Kurdish may refer to:
*Kurds or Kurdish people
*Kurdish languages
*Kurdish alphabets
*Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes:
**Southern Kurdistan
**Eastern Kurdistan
**Northern Kurdistan
**Western Kurdistan
See also
* Kurd (dis ...
most often in their daily speech due to the overwhelming Kurdish majority in the city, followed by minorities of
Assyrian,
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
Turkish.
There are some
Alevi
Alevism or Anatolian Alevism (; tr, Alevilik, ''Anadolu Aleviliği'' or ''Kızılbaşlık''; ; az, Ələvilik) is a local Islamic tradition, whose adherents follow the mystical Alevi Islamic ( ''bāṭenī'') teachings of Haji Bektash Veli, w ...
Turkmen villages around Diyarbakır's
old city, but there are no official reports about their population numbers.
There have been attempts by Turkish lawmakers to deny Diyarbakır's Kurdish majority identity,
with
Turkey's Education Ministry releasing a school book named "Our City, Diyarbakir" ("''Şehrimiz Diyarbakır"''
in Turkish) on
Diyarbakir Province in which it claims that a
Turkish similar to that spoken in
Baku is spoken in the city along with regional languages without any mention of Kurdish.
Critics link this to a general trend towards
anti-Kurdish sentiment in Turkey.
Culture
There is local jewelry making and other craftwork. Folk dancing to the drum and
zurna
The zurna ( Armenian: զուռնա zuṙna; Old Armenian: սուռնայ suṙnay; Albanian: surle/surla; Persian: karna/Kornay/surnay; Macedonian: зурла/сурла zurla/surla; Bulgarian: ''зурна/зурла''; Serbian: зурла/zu ...
(pipe) are a part of weddings and celebrations in the area. The Diyarbakir Municipality Theatre was founded in 1990, and had to close its doors in 1995.
In was re-opened in 1999,
under Mayor
Osman Baydemir. It was closed down in 2016 after the dismissal of the mayor in 2016.
The Municipality City Theatre also
performed plays in the Kurdish language.
Cuisine
Diyarbakır's cuisine includes lamb dishes which use spices such as
black pepper
Black pepper (''Piper nigrum'') is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, known as a peppercorn, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit is a drupe (stonefruit) which is about in dia ...
,
sumac
Sumac ( or ), also spelled sumach, is any of about 35 species of flowering plants in the genus ''Rhus'' and related genera in the cashew family (Anacardiaceae). Sumacs grow in subtropical and temperate regions throughout the world, including Eas ...
and
coriander; rice,
bulgur
Bulgur (from tr, bulgur, itself from fa, بلغور, bolġur (bolghur)/balġur (balghur), groats ), also riffoth (from biblical he, ריפות, riffoth) and burghul (from ar, برغل, burġul ), is a cracked wheat dish found ...
and butter. Local dishes include Meftune, lamb meat and vegetables with garlic and sumac, and Kaburga Dolması, baked lamb's ribs stuffed with rice, almonds and spices. Watermelons are grown locally and there is an annual Watermelon Festival.
Main sights
The core of Diyarbakır is surrounded by an almost intact set of high walls of black basalt forming a circle around the old city. There are four gates into the old city and 82 watch-towers on the walls, which were built in antiquity and restored and extended by the
Roman emperor Constantius II
Constantius II (Latin: ''Flavius Julius Constantius''; grc-gre, Κωνστάντιος; 7 August 317 – 3 November 361) was Roman emperor from 337 to 361. His reign saw constant warfare on the borders against the Sasanian Empire and Germanic ...
in 349. The area inside the walls is known as the Sur district; before its recent demolition and redevelopment this district had 599 registered historical buildings.
Medieval mosques and medreses
*
Great Mosque of Diyarbakır
, image = Diyarbakir Great Mosque DSCF8194.jpg
, image_size =
, map_type = Turkey
, map_size =
, map_caption = Location of the mosque in Turkey.
, coordinates =
, ...
built by the
Seljuk Turkish Sultan
Malik Shah in the 11th century. The mosque, one of the oldest in Turkey, is constructed in alternating bands of black basalt and white limestone (The same patterning is used in the 16th century Deliler Han Madrassah, which is now a hotel). The adjoining ''Mesudiye Medresesi''/''Medreseya Mesûdiyeyê'' was built at the same time, as was another prayer-school in the city, ''Zinciriye Medresesi''/''Medreseya Zincîriyeyê''.
*
Behram Pasha Mosque (''Beharampaşa Camii''/''Mizgefta Behram Paşa'') – an
Ottoman mosque built in 1572 by the governor of Diyarbakır, Behram
Pasha
Pasha, Pacha or Paşa ( ota, پاشا; tr, paşa; sq, Pashë; ar, باشا), in older works sometimes anglicized as bashaw, was a higher rank in the Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, generals, dignitar ...
, noted for the well-constructed arches at the entrance.
*
Sheikh Matar Mosque with ''Dört Ayaklı Minare''/''Mizgefta Çarling'' (''the Four-legged Minaret'') – built by Kasim Khan of the
Aq Qoyunlu.
* ''Fatihpaşa Camii''/''Mizgefta Fetih Paşa'' – built in 1520 by Diyarbakır's first
Ottoman governor, Bıyıklı Mehmet Paşa ("the moustachioed Mehmet pasha"). The city's earliest Ottoman building, it is decorated with fine tilework.
*
Hazreti Süleyman Mosque/''Mizgefta Hezretî Silêman'' (1155–1169) Süleyman son of
Halid Bin Velid, who died capturing the city from the Arabs, is buried here along with his companions.
* ''Hüsrevpaşa Camii''/''Mizgefta Husrev Paşa'' – the mosque of the second Ottoman governor, 1512–1528. Originally the building was intended to be a school (''medrese'')
* ''İskender Paşa Camii''/''Mizgefta Îskender Paşa'' – a mosque of an Ottoman governor, in black and white stone, built in 1551.
* ''Melek Ahmet Camii''/''Melek Ahmed Paşa'' a 16th-century mosque with tiled prayer-niche and for the double stairway up the minaret.
* ''Nebii Camii''/''Mizgefta Pêxember'' – an
Aq Qoyunlu mosque, a single-domed stone construction from the 16th century. ''Nebi Camii'' means "the mosque of the prophet" and is named for the inscriptions in honour of the prophet on its
minaret.
* ''Safa Camii''/''Mizgefta Palo'' – built in the middle of the 15th century under Uzun Hasan, ruler of the
Aq Qoyunlu (White Sheep Turkomans) tribe and restored in Ottoman time in 1532.
Churches
*
St. Giragos Armenian Church – first built in 1519, the current structure is from 1883, and was recently restored after a long period of disuse.
* The
Syriac Orthodox Church of Our Lady ( `''Idto d-Yolda
t Aloho'', ), was first constructed as a pagan temple in the 1st century BC. The current construction dates back to the 3rd century, has been restored many times, and is still in use as a place of worship today.
* Mar Petyun (St. Anthony)
Chaldean Catholic Church, built in 1681.
*Surp Sarkis Chaldean Church
*
St. Marys Cathedral
Museums
*The ''Archaeological Museum'' contains artifacts 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 p ...
period, through the
Early Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...
,
Assyria
Assyria ( Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , romanized: ''māt Aššur''; syc, ܐܬܘܪ, ʾāthor) was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization which existed as a city-state at times controlling regional territories in the indigenous lands of the ...
n,
Urartu
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 V ...
,
Roman,
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 ...
,
Artuqids,
Seljuk Turk,
Aq Qoyunlu, and
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
periods.
*
Cahit Sıtkı Tarancı Museum
Cahit Sıtkı Tarancı Museum ( tr, Cahit Sıtkı Tarancı Evi Kültür Müzesi) is a historic house and museum dedicated to Cahit Sıtkı Tarancı in Diyarbakır, Turkey.
The museum is located in the historic Sur district of Diyarbakır, close ...
– the home of the late poet and a classic example of a traditional Diyarbakır home.
* The birthplace of poet
Ziya Gökalp
Mehmet Ziya Gökalp (23 March 1876 – 25 October 1924) was a Turkish sociologist, writer, poet, and politician. After the 1908 Young Turk Revolution that reinstated constitutionalism in the Ottoman Empire, he adopted the pen name Gökalp ("ce ...
– preserved as a museum to his life and works.
*
Ahmet Arif Literature Museum Library
The Ahmet Arif Literature Museum Library ( tr, Ahmet Arif Edebiyat Müze Kütüphanesi) is a literary museum and archive dedicated to Turkish literature and named after the poet Ahmet Arif (1927–1991). Located in Diyarbakır, Turkey, the museum ...
Other historical buildings
*The
Dicle Bridge
The Dicle Bridge ( tr, Dicle Köprüsü; ku, Pira Dehderî, script=Latn) is a historic bridge in Diyarbakır over the river Tigris ( tr, Dicle) in southeastern Turkey. Completed in 1065, it numbers ten arches with a total length of . Hence, it i ...
, an 11th-century bridge with ten arches
* The
Diyarbakır Fortress
Diyarbakır Fortress, is a historical fortress in Sur, Diyarbakır, Turkey. It consists of an inner fortress and an outer fortress. and
Hevsel Gardens
The Hevsel Gardens ( tr, Hevsel Bahçeleri), are the seven hundred hectares of cultivated, fertile lands near the Tigris in eastern Turkey, between the Diyarbakır Fortress and the river. The fortified city was enclosed by a two-part system of de ...
Cultural Landscape, named a
UNESCO World Heritage
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
site in 2015.
Climate
Diyarbakır has a
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 Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...
(
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 ...
: ''Csa'') or Temperate
continental climate (
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'')''. Summers are very hot and very dry, due to its location on the
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 ...
n plain which is subject to hot air masses from the
deserts of
Syria and
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...
to the south. The highest recorded temperature was 46.2 °C (112.64 °F) on 21 July 1937. Winters are chilly with moderate precipitation and frosty nights. Snowfall is quite common between the months of December and March, snowing for a week or two. The lowest recorded temperature was −24.2 °C (−10.12 °F) on 11 January 1933. Highest recorded snow depth was 65 cm (25.6 inches) on 16 January 1971.
Notable people born in the city
* See
People from Diyarbakır
See also
*
Diyarbakır Büyükşehir Belediyespor
*
Diyarbakır (electoral district)
*
Diyarbakır Fortress
Diyarbakır Fortress, is a historical fortress in Sur, Diyarbakır, Turkey. It consists of an inner fortress and an outer fortress.
*
Diyarbakır Prison
* ''
Kitab-i Diyarbakriyya''
*
Bozulus
References
Sources
*
Further reading
*
*
External links
*
Governorship of Diyarbakır*
Diyarbakırspor funs, news, informarmation*
YerelNET Diyarbakır*
Information on DiyarbakırOver 1000 well-organized pictures of major sights
{{DEFAULTSORT:Diyarbakir
Cities in Turkey
Districts of Diyarbakır Province
Populated places in Diyarbakır Province
Populated places on the Tigris River
Turkish Kurdistan
Upper Mesopotamia
Assyrian communities in Turkey
Ancient Assyrian cities
Kurdish settlements in Turkey