Bingöl Province (Turkish:Bingöl ili;Kurdish:Parêzgeha Çewlîg;[2]Zazaki:Wîlayetî Çewlîg;[3]Armenian:Ճապաղջուր զավառ) is a province ofTurkey.[4] The province was known asÇapakçur Province (Armenian:Ճապաղջուր,lit.'spread out water') before 1945 when it was renamed as Bingöl Province.[5] Its area is 8,003 km2,[6] and its population is 282,556 (2022).[1] The province encompasses 11municipalities, 325 villages and 693hamlets.[7][4]
The town ofGenç was the scene of origin for theSheikh Said rebellion in 1925 and most of the region was captured by the rebels during the rebellion.[8]
As the currentGovernor of the province, Ahmet Hamdi Usta was appointed by the president in August 2023.[9]
Kurds comprise the majority of the province and the province is considered part ofTurkish Kurdistan.[15][16] Its population is majoritySunni, conservative and many adhere to theNaqshbandi order.[17][18] The province moreover has a significantAlevi minority.[19] Linguistically, the southern parts of the province speakZaza, while the northern parts speakKurmanji. Many Zaza-speakers speak Kurmanji as well.[20]
Bingöl Province was part ofBitlis Vilayet during theOttoman era as Genç Sanjak and had a population of 36,011 in the 1881-1882 census.85.7% of the population wasMuslim and the remaining14.3% wasArmenian. In the census of 1897, the sanjak had a population of 47,652, of which88.1% was Muslim and11.9% was Armenian. All of the Armenians adhered to theArmenian Apostolic Church.[21]
In the 1906-1907 census, the sanjak had a population of 45,215 of which86.8% was Muslim and Armenians comprised the remaining13.2%. In the last Ottoman census in 1914, the region had a population of 38,096 of which93.9% was Muslim and6.1% Armenian.[22]
The first Turkish census which included Bingöl Province was the 1945 census, where the population was 75,550 who all were Muslims. Linguistically, the most spokenfirst language wasKurdish at55.7%, followed byTurkish at43.8% andCircassian at0.4%.[23] In the 1950 census, Kurdish was the first language for76.5% of the population of 97,328, while Turkish remained the second largest language standing at22.9% and Circassian at0.4%.[24] In the last census in 1965, Kurdish stood at58.3% and Turkish at41.6%.[25]
A 2016 survey showed that 90.4% of the population spoke Turkish, 64.1% spoke Zaza, 40.1% spoke Kurmanji and 5.6% spokeArabic.[26]
From 1923 to 1929, Bingöl Province was part ofElazığ Province and part ofMuş Province from 1929 to 1936. It ultimately became a province in 1936.[5]
In December 1935 the Tunceli Law was passed which demanded a more powerful government in the region.[27] Therefore, the region containing the present Bingöl province, together with the provinces ofTunceli,Erzincan andElaziğ were included in theFourth Inspectorate General (Umumi Müfettişlik, UM) in January 1936.[28][29] The fourth UM was governed by a Governor Commander. All the employees in the municipalities were to be from the military and the Governor Commander had the authority to evacuate whole villages and resettle them in other parts of the province.[28] in 1946 the Tunceli Law was abolished and the state of emergency removed but the authority of the fourth UM was transferred to the military.[28] The Inspectorate General was dissolved in 1952 during the Government of theDemocrat Party.[30]
^Watts, Nicole F. (2010).Activists in Office: Kurdish Politics and Protest in Turkey (Studies in Modernity and National Identity). Seattle: University of Washington Press. p. 167.ISBN978-0-295-99050-7.
^Cagaptay, Soner (2006-05-02).Islam, Secularism and Nationalism in Modern Turkey: Who is a Turk?. Routledge. pp. 108–110.ISBN978-1-134-17448-5.
^abcBayir, Derya (2016-04-22).Minorities and Nationalism in Turkish Law. Routledge. pp. 139–141.ISBN978-1-317-09579-8.
^Cagaptay, Soner (2006-05-02).Islam, Secularism and Nationalism in Modern Turkey: Who is a Turk?. Routledge. p. 110.ISBN978-1-134-17448-5.
^Fleet, Kate; Kunt, I. Metin; Kasaba, Reşat; Faroqhi, Suraiya (2008-04-17).The Cambridge History of Turkey. Cambridge University Press. p. 343.ISBN978-0-521-62096-3.
