![LocatonSasonDistrict](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a7/LocatonSasonDistrict.png)
Sason ( hy, Սասուն, translit=Sasun, ku, Qabilcewz, ar, قبل جوز; formerly known as Sasun or Sassoun) is a district and town in the
Batman Province
Batman Province ( tr, , ku, Parêzgeha Êlihê) is a province in the Southeast Anatolia Region of Turkey. It was created in May 1990 with the Law No. 3647 taking some parts from the eastern Province of Siirt and some from the southern Province ...
of
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 ...
. It was formerly part of the sanjak of
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
Pr ...
, which was in
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 Fortress, ...
vilayet until 1880 and in
Bitlis Vilayet in 1892. Later it became part of
Muş
Muş (; hy, Մուշ; ku, Mûş) is a city and the provincial capital of Muş Province in Turkey. Its population is mostly Kurds.
Etymology
Various explanations of the origin of Muş's name exist. Its name is sometimes associated with the Arm ...
sanjak in
Bitlis
Bitlis ( hy, Բաղեշ '; ku, Bidlîs; ota, بتليس) is a city in southeastern Turkey and the capital of Bitlis Province. The city is located at an elevation of 1,545 metres, 15 km from Lake Van, in the steep-sided valley of the Bitlis R ...
vilayet, and remained part of Muş until 1927. It was one of the districts of Siirt province until 1993. The boundaries of the district varied considerably in time. The current borders are not the same as in the 19th century, when the district of Sasun was situated more to the north (mostly territory now included in the central district of
Muş
Muş (; hy, Մուշ; ku, Mûş) is a city and the provincial capital of Muş Province in Turkey. Its population is mostly Kurds.
Etymology
Various explanations of the origin of Muş's name exist. Its name is sometimes associated with the Arm ...
).
Sasun, as it is called by Armenians, holds a prominent role in
Armenian culture
The culture of Armenia encompasses many elements that are based on the geography, literature, architecture, dance, and music of the people.
Creative arts
Literature
Literature began in Armenia around 401 A.D. The majority of the literary ...
and history. It is the setting of ''
Daredevils of Sassoun
''Daredevils of Sassoun'' ( hy, Սասնա ծռեր ''Sasna cṙer'', also spelled Daredevils of Sasun) is an Armenian heroic epic poem in four cycles (parts), with its main hero and story better known as ''David of Sassoun'', which is the story ...
'', Armenia's national epic. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries it was a major location of Armenian ''
fedayi'' activities, who staged two uprisings against the Ottoman authorities and Kurdish tribes in
1894 and
1904. In the
local elections of March 2019, Muzaffer Arslan was elected Mayor. Abdullah Özadalı was appointed as
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 retained an ...
.
History
Historically, the area was known as ''Sasun'', part of the historical
Armenian Highlands. The exact etymology of the name is unknown, although various folk etymologies exist.
Sasun is mentioned (in the form ''Sanasunkʻ'') as one of the cantons of the
Aghdznik' province of the ancient
Kingdom of Armenia in the geography of 7th-century Armenian scholar
Anania Shirakatsi
Anania Shirakatsi ( hy, Անանիա Շիրակացի, ''Anania Širakac’i'', anglicized: Ananias of Shirak) was a 7th-century Armenian polymath and natural philosopher, author of extant works covering mathematics, astronomy, geography, chronol ...
.
Later, the region was ruled by the
Mamikonian
Mamikonian or Mamikonean ( Classical hy, Մամիկոնեան; reformed orthography: Մամիկոնյան; Western Armenian pronunciation: ''Mamigonian'') was an aristocratic dynasty which dominated Armenian politics between the 4th and 8th c ...
dynasty from around 772 until 1189/1190, when the Mamikonians moved to
Cilicia
Cilicia (); el, Κιλικία, ''Kilikía''; Middle Persian: ''klkyʾy'' (''Klikiyā''); Parthian: ''kylkyʾ'' (''Kilikiyā''); tr, Kilikya). is a geographical region in southern Anatolia in Turkey, extending inland from the northeastern coa ...
after being dispossessed by the
Shah-Armens
The Shah-Armens (lit. 'Kings of Armenia', tr, Ermenşahlar), also known as Ahlatshahs (lit. 'Rulers of Ahlat', tr, Ahlatşahlar), was a Turkoman Sunni Muslim Anatolian beylik founded after the Battle of Manzikert (1071) and centred in Ahlat on t ...
.
Ottoman period
The region was eventually 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) ...
, becoming part of the sanjak of
Muş
Muş (; hy, Մուշ; ku, Mûş) is a city and the provincial capital of Muş Province in Turkey. Its population is mostly Kurds.
Etymology
Various explanations of the origin of Muş's name exist. Its name is sometimes associated with the Arm ...
in
Bitlis Vilayet, and continued to hold a substantial population of
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 diaspora ...
.
During this period, Sason was a federation of some forty Armenian villages, whose inhabitants were known as Sasuntsis ( hy, Սասունցի).
Surrounded by fierce
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 ...
tribes to whom they were often forced to pay tribute, the Sasuntsis were able to maintain an autonomy free of Turkish rule until the end of the 19th century when the Kurds themselves were finally brought under government control.
Proud warriors, the Sasuntsis made all their weapons and relied on nothing from the outside world.
In 1893, some three to four thousand nomadic Kurds from the
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 Fortress, ...
plains entered Sason region. This incursion of nomads, who customarily used the mountain meadows of the area in summer for their herds, was harmful to the sedentary Armenians. Some Kurdish tribes were responsible for bringing economic ruin to the agrarian community of the Armenian villagers: they would steal livestock and demand that the Armenians should pay a second tax (that is, a separate tax in addition to the one Armenians paid to the Ottoman government). When the Armenians decided to challenge extortion, a fight ensued and a Kurd was killed. Using the Kurd's death as a pretext by describing that a revolt had taken place, Turkish officials endorsed a Kurdish revenge attack against the Armenians of Sason.
The Kurds, however, were successfully driven off by the armed Armenian villagers, but that success was then seen as a possible threat by the Ottoman authorities. In 1894, the villagers refused to pay taxes unless the Ottoman authorities adequately protected them against renewed Kurdish raids as well as extortion. Instead, the government sent a force of about 3,000 soldiers and Kurdish irregulars to disarm the villagers, an event which ended in a general massacre of between 900 and 3,000 men, women and children. The "Sasun affair" was widely publicised and was investigated by representatives from the European Powers, resulting in demands that Ottoman Turkey initiate reforms in the six "
Armenian vilayets".
Abdul Hamid II
Abdülhamid or Abdul Hamid II ( ota, عبد الحميد ثانی, Abd ül-Hamid-i Sani; tr, II. Abdülhamid; 21 September 1842 10 February 1918) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 31 August 1876 to 27 April 1909, and the last sultan to ...
's response to those demands culminated in the
anti-Armenian pogroms
Anti-Armenian sentiment, also known as anti-Armenianism and Armenophobia, is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against towards Armenians, Armenia, and Armenian culture.
Historically, anti-Armenianism has manifested in several w ...
of 1895 and 1896.
As part of the
Hamidian massacres
The Hamidian massacres also called the Armenian massacres, were massacres of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire in the mid-1890s. Estimated casualties ranged from 100,000 to 300,000, Akçam, Taner (2006) '' A Shameful Act: The Armenian Genocide an ...
, McDowall estimates at least 1,000 Armenian villagers were slain in the Sason atrocity, all of which was instigated by the buildup of Ottoman troops in early 1894. Officials and military officers involved in the Sason massacres were decorated and rewarded. More than 60,000 Armenians from the region of Sason died 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 ...
.
Many of the survivors fled to Eastern Armenia and settled in villages in the former
Ashtarak
Ashtarak (Armenian language, Armenian: ), is a town and urban municipal community in the Aragatsotn Province of Armenia, located on the left bank of Kasagh River along the gorge, northwest of the capital Yerevan. It is the administrative centre of ...
and
Talin Talin may refer to:
Places
* Talin, Armenia, a city
* Tálín, a municipality and village in the Czech Republic
*Tallinn, capital of Estonia
* Talin, Iran, a village in West Azerbaijan Province
*Talin, Syria, a village in Tartus Governorate
Other
...
districts of
Soviet Armenia
The Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic,; russian: Армянская Советская Социалистическая Республика, translit=Armyanskaya Sovetskaya Sotsialisticheskaya Respublika) also commonly referred to as Soviet A ...
.
Modern Sason
Today, most of Sason's population is
Kurd ug:كۇردلار
Kurds ( ku, کورد ,Kurd, italic=yes, rtl=yes) or Kurdish people are an Iranian peoples, Iranian ethnic group native to the mountainous region of Kurdistan in Western Asia, which spans southeastern Turkey, northwestern Ir ...
and
Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
. An Armenian minority may still exist (in 1972 there were estimated to be some 6,000 Armenian villagers in the region).
The area is very mountainous, suitable for trekking and climbing and with many white water rivers. Mereto mountain has the highest peak in Sason. Area is known for its walnuts. In fact, some locals still use the old name Kâbilcevz. There are numerous ruins in the area, and also some historical water fountains, "Sevek Çeşmesi", "Nabuhan Çeşmesi", "Hapyenk Çeşmesi", and "Ağde Çeşmesi". Also Şehan named
turbe, a burial site of a holy man, is the site of celebrations in every July.
Culture
The area was the setting for the
Armenian epic ''Sasna Tsrer'' (
Daredevils of Sassoun
''Daredevils of Sassoun'' ( hy, Սասնա ծռեր ''Sasna cṙer'', also spelled Daredevils of Sasun) is an Armenian heroic epic poem in four cycles (parts), with its main hero and story better known as ''David of Sassoun'', which is the story ...
), which was rediscovered and first partly written down in 1873. It is better known as ''Sasuntsi Davit'' ("
David of Sasun
David of Sassoun ( hy, Սասունցի Դավիթ ''Sasuntsi Davit also spelled David of Sasun'') is the main hero of Armenia's national epic ''Daredevils of Sassoun'', who drove Arab invaders out of Armenia.
Background
The ''Daredevils of S ...
").
This epic dates from the time of the invasion of Armenia by the Caliphs of
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 Mediter ...
(about 670), in which the
Armenian folk hero of the same name drives foreign invaders from
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 ...
.
See also
*
Sasun Resistance (1894)
The Sasun rebellion of 1894, also known as the First Sasun resistance ( hy, Սասնո առաջին ապստամբութիւն), was the conflict between Ottoman Empire's Hamidiye forces and the Armenian fedayi belonging to the Armenian national ...
*
Sasun Uprising (1904)
The Sasun uprising or Sasun rebellion of 1904 ( hy, Սասունի երկրորդ ապստամբութիւնը, ''Sasuni yerkrord apstambut'yunĕ'', literally Second Sassoun resistance) was an uprising by Armenian militia against the Ottoman Emp ...
*http://www.sason.gov.tr/
*https://westernarmeniatv.com/tr/12074/sason-ermenileri-roportaji
References
External links
Armenian History and Presence in Sason
{{Authority control
Populated places in Batman Province
Districts of Batman Province
Kurdish settlements in Turkey
Sason District