Silvan, Diyarbakır

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Silvan
Farqîn.jpg
Silvan is located in Turkey
Silvan
Silvan
Coordinates: Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Country  Turkey
Province Diyarbakır
Government
 • Mayor Yüksel Bodakçı (BDP)
 • Kaymakam Doğan Demirdaş
Area[1]
 • District 1,397.14 km2 (539.44 sq mi)
Population (2012)[2]
 • Urban 43,676
 • District 86,450
 • District density 62/km2 (160/sq mi)
Post code 21640
Website www.silvan.bel.tr

Silvan (Turkish: Silvan, Ottoman Turkish: ميا فارقين‎ Meyafarikîn,[3] Arabic: ميافارقين‎‎, Meiafarakin or Mayyafariqin; Armenian: Նփրկերտ, Np'rkert; Greek: Mαρτυρόπολις, Martyropolis; Kurdish: Farqîn; Syriac: ܡܝܦܪܩܝܛ‎, Mayperqiṭ) is a city in the Diyarbakır Province of Turkey. Its population is 41,451.[4]

History

Silvan has been identified by several scholars as one of two possible locations (the other being Arzan) of Tigranakert (Tigranocerta), the ancient capital of the Kingdom of Armenia, which was built by King Tigran the Great (ruling 95-55 BCE) and named in his honor.[5][6]

Roman Era

In 69 BCE, the army of Republican Rome defeated Tigran's troops in the battle of Tigranocerta. The city lost its importance as a thriving center for trade and Hellenistic culture in the following decades. In 387 CE, with the Peace of Acilisene, Tigranakert was made part of the Byzantine Empire.

Diocese of Martyropolis

Around 400 CE, the city's bishop, Marutha (later, saint Maruthas), brought a large number of relics back from Sassanid Persia. These were relics of Christian martyrs persecuted under Sassanid rule. For this reason it was renamed Martyropolis, "city of the martyrs." Following the reforms of Justinian I (rule 527-565), the city was made the capital of the province of Fourth Armenia.[7] The city suffered heavily in the Battle of Martyropolis in 588AD, but soon prospered again.

Islamic era

It was known by the name of Meiafarakin after the Arabs took over this region in the 7th century. It declined in importance over the centuries and had been reduced to a small settlement by the 12th century.

21st century

Silvan was the site of serious clashes between Turkish government forces and Turkish-Kurdish Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) separatists in August 2015 during the wider Operation Martyr Yalçın.[8]

Notable sites

Notes

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Tahir Sezen, Osmanlı Yer Adları (Alfabetik Sırayla), T.C. Başbakanlık Devlet Arşivleri Genel Müdürlüğü, Yayın Nu 21, Ankara, p. 365.
  4. ↑ Statistical Institute
  5. ↑ Avdoyan, Levon. "Tiganocerta: The City 'Built by Tigranes'" in Armenian Tigranakert/Diarbekir and Edessa/Urfa. Richard G. Hovannisian (ed.) UCLA Armenian History and Culture Series: Historic Armenian Cities and Provinces, 6. Costa Mesa, CA: Mazda Publishers, 2006, pp. 94-95.
  6. ↑ (Armenian) Hakobyan, Tadevos Kh. «Տիգրանակերտ» (Tigranakert). Armenian Soviet Encyclopedia. vol. xi. Yerevan: Armenian Academy of Sciences, 1986, pp. 699-700.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

Further reading

  • Amedroz, H. F. "The Marwanid Dynasty at Mayyafariqin in the Tenth and Eleventh centuries AD," JRAS, 1903, pp. 123–154.
  • Minorsky, Vladimir. "Caucasica in the History of Mayyafariqin." BSOAS, Vol. 13, No. 1 (1949), pp. 27–35.
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