Bitlis

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title: "Bitlis" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["bitlis", "provincial-municipalities-in-turkey", "populated-places-in-bitlis-province", "kurdish-settlements-in-bitlis-province", "former-armenian-communities-in-bitlis-province"] topic_path: "geography/turkey" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitlis" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox Turkey place"]

FieldValue
typemunicipality
nameBitlis
other_nameBaghesh • Բաղեշ
image_skylineBitlis Montage.jpg
image_captionFrom top left: Ihasiye Serafhan Medrese • Bitlis Castle
Tourist office • Şerefiye Mosque • Sokak Han
Bitlis skyline • Pasha Hammam
coordinates
provinceBitlis
districtBitlis
leader_partyAK Party
leader_nameNesrullah Tanğlay
elevation_m1545
population_footnotes
population_total53023
population_as_of2021
postal_code13000
website
::

| type = municipality | name = Bitlis | other_name = Baghesh • Բաղեշ | image_skyline = Bitlis Montage.jpg | image_caption = From top left: Ihasiye Serafhan Medrese • Bitlis Castle Tourist office • Şerefiye Mosque • Sokak Han Bitlis skyline • Pasha Hammam | image_shield = | coordinates = | province = Bitlis | district = Bitlis | leader_party = AK Party | leader_name = Nesrullah Tanğlay | area_footnotes = | area_total_km2 = | elevation_m = 1545 | population_footnotes = | population_total = 53023 | population_as_of = 2021 | postal_code = 13000 | area_code = | website =

Bitlis ( or hy; ) is a city in southeastern Turkey. It is the seat of Bitlis District and Bitlis Province. Its population is 53,023 (2021). The city is located at an elevation of 1,545 metres, 15 km from Lake Van, in the steep-sided valley of the Bitlis River, a tributary of the Tigris. The local economy is mainly based on agricultural products which include fruits, grain and tobacco. Industry is fairly limited, and deals mainly with leatherworking, manufacture of tobacco products as well as weaving and dyeing of coarse cloth. Bitlis is connected to other urban centres by road, including Tatvan on Lake Van, 25 km to the northeast, and the cities of Muş (Mush), 100 km northwest, and Diyarbakır, 200 km to the west. The climate of Bitlis can be harsh, with long winters and heavy snowfalls. Since the local elections of March 2019, the Mayor of Bitlis is Nesrullah Tanğlay.

History

Ancient Bitlis

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f6/Museum_of_Anatolian_Civilizations_Urartu_Columna_caelata_base_from_Kef_Kalesi_in_2014_01.jpg" caption="Two winged gods standing on lions are facing each other. The figures are identified as Teişeba, the Storm God. 7th century BC. from Bitlis now in [[Museum of Anatolian Civilizations"] ::

The origin of the name Bitlis is not known. A popular folk etymology explanation, without historical basis, is that it is derived from "Lis/Batlis", the name of a general said to have built Bitlis castle by the order of Alexander the Great. To Armenians, it was known as Balalesa or Baghaghesh, and later Baghesh. According to one popular Armenian folk story, on a cold, wintry day a donkey escaped from its stable and wandered down to the Jlifat valley below. The donkey became trapped in the snow and froze to death. It was only discovered a week later, once the snow had melted; thus, it received the name hy, or "Cold Donkey."

Baghesh was one of the most important cities of the Kingdom of Armenia's province of Aghdznik', and it served as the primary fortress of the province's canton of Salnodzor. Some medieval Armenian writers, such as Anania Shirakatsi and Vardan Areveltsi, later mention it as a part of the canton of Bznunik'. The fortress guarded the Baghesh Pass, which linked the southern reaches of the Armenian plateau to northern Mesopotamia.

Medieval Bitlis

Under the Byzantine Empire, the town was known as Balaleison. The Arabs conquered Baghesh at the end of the seventh century and it eventually became the capital of the Zurārid emirs of Arzan. Because it was on an important trade route, it prospered greatly.

The next two centuries, however, marked a turbulent period in the town's history. After Bugha al-Kabir's destructive 852-855 campaign in Armenia, the Shaybanid emirs wrested control of Baghesh from the Zurārids; thereafter, in the first quarter of the tenth century, it was taken by the Kaysite emirs of Manzikert. In his 929-30 campaign against the Kaysites, the Byzantine general John Curcuas was able to capture and annex Baghesh. Following the devastation of the Arab emirs in the second half of the tenth century, a great number of Kurds settled in Baghesh and at the end of the tenth century, the city fell into the hands of the Kurdish Marwanid dynasty after breaking from Buyid rule. At the end of the eleventh century, with the collapse of Byzantine power after the Battle of Manzikert, Bitlis fell under the control of Togan Arslan, a subject of the Shah Arman (Also called Ahlatshah) dynasty based in Akhlat' after brief Dilmachoglu rule. It was also ruled by Ayyubid (1207–1231), Khwarezm Shahs (shortly rule in 1230), Sultanate of Rûm (1231–1243) and Ilkhanate (1243–1335).

Emirate

Main article: Principality of Bitlis

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3f/Bitlis_1417.jpg" caption="Bitlis Castle"] ::

Bitlis was a Kurdish emirate from the 13th to the 19th century. Though often subordinate to a succession of larger powers that ruled the Van region, it always maintained a measure of independence. In the 14th century its emirs, the Kurdish Rusaki family, were vassals of the Karakoyunlu and the emirate's territory also consisted of several smaller emirates: Ahlat, Mush, and Hinis. The emir of Bitlis submitted to Timur in 1394, but later helped the re-establishment of Karakoyunlu control in the region. After the collapse of the Karakoyunlu state, the Bitlis emirate disintegrated. However, in the 1470s it took the Aq Qoyunlu (White Sheep Turkomans) three successive sieges to capture Bitlis and in 1494/95 the Motikan recaptured the town. Armenians formed a large part of the city's population. A number of monasteries were permitted to be built by the Kurdish emirs and during the fifteenth century, Biltis flourished as a center for Armenian manuscript production.

Bitlis was forced to accept a Persian governor during the invasion of the Safavid Shah Ismail, but sided with the Ottoman forces as they approached the region. Its emir, Sheref, later changed his allegiance to the Persians. An Ottoman army besieged Bitlis for three months in 1531/32, but was forced to retire. Sheref was killed in battle in 1533 and his son and successor submitted to the Ottoman Empire. Mush and Hınıs were removed from the Bitlis emirate, becoming separate sanjaks but still with Ruzaki beys. A Jesuit mission was established in Bitlis in 1685. The Ruzakid Kurdish dynasty in Bitlis lasted until 1849, when an Ottoman governor evicted its last emir, Sheref Bey, who was taken to Constantinople as a prisoner. After this, Bitlis was governed by an Ottoman pasha and formed the capital of a vilayet bearing its name.

For centuries, Bitlis and nearby Kurdish principalities were deeply influenced by Persian language and culture through their ties with Persian-centered empires. Persian was the language of administration, used by Sufis, poets, merchants, and scholars. Bitlis’s elites adopted Persian to align with the broader Persianate world. From the 14th century, Persian literary activity thrived in Bitlis, with notable works by Idris-i Bidlisi and Sharaf Khan. Persian was predominant in palace education, madrasas, personal correspondence, and literary and historical writings. Although Ottoman bureaucracy shifted to Turkish in the 16th century, Persian remained in use for communications with Safavid shahs and on inscriptions. Persian manuscripts filled the palace library, and its influence persisted in Bitlis’s cultural and daily life into the 19th century.

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ee/Betlis_in_Asirien_-Peeters_Jacob-_1690.jpg" caption="Bitlis in 1690"] ::

Modern

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/26/Bitlis_Ihasiye_Serafhan_Medresesi_1454.jpg" caption="Ihasiye Serafhan Medrese"] ::

In 1814 the population of Bitlis town was said to be 12,000 people - one half Muslim, the other half was constituted by Christian Armenians. By 1838 its population was said to be between 15,000 and 18,000 - two thirds Muslim, one third Armenian, and a small minority of Assyrians. In 1898 Lynch considered the population to be close to 30,000, comprising 10,000 Armenians, 300 Assyrians, and the rest Muslim Kurds (both Alevis and Sunnis included).{{cite book | last = Lynch | first = H.F.B. | author-link =H. F. B. Lynch | title = Armenia, Travels and Studies, Volume 2 | url = https://archive.org/details/armeniatravelsst02lync_0 | publisher =Longmans | location= London | year = 1901 | page=151}} The Armenians had five schools for boys and three for girls. According to Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition from 1911, the town had 35 thousand people with 12 thousand Armenians, the rest being Kurdish. One third of the population of Bitlis was ethnic Armenian prior to World War I (1914, whereas the majority of the population was Kurdish Muslim (Alevi as well as Sunni). In 1915, during the Armenian genocide, Turks and Kurds, led by Jevdet Bey Pasha, massacred some 15,000 Armenians in Bitlis and the surrounding region. Before the forced relocations (Tehcir) by Ottoman government, the Christian population of Bitlis was mainly made up of Armenians and Assyrians however during the Armenian genocide, both the Armenian and Assyrian population were exterminated coinciding with the Assyrian genocide also.

In February 1916, as part of the Caucasus Campaign, Imperial Russian forces launched an offensive to capture Mush and Bitlis. Mush fell on February 16. At Bitlis, the Turkish positions were in a strong location on the outskirts of the town and could not be outflanked because of the narrowness of the valley. On the night of March 2–3, during a blizzard, the Russian 8th Caucasian Rifles advanced silently and, after several hours of hand-to-hand fighting, took the Turkish positions with 1,000 prisoners. The Turks then abandoned Bitlis, retreating towards Siirt. The Russian forces and intelligence officers found evidence of the massacres of Christians by the Kurds and Turks in 1915.

In August 1916 the Turkish Second Army started an offensive against the Russian front in eastern Turkey. On August 2, the Ottoman 16th Corps, together with strong Kurdish irregulars' support, attacked Bitlis and Mush. Fearing encirclement General Nazarbekov, the Russian commander, abandoned Bitlis on August 5. When Mush also fell, he decided to abandon Tatvan and the whole Mush valley and retreat to Ahlat. Around 18 August, the Russians having been reinforced, were able to counter-attack. By September the Turkish offensive was stalled and then turned. Nazarbekov advanced as the Turkish forces withdrew from Tatvan and Mush, but he did not have the available forces to hold Bitlis as winter approached. The Russian February Revolution in the spring of 1917 prevented any further Russian gains.{{cite book | last = Allen | first = William E.D. |author2=Paul Muratoff | title = Caucasian Battlefields | publisher =Cambridge University Press | location= Cambridge | year = 1953 | pages=438–439

Tourism

The main places with tourism potential in Bitlis are Lake Nemrut, Ahlat Seljuk Cemetery, Ahlat Museum, Mount Süphan, Güroymak Hot Springs and Lake Nazik.

Description

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/af/Ancient_tombstones_in_the_historical_cemetery_of_Selcuk_Turks_from_12th_century,_in_the_town_of_Ahlat,_Turkey.jpg" caption="Tombstones of Ahlat in Bitlis province"] ::

Bitlis preserves more medieval and traditional architecture than any other town in eastern Turkey. They are of a high quality and are mostly constructed from locally quarried light-brown stone, sometimes called Ahlat stone.

The town contains a large number of late-medieval Islamic buildings in the form of mosques, madrassas, and tombs. Also commercial buildings such as "Han's Caravanserais. Commissioned mostly by its local Kurdish rulers, the architectural style of these buildings is very conservative and similar to much earlier Seljuq-period structures. Important monuments include the 12th-century Ulu Mosque with its 15th-century minaret, and the Gokmeydani Medresesi and Sherefiye Mosque from the sixteenth century. Until 1915 there were five Armenian monasteries and several churches in Bitlis – only a 19th-century Armenian church survives, now used as a warehouse.

Bitlis is also notable for its many old houses. These are built of cut stone and are often large and impressive structures. Most have two stories, but three stories are also found. Ground floors were generally intended for storage and stables, with the residential quarters on the upper floors. Ground floor rooms have few windows, upper floors are well lit. Roofs are flat and covered with beaten clay. Unlike traditional houses in nearby Erzurum or Van, Bitlis houses do not have bay windows and balconies.

Demographics

On the eve of the First World War, the town had about 30,000 inhabitants: two-thirds Kurds and one-third Armenians. All Armenians were massacred by the Turkish regular army led by Djevdet Bey as part of the Armenian genocide.

::data[format=table title="Mother tongue, [[Bitlis District]], [[1927 Turkish census]]{{Cite journal |last=Sertel |first=Savaş |date=2019-10-17 |title=1927 Genel Nüfus Sayımı Sonuçlarına Göre Bitlis'in Nüfus Fonksiyonları |url=https://turkishstudies.net/?mod=makale_tr_ozet&makale_id=17525 |journal=Journal of Turkish Studies |language=tr |volume=9|issue=4 |pages=1015–1034 |doi=10.7827/TurkishStudies.6687|doi-access=free }}"]

TurkishArabicKurdishCircassianArmenianUnknown or other languages
9,3505510,344231
::

::data[format=table title="Religion, [[Bitlis District]], [[1927 Turkish census]]"]

MuslimArmenianJewishOther Christian
19,75221–
::

Gallery

File:Bêdlis.jpg|Bitlis File:Bitlis 3766 10092012.jpg|Bitlis Castle (Bitlis Kalesi) File:Bitlis 3827 10092012.jpg|Ulu Cami text File:Bitlis Şerefiye Mosque 3735 Panorama.jpg|Bitlis Şerefiye Mosque File:Bitlis Ihasiye Serafhan Medresesi 1453.jpg|Ihasiye Şerafhan Medresesi view of türbes File:Bitlis view.jpg|Bitlis view

Climate

Bitlis has a Mediterranean-influenced humid continental climate (Köppen: Dsa, Trewartha: Dca). Bitlis has hot, dry summers and cold, very snowy winters. Highest snow depth recorded in Bitlis is 343 cm (135 inches).

|Jan record high C = 10.1 |Feb record high C = 21.9 |Mar record high C = 16.7 |Apr record high C = 22.3 |May record high C = 27.4 |Jun record high C = 31.5 |Jul record high C = 34.6 |Aug record high C = 34.3 |Sep record high C = 34.0 |Oct record high C = 26.4 |Nov record high C = 21.7 |Dec record high C = 13.3 |year record high C = |Jan high C = -0.9 |Feb high C = 0.9 |Mar high C = 5.1 |Apr high C = 11.9 |May high C = 17.7 |Jun high C = 24.1 |Jul high C = 28.9 |Aug high C = 29.4 |Sep high C = 25.0 |Oct high C = 16.8 |Nov high C = 8.9 |Dec high C = 1.9 |year high C = 14.1 |Jan mean C = -4.8 |Feb mean C = -3.4 |Mar mean C = 1.1 |Apr mean C = 6.9 |May mean C = 12.5 |Jun mean C = 18.1 |Jul mean C = 22.7 |Aug mean C = 22.8 |Sep mean C = 18.4 |Oct mean C = 11.4 |Nov mean C = 4.5 |Dec mean C = -1.7 |year mean C = 9.0 |Jan low C = -8.6 |Feb low C = -7.5 |Mar low C = -2.6 |Apr low C = 2.5 |May low C = 7.3 |Jun low C = 11.5 |Jul low C = 15.5 |Aug low C = 15.9 |Sep low C = 11.6 |Oct low C = 6.5 |Nov low C = 0.8 |Dec low C = -5.0 |year low C = 4.0 |Jan record low C = -24.1 |Feb record low C = -21.3 |Mar record low C = -20.3 |Apr record low C = -10.0 |May record low C = 0.1 |Jun record low C = 5.2 |Jul record low C = 8.1 |Aug record low C = 9.9 |Sep record low C = 0.0 |Oct record low C = -0.6 |Nov record low C = -10.0 |Dec record low C = -20.8 |year record low C = -24.1 |precipitation colour = green |Jan precipitation mm = 169.3 |Feb precipitation mm = 111.0 |Mar precipitation mm = 170.4 |Apr precipitation mm = 117.6 |May precipitation mm = 103.2 |Jun precipitation mm = 15.5 |Jul precipitation mm = 9.8 |Aug precipitation mm = 6.8 |Sep precipitation mm = 22.8 |Oct precipitation mm = 90.6 |Nov precipitation mm = 87.9 |Dec precipitation mm = 141.9 |year precipitation mm = 1046.8 |Jan precipitation days = 15.44 |Feb precipitation days = 12.78 |Mar precipitation days = 16.56 |Apr precipitation days = 14.78 |May precipitation days = 14.89 |Jun precipitation days = 5.67 |Jul precipitation days = 2.78 |Aug precipitation days = 1.44 |Sep precipitation days = 2.11 |Oct precipitation days = 9.89 |Nov precipitation days = 10.33 |Dec precipitation days = 13.67 |year precipitation days = 120.3 | Jan snow days =16.13 | Feb snow days =11.13 | Mar snow days =13.88 | Apr snow days =3.25 | May snow days =0.25 | Jun snow days =0 | Jul snow days =0 | Aug snow days =0 | Sep snow days =0 | Oct snow days =0.38 | Nov snow days =2.75 | Dec snow days =9.25 | year snow days = |Jan sun = 74.4 |Feb sun = 96.1 |Mar sun = 158.1 |Apr sun = 177.0 |May sun = 229.4 |Jun sun = 279.0 |Jul sun = 303.8 |Aug sun = 300.7 |Sep sun = 276.0 |Oct sun = 167.4 |Nov sun = 87.0 |Dec sun = 62.0 |year sun = |Jand sun = 2.4 |Febd sun = 3.4 |Mard sun = 5.1 |Aprd sun = 5.9 |Mayd sun = 7.4 |Jund sun = 9.3 |Juld sun = 9.8 |Augd sun = 9.7 |Sepd sun = 9.2 |Octd sun = 5.4 |Novd sun = 2.9 |Decd sun = 2.0 |yeard sun = 6.0 |source 1 = Turkish State Meteorological Service | url = https://www.mgm.gov.tr/veridegerlendirme/il-ve-ilceler-istatistik.aspx?k=H&m=BITLIS | title = Resmi İstatistikler: İllerimize Ait Mevism Normalleri (1991–2020) | publisher = Turkish State Meteorological Service | language = tr | access-date = 2 May 2021}}{{cite web | url = https://www.mgm.gov.tr/veridegerlendirme/il-ve-ilceler-istatistik.aspx?k=A&m=BITLIS | title = Resmi İstatistikler: İllerimize Ait Genel İstatistik Verileri | publisher = Turkish State Meteorological Service | language = tr | access-date = 2 May 2021}} |source 2 = Meteomanz (snowy days 2017-2024) |date= March 2011

Economy

Historically, Bitlis produced wheat, which the British, in 1920, described as being "particularly excellent." However, poor trade routes in the area during the early 20th century meant that the wheat was mainly produced and used by locals. During this time, the British stated that the people of Bitlis were unable to use all of the wheat they produced, and most was "left to rot in the underground storehouses."

Notable individuals

Mayors of Bitlis

Notes

References

  1. Hakobyan, Tadevos. (1987). "Patmakan Hayastani kʻaghakʻnerě". "Hayastan" Publishing.
  2. (2009). "Kürtçe Anamnez Anamneza bi Kurmancî".
  3. [https://www.e-icisleri.gov.tr/Anasayfa/MulkiIdariBolumleri.aspx İl Belediyesi], Turkey Civil Administration Departments Inventory. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  4. "Address-based population registration system (ADNKS) results dated 31 December 2021". [[TÜİK]].
  5. "Bitlis Seçim Sonuçları - 31 Mart 2019 Yerel Seçimleri".
  6. {{in lang. hy s.v. "Baghesh," [[Armenian Soviet Encyclopedia]], vol. 2, pp. 254-256.
  7. [[Robert Hewsen. Hewsen, Robert H]]. "The Historical Geography of Baghesh/Bitlis and Taron/Mush" in ''Armenian Baghesh/Bitlis and Taron/Mush''. [[Richard G. Hovannisian]] (ed.) UCLA Armenian History and Culture Series: Historic Armenian Cities and Provinces, 2. Costa Mesa, California: Mazda Publishers, 2001, p. 52.
  8. Ghanalanian, Aram. (1969). "Avandapatum [Traditional Tales]". Haykakan SSH GA Hratarakutyun.
  9. Adontz, Nicholas. (1970). "Armenia in the Period of Justinian: The Political Conditions Based on the ''Naxarar'' System". Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation.
  10. Ter-Ghevondyan, Aram N.. (1965). "Arabakan amirayutyunnere Bagratunyats Hayastanum [The Arab Emirates in Bagratuni Armenia]". Armenian Academy of Sciences.
  11. Sinclair, Thomas A. (1987). "Eastern Turkey: An Architectural and Archaeological Survey, Volume 1". Pindar Press.
  12. (2024). "The Cultural Impact of the Persian Language in and around Bidlis". Iranian Studies.
  13. {{Cite EB1911. Maunsell. Francis Richard
  14. Polatel, Mehmet. (2019). "The End of the Ottomans: The Genocide of 1915 and the Politics of Turkish Nationalism". I.B. Tauris.
  15. [[Christopher J. Walker. Walker, Christopher J.]] "The End of Armenian Taron and Baghesh, 1914-1916" in ''Armenian Baghesh/Bitlis and Taron/Mush'', pp. 191-206.
  16. William Edward David Allen, Paul Muratoff, ''Caucasian Battlefields: A History of the Wars on the Turco-Caucasian Border 1828-1921'', (Cambridge University Press, 2010), 421-422.
  17. Edward J. Erickson, ''Ordered to Die:A History of the Ottoman Army in the First World War'', (Greenwood Press, 2001), 133.
  18. Sinclair. ''Eastern Turkey'', pp. 297-308.
  19. {{in lang. tr Sayin, Y. ''Bitlis Evleri'' (The Homes in Bitlis). Ankara, 2001, pp. 43-44.
  20. "Kaza Bitlis / Բաղեշ - Baghesh / ܒܝܬ ܕܠܝܣ Beṯ Dlis".
  21. Sertel, Savaş. (2019-10-17). "1927 Genel Nüfus Sayımı Sonuçlarına Göre Bitlis'in Nüfus Fonksiyonları". Journal of Turkish Studies.
  22. "Bitlis - Weather data by months".
  23. Prothero, W.G.. (1920). "Armenia and Kurdistan". H.M. Stationery Office.

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bitlisprovincial-municipalities-in-turkeypopulated-places-in-bitlis-provincekurdish-settlements-in-bitlis-provinceformer-armenian-communities-in-bitlis-province