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| Diyarbakır Province | |
|---|---|
| Name | Diyarbakır Province |
| Settlement type | Province |
| Seat | Diyarbakır |
| Area total km2 | 15,000 |
| Population total | 1,700,000 |
| Population as of | 2020 |
Diyarbakır Province is a province in southeastern Turkey centered on the city of Diyarbakır, a historical urban center on the banks of the Tigris that has been a crossroads for Assyrians, Arameans, Romans, Byzantines, Sassanids, Umayyads, Abbasids, Seljuks, and Ottomans. The province's landscape links the Mesopotamia plain to the Taurus Mountains, shaping patterns of settlement documented by travelers such as Ibn Battuta and scholars like Ignacio de Adolfo and appearing in works on Near East antiquity and Kurdish studies. Its strategic position near borders with Syria and provinces such as Şanlıurfa, Mardin, and Batman has made it pivotal in regional politics and trade described in reports by League of Nations-era observatories and modern analyses from institutions like International Crisis Group and United Nations missions.
The province lies on the upper reaches of the Tigris within the Mesopotamian basin, bordered by the Taurus Mountains, with climate influences from the Mediterranean Sea and inland Anatolian plateau; landscape features include irrigated plains, steppe, and upland plateaus referenced in surveys by British Museum archaeologists and cartographers from the Ordnance Survey. Key geographic points are the provincial capital Diyarbakır, the ancient citadel area near the Dicle River, and nearby sites linked to Çayönü, Mardin, and Hasankeyf antiquities. The province's geology and hydrology have been studied in reports by Turkish State Meteorological Service and universities such as Dicle University and Ankara University.
Human occupation spans from the Neolithic Revolution through the Bronze Age and Iron Age with archaeological layers connected to Harran, Ubaid culture, Hurrian people, and Assyria. The region figures in accounts of the Roman–Persian Wars, including clashes involving the Sassanids and Byzantines, and later became part of the Umayyads, Abbasids, and Seljuks. Medieval history includes governance under local dynasties and incorporation into the Ottomans after campaigns involving commanders recorded in Evliya Çelebi's travelogue; the late Ottoman period saw references in diplomatic dispatches of the Congress of Berlin era and the aftermath of the First World War involving Treaty of Sèvres and Treaty of Lausanne era adjustments. Twentieth-century events include population movements described alongside studies of Turkish War of Independence legacies and modern regional developments covered by researchers from European Union programs and Turkish Historical Society.
The province's population comprises diverse communities including Kurds, Arabs, Assyrians, Armenians, and Turkish-speaking groups, reflected in census data collected by the Turkish Statistical Institute and demographic studies by United Nations Development Programme and academic centers at Dicle University. Religious heritage includes sites of Islam, Christianity, and minority traditions tied to clergy and institutions like the Syriac Orthodox Church, Armenian Apostolic Church, and Sufi orders referenced in works on Mevlevi Order and Naqshbandi. Urban-rural dynamics show migration to the provincial capital Diyarbakır and patterns comparable to neighboring provinces such as Batman and Şanlıurfa in reports by World Bank and International Organization for Migration.
Economic activity combines agriculture, industry, and services with staples such as wheat and cotton grown on irrigated lands cited in studies by the Food and Agriculture Organization and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (Turkey). Manufacturing includes small and medium enterprises linked to construction, textiles, and food processing noted by the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey and export profiles studied by Exporters' associations. Energy and resource projects involve regional electricity grids managed by TEİAŞ and infrastructure plans evaluated by the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources (Turkey). Cross-border trade and informal commerce tied to routes toward Syria have been analyzed by World Customs Organization reports and think tanks like Brookings Institution and Chatham House.
The province is renowned for its cultural landmarks such as the Diyarbakır Fortress and city walls, Romanesque and Islamic monuments, and intangible heritage including folk music associated with performers referenced in archives like the TRT and ethnographic collections at the British Library. Culinary traditions feature regional dishes noted in guides alongside festivals and crafts preserved by institutions like the UNESCO national committees and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism (Turkey). Religious and minority heritage sites include churches, mosques, and shrines connected to figures memorialized in pilgrimages recorded by Syriac scholars and historians of Armenia.
Administrative divisions follow Turkish provincial structure with districts headed by appointed governors (vali) and elected municipal bodies including the Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality; national political dynamics involve representation in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey and interactions with parties such as the AKP, HDP, and other national movements chronicled by election monitors like the OSCE. Security and public order issues have drawn involvement from the Turkish Armed Forces, Turkish National Police, and international human rights organizations including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International in analysis of regional incidents.
Transport networks include the Diyarbakır Airport, rail connections on routes studied by Turkish State Railways (TCDD), and highway links part of national corridors maintained by the General Directorate of Highways (Turkey). Water management and irrigation schemes are overseen by the State Hydraulic Works (DSİ), while urban projects have been implemented by Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality and financed through programs involving the European Investment Bank and national ministries. Telecommunications and digital infrastructure developments have been tracked by the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (Turkey).