Siirt ( ar, سِعِرْد, Siʿird; hy, Սղերդ, S'gherd; syr, ܣܥܪܬ, Siirt; ku, Sêrt) is a city in southeastern

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 in ...

and the seat of

Siirt Province Siirt Province, ( tr, , ku, Parêzgeha Sêrtê) is a province of Turkey, located in the southeast. The province borders Bitlis to the north, Batman to the west, Mardin to the southwest, Şırnak to the south, and Van to the east. It has an area ...

. The population of the city according to the 2009 census was 129,188.

History

Previously known as ''Saird'', in pre-Islamic times Siirt was a diocese of the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops vi ...

(''Sirte'', Σίρτη in Byzantine Greek). In the medieval times,

Arzen Arzen (in Syriac ''Arzŏn'' or ''Arzŭn'', Armenian ''Arzn'', ''Ałzn'', Arabic ''Arzan'') was an ancient and medieval city, located on the border zone between Upper Mesopotamia and the Armenian Highlands. The site of the ancient Armenian capital ...

was the main city and it competed with Hasankeyf over the control the region, Siirt was only to become a center of the region in the 14th century. But it was still dependent from Hasankeyf until the 17th century. An illuminated manuscript known as the

Syriac Bible of Paris The Syriac Bible of Paris (Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale, MS syr. 341) is an illuminated Bible written in Syriac. It dates to 6th or 7th century. It is believed to have been made in northern Mesopotamia. The manuscript has 246 extant folios. La ...

might have originated from the Bishop of Siirt's library, Siirt's Christians would have worshipped in

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 ...

, a liturgical language descended from

Aramaic The Aramaic languages, short Aramaic ( syc, ܐܪܡܝܐ, Arāmāyā; oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; tmr, אֲרָמִית), are a language family containing many varieties (languages and dialects) that originated in ...

still in use by the Syriac Rite,

Chaldean Rite The East Syriac Rite or East Syrian Rite, also called the Edessan Rite, Assyrian Rite, Persian Rite, Chaldean Rite, Nestorian Rite, Babylonian Rite or Syro-Oriental Rite, is an Eastern Christian liturgical rite that employs the Divine Litur ...

, other Eastern Christians in India, and the

Nestorians Nestorianism is a term used in Christian theology and Church history to refer to several mutually related but doctrinarily distinct sets of teachings. The first meaning of the term is related to the original teachings of Christian theologian N ...

along the Silk Road as far as China. The

Chronicle of Seert The ''Chronicle of Seert'', sometimes called the , is an ecclesiastical history written in Arabic by an anonymous Nestorian writer, at an unknown date between the ninth and the eleventh century. There are grounds for believing that it is the wor ...

was preserved in the city; it describes the ecclesiastical history of the Persian realm through to the middle of the seventh century. From 1858 to 1915 the city was the seat of a bishop of the Chaldean Catholic Church. Most of the city's Assyrians, including Addai Scher their archbishop were murdered during the

Assyrian genocide The Sayfo or the Seyfo (; see below), also known as the Assyrian genocide, was the mass slaughter and deportation of Assyrian / Syriac Christians in southeastern Anatolia and Persia's Azerbaijan province by Ottoman forces and some Kurdish ...

along with the loss of artefacts such as the Syriac manuscript of

Theodore of Mopsuestia Theodore of Mopsuestia (c. 350 – 428) was a Christian theologian, and Bishop of Mopsuestia (as Theodore II) from 392 to 428 AD. He is also known as Theodore of Antioch, from the place of his birth and presbyterate. He is the best know ...

's De Incarnatione. Also during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the Armenian population of Siirt became a victim of the

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 ...

Demographics

İsmet İnönü Mustafa İsmet İnönü (; 24 September 1884 – 25 December 1973) was a Turkish army officer and statesman of Kurdish descent, who served as the second President of Turkey from 11 November 1938 to 22 May 1950, and its Prime Minister three tim ...

referred to the city as an Arab city eager to get Turkified, while Kurds lived in the outskirts.

Kurds ug:كۇردلار Kurds ( ku, کورد ,Kurd, italic=yes, rtl=yes) or Kurdish people are an Iranian ethnic group native to the mountainous region of Kurdistan in Western Asia, which spans southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Ira ...

currently constitute a majority in the city with a significant Arab community.

Government

In the municipal elections of March 2019 Berivan Helen Işık of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) was elected mayor. She was dismissed from her post on 15 May 2020 and detained over terror charges. Ali Fuat Atik, the Governor of the Siirt province was appointed trustee by the Ministry of the Interior.

Landmarks

The city's landmark is the Great Mosque (''Ulu Cami'') built in 1129 by the Great Seljuk

Sultan Mahmud II Mahmud II ( ota, محمود ثانى, Maḥmûd-u s̠ânî, tr, II. Mahmud; 20 July 1785 – 1 July 1839) was the 30th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1808 until his death in 1839. His reign is recognized for the extensive administrative, ...

who belonged to the main branch of the dynasty that ruled from

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 ...

after this Turkish Empire had split into several branches. The mosque was restored in 1965.

Trivia

Siirt was

Turkish Prime Minister The prime minister of the Republic of Turkey ( Turkish: ''Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Başbakanı'') was the head of government of the Republic of Turkey from 1920 to 2018, who led a political coalition in the Turkish Parliament and presided over the cab ...

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's constituency from 2003 to 2007. His wife, Mrs. Emine Erdoğan, is from Siirt and the PM had been elected to the

Turkish Grand National Assembly The Grand National Assembly of Turkey ( tr, ), usually referred to simply as the TBMM or Parliament ( tr, or ''Parlamento''), is the unicameral Turkish legislature. It is the sole body given the legislative prerogatives by the Turkish Const ...

in a by-election held in Siirt in 2003. Although Siirt remains one of the poorer cities in Turkey, some neighbourhoods have fine and modern housing including new shops, banks and hotels.Siirt in South East Turkey Photo Gallery by Dick Osseman at
Pbase.com. Retrieved on 2011-04-16.

Climate

Siirt has a

hot-summer Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...

: ''Csa,'' Trewartha'': Cs'') with very hot, dry summers and chilly, wet winters. During winter months there is frequent frost and occasional snowfall.

Notable people

* Mehmet Güney (1936*), Diplomat and judge * Coşkun Aral (1956*),

correspondent A correspondent or on-the-scene reporter is usually a journalist or commentator for a magazine, or an agent who contributes reports to a newspaper, or radio or television news, or another type of company, from a remote, often distant, locati ...

, photo journalist,

television journalist Broadcast journalism is the field of news and journals which are broadcast by electronic methods instead of the older methods, such as printed newspapers and posters. It works on radio (via air, cable, and Internet), television (via air, cable, ...

and documentary film producer. *

Ethem Sancak Ethem Sancak (born 1958, Siirt) is a Turkish businessman considered to have "close ties to President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan". He completed his primary and secondary education in Siirt. He graduated from Istanbul University's Faculty ...

(1958*), Businessmen *

Zübeyir Aydar Zübeyir Aydar (born 1961, in Eruh) is a Kurdish politician, lawyer and president of the Kongra-Gel (People's Congress of Kurdistan), which is the parliament of the Koma Civakên Kurdistan (KCK), making him the de jure political leader of the ou ...

(1961*), politician, lawyer and president of the Kongra-Gel (People's Congress of Kurdistan) * Yasin Aktay (1966*), Chairman of Justice and Development Party in Turkey *

Hasan Özer Hasan Özer (born 1 October 1974) is a Turkish professional football manager and former player. He is the manager of Yeni Malatyaspor. Known for his acrobatic skills, he scored numerous bicycle kicks during his career, which he scored against A ...

(1974*), footballer and manager * Kerem Gürgen (1983*), boxer * Evin Demirhan (1995*), freestyle wrestler

Gallery

File:Bridge in siirt.jpg, A bridge in Siirt File:Ebul vefa mosque.jpg, Ebul Vefa Mosque File:Ibrahim hakkı shrine in siirt tillo.jpg, Ibrahim hakkı shrine in Siirt Tillo File:Siirt city hall(mayor).jpg, The city hall File:Siirt Tillo.jpg, Siirt Tillo File:Siirt Street scene 1526.jpg, Siirt Street scene File:Siirt Saat Kulesi 8416.jpg, Siirt Saat Kulesi File:Siirt Market area 8478.jpg, Siirt Market area File:Siirt Ulu Camii 1543.jpg, Siirt Ulu Camii File:Siirt Haci Abdulhakim Mosque 1512.jpg, Hacı Abdulhakim Sancak Çarşı Camii File:Siirt Haci Abdulhakim Mosque 1518.jpg, Hacı Abdulhakim Sancak Çarşı Camii Minber

References

External links

*
George_Grigore: Les principales caracteristiques de l'arabe parle a Siirt
{{Authority control Cities in Turkey Districts of Siirt Province Populated places in Siirt Province Kurdish settlements in Turkey Assyrian communities in Turkey Arab settlements in Turkey