Erzincan (; ku, Erzîngan), historically Yerznka ( hy, Երզնկա),
is the capital of
Erzincan Province
Erzincan Province ( tr, ; ku, Parezgêha Erzînganê) is a province in the Eastern Anatolia Region of Turkey. In Turkey, its capital is also called Erzincan. The population was 236,034 in 2018.
Geography
Erzincan is traversed by the northeaste ...
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 ...
. Nearby cities include
Erzurum
Erzurum (; ) is a city in eastern Anatolia, Turkey. It is the largest city and capital of Erzurum Province and is 1,900 meters (6,233 feet) above sea level. Erzurum had a population of 367,250 in 2010.
The city uses the double-headed eagle as ...
,
Sivas
Sivas (Latin and Greek: ''Sebastia'', ''Sebastea'', Σεβάστεια, Σεβαστή, ) is a city in central Turkey and the seat of Sivas Province.
The city, which lies at an elevation of in the broad valley of the Kızılırmak river, is a ...
,
Tunceli
Tunceli ( ku, Dêrsim) is a city and municipality in eastern Turkey. It is the capital of Tunceli Province, located in the middle of the Eastern Anatolia Region. The city has a Kurds, Kurdish-majority population and was a site of the Dersim rebel ...
,
Bingöl
Bingöl ( diq, Çolig; ku, Çewlik; hy, Ճապաղջուր, translit=Chapaghjur) is a city in Eastern Turkey and the capital of Bingöl Province.
Etymology
One of the historical names for the city, ''Bingöl'' literally means ''thousand lak ...
,
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 ...
,
Malatya
Malatya ( hy, Մալաթիա, translit=Malat'ya; Syro-Aramaic ܡܠܝܛܝܢܐ Malīṭīná; ku, Meletî; Ancient Greek: Μελιτηνή) is a large city in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey and the capital of Malatya Province. The city ha ...
,
Gümüşhane
Gümüşhane () is a city and the capital district of Gümüşhane Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey. The city lies along the Harşit River, at an elevation of , about southwest of Trabzon. According to the 2010 census, population of G ...
,
Bayburt
Bayburt () is a city in northeast Turkey lying on the Çoruh River and is the provincial capital of Bayburt Province. According to the 2021 census the population is determined as around 82,274.
Bayburt was once an important center on the ancient ...
, and
Giresun
Giresun (), formerly Cerasus (Ancient Greek: Κερασοῦς, Greek: Κερασούντα), is the provincial capital of Giresun Province in the Black Sea Region of northeastern Turkey, about west of the city of Trabzon.
Etymology
Giresun wa ...
. The city is majority
Sunni
Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...
Turkish with a significant
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 ...
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 ...
minority.
History
![Yedigöller_-_panoramio](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cc/Yedig%C3%B6ller_-_panoramio.jpg)
Acilisene, the ancient city that is now Erzincan, was the site of the
Peace of Acilisene
The Peace of Acilisene was a treaty between the Eastern Roman Empire under Theodosius I and the Sasanian Empire under Shapur III, which was resolved in 384 and again in 387.
Terms
The treaty, resolved in 384 and later in 387, divided Greater Arm ...
by which in AD 387
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 ''Ox ...
was divided into two vassal states, a smaller one dependent on 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 ...
and a larger one dependent on
Persia
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
. This is the name (Ἀκιλισηνή in
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
) by which it is called by
Strabo
Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see ...
in his ''Geography'', 11.4.14. The etymological origin of the word is disputed, but it is agreed that the city was once called Erez. For a while it was called
Justinianopolis in honour of
Emperor Justinian
Justinian I (; la, Iustinianus, ; grc-gre, Ἰουστινιανός ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was the Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565.
His reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized '' renova ...
. In more recent
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
it has been called as Κελτζηνή (''Keltzene'') and Κελεζηνή (''Kelezene'')
[Raymond Janin, ''v. Celtzene ou Celezene'' i]
''Dictionnaire d'Histoire et de Géographie ecclésiastiques''
vol. XII, Paris 1953, coll. 130–131
In the
Armenian language
Armenian ( classical: , reformed: , , ) is an Indo-European language and an independent branch of that family of languages. It is the official language of Armenia. Historically spoken in the Armenian Highlands, today Armenian is widely spoken t ...
, the 5th-century ''Life of Mashtots'' called it ''Yekeghiats'' In the more recent past, it was known in
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 Երզնկա (''Yerznka'')
In the settlement of Erez, at a yet unidentified site, there was a pre-Christian shrine dedicated to the Armenian goddess
Anahit. A text of
Agathangelos
Agathangelos (in xcl, Ագաթանգեղոս Agatʿangełos, in Greek "bearer of good news" or angel, 5th century AD ) is the pseudonym of the author of a life of the first apostle of Armenia, Gregory the Illuminator, who died about 332.
He ...
reports that during the first year of his reign, King
Trdat of Armenia went to Erez and visited Anahit's temple to offer sacrifice. He ordered
Gregory the Illuminator
Gregory the Illuminator ( Classical hy, Գրիգոր Լուսաւորիչ, reformed: Գրիգոր Լուսավորիչ, ''Grigor Lusavorich'';, ''Gregorios Phoster'' or , ''Gregorios Photistes''; la, Gregorius Armeniae Illuminator, cu, Svyas ...
, who was secretly a Christian, to make an offering at its altar. When Gregory refused, he was taken captive and tortured, starting the events that would end with Trdat's conversion to Christianity some 14 years later. After that conversion, during the Christianisation of Armenia, the temple at Erez was destroyed and its property and lands were given to Gregory. It later became known for its extensive monasteries.
It is hard to tell when Acilisene became a
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 ...
. The first whose name is known is of the mid-5th century: Ioannes, who in 459 signed the decree of
Patriarch Gennadius I of Constantinople against the
simoniacs. Georgius or Gregorius (both forms are found) was one of the Fathers of the
Second Council of Constantinople
The Second Council of Constantinople is the fifth of the first seven ecumenical councils recognized by both the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church. It is also recognized by the Old Catholics and others. Protestant opinions and rec ...
(553), appearing as "bishop of Justinianopolis". Theodorus was at the
Third Council of Constantinople
The Third Council of Constantinople, counted as the Sixth Ecumenical Council by the Eastern Orthodox and Catholic Churches, as well by certain other Western Churches, met in 680–681 and condemned monoenergism and monothelitism as heretical a ...
in 681, signing as "bishop of Justinianopolis or the region of Ecclenzine". Georgius was at the
Photian Council of Constantinople (879)
The Fourth Council of Constantinople was held in 879–880. It confirmed the reinstatement of Photius I as patriarch of Constantinople.
The result of this council is accepted by some Eastern Orthodox as having the authority of an ecumenical co ...
. Until the 10th century, the diocese itself appears in none of the ''
Notitiae Episcopatuum The ''Notitiae Episcopatuum'' (singular: ''Notitia Episcopatuum'') are official documents that furnish Eastern countries the list and hierarchical rank of the metropolitan and suffragan bishoprics of a church.
In the Roman Church (the -mostly Lati ...
''. At the end of that century, they present it as an autocephalous archdiocese, and those of the 11th century present it as a
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 t ...
with 21
suffragan
A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations.
In the Anglican Communion, a suffragan bishop is a bishop who is subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop (bishop ordinary) and so is not normally jurisdictiona ...
s. This was the time of greatest splendour of Acilisene, which ended with the decisive defeat of 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 ...
s by the
Seljuk Turks
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 ...
at the
Battle of Manzikert
The Battle of Manzikert or Malazgirt was fought between the Byzantine Empire and the Seljuk Empire on 26 August 1071 near Manzikert, theme of Iberia (modern Malazgirt in Muş Province, Turkey). The decisive defeat of the Byzantine army and th ...
in 1071. After the 13th century, there is no mention of diocesan bishops of Acilisene and the see no longer appears in ''Notitiae Episcopatuum''.
[ No longer a residential bishopric, Acilisene is today listed by the ]Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
as a titular see
A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbish ...
.
In 1071 Erzincan was absorbed into the Mengüçoğlu under the Seljuk Seljuk or Saljuq (سلجوق) may refer to:
* Seljuk Empire (1051–1153), a medieval empire in the Middle East and central Asia
* Seljuk dynasty (c. 950–1307), the ruling dynasty of the Seljuk Empire and subsequent polities
* Seljuk (warlord) (di ...
Sulëiman Kutalmish
Qutalmish ibn Arslan ( 1ca, قُتَلمِش, fa, قتلمش) (alternative spellings: Qutalmis, Kutalmish, ) was a Turkic prince who was a member of Seljukid house in the 11th century. His son Kutalmışoğlu Suleiman, founded the Sultanate of R ...
. Marco Polo
Marco Polo (, , ; 8 January 1324) was a Venetian merchant, explorer and writer who travelled through Asia along the Silk Road between 1271 and 1295. His travels are recorded in ''The Travels of Marco Polo'' (also known as ''Book of the Marv ...
, who wrote about his visit to Erzincan, said that the "people of the country are Armenians" and that Erzincan was the "noblest of cities" which contained the See of an Archbishop. In 1243 it was destroyed in fighting between the Seljuks under Kaykhusraw II
Ghiyath al-Din Kaykhusraw ibn Kayqubād or Kaykhusraw II ( fa, غياث الدين كيخسرو بن كيقباد) was the sultan of the Seljuqs of Rûm from 1237 until his death in 1246. He ruled at the time of the Babai uprising and the Mongol ...
and the Mongol
The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member of ...
s. However, by 1254 its population had recovered enough that William of Rubruck
William of Rubruck ( nl, Willem van Rubroeck, la, Gulielmus de Rubruquis; ) was a Flemish Franciscan missionary and explorer.
He is best known for his travels to various parts of the Middle East and Central Asia in the 13th century, including the ...
was able to say an earthquake had killed more than 10,000 people. During this period, the city reached a level of semi-independence under the rule of Armenian princes.
Erzincan was one of the most pivotal towns in Safavid
Safavid Iran or Safavid Persia (), also referred to as the Safavid Empire, '. was one of the greatest Iranian empires after the 7th-century Muslim conquest of Persia, which was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often conside ...
history. It was there, in the summer of 1500, that about 7,000 Qizilbash
Qizilbash or Kizilbash ( az, Qızılbaş; ota, قزيل باش; fa, قزلباش, Qezelbāš; tr, Kızılbaş, lit=Red head ) were a diverse array of mainly Turkoman Shia militant groups that flourished in Iranian Azerbaijan, Anatolia, the ...
forces, consisting of the Ustaclu, Shamlu
The Shamlu tribe (also: Shamloo, Shomloo, Chamlou; fa, ایل شاملو) was one of the seven original and the most powerful Qizilbash tribes of Turcoman origin in Iran.
List of the Khans of Shamlu
*Ahmad Sultan Shamlu
*Abdu Beg Shamlu ( F ...
, Rumlu, Tekelu, Zhulkadir, Afshar, 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 ...
and Varsak tribes, responded to the invitation of Ismail I
Ismail I ( fa, اسماعیل, Esmāʿīl, ; July 17, 1487 – May 23, 1524), also known as Shah Ismail (), was the founder of the Safavid dynasty of Safavid Iran, Iran, ruling as its King of Kings (''Shahanshah'') from 1501 to 1524. His re ...
, who would aid in him establishing his dynasty.
Armenian genocide
According to the 1914 Ottoman census, which undercounted religious minority groups such as Armenians, there were 16.144 Armenian Gregorians and 147 Protestants in the central kaza
A kaza (, , , plural: , , ; ota, قضا, script=Arab, (; meaning 'borough')
* bg, околия (; meaning 'district'); also Кааза
* el, υποδιοίκησις () or (, which means 'borough' or 'municipality'); also ()
* lad, kaza
, ...
. In the other kazas of Erzincan there were 11.135 Armenian Gregorians and 144 Protestants in Kemah. However, Miller and Kévorkian's research state that the Armenians in the centre of Erzincan were more than double the census data. Of the pre-World War I population of 37,000 Armenians in Erzincan and suburbs, most were killed in the genocide.
During 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 ...
, at least 150,000 Armenian men, women and children from Erzincan and surrounding areas were transported by Turkish forces between 1915 and 1916 through Erzincan proper, where a series of transit camps were set up to control the flow of victims to the concentration camp and killing site at the nearby Kemah gorge. J.M. Winter's work state that between 1915 and 1917, the Central Hospital of Erzincan was the primary site of medical experiments conducted by Turkish army physicians on Armenian civilians involving typhus and other lethal infectious agents. As of 2019, few traces of Armenian presence or civilization remain in Erzincan.
Battle of Erzincan
The Battle of Erzincan took place during the Caucasus Campaign
The Caucasus campaign comprised armed conflicts between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire, later including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, the Mountainous Republic of the Northern Caucasus, the German Empire, the Central Caspian Dicta ...
of the First World War. In 1916 Erzincan was the headquarters for the Turkish Third Army commanded by Kerim Pasha
Abdul Kerim Pasha (Turkish language, Turkish: ''Abdülkerim Paşa''; born 1872 and died January 16, 1923Hülya Toker, Nurcan Fidan, ''Birinci Dünya Savaşı'na katılan Alay ve Daha Üst Kademedeki Komutanların Biyografileri'', Genelkurmay Bas ...
. The Russian General Nikolai Yudenich
Nikolai Nikolayevich Yudenich ( – 5 October 1933) was a commander of the Russian Imperial Army during World War I. He was a leader of the anti-communist White movement in Northwestern Russia during the Civil War.
Biography
Early life
Yuden ...
led the Russian Caucasus Army who captured Mama Hatun
Melike Mama Hatun, or simply Mama Hatun, was a female ruler of the Saltukids, with its capital in Erzurum, for an estimated nine years between 1191 and 1200.
During her reign she had a caravanserai, a mosque, a bridge, and a hammam built in the ...
on 12 July 1916. They then gained the heights of Naglika and took a Turkish position on the banks of the Durum Durasi river, with their cavalry breaking through the Boz-Tapa-Meretkli line. They then advanced on Erzincan arriving by 25 July and taking the city in two days. The city was relatively untouched by battle and Yudenich seized large quantities of supplies. Despite the strategic advantages gained from this victory, Yudenich made no more significant advances and his forces were reduced due to Russian reverses further north.
Erzincan Soviet
A short-lived soviet council had been at Erzincan between 1916 and 1918. Mainly today's Erzincan and Tunceli
Tunceli ( ku, Dêrsim) is a city and municipality in eastern Turkey. It is the capital of Tunceli Province, located in the middle of the Eastern Anatolia Region. The city has a Kurds, Kurdish-majority population and was a site of the Dersim rebel ...
provinces were under Russian occupation. After the revolution, Bolshevik soldiers took control of the officer corps. Arshak Djamalian who was a Bolshevik soldier, called Kurdish, Turkish, and Armenian representatives to take charge of the administration of Erzincan Soviet.[ Karabekir, Kâzım. ]
Erzincan ve Erzurum'un Kurtuluşu: Sarıkamış, Kars ve Ötesi (The Liberation of Erzincan and Erzurum: Sarıkamış, Kars and Beyond
'). Erzurum Ticaret ve Sanayi Odası Araştırma, Geliştirme ve Yardımlaşma Vakfı, 1990, p. 377. .
Turkish capture of Erzincan
Following the withdrawal of the Russian Army, the commander of the First Caucasian Army Corps Kâzım Karabekir
Musa Kâzım Karabekir (also spelled Kiazim Karabekir in English; 1882 – 26 January 1948) was a Turkish general and politician. He was the commander of the Eastern Army of the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War I and served as Speaker of ...
regained control over Erzincan on the 13 February 1918. This event is celebrated annually by its inhabitants.
1939 Erzincan earthquake
The city was completely destroyed by a major earthquake on December 27, 1939. The sequence of seven violent shocks, the biggest measuring 7.8 on the moment magnitude scale, was the most powerful one to strike Turkey in recent history. The first stage of the earthquake killed about 8,000 people. The next day, it was reported that the death toll had risen to 20,000. An emergency relief operation began. By the end of the year, 32,962 had died due to more earthquakes and several floods. So extensive was the damage to Erzincan city that its old site was entirely abandoned, and a new town was founded a little further to the north. Certain local folklore attributed the earthquake to "Armenians’ curse taking effect," referring to local victims of 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 ...
.
Climate
Erzincan 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 cold, snowy winters and hot, dry summers. Spring is the wettest season whilst summer is the driest. The lowest temperature recorded was −32.5 °C (−26.5 °F) in January 1950. The highest temperature recorded was 40.6 °C (105.1 °F) in July 2000. The highest snow thickness recorded was 74 cm (29.1 inches) in February 1950.
Economy
Mulberry tree
''Morus'', a genus of flowering plants in the family Moraceae, consists of diverse species of deciduous trees commonly known as mulberries, growing wild and under cultivation in many temperate world regions. Generally, the genus has 64 identif ...
plantations were found in Erzincan in the early 20th century, which were used in 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 studie ...
.
Notable people
* Hovhannes Erznkatsi Hovhannes Erznkatsi ( hy, Յովհաննէս Երզնկացի — John of Erznka or Erzinjan) ( 1230– 1293) was an Armenian scholar and philosopher. He was nicknamed Blouz, probably because of his short stature.
The little that has reached us of ...
Blouz (1230?–1293), Armenian scholar, poet, philosopher, orator
* Sibel Arslan (born 1980), Swiss-Turkish politician femme lawyer of Kurdish origin
* Kutluğ Ataman
Kutluğ Ataman (born 1961 in Istanbul Turkey) is an acclaimed Turkish-American contemporary artist and feature filmmaker. Ataman's films are known for their strong characterization and humanity. His early art works examine the ways in which peo ...
, Turkish filmmaker and contemporary artist
* Ahmet Bozkurt, poet and writer
* Ali Ekber Çiçek, folk musician, was born in 1935 in Erzincan.
* Mustafa Sarıgül
Mustafa Sarıgül (born 15 November 1956) is a Turkish writer, entrepreneur and politician. He is currently the leader of Party for Change in Turkey. He was the mayor of the Şişli district in Istanbul between 1999 and 2014. He is recently embro ...
, politician, was born in Erzincan.
* Varaztad Kazanjian
Varaztad H. Kazanjian ( hy, Վարազդատ Գազանճեան, March 18, 1879 – October 19, 1974) was an Armenian American oral surgeon who pioneered techniques for plastic surgery and is considered to be the founder of the modern practice o ...
, Armenian-American dentist who was one of the pioneers of plastic surgery
* Soghomon Tehlirian
Soghomon Tehlirian ( hy, Սողոմոն Թեհլիրեան; April 2, 1896 – May 23, 1960) was an Armenian revolutionary and soldier who assassinated Talaat Pasha, the former Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire, in Berlin on March 15, 1921. He ...
, Armenian revolutionary
* Voskan Martikian, Armenian politician and writer
* Yıldırım Akbulut
Yıldırım Akbulut (; 2 September 1935 – 14 April 2021) was a Turkish politician, who was a leader of the Motherland Party (ANAP), the Prime Minister of Turkey, and twice the Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey.
A lawyer by pro ...
, former prime minister of Turkey
* Osman Nuri Koptagel
Osman Nuri Koptagel (1874; Erzincan – November 22, 1942; Ankara) was an officer of the Ottoman Army and a general of the Turkish Army.
When he was an assistant teaching staff of the Ottoman Military Academy, he used to order ''"Sağdan birin ...
, military officer in the Ottoman and Turkish armies
* Vecdi Gönül
Mehmet Vecdi Gönül (; born 29 November 1939) is a Turkish politician who served as the Minister of National Defense from 3 July to 17 November 2015. He previously served in the same position from 2002 to 2011 and was a member of the Parliament ...
, Turkish cabinet minister
References
External links
Governor's Office
Municipality
{{Authority control
Erzincan
Erzincan (; ku, Erzîngan), historically Yerznka ( hy, Երզնկա), is the capital of Erzincan Province in Eastern Turkey. Nearby cities include Erzurum, Sivas, Tunceli, Bingöl, Elazığ, Malatya, Gümüşhane, Bayburt, and Giresun. The city is ...
Districts of Erzincan Province
Cities destroyed by earthquakes