76-491: Elazığ ( Turkish pronunciation: [eˈlazɯː] ) is a city in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey , and the administrative centre of Elazığ Province and Elazığ District . Founded in and around the former city of Harput , it is located in the uppermost Euphrates valley. The plain on which the city extends has an altitude of 1,067 metres (3,501 ft). Elazığ resembles an inland peninsula surrounded by
152-525: A Mediterranean ( Köppen climate classification : Csa ) or continental ( Trewartha climate classification : Dca ) climate with cold, snowy winters and hot, dry summers. Highest recorded temperature:42.4 °C (108.3 °F) on 20 July 2021 Lowest recorded temperature:−22.6 °C (−8.7 °F) on 30 December 1951 and 20 January 1972 Elazığ cuisine is the second richest among all cities in Turkey with 154 different types of food and drinks according to
228-668: A large part of the people, especially the Turks. Therefore, the vast majority of Turks became involved in the Safawiya order, which became a militant organization with an extreme Shiite ideology led by Sheikh Haydar . Ya'qub initially sent Sheikh Haydar and his followers to a holy war against the Circassians , but soon decided to break the alliance because he feared the military power of Sheikh Haydar and his order. During his march to Georgia , Sheikh Haydar attacked one of Ya'qub's vassals,
304-484: A milder climate. The region contains 11% percent of the total forested area of Turkey , and it is rich in native plants and animals. Oak and yellow pine trees form the majority of the forests. The region has high potential for hydroelectric power . Aq Qoyunlu The Aq Qoyunlu or the White Sheep Turkomans ( Azerbaijani : Ağqoyunlular , آغقویونلولار ; Persian : آق قویونلو )
380-471: A new municipality building was built and a museum was opened. Over time, Harput was turned into a suburb of Elazığ, and facilities were created for tourism and recreation. The ruined Armenian neighborhoods of Harput were leveled in the 1960s and the 1970s. Harberd had many Armenian churches and monasteries. Also, in Harberd was seat of a Syrian Orthodox bishop as early as the eleventh century, whose diocese
456-498: A number of instances served under different dynasties for several generations. The four top civil posts of the Aq Qoyunlu were all occupied by Iranians, which under Uzun Hasan included; the vizier, who led the great council ( divan ); the mostawfi al-mamalek , high-ranking financial accountants; the mohrdar , who affixed the state seal; and the marakur "stable master", who supervised the royal court. Culture flourished under
532-607: A result, Uzun Hasan was defeated by the Ottomans at the Battle of Otlukbeli in 1473, though this did not destroy the Aq Qoyunlu. In 1470, Uzun selected Abu Bakr Tihrani to compile a history of the Aq Qoyunlu confederation. The Kitab-i Diyarbakriyya , written in Persian, referred to Uzun Hasan as sahib-qiran and was the first historical work to assign this title to a non-Timurid ruler. Uzun Hasan preserved relationships with
608-409: A shortening of Ağavat Mezrası ('hamlet of the aghas /landlords') or Mezra-ı Çötelizade ('Çötelizade [a family name] hamlet'). This may be explained by the fact that some notables from Harput had been exiled from the city and settled in nearby villages in the late 18th century. Some Armenians from Harput ( Armenian : Խարբերդ , romanized : Kharberd ) are said to have settled on
684-665: A silk factory in Mezre. In 1878, it was made the administrative centre of the Mamuret-ul-Aziz Vilayet (commonly referred to as the Harput Vilayet). According to census data from the 1880s, the population of Mezre consisted of 2,126 non-Muslim and 548 Muslim inhabitants, making it the only vilayet centre with an Armenian majority besides Van . Meanwhile, Harput proper had a population of 12,974 people (5,125 were non-Muslim and 7,849 Muslim). The populous villages on
760-540: A study conducted by the Ankara Chamber of Commerce. Particularly those who originated in the historic city of Harput have important fame in the region and the country. Apart from famous meat platters most of which include meatballs, naturally dried fruits and vegetables, and using them in main dishes are unique to Elazığ cuisine. Several examples could include: Elazığ is also known for its vineyards and two types of grape varieties Öküzgözü and Boğazkere . Elazığ
836-577: A threat to their neighbors. The early Safavids , who were followers of the Safaviyya religious order, began to undermine the allegiance of the Aq Qoyunlu. The Safavids and the Aq Qoyunlu met in battle in the city of Nakhchivan in 1501 and the Safavid leader Ismail I forced the Aq Qoyunlu to withdraw. In his retreat from the Safavids, the Aq Qoyunlu leader Alwand destroyed an autonomous state of
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#1732772737775912-719: Is a geographical region of Turkey . The most populous province in the region is Van Province . Other populous provinces are Malatya , Erzurum and Elazığ . It is bordered by the Black Sea Region and Georgia in the north, the Central Anatolia Region in the west, the Mediterranean Region in the southwest, the Southeastern Anatolia Region and Iraq in the south, and Armenia , Azerbaijan , and Iran in
988-474: Is a busy city with a university and an industrial base, although historic monuments are scarce. The exception is the ancient citadel and town of Harput, a dependency of the greater municipality of Elazığ today situated three miles (4.8 km) to the north of the city centre. Elazığ is the most developed city (and province) in the region, according to a report carried out by the Ministry of Development, making it
1064-470: Is divided into 41 quarters: Hilalkent, Çaydaçıra, Ataşehir, Cumhuriyet, Çatalçeşme, Doğukent, Fevziçakmak, Gümüşkavak, Karşıyaka, Kırklar, Kızılay, Kültür, Nailbey, Rızaiye, Salibaba, Sanayi, Sürsürü, Ulukent, Yeni, Zafran, Alayaprak, Esentepe, Göllübağ, Harput Merkez, Sugözü, Izzetpaşa, Akpınar, Çarşı, Icadiye, Aksaray, Mustafapaşa, Olgunlar, Rüstempaşa, Sarayatik, Üniversite, Yıldızbağları, Abdullahpaşa, Hicret, Şahinkaya , Yemişlik and Güneykent. Elazığ has
1140-485: Is first mentioned in late 14th century sources. It has been suggested that this name refers to old totemic symbols, but according to Rashid al-Din Hamadani , the Turks were forbidden to eat the flesh of their totem-animals, and so this is unlikely given the importance of mutton in the diet of pastoral nomads. Another hypothesis is that the name refers to the predominant color of their flocks. According to chronicles from
1216-482: Is named as Kam Ghan, a name otherwise unknown. In default of any better explanation, I therefore incline to the belief that the book was composed before Ak-koyunlu rulers had decided who their ancestors were. It was in 1403 that they ceased to be tribal chiefs and became Sultans, so we may assume that their official genealogy was formulated round about that date. According to the Kitab-i Diyarbakriyya ,
1292-529: Is served by Elazığ Airport which lies about 12 km (7 mi) from the city center. The airport is the 19th busiest airport in Turkey in terms of passenger traffic. There are daily domestic flights from/to Ankara , Istanbul , and İzmir . During summer months there are some international flights from/to cities such as Düsseldorf and Frankfurt as well as from/to Antalya and Adana . There are local companies that provide coach services to almost all cities in Turkey. Ferryboat services are also present over
1368-479: Is surrounded by the Euphrates in the north, and since the completion of Keban Dam the rivers came to cover almost ten percent of the surface area (826 square kilometres (319 sq mi)) of the province (8,455 square kilometres (3,264 sq mi)). Elazığ's adjacent province borders are with Tunceli (North), Erzincan (North-West), Bingöl (East), Diyarbakır (South), and Malatya (West). The city of Elazığ
1444-544: The Armenian genocide . The city also housed Assyrians and Kurds . The city currently has a mixed population of Kurds and Turks . In the late 19th and early 20th century, Elazığ exported raisins , apricots and almonds to Europe. Opium was also grown in the area. Honey was also produced, but mainly to be used by locals rather than exported. Gold was also found in the area in the early 20th century. More than 30,000 people and at least 212 villages were affected by
1520-620: The Byzantine Empire , the Aq Qoyunlu are first attested in the district of Bayburt south of the Pontic Mountains from at least the 1340s. In these chronicles, Tur Ali Beg was mentioned as lord of the "Turks of Amid [Diyarbakir]", who had already attained the rank of amir under the Ilkhan Ghazan . Under his leadership, they besieged Trebizond , but failed to take the town. A number of their leaders, including
1596-652: The Ottoman Army as barracks. In November 1895, government-backed Turks and Kurds massacred, looted and burned the Armenian villages on the plain. In the same month, Harput was attacked and the American schools were burned down. During the Armenian genocide , many residents were killed. The town was captured by Kurdish rebels during the Sheikh Said rebellion against the government of Atatürk in 1925. It
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#17327727377751672-536: The Shirvanshahs , in revenge for his father, Sheikh Junayd (assassinated in 1460), and Ya'qub sent troops to the Shirvanshahs , who defeated and killed Haydar and captured his three sons. This event further strengthened the pro-Safavid feeling among Azerbaijani and Anatolian Turkmen. Following Ya'qub's death, civil war again erupted, the Aq Qoyunlus destroyed themselves from within, and they ceased to be
1748-687: The dynasty 's founder, Qara Yuluk Uthman Beg , married Byzantine princesses . By the end of the Ilkhanid period in the mid-14th century, the Oghuz tribes that comprised the Aq Qoyunlu confederation roamed the summer pastures in Armenia , in particular, the upper reaches of the Tigris river and winter pastures between the towns of Diyarbakır and Sivas . Since the end of the 14th century, Aq Qoyunlu waged constant wars with another tribal confederation of
1824-457: The "Oghuz il", and formerly inhabited Mangyshlak , Khwarazm and Turkestan , came and served in his court. He also made the tamga (seal) of the Bayandur tribe the symbol of his state. For this reason, the Bayandur tamga is found in Aq Qoyunlu coins, their official documents, inscriptions and flags. The Aq Qoyunlu Sultans claimed descent from Bayindir Khan, who was a grandson of Oghuz Khan,
1900-550: The 19th (two Armenian Apostolic , one Catholic , and one Protestant). Mezre, like Harput, also had a minority population of Syriac Christians . The building of the American consulate in Harput, established in 1901, was in fact located in Mezre. Harput was an important station for the American missionaries for many years. The missionaries built Euphrates College , a theological seminary, and boys' and girls' schools. It operated until 1915 when its buildings were confiscated and used by
1976-470: The 2000 census. The population density (40 inhabitants per square kilometre (100/sq mi)) is lower than the average for Turkey (98/km (250/sq mi)). The region has the second most rural population in Turkey after the Black Sea region . Migration, especially to Marmara Region, is high. Migration to other regions and abroad is higher than the natural population increase. Until the Armenian genocide ,
2052-591: The Aq Qoyunlu in Mardin . The last Aq Qoyunlu leader, Sultan Murad , brother of Alwand, was also defeated by the same Safavid leader. Though Murād briefly established himself in Baghdad in 1501, he soon withdrew back to Diyar Bakr, signaling the end of the Aq Qoyunlu rule. Amidst the struggle for power between Uzun Hasan's grandsons Baysungur (son of Yaqub) and Rustam (son of Maqsud), their cousin Ahmed Bey appeared on
2128-428: The Aq Qoyunlu, who, although of coming from a Turkic background, sponsored Iranian culture. Uzun Hasan himself adopted it and ruled in the style of an Iranian king. Despite his Turkoman background, he was proud of being an Iranian. At his new capital, Tabriz, he managed a refined Persian court. There he utilized the trappings of pre-Islamic Persian royalty and bureaucrats taken from several earlier Iranian regimes. Through
2204-650: The Armenian history of the region. Eastern Anatolia Region has four subdivisions: Provinces that are entirely in the Eastern Anatolia Region: Provinces that are mostly in the Eastern Anatolia Region: The Eastern Anatolia Region is located in the easternmost part of Turkey . It is bounded by Turkey's Central Anatolia Region to the west; Turkey's Black Sea Region to the north; Turkey's Southeast Anatolia Region and Iraq to
2280-502: The Armenian history of the region. It has the highest average altitude, largest geographical area, and lowest population density of the seven Turkish regions . The English-language name Anatolia ( Turkish : Anadolu ) derives from the Greek Ἀνατολή ( Anatolḗ ) meaning "the East" and designating (from a Greek point of view) eastern regions in general. Traditionally, Anatolia
2356-653: The Black Sheep Turkoman leader Jahān Shāh in 1467. After the death of Jahan Shah , his son Hasan Ali , with the help of Timurid Abu Sa'id Mirza , marched on Azerbaijan to meet Uzun Hasan. Deciding to spend the winter in Karabakh , Abu Sa'id was captured and repulsed by Uzun Hasan as the former advanced towards the Aras River . After the defeat of the Timurid leader, Abu Sa'id Mirza , Uzun Hasan
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2432-606: The Chinggisid yasa (traditional nomadic laws of the medieval Turco-Mongols of the Eurasian steppe lands) was dissolved. Uzun Hasan's conquest of most of mainland Iran shifted the seat of power to the east, where the Aq Qoyunlu adopted Iranian customs for administration and culture. In the Iranian areas, Uzun Hasan preserved the previous bureaucratic structure along with its secretaries, who belonged to families that had in
2508-597: The Oghuz tribes, the Qara Qoyunlu . The leading Aq Qoyunlu tribe was the Bayandur tribe. Uzun Hasan used to assert the claim that he was an "honorable descendant of Oghuz Khan and his grandson, Bayandur Khan". In a letter dating to the year 1470, which was sent to Şehzade Bayezid , the then-governor of Amasya , Uzun Hasan wrote that those from the Bayandur and Bayat tribes, as well as other tribes that belonged to
2584-478: The Ottoman Empire to tell Sultan Bayezid II that Azerbaijan and Persian Iraq were defenceless and suggested that Ahmed Bey, heir to that kingdom, should be sent there with Ottoman troops. Bayezid agreed to this idea, and by May 1497 Ahmad Bey faced Rustam near Araxes and defeated him. After Ahmad's death, the Aq Qoyunlu became even more fragmented. The state was ruled by three sultans: Alvand Mirza in
2660-672: The Turkish parliament. The office of the Governor Commander was eventually left vacant in 1948 but the legal framework for the Inspectorate-Generals was only abolished in 1952. Elazığ rapidly developed into a modern city in the Republican era, while Harput was largely an abandoned ruin in the 1930s and 1940s. Efforts began in the 1950s to renovate the old town of Harput: some historic monuments were restored,
2736-408: The ancestors of Uzun Hasan back to the prophet Adam in the 68th generation are listed by name and information is given about them. Among them is Tur Ali Bey, the grandfather of Uzun Hasan's grandfather, who is also mentioned in other sources. But it is difficult to say whether Pehlivan Bey, Ezdi Bey and Idris Bey, who are listed in earlier periods, really existed. Most of the people who are listed as
2812-418: The ancestors of Uzun Hasan are names related to the Oghuz legend and to Oghuz rulers. The Aq Qoyunlu Turkomans first acquired land in 1402, when Timur granted them all of Diyar Bakr in present-day Turkey. For a long time, the Aq Qoyunlu were unable to expand their territory, as the rival Qara Qoyunlu or "Black Sheep Turkomans" kept them at bay. However, this changed with the rule of Uzun Hasan, who defeated
2888-713: The construction of the Keban Dam in 1966–1974, which flooded several formerly populated areas. Many of those who were forced to move by the construction of the dam chose to settle in Elazığ and invested the indemnities paid to them by the state in houses in Elazığ or in small businesses. However, over 80% of families in zones affected by the Keban dam were landless peasants and thus ineligible to receive compensation, or peasants with little land who would receive very little money (Koyunlu 1982: 250) The dam, industry, and mining accounts for
2964-494: The earliest known inhabitants of the area. Harput and its surrounding region were part of the kingdom of Urartu at its maximum extent, and the Urartians may have been the first to build a fortress here. Historian Hakob Manandian believed it to have been the main fortress of the earlier Hayasa-Azzi confederation. It is possible that Harput stands on or is near the site of Carcathiocerta (more commonly identified with Eğil ),
3040-419: The east. The region encompasses most of Western Armenia and had a large population of indigenous Armenians until the Armenian genocide . The Anatolia peninsula historically never encompassed what is now called "Eastern Anatolia" which was, instead, referred to as the Armenian highlands . It was renamed by the newly founded Turkish Republic in the 1920s. This has been seen as an attempt by Turkey to erase
3116-528: The famous Sufi order, Rustam (1478–1490) immediately allowed Sheikh Haydar Safavi's sons to return to Ardabil in 1492. Two years later, Ayba Sultan ordered their re-arrest, as their rise threatened the Ak Koyunlu again, but their youngest son, Ismail , then seven years old, fled and was hidden by supporters in Lahijan . According to Hasan Rumlu's Ahsan al-tavarikh , in 1496–97, Hasan Ali Tarkhani went to
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3192-459: The first capital of the Kingdom of Sophene . The early Muslim geographers knew Harput as Ḥiṣn Ziyād ("the fortress of Ziyād"), but the Armenian name, Khartabirt or Kharbirt, whence Kharput and Harput, was generally adopted in time. Harput and its vicinity fell under Turkish control in the year 1085 as a result of the Battle of Manzikert , which took place on August 26, 1071. The region around
3268-553: The five years he spent at the Aq Qoyunlu court. Uzun Hasan and his son, Khalil, patronized, along with other prominent Sufis, members of the Kobrāvi and Neʿmatallāhi tariqats. According to the Tarikh-e lam-r-ye amini by Fazlallh b. Ruzbehn Khonji Esfahni, the court-commissioned history of Yaqub's reign, Uzun Hasan built close to 400 structures in the Aq Qoyunlu region for the purpose of Sufi communal retreat. In 1469, Uzun Hasan sent
3344-403: The fortress changed hands frequently in the subsequent centuries, coming under the control of the Çubukoğulları , Artuqids , Sultanate of Rum , Ilkhanate , Beylik of Dulkadir , Aq Qoyunlu , Safavids and Ottomans . According to an official history written in 1883, Mezre was originally a small hamlet in the vicinity of Harput which served as the official residence of the Çötelizades, one of
3420-776: The head of the Timurid Sultan, Shāhrukh II bin Abu Sa'id, with an embassy to the court of the newly ascended al-Ashraf Qaytbay in Cairo. With these presents came a fathnama , in Persian, explaining to the Mamluk sultan the events leading up to the Aq Quyunlu—Timurid conflict approximately five months earlier, emphasizing in particular Sultan-Abu Sa'id's plans of aggression toward the Mamluk and Aq Quyunlu dominions—plans that were thwarted by Qaitbay's loyal peer Uzun Hasan. Despite
3496-465: The high level of urbanization (42.7% in 1970) surpassing the average levels for Eastern Anatolia . The main agricultural activity of the area centers around vineyards and Elazığ also serves as a market hub for other agricultural products. The state-run vineyards of Elazığ are notable for their production of Buzbağ , a full-flavored red wine . Today, Elazığ is the capital of the Elazığ Province . It
3572-701: The late 19th century and made up most or half of the population. According to the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople , before the First World War, 39,788 Armenians lived in the kaza of Harput-Mezre, including 20,590 peasants in the surrounding 50 villages. They had 67 churches, 9 monasteries, and 92 schools. Most of the Armenians of the Kaza lived in the surrounding villages. Men were executed and women and children were sold to Muslims during
3648-516: The legendary ancestor of Oghuz Turks . According to Professor G. L. Lewis : The Ak-koyunlu Sultans claimed descent from Bayindir Khan and it is likely, on the face of it, that the Book of Dede Korkut was composed under their patronage. The snag about this is that in the Ak-koyunlu genealogy Bayindir's father is named as Gok ('Sky') Khan, son of the eponymous Oghuz Khan, whereas in our book he
3724-545: The members of the popular dervish order whose main inclinations were towards Shi'ism , while promoting the urban religious establishment with donations and confirmations of tax concessions or endowments, and ordering the pursuit of extremist Shiite and antinomist sects . He married his daughter Alamshah Halime Begum to his nephew Haydar , the new head of the Safavid sect in Ardabil . When Uzun Hasan died early in 1478, he
3800-536: The most developed region of Eastern Anatolia Region . Elazığ is situated at the northwestern corner of a 30-mile-long valley, known locally as Uluova (literally the Great Valley ). The area's Armenians called this valley "Vosgetashd" ( the Golden Plain ). Its altitude is 3,300 feet (1,000 m), latitude and longitude of 38 degrees and 41 minutes North, and 39 degrees and 14 minutes East. Elazığ Province
3876-500: The natural Lake Hazar and reservoirs of Keban Dam , Karakaya Dam , Kıralkızı and Özlüce . Its population is 387,072 (2022). Elazığ was once a suburb of the ancient fortress town of Harput called Mezre . Heinrich Hübschmann believed Mezre to be the settlement of Mazara ( Μαζάρα ) mentioned by Ptolemy , while Nicholas Adontz derived the name from an Arabic word meaning arable land or hamlet (borrowed into Turkish as mezra 'hamlet'). The toponym Mezre originated as
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#17327727377753952-468: The negative response from Qaitbay, Uzun Hasan's continued correspondence to the Mamluk Sultanate were in Persian. The Aq Qoyunlu administration encompassed of two sections; the military caste, which mostly consisted of Turkomans , but also had Iranian tribesmen in it. The other section was the civil staff, which consisted of officials from established Persian families. The organization of
4028-428: The notable families exiled from Harput in the 1780s-90s. In 1834–36, the Çötelizades hosted the governor and military commander Reşid Mehmed Pasha , who turned the hamlet into a garrison for his campaigns in the eastern regions of the empire. In the 1850s and 60s, Mezre grew into a small town or suburb of Harput with a prosperous Armenian bourgeoisie. In 1869, an Armenian named Krikor Ipekjian (later Fabrikatorian) founded
4104-620: The plain below also had mixed Armenian-Muslim populations. The population of Mezre were mainly merchants, craftsmen and bureaucrats. In 1892, the Armenian National Central Academy ( Azkayin Getronakan Varzharan ) was founded in Mezre. By 1911, there was also an Armenian girls' school and a seminary, as well as two colleges run by French and German missionaries, among other educational institutions. There were four Armenian churches built in Mezre in
4180-409: The region also had a large population of indigenous Armenians , when it was also known as Western Armenia , and in addition had significant minorities of Georgians , Pontic Greeks and Caucasus Greeks . The average altitude is 2,200 m (7,200 ft). Major geographic features include plains, plateaus and massifs. There is some volcanic activity today. Since most of the region is far from
4256-725: The reign of Yaʿqūb, the Aq Qoyunlu court held a fondness for Persian poetry. 16th-century Azerbaijani poet Fuzuli was also born and raised under Aq Qoyunlu rule, writing his first known poem for Shah Alvand Mirza . Nur al-Din 'Abd al-Rahman Jami dedicated his poem, Salāmān va Absāl , which was written in Persian, to Yaʿqūb. Yaʿqūb rewarded Jami with a generous gift. Jami also wrote a eulogy, Silsilat al-zahab , which indirectly criticised Yaʿqūb immoral behavior. Yaʿqūb had Persian poems dedicated to him, including Ahli Shirazi's allegorical masnavi on love, Sham' va parvana and Bana'i's 5,000 verse narrative poem, Bahram va Bihruz . Yaʿqūb's maternal nephew, 'Abd Allah Hatifi, wrote poetry for
4332-473: The reservoir lakes to supplement highway connections to towns such as Ağın, and Pertek and Çemişgezek of Tunceli . The Blue Train (passenger express) provides the connection from Elazığ to Ankara. Elazığ is home to Fırat University , established in 1975 and since has become one of the leading academic institutions in eastern Turkey. Elazığ is twinned with: Eastern Anatolia Region The Eastern Anatolia region ( Turkish : Doğu Anadolu Bölgesi )
4408-403: The sea, and has high altitude, it has a harsh continental climate with long winters and short summers. During the winter, it is very cold and snowy, during summer the weather is cool in the highlands and warm in the lowlands. The region's annual temperature difference is the highest in Turkey. Some areas in the region have different microclimates. As an example, Iğdır (near Mount Ararat ) has
4484-479: The semi-mythical founding father of the Oghuz, Oghuz Khagan . The Bayandurs behaved like statesmen rather than warlords and gained the support of the merchant and feudal classes of Transcaucasia (present-day Armenia , Azerbaijan , and Georgia ). The Aq Qoyunlu, along with the Qara Qoyunlu, were the last Iranian regimes that used their Chinggisid background to establish their legitimacy. Under Ya'qub Beg,
4560-649: The site in 1617, so Elazığ was sometimes called Nor Kharberd ( lit. 'New Harput') in Armenian. The Kurdish name is Xarpêt . The name of the city in Syriac is Kartbert ( ܟܪܦܘܬ ) or Kharput ( ܟܪܬܒܪܬ ). With the creation of the Mamuret-ul-Aziz vilayet of the Ottoman Empire, the name Mamuret-ul-Aziz came into use as a name alternative for the city. This name quickly evolved into al-Aziz ( Turkish : Elaziz ; Kurdish : Elezîz ). In 1937, through an order from Mustafa Kemal Atatürk , this name
4636-467: The south; and Iran , Azerbaijan , Armenia and Georgia to the east, where Eastern Anatolia overlaps and converges with the South Caucasus region and Lesser Caucasus mountain plateau. The area of the region is 164,330 km (63,450 sq mi), which comprises 20.9% of the total area of Turkey. The total population of the region is 5,966,101 (2019 estimate), down from 6,100,000 at
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#17327727377754712-529: The stage. Ahmed Bey was the son of Uzun Hasan's eldest son Ughurlu Muhammad , who, in 1475, escaped to the Ottoman Empire, where the sultan, Mehmed the Conqueror , received Uğurlu Muhammad with kindness and gave him his daughter in marriage, of whom Ahmed Bey was born. Baysungur was dethroned in 1491 and expelled from Tabriz . He made several unsuccessful attempts to return before he was killed in 1493. Desiring to reconcile both his religious establishment and
4788-567: The summer of 1503, Diyarbakir in 1507–1508 and Mesopotamia in the autumn of 1508. The last Aq Qoyunlu sultan, Morad, who hoped to regain the throne with the help of Ottoman troops, was defeated and killed by Ismail's Qizilbash warriors in the last fortress of Rohada, ending the political rule of the Aq Qoyunlu dynasty. The leaders of Aq Qoyunlu were from the Begundur or Bayandur clan of the Oghuz Turks and were considered descendants of
4864-511: The territory "Eastern Anatolia" as part of a wider policy of removing all non-Turkish names of places following the Armenian genocide . Beginning in 1880, the name Armenia was forbidden to be used in official documents of the Ottoman Empire , in an attempt to play down the role of Armenians in the region. The government of Sultan Abdul Hamid II replaced the name Armenia with such terms as "Kurdistan" or "Anatolia". The Sublime Porte believed there would be no Armenian question if there
4940-603: The title Padishah -i Irān "Padishah of Iran", which was re-adopted by his distaff grandson Ismail I, founder of the Safavid Empire. The Aq Qoyunlu realm was notable for being inhabited by many prominent figures, such as the poets Ali Qushji (died 1474), Baba Fighani Shirazi (died 1519), Ahli Shirazi (died 1535), the poet, scholar and Sufi Jami (died 1492) and the philosopher and theologian, Jalal al-Din Davani (died 1503). The Aq Qoyunlu patronized Persian belles-lettres which included poets like Ahli Shirazi , Kamāl al-Dīn Banāʾī Haravī, Bābā Fighānī, Shahīdī Qumī. By
5016-692: The use of his increasing revenue, Uzun Hasan was able to buy the approval of the ulama (clergy) and the mainly Iranian urban elite, while also taking care of the impoverished rural inhabitants. In letters from the Ottoman Sultans, when addressing the kings of Aq Qoyunlu, such titles as Arabic : ملك الملوك الأيرانية "King of Iranian Kings", Arabic : سلطان السلاطين الإيرانية "Sultan of Iranian Sultans", Persian : شاهنشاه ایران خدیو عجم Shāhanshāh-e Irān Khadiv-e Ajam " Shahanshah of Iran and Ruler of Persia", Jamshid shawkat va Fereydun rāyat va Dārā derāyat "Powerful like Jamshid , flag of Fereydun and wise like Darius " have been used. Uzun Hassan also held
5092-483: The wall of the old fortress. An Armenian Catholic diocese of Kharput was created in 1850 but was not re-established as a residential diocese after the Armenian genocide, only as an Armenian Catholic Titular see . An Armenian Evangelical Church , built in the 19th century, survives as a ruined shell of its former self in the middle of a car park. In the early 20th century, the city was mainly inhabited by Turks and Armenians . The Armenian population grew rapidly in
5168-450: The west, Uzun Hasan's nephew Qasim in an enclave in Diyarbakir , and Alvand's brother Mohammad in Fars and Iraq-Ajam (killed by violence in the summer of 1500 and replaced by Morad Mirza). The collapse of the Aq Qoyunlu state in Iran began in the autumn of 1501 with the defeat at the hands of Ismail Safavi, who had left Lahijan two years earlier and gathered a large audience of Turkmen warriors. He conquered Iraq-Ajami, Fars and Kerman in
5244-460: Was Turkified as Elazık ( Turkish pronunciation: [eˈlazɯk] ), but due to difficulties in its pronunciation, it was finally accepted as Elazığ . The town of Mezre (future Elazığ) was founded on the fertile plain below the hill on which the much older fortress and settlement of Harput were constructed. It was located about 5 kilometres (3.1 miles) to the southwest of Harput. The Hurrians , who settled in this area in c. 2000 B.C., are
5320-501: Was a culturally Persianate , Sunni Turkoman tribal confederation . Founded in the Diyarbakir region by Qara Yuluk Uthman Beg , they ruled parts of present-day eastern Turkey from 1378 to 1503, and in their last decades also ruled Armenia , Azerbaijan , much of Iran , Iraq , and Oman where the ruler of Hormuz recognised Aq Qoyunlu suzerainty. The Aq Qoyunlu empire reached its zenith under Uzun Hasan . The name Aq Qoyunlu, literally meaning "those with white sheep",
5396-487: Was able to take Baghdad along with territories around the Persian Gulf . He expanded into Iran as far east as Khorasan . However, around this time, the Ottoman Empire sought to expand eastwards, a serious threat that forced the Aq Qoyunlu into an alliance with the Karamanids of central Anatolia. As early as 1464, Uzun Hasan had requested military aid from one of the Ottoman Empire's strongest enemies, Venice . Despite Venetian promises, this aid never arrived and, as
5472-530: Was considered to be a peninsula the eastern boundary of which was a line from the Black Sea to the Gulf of Alexandretta , which is to the west of what is now the Eastern Anatolia Region. As a geographical term, this definition continues to be used. Historically, the region was referred to as the Armenian highlands or Western Armenia . In 1923, the newly founded Republic of Turkey renamed
5548-407: Was initially called Ḥiṣn Ziyād and later Harput . Unlike many Christian dioceses in Turkey, Armenian and Assyrian churches are still functioning even after the massacres that took place in the city during the Armenian genocides and Assyrian , in which the bishop and most of his flock were killed. The diocese has two priests, with the main church being based in the ancient Merymana Kilisesi next to
5624-587: Was no Armenia. The process of "nationalization" of toponyms was continued and gained momentum under the Kemalists after the foundation of the Republic of Turkey . The region encompasses most of Western Armenia ( Armenian : Արեւմտյան Հայաստան ) and had a large population of indigenous Armenians until the Armenian genocide . The Anatolia peninsula never encompassed what is now called "Eastern Anatolia", which has been seen as an attempt by Turkey to erase
5700-499: Was succeeded by his son Khalil Mirza , but the latter was defeated by a confederation under his younger brother Ya'qub at the battle of Khoy in July. Ya'qub, who reigned from 1478 to 1490, sustained the dynasty for a while longer. However, during the first four years of his reign there were seven pretenders to the throne who had to be put down. Unlike his father, Ya'qub Beg was not interested in popular religious rites and alienated
5776-643: Was used as a base of operations by the Turkish Army during the Dersim rebellion . Elazığ was the seat of the Fourth Inspectorate-General from 1936 until 1952. The Inspectorate General included the provinces of Elazığ, Erzincan , Bingöl , and Tunceli and was governed by a Governor Commander under military authority. He had wide-ranging power over the civilians and could order the application of capital punishment without permission from
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