Eğil ( Hittite: 𒅔𒃲𒀀𒉿 ''Ingalawa'', ota, اکيل, ku, Egil) is a town and district 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 ...

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

. As of 2018, the district's population is 23,369. The elected mayor Mustafa Akkul of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) was dismissed on the 23 March 2020 and replaced by a trustee. The current

Kaymakam Kaymakam, also known by many other romanizations, was a title used by various officials of the Ottoman Empire, including acting grand viziers, governors of provincial sanjaks, and administrators of district kazas. The title has been retaine ...

is İdris Arslan. Eğil is an ancient city 50 km away from

Diyarbakır Diyarbakır (; ; ; ) is the largest Kurdish-majority city in Turkey. It is the administrative center of Diyarbakır Province. Situated around a high plateau by the banks of the Tigris river on which stands the historic Diyarbakır Fortres ...

with many ancient forts and caves dating to the time of the Armenian kingdom 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 ...

. It is identified with Carcathiocerta, the capital of the Kingdom of Sophene, and the ancient Armenian religious center of Angegh-tun (Angełtun). It is known as the "City of Prophets." It has been ruled by the Armenians, the Assyrians, the

Romans 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 lette ...

, the Byzantines, the

Abbasids 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 ...

, 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 ...

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 ...

. In 2018 parts of a village re-emerged in Eğil in the Çakırören neighbourhood, after the Dicle Dam suffered water level decrease due to a burst of one of the gates. It is also the location of a supposed tomb of

Elisha Elisha ( ; or "God is my salvation", Greek: , ''Elis îos'' or , ''Elisaié,'' Latin: ''Eliseus'') was, according to the Hebrew Bible, a prophet and a wonder-worker. His name is commonly transliterated into English as Elisha via Hebrew, Eli ...

, which is located in the Kale neighborhood of Eğil.

History

During the

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 pri ...

, the city was known as Ingalawa by the

Hittites The Hittites () were an Anatolian people who played an important role in establishing first a kingdom in Kussara (before 1750 BC), then the Kanesh or Nesha kingdom (c. 1750–1650 BC), and next an empire centered on Hattusa in north-cent ...

. Most scholars identify Eğil with the ancient city of Carcathiocerta. The city, with its strategic location overlooking the west bank of the

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 ...

, is the oldest in the region, with remains dating back to the

Assyrian Assyrian may refer to: * Assyrian people, the indigenous ethnic group of Mesopotamia. * Assyria, a major Mesopotamian kingdom and empire. ** Early Assyrian Period ** Old Assyrian Period ** Middle Assyrian Empire ** Neo-Assyrian Empire * Assyri ...

and

Hellenistic In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...

periods. Later on, the city was known in Armenian as Angł, capital of the district of Angełtun, which was known as Ingilene in Greco-Roman sources. It was part of the larger province of

. Armenian sources described Angł as housing "the tombs of the former kings of

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''O ...

", apparently taking the rulers of Sophene as a branch of the Armenian kings' dynasty. The rock-cut tombs still exist today at Eğil.

Notable Locals

Muammer Yıldırım Muammer Zülfikar Yıldırım (born 10 July 1990), is a Turkish professional football player who plays as a goalkeeper for Sivasspor. Career Mersin İdmanyurdu Yıldırım played his first Süper Lig game against Balıkesirspor which ended 3&nda ...

, footballer * Zelal Baturay, Footballer

Gallery

File:DiyarbakirEgil1.jpg, Eğil Dam Reservoir File:DiyarbakirEgil2.jpg, Eğil Dam Reservoir File:DiyarbakirEgilKralMezarlari1.jpg, Eğil King Tombs File:DiyarbakirEgilKralMezarlari2.jpg, Eğil King Tombs File:DiyarbakirEgilKralMezarlari3.jpg, Eğil King Tombs File:DiyarbakirEgilGenel.jpg, Eğil

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Egil Kurdish settlements in Turkey Populated places in Diyarbakır Province Districts of Diyarbakır Province