Silvan, Diyarbakır

Silvan (Turkish: Silvan, Ottoman Turkish: ميا فارقين‎ Meyafarikîn,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.

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.

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. The city suffered heavily in the Battle of Martyropolis in 588AD, but soon prospered again.

Diyarbakır

Diyarbakır (Kurdish: Amed‎) is one of the largest cities in southeastern Turkey. Situated on the banks of the Tigris River, it is the administrative capital of the Diyarbakır Province. With a population of about 930,000 it is the second largest city in Turkey's south-eastern Anatolia region, after Gaziantep.

Diyarbakir is also a major cultural and economic center in Turkey and as such has been a focal point for conflict between Turkey's government and its Kurdish population.

Names and etymology

The name Diyarbakir (Arabic دیار بکر "Diyaru Bakr which means the land of Bakir;Armenian: Տիգրանակերտ Tigranakert;Ancient Greek: Άμιδα, Amida; Ottoman Turkish: دیاربکر‎ Diyâr-ı Bekr; Syriac: ܐܡܝܕ‎) is inscribed as Amid on the sheath of a sword from the Assyrian period, and the same name was used in other contemporary Syriac and Arabic works. The Romans and Byzantines called the city Amida. Among the Artukid and Akkoyunlu it was known as "Black Amid" (Kara Amid) for the dark color of its walls, while in the Zafername, or eulogies in praise of military victories, it is called "Black Fortress" (Kara Kale). In the Book of Dede Korkut and some other Turkish works it appears as Kara Hamid.

Diyarbakır (electoral district)

Diyarbakır is an electoral district of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. It elects ten members of parliament (deputies) to represent the province of the same name for a four-year term by the D'Hondt method, a party-list proportional representation system.

Members

Population reviews of each electoral district are conducted before each general election, which can lead to certain districts being granted a smaller or greater number of parliamentary seats.

Presidential elections

2014

References

Coordinates: 37°50′N 34°45′E / 37.833°N 34.750°E / 37.833; 34.750