The Vilayet of Diyâr-ı Bekr (, ota, ولايت ديار بكر, ) was a first-level administrative division (
vilayet
A vilayet ( ota, , "province"), also known by various other names, was a first-order administrative division of the later Ottoman Empire. It was introduced in the Vilayet Law of 21 January 1867, part of the Tanzimat reform movement initiated ...
) of 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) ...
, wholly located within what is now modern Turkey. The vilayet extended south from
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 ...
on the
Euphrates
The Euphrates () is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia ( ''the land between the rivers''). Originating in Turkey, the Eup ...
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 ...
on the edge of 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. After the establishment of Republic of Turkey in 1923, the region was incorporated into the newly created state.
At the beginning of the 20th century, Diyarbekir Vilayet reportedly had an area of , while the preliminary results of the first Ottoman census of 1885 (published in 1908) gave the population as 471,462.Asia by A. H. Keane, page 460 The accuracy of the population figures ranges from "approximate" to "merely conjectural" depending on the region from which they were gathered.
History
The Vilayet of Diyarbakir was created in 1867. In 1867 or 1868 Mamuret-ul-Aziz and the Kurdistan Eyalet merged with and joined the Vilayet of Diyarbakir. In 1879–80 Mamuret-ul-Aziz was separated again from the Vilayet of Diyarbakir, and turned into the Vilayet of Mamuret-ul-Aziz. It was one of the six Armenian Vilayets of the Empire.
Administrative divisions
Sanjak
Sanjaks (liwāʾ) (plural form: alwiyāʾ)
* Armenian: նահանգ (''nahang''; meaning "province")
* Bulgarian: окръг (''okrǔg''; meaning "county", "province", or "region")
* el, Διοίκησις (''dioikēsis'', meaning "province" ...
s of the vilayet:Diyarbekir Vilayeti , Tarih ve Medeniyet /ref>
# Diyarbekir Sanjak (
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, ...
Derik
Derik ( ku, Dêrika Çiyayê Mazî) is a town in the Derik District in Mardin Province of Turkey. The town had a population of 18,942 in 2021.
Government
In the local elections of April 10 Mülkiye Esmez from the Peoples' Democratic Party was e ...
,
Beşiri
Beşiri ( ku, Qubînê) is a town and seat of the Beşiri District in the Batman Province of Turkey.Mardin,
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 ...
Savur
Savur (; ar, صور, Ṣawr; ku, Stewr) is a town and district in the Mardin Province of Turkey.
Politics
In the local elections of March 2019, Gülistan Öncü of the pro-minority HDP was elected mayor. On 15 November 2019, she was detain ...
,
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 ...
and maybe
Silopi
Silopi ( ku, Silopî) is a city and district of Şırnak Province in Turkey's Southeastern Anatolia Region, close to the borders of Iraq and Syria. The majority of its people are of ethnic Kurds. The district, composed of Silopi center, three 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 ...
)
# Siverek Sanjak (Split from Diyarbekir in 1907) (
Siverek
Siverek (from hy, Սեւավերակ, lit=black ruins, translit=Sevaverag, ku, Sêwreg) is a city and district in the south-east of Turkey, in Şanlıurfa Province. Population 107,634 (city); 247,000 (district) (2000 census). Siverek is in Şanl ...
,
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), ...
,
Viranşehir
Viranşehir ( ku, Wêranşar) is a market town serving a cotton-growing area of Şanlıurfa Province, in southeastern Turkey, 93 km east of the city Şanlıurfa and 53 km north-west of Ceylanpınar at the Syrian border. In Late Antiquit ...
)
Demographics
The Vilayet was a place in which the Christian population was systematically massacred 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 ...
during the
1915 genocide in Diyarbekir
In 1915, a systematic anti-Christian genocide was committed in Diyarbekir vilayet, claiming the lives of most Armenians as well as Syriac Christians living there. The genocide was ordered by governor Mehmed Reshid, partly with the backing of the C ...
.
See also
*
Massacres of Diyarbakır (1895)
Massacres of Diyarbakır were massacres that took place in the Diyarbekir Vilayet of the Ottoman Empire between the years of 1894 and 1896 by ethnic Kurds and Turks. The events were part of the Hamidian massacres and targeted the vilayet's Christi ...
*
1915 genocide in Diyarbekir
In 1915, a systematic anti-Christian genocide was committed in Diyarbekir vilayet, claiming the lives of most Armenians as well as Syriac Christians living there. The genocide was ordered by governor Mehmed Reshid, partly with the backing of the C ...