Bingöl

Bingöl is a city in the highlands of Eastern Anatolia and serves as the provincial and district administrative center of Bingöl Province. The city lies approximately 144 kilometres east of Elazığ, at an elevation of about 1,120 metres, in a mountainous landscape whose surrounding peaks reach roughly 3,000 metres. The Gayt River, a tributary of the Murat River and therefore part of the Euphrates system, runs through the urban area. Bingöl has a humid continental climate, characterized by hot, relatively dry summers and cold, snowy winters. The settlement has a long and layered history. It was located in the ancient region of Sophene, which at different times existed as an independent kingdom and as an Armenian and Roman province. Medieval sources refer to the settlement by names associated with its Armenian and Byzantine past. The Armenian name Chapaghjur, often interpreted as meaning “spread-out water,” appears in the writings of the eleventh-century Armenian historian Stepanos Asoghik. The place was also associated with the Byzantine name Romanoupolis after its incorporation into the Byzantine Empire in the tenth century. During later medieval and Ottoman periods, Bingöl and the surrounding area were governed by local dynastic and provincial authorities, including the autonomous Suwaydid dynasty before the consolidation of Ottoman rule. The city and its district historically had substantial Armenian, Kurdish and Muslim populations. Before the Armenian genocide, the wider area contained a significant Armenian community. By the twentieth century, Kurdish languages had become central to the region's linguistic profile. Kurmanji and Zazaki, also known as Kird or Kirmanckî, have both been spoken in Bingöl Province. Scholars have treated Bingöl as an important setting for examining Kird/Zaza and Kurmanji Kurdish identity, language classification and the relationship between regional, ethnic and linguistic identities. The modern Turkish name Bingöl was adopted in 1944. It is commonly explained as meaning “thousand lakes,” a reference to the many small mountain tarns in the surrounding area rather than to large lakes within the city itself. Bingöl's contemporary civic identity combines its role as a provincial capital, its highland geography and its culturally diverse historical background. The city has experienced serious natural disasters and security-related violence. A magnitude 6.4 earthquake on 1 May 2003 caused 177 deaths and 520 injuries across the area. Further earthquakes affected the region in 2010 and 2020. Bingöl has also been affected by the Kurdish-Turkish conflict, including attacks in 2016 and 2018. These events have influenced public security, infrastructure and local administration. Modern infrastructure includes Bingöl Airport, which opened in July 2013 with an annual passenger capacity reported at 500,000, and Bingöl University, established in 2007. The university has faculties, vocational schools and institutes serving the province and surrounding region. Bingöl remains an active regional center in eastern Turkey, although it is not a commercial consumer brand in the ordinary sense; the name primarily identifies the municipality, city and province.

Bingöl occupies a historically important position in the highlands of eastern Anatolia. In antiquity, the area formed part of Sophene, a region that existed at different times as an independent kingdom and as an Armenian and Roman territorial unit. The settlement's historical identity is reflected in several names preserved in Armenian, Greek, Kurdish and Turkish sources. The Armenian name Chapaghjur, also rendered in related forms such as Çapakçur or Çabakçur, is associated with the meaning “spread-out water.” The eleventh-century Armenian historian Stepanos Asoghik mentioned the settlement while discussing the earthquake at Balu in 995. Some historical interpretations connect the site with the Roman fortress-town of Citharizum, known as Ktarich in Armenian sources. During the Byzantine period, the settlement was known as Romanoupolis, a name associated with Emperor Romanos I Lekapenos after Byzantine incorporation in 942. It first belonged to the thema of Mesopotamia and was later elevated, around the late tenth century, into a separate Byzantine theme. From the thirteenth century into the middle Ottoman period, Bingöl and its surrounding district were associated with the Suwaydid dynasty, described as a cadet branch of the Barmakids. The district subsequently became part of the Ottoman administrative and political order. The population history of the area included Armenians and Muslims, with a substantial Armenian presence before the Armenian genocide. The region also developed a strong Kurdish linguistic and cultural profile. Historical census and language evidence point to large Kurdish-speaking populations, while both Kurmanji and Zazaki, or Kird, have been spoken in the province. Modern scholarship has examined Bingöl as a setting for debates concerning Zaza identity, Kurdish identity and the classification of Zazaki as either a Kurdish variety or a closely related Iranian language. The settlement continued to be known primarily as Çapakçur or Çabakçur until 1944, when the Turkish name Bingöl was adopted. Bingöl is generally understood as “thousand lakes,” referring to the numerous small tarns found in the surrounding mountains rather than to substantial lakes within the city or province. In the modern period, Bingöl developed as the administrative center of Bingöl Province and Bingöl District. Its location in a mountainous part of Eastern Anatolia has shaped transport, settlement and economic conditions. The city is positioned near the Gayt River, which flows toward the Murat River and the broader Euphrates basin. Bingöl's climate is humid continental, with dry, hot summers and cold, snowy winters. Natural disasters have repeatedly affected the city and region. The 1 May 2003 earthquake, measured at magnitude 6.4, caused 177 deaths and 520 injuries. Further seismic events occurred in 2010 and 2020, including a magnitude 5.8 earthquake in June 2020 that killed a village guard and injured 21 people. Bingöl has also experienced violence connected with the Kurdish-Turkish conflict. A 2016 car bombing killed two police officers and wounded 19 people, while an attack on a military station in 2018 killed one Turkish soldier and injured three. Public infrastructure expanded in the twenty-first century. Bingöl University was established on 29 May 2007 and developed faculties, vocational schools and institutes. Bingöl Airport opened on 12 July 2013, providing scheduled aviation infrastructure for the province and reporting an annual passenger capacity of 500,000. Today, Bingöl functions primarily as a provincial government, education, transport and service center rather than as a conventional commercial brand.

• 2013

  Bingöl Airport opened

  [1]Bingölen.wikipedia.org

  The city's airport opened on 12 July, creating a new air-transport link for Bingöl Province.

• 2007

  Bingöl University established

  [1]Bingölen.wikipedia.org

  Bingöl University was established, expanding higher-education capacity in the province.

• 1944

  Modern name adopted

  [1]Bingölen.wikipedia.org

  The settlement was renamed Bingöl, replacing the earlier Çapakçur or Çabakçur forms in official Turkish usage.

• Byzantine incorporation

  [1]Bingölen.wikipedia.org

  The settlement was incorporated into the Byzantine Empire during the reign of Romanos I Lekapenos and became associated with the name Romanoupolis.

A provincial capital and regional civic center in the mountainous east of Turkey, distinguished by its historical Armenian, Byzantine, Ottoman and Kurdish cultural layers, highland geography, public institutions and transport links.

• 1944

  Adoption of the name BingölOther

  Background

  The settlement had historically been known by names including Çapakçur and Çabakçur, forms connected with the older Armenian name Chapaghjur.

  Action taken

  The official Turkish name Bingöl was adopted. The name is commonly interpreted as referring to the many mountain tarns in the region.

  Aftermath

  Bingöl became the modern civic and administrative name used for the city and province.

  Source

1. 1Bingölen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Bingöl Municipalitybingol.bel.tr