Malazgirt | |
|---|---|
  Malazgirt Location in Turkey | |
| Coordinates:39°08′52″N42°32′39″E / 39.14778°N 42.54417°E /39.14778; 42.54417 | |
| Country | Turkey |
| Province | Muş |
| District | Malazgirt |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Kenan Türker (DEM) |
| Population (2024) | 42,135 |
| Time zone | UTC+3 (TRT) |
| Postal code | 49400 |
| Area code | 0436 |
| Website | www |
Malazgirt (Kurdish:Melezgir;[1]Armenian:Մանազկերտ,romanized: Manazkert;Georgian:მანასკერტი,romanized: Manaskerti;Medieval Greek:Ματζιέρτη,romanized: Matziértē[2]), historically known asManzikert (Medieval Greek:Μαντζικέρτ), is a town inMuş Province inTurkey. It is the seat ofMalazgirt District.[3] Malazgirt was elected from the DEM Party in the 2024 Turkish Local Elections, with Ahmet Kenan Türker serving as the mayor. According to the 2024 population census, the district's total population is 42,135.[4]It is mostly populated byKurds with fewIslamized Armenians.[5]
It is the site of the 1071Battle of Manzikert between theByzantines andSeljuk Turks. In the city, there is theMalazgirt Castle, for which the Byzantine Empire and the Seljuk state fought dozens of times.
The settlement dates to the Iron Age. According toTadevos Hakobyan it was established during the reign of theUrartian kingMenua (r. 810–785 BC).[6] The Armenian nameManazkert is supposedly shortened fromManavazkert (Armenian:Մանավազկերտ),[6] adopted in Greek asΜαντζικέρτ orΜατζιέρτη. The suffix-kert is frequently found in Armenian toponymy, meaning "built by". According toMovses Khorenatsi, Manzikert was founded by Manaz, one of the sons ofHayk, the legendary and eponymous patriarch and progenitor of theArmenians.[7]
The lands around Manzikert belonged to the Manavazyans, an Armeniannakharar family which claimed descent from Manaz, until AD 333, when KingKhosrov III Arshakuni of Armenia ordered that all members of the family be put to the sword.[6] He later awarded the lands to another family, the Aghbianosyans. Manzikert was a fortified town,[8] and served as an important trading center located in the canton of Apahunik' in theTuruberan province of the ancientKingdom of Armenia. Following the Arab invasions of Armenia in the 7th century, it also served as the capital of theKaysiteemirate from around 860 until 964.[9] Manzikert was the site of theCouncil of Manzikert in 726.
After the Armenian revolt of 771–772, the Abbasid government encouraged the migration of Arab tribes to the region, which resulted in the settling of Arab tribes near Manzikert.[10] Under Abbasid rule, the city was a major center of commerce and industry and became one of the main cities in Asia Minor.[10] This flourishing lasted until around the 13th century.[10] In 968, the Byzantine generalBardas Phokas captured Manzikert, which was incorporated into the Byzantinekatepanate of Basprakania (Vaspurakan).[11]
In 991, after the death ofBadh ibn Dustak ofMarwanids, theGeorgian kingDavid III of Tao seized Manzikert from the Marwanids and annexed it to the Georgian kingdom ofTao. He expelled the Arabs from there and settled Georgians and Armenians in their place. Later, in 998, the Marwanids, under the command ofAbu Ali al-Hasan ibn Marwān, attempted to capture Manzikert from the Georgians, but they were defeated by David III of Tao. In 1001, Manzikert was annexed by the Byzantine Empire on the basis of David III’s forced testament.[12]
In 1054, theSeljuk Turks made anattempt to capture the city but were repulsed by the city's garrison under the command ofBasil Apocapes.
TheBattle of Manzikert was fought near the town in August 1071. In one of the most decisive defeats inByzantine history, the Seljuk sultanAlp Arslan defeated and captured EmperorRomanus Diogenes, which led to the ethnic and religious transformation of Armenia andAnatolia and the establishment of theSeljuk Sultanate of Rum and later theOttoman Empire and theRepublic of Turkey. The Seljuks pillaged Manzikert itself, killed much of its population and burned the city to the ground.[6] The city walls were substantially rebuilt during the 12th and perhaps 13th centuries under Seljuk rule.[10] The basic design is acurtain wall with small semicircular towers projecting at intervals.[10] The walls appear to have remained completely intact until about the end of the 18th century.[10]
InApril 1903, Manzikert was the location of an earthquake which killed about 3500 people and demolished around 12,000 buildings.[13]
In 1915 Manzikert was part ofBitlis Vilayet and had a population of 5,000, the great majority of them Armenians.[6] The town's economy revolved around the cultivation of grain, trade and the production of handicrafts. There existed two Armenian churches, the Three Altars Holy Mother of God (Yerek Khoran Surb Astvatsatsin) and St. George (Surb Gevork, called St. Sergius byH. F. B. Lynch),[14] and one Armenian school.
Like many other towns and villages during theArmenian genocide, its Armenian population was uprooted and subjected to massacres.[15]
Malazgirt's climate iscontinental, with warm to hot and drysummers, very coldwinters, and rainysprings. In theKöppen climate classification the climate is classified asDsa.[16]
| Climate data for Malazgirt (1991–2020) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | −3.5 (25.7) | −1.5 (29.3) | 5.6 (42.1) | 14.6 (58.3) | 20.6 (69.1) | 27.0 (80.6) | 32.1 (89.8) | 32.7 (90.9) | 27.5 (81.5) | 19.6 (67.3) | 9.4 (48.9) | 0.4 (32.7) | 15.4 (59.7) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −9.0 (15.8) | −7.2 (19.0) | −0.1 (31.8) | 7.9 (46.2) | 13.1 (55.6) | 18.1 (64.6) | 22.5 (72.5) | 22.7 (72.9) | 17.4 (63.3) | 10.8 (51.4) | 2.3 (36.1) | −4.8 (23.4) | 7.9 (46.2) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −13.5 (7.7) | −11.9 (10.6) | −4.8 (23.4) | 2.1 (35.8) | 6.1 (43.0) | 9.1 (48.4) | 12.7 (54.9) | 12.5 (54.5) | 7.8 (46.0) | 3.5 (38.3) | −3.0 (26.6) | −8.8 (16.2) | 1.0 (33.8) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 34.51 (1.36) | 39.3 (1.55) | 54.16 (2.13) | 78.17 (3.08) | 77.27 (3.04) | 26.19 (1.03) | 11.34 (0.45) | 3.83 (0.15) | 13.56 (0.53) | 41.51 (1.63) | 43.62 (1.72) | 40.75 (1.60) | 464.21 (18.28) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 1.0 mm) | 6.4 | 7.1 | 9.4 | 10.8 | 10.7 | 4.4 | 2.6 | 1.7 | 2.4 | 6.3 | 6.7 | 7.2 | 75.7 |
| Averagerelative humidity (%) | 71.6 | 69.9 | 67.3 | 59.4 | 56.7 | 48.3 | 40.2 | 36.9 | 41.7 | 55.4 | 64.8 | 72.0 | 57.0 |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 59.1 | 81.0 | 133.1 | 176.7 | 246.1 | 289.6 | 303.1 | 282.8 | 244.2 | 179.8 | 114.3 | 55.2 | 2,165.1 |
| Source:NOAA[17] | |||||||||||||
Cemalverdi Mountains are located in the east of theMalazgirt basin.[18]
The touristic places in Malazgirt are the historicalMalazgirt Castle andLake Kaz.[19]
Salt obtained from groundwaters in Malazgirt contributes greatly to the economy of the district.[20]
According to theArmenian Patriarchate of Constantinople, in 1914 were lived 11,931 Armenians in thekaza of Manazkert, with 25 churches and 45 monasteries, and 15 schools.[21] The city had a population of 5,000, mostly Armenians.[21]
There are still a few Kurdish-Islamized Armenian households in Malazgirt.[21]
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