Ömerli, Mardin

Ömerli (; ; ) is a municipality and district of Mardin Province, Turkey. Its area is 458 km², and its population is 13,740 (2022). The town is mostly populated by Kurds of the Bilikan tribe and Mhallamis. Other groups in the town include Kurds from other tribes, Arabs, few Syriacs and Georgians, and civil servants of Turkish roots. It is located in the historic region of Tur Abdin.

Etymology

The Syriac name of the town is derived from "ma'ṣartā" ("wine-press" in Syriac).

History

Maʿsarteh (today called Ömerli) is identified as the town of Madaranzu in Bit-Zamani, which was conquered by Ashurnasirpal II in 879 BC. It is later mentioned by Theophylact Simocatta and George of Cyprus as a '' kastron'' called Matzaron (; ). It was likely captured by a Sasanian army in 573 at the time of the siege of Dara, during the Roman–Sasanian War of 572–591, but was retaken and the fort was restored by the Roman commanders Theodore and Andrew in 587. According to the ''Notitia Dignitatum'', it was commanded by the '' Dux Mesopotamia''.

Maʿsarteh was part of the Syriac Orthodox diocese of the Monastery of Mar Abai until the death of its last bishop Ishaq (Isaac) Saliba in 1730, upon which the diocese was subsumed into the diocese of Mardin. In the Syriac Orthodox patriarchal register of dues of 1870, it was recorded that the village had 24 households, who paid 52 dues, and did not have a priest. There was a church of Yūldaṯ Alohō. German orientalist Eduard Sachau visited the village in 1880. It was visited by Oswald Parry in 1892. It was inhabited by 300 Syriacs in 1914, according to the list presented to the Paris Peace Conference by the Assyro-Chaldean delegation. They adhered to the Syriac Orthodox Church. There was a church of Mar Gewergis. The village was known for grape cultivation and wool weaving. The Syriac Orthodox Christians spoke Arabic.

Amidst the Sayfo, on 12 June 1915, the village's owner Huseyin Bakkero murdered 80 Syriacs at his house after assuring them of their safety and threw their bodies into wells. Two men survived by hiding in a cave whilst one man fled to the Mor Hananyo Monastery and the women and children were hidden by some Kurdish women for a few days and then escorted to the Church of the Martyrs at Mardin. Afterwards, some Syriacs from Maʿsarteh emigrated to Bethlehem. In 1960, Maʿsarteh was officially renamed Ömerli. By 1989, all Syriac families had fled the town. The Church of Mar Gewergis was converted into a mosque. 10 Syriacs in 3 families inhabited the town in 2013.

Mhallamis from villages between Ömerli and Midyat, such as Şenköy and Çavuşlu, moved to the town prior to Kurds from the Bilikan tribe, who supposedly settled there due to a blood feud. The Bilikan Kurds were subsequently Arabized and came to dominate local politics because of the size of their large families. They are plausibly the largest group in the town. According to the leaders of the Kurdish Omerkan (or Omeryan) tribe, which lives in the vicinity of the town, Ömerli had been under their rule for many years and considered the town to be in their territory. However, the town is not affiliated with any Kurdish tribe.

Government

In 1925, the town became the seat of a bucak (subdistrict) of Savur, and was elevated to district in 1953.
Ömerli
'. Mardin Valiliği . In January 2017, the town's mayor Süleyman Tekin was arrested. In the local elections of 2019, Hüsamettin Altındağ from the Justice and Development Party was elected mayor.

There are 46 neighbourhoods in Ömerli District. Three of these (Cumhuriyet, Şafak and Yenimahalle) form the central town (''merkez'') of Ömerli.

* Akyokuş ()
* Alıçlı
* Anıttepe
* Beşikkaya ()
* Çalışan ()
* Çatalyurt ()
* Çayıralanı ()
* Çimenlik ()
* Çınaraltı ()
* Cumhuriyet
* Dönerdere
* Duygulu ()
* Fıstıklı ()
* Göllü ()
* Güzelağaç ()
* Harmankaya ()
* Havuzbaşı ()
* İkipınar ()
* İkitepe ()
* Işıkdere ()
* Kayabalı ()
* Kayadere ()
* Kayagöze ()
* Kayaüstü
* Kaynakkaya ()
* Kocakuyu ()
* Kocasırt ()
* Kömürlü ()
* Kovanlı ()
* Mutluca ()
* Ovabaşı ()
* Öztaş ()
* Pınarcık ()
* Şafak
* Salihköy
* Sivritepe ()
* Sulakdere ()
* Taşgedik ()
* Taşlıca ()
* Tavuklu ()
* Tekkuyu ()
* Tokdere ()
* Topağaç ()
* Ünsallı ()
* Yaylatepe
* Yenimahalle

Notable people

*Ḥanna Salmān (1914–1981), Syriac author.

References

Notes

Citations

Biography

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Omerli, Mardin

Tur Abdin
Assyrian communities in Turkey
Populated places in Mardin Province
Districts of Mardin Province
Metropolitan district municipalities in Turkey
Mhallami
Roman towns and cities in Turkey
Populated places in ancient Upper Mesopotamia
Kurdish settlements in Mardin Province
Places of the Sayfo