Erciş (; ; , historically , ''Arčeš'') is a municipality and
district
A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...
Turkey
Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
. Its area is 2,133 km2, and its population is 171,000 (2022). It is located at the northern end of
Lake Van
Lake Van (; ; ) is the largest lake in Turkey. It lies in the Eastern Anatolia Region of Turkey in the provinces of Van Province, Van and Bitlis Province, Bitlis, in the Armenian highlands. It is a Salt lake, saline Soda lake, soda lake, receiv ...
.
History of Artchesh
During
Classical Antiquity
Classical antiquity, also known as the classical era, classical period, classical age, or simply antiquity, is the period of cultural History of Europe, European history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD comprising the inter ...
, the town was known as Arsissa, and Archesh (Arčeš) in Armenian and Arjish in Arabic. The Byzantines knew it as Arzes (Ἂρζες or Ἀρζές) and the 10th-century emperor
Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos
Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (; 17 May 905 – 9 November 959) was the fourth Byzantine emperor of the Macedonian dynasty, reigning from 6 June 913 to 9 November 959. He was the son of Emperor Leo VI and his fourth wife, Zoe Karbonopsina, and ...
wrote in his ''
De administrando imperio
(; ) is a Greek-language work written by the 10th-century Byzantine Emperor Constantine VII. It is a domestic and foreign policy manual for the use of Constantine's son and successor, the Emperor Romanos II. It is a prominent example of Byz ...
'' (Chapter XLIV) that it was under the rule of the Kaysite
emirate
An emirate is a territory ruled by an emir, a title used by monarchs or high officeholders in the Muslim world. From a historical point of view, an emirate is a political-religious unit smaller than a caliphate. It can be considered equivalent ...
capital
Capital and its variations may refer to:
Common uses
* Capital city, a municipality of primary status
** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital
** List of national capitals
* Capital letter, an upper-case letter
Econom ...
city of a number of ruling states. It was the main center of the province of
Turuberan
Turuberan (), also known as Tavruberan () was the fourth Armenians, Armenian region that was part of the ancient Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity), Kingdom of Armenia from 189 BC to 387 AD. Then it was part of the Sassanid Empire, Byzantine Empire, ...
as part of the ancient Kingdom of Armenia. The city changed hands on several occasions between the Arabs and the Byzantines, in the early Middle Ages. From the mid 1020s onwards Archesh was governed by the Byzantines. In 1054, it was captured and sacked by the
Seljuk Turks
The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; , ''Saljuqian'',) alternatively spelled as Saljuqids or Seljuk Turks, was an Oghuz Turks, Oghuz Turkic, Sunni Muslim dynasty that gradually became Persianate society, Persianate and contributed to Turco-Persi ...
commanded by Tuğrul after an eight-day siege. It was fortified in the early 14th century by the
Ilkhanid
The Ilkhanate or Il-khanate was a Mongol khanate founded in the southwestern territories of the Mongol Empire. It was ruled by the Il-Khans or Ilkhanids (), and known to the Mongols as ''Hülegü Ulus'' (). The Ilkhanid realm was officially known ...
vizier
A vizier (; ; ) is a high-ranking political advisor or Minister (government), minister in the Near East. The Abbasids, Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called ''katib'' (secretary), who was at first merely a help ...
Ali Shah. Archesh became part of the Qara Qoyunlu state and later became a part of the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
.
From 18th century, because of the increase of level of
Lake Van
Lake Van (; ; ) is the largest lake in Turkey. It lies in the Eastern Anatolia Region of Turkey in the provinces of Van Province, Van and Bitlis Province, Bitlis, in the Armenian highlands. It is a Salt lake, saline Soda lake, soda lake, receiv ...
the old town (called Archesh) slowly disappeared. By the second half of the 19th century few traces of the buildings, churches and dwelling houses remained. After old Archesh/Erciş was flooded by water, the city was moved to north to a much higher place called Alada in 1841. There the new town was built called Akants (Նոր Արճեշ (, New Artchesh in Armenian and Erciş () in Turkish). While the new site inherited the old city's name and identity, as well as most of the population, some of the old site's residents moved out into the surrounding countryside instead and settled in villages such as Çelebibaği. In 1890 64% of the population of the district was Armenian.
The Armenian population was wiped out during the
Armenian genocide
The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians, 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 t ...
of 1915. That same year
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
n forces captured the city 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 Dict ...
. They were replaced by makeshift Armenian forces after December 1917. These were eventually driven out by the Ottomans on April 1, 1918.
In July 1930 in Erçis occurred the Zilan Massacre in which the Turkish army massacred thousands of Kurds.
The city was shaken by a major earthquake on 23 October 2011.
Government
District Governor Nuri Mehmetbeyoğlu was appointed as a trustee for the Erçis municipality.
Population
The total population of the district at the end of 2022 was 171,000.
Geography
The district covers an area of 2,133 km² and is surrounded by Muradiye District to the east, Bitlis Province to the west,
Ağrı Province
Ağrı Province () is located in eastern Turkey, bordering Iran to the east and the Provinces of Turkey, provinces of Kars Province, Kars to the north, Erzurum Province, Erzurum to the northwest, Muş Province, Muş and Bitlis Province, Bitlis to ...
on the north and by
Lake Van
Lake Van (; ; ) is the largest lake in Turkey. It lies in the Eastern Anatolia Region of Turkey in the provinces of Van Province, Van and Bitlis Province, Bitlis, in the Armenian highlands. It is a Salt lake, saline Soda lake, soda lake, receiv ...
on the south. There is a volcanic mountain and caldera called Mount Meydan in the district.
To the north of Erciş is a large, steep highland area known as the Ala Dağ (literally "mottled mountain"), which contains the tributaries of the Zilan Dere. This is part of a general highland belt that separates the small plains north of Lake Van from the districts of
Doğubayazıt
Doğubayazıt (; or , ) is a town of Ağrı Province of Turkey, near the Iran–Turkey border, border with Iran. Its elevation is 1625 m. It is the seat of Doğubayazıt District.
History
For most of the periods described here, Doğubay ...
and
Diyadin
Diyadin (; ) is a town in Ağrı Province of Turkey, at the foot of Mount Tendürek, a high peak in the Aladağlar range that stands between Ağrı and the north shore of Lake Van. It is the seat of Diyadin District. The
Mount Süphan
Mount Süphan (; ; ) is a stratovolcano located in eastern Turkey, immediately north of Lake Van. It is the second highest volcano in Turkey, with an elevation of , and has the third highest prominence of the Armenian Highlands, after Mount Arara ...
and
Mount Nemrut
Mount Nemrut or Nemrud (; ; ; Greek language, Greek: Όρος Νεμρούτ) is a mountain in southeastern Turkey, notable for the summit where a number of large statues are erected around what is assumed to be a royal tomb from the 1st century ...
further west are also part of this highland belt, as is the Mount Tendürek immediately to the east. The Ala Dağ's underlying rock is fairly soft and as a result the whole area is eroded into many sharp ridges. However, many of these ridges are covered in grass. There are villages in some of the valleys in the Ala Dağ, and there was historically a route cutting through some of these valleys to reach Diyadin further north. Historical records also refer to an "Ala Dağ" as the site of an
Ilkhanid
The Ilkhanate or Il-khanate was a Mongol khanate founded in the southwestern territories of the Mongol Empire. It was ruled by the Il-Khans or Ilkhanids (), and known to the Mongols as ''Hülegü Ulus'' (). The Ilkhanid realm was officially known ...
palace and a grazing area for
Mongol
Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, China (Inner Mongolia and other 11 autonomous territories), as well as the republics of Buryatia and Kalmykia in Russia. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family of M ...
pastoralists, but this seems to be referring to a different place.
It is one of the most developed cities in eastern Turkey and it is the place where the
folk song
Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...
s are still alive. Many kinds of
fruit
In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering.
Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...
s and
vegetable
Vegetables are edible parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. This original meaning is still commonly used, and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including edible flower, flo ...
s are raised. Planting of poplar trees is widely seen in the city and surroundings.
Climate
Erciş has a dry-summer
continental climate
Continental climates often have a significant annual variation in temperature (warm to hot summers and cold winters). They tend to occur in central and eastern parts of the three northern-tier continents (North America, Europe, and Asia), typi ...
(
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...
: ''Dsb''/''Dsa''), with hot, dry summers, and cold winters.
Composition
There are 102
neighbourhoods
A neighbourhood (Commonwealth English) or neighborhood (American English) is a geographically localized community within a larger town, city, suburb or rural area, sometimes consisting of a single street and the buildings lining it. Neighbourh ...