Ahlat (; ) is a town in

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

's Bitlis Province in

Eastern Anatolia Region The Eastern Anatolia region () is a geographical region of Turkey. The most populous province in the region is Van Province. Other populous provinces are Malatya, Erzurum and Elazığ. It is bordered by the Black Sea Region and Georgia in th ...

. It is the seat of

Ahlat District Ahlat District is a district of Bitlis Province of Turkey. Its seat is the town of Ahlat.İl� ...

.İlçe Belediyesi
, Turkey Civil Administration Departments Inventory. Retrieved 30 January 2023. The town had a population of 27,563 in 2021. The town of Ahlat is situated on the northwestern shore of

Lake Van Lake Van (; ; ) is the largest lake in Turkey. It lies in the Eastern Anatolia Region of Turkey in the provinces of Van Province, Van and Bitlis Province, Bitlis, in the Armenian highlands. It is a Salt lake, saline Soda lake, soda lake, receiv ...

. The mayor is Abdulalim Mümtaz Çoban ( AKP).

History

Ahlat, known by its Armenian name of Khlat or Chliat in the ancient and medieval period, was once a part of the district of Bznunik'. The town was taken by the

Arabs Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of yea ...

during the reign of Caliph

Uthman Uthman ibn Affan (17 June 656) was the third caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate, ruling from 644 until his assassination in 656. Uthman, a second cousin, son-in-law, and notable companion of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, played a major role ...

(644–656); in 645, Uthman instructed the governor of Syria, Mu'awiyah ibn Abi Sufyan, to send

Habib ibn Maslama al-Fihri Ḥabīb ibn Maslama al-Fihrī (; –) was an Arab general during the Early Muslim conquests, under Mu'awiyah ibn Abi Sufyan. Habib fought in the Muslim conquest of the Levant and against the Byzantines in Upper Mesopotamia, where he later ser ...

in an expedition to

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

-controlled

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

—although some sources insist that the Caliph commissioned Habib directly. During the next four centuries, Ahlat was ruled by "Arab governors, Armenian princes, and Arab emirs of the

Qays Qays ʿAylān (), often referred to simply as Qays (''Kais'' or ''Ḳays'') were an Arab tribal confederation that branched from the Mudar group. The tribe may not have functioned as a unit in pre-Islamic Arabia (before 630). However, by the ea ...

tribe". In the early eighth century, Arab tribes settled in the region, and Ahlat became part of the Arab Kaysite principality.

Ibn Hawqal Muḥammad Abū’l-Qāsim Ibn Ḥawqal (), also known as Abū al-Qāsim b. ʻAlī Ibn Ḥawqal al-Naṣībī, born in Nisibis, Al-Jazira (caliphal province), Upper Mesopotamia; was a 10th-century Arab Muslim writer, geographer, and chronic ...

(died ca. 978) mentioned Ahlat as an important stopover point on the

Urmia Urmia (; ) is the largest city in West Azerbaijan Province of Iran. In the Central District of Urmia County, it is capital of the province, the county, and the district. The city is situated near the borders of Iran with Turkey and Iraq. ...

- Mayyafariqin trade route. In about 983, Ahlat was controlled by a

Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish language ** Northern Kurdish (Kurmanji) **Central Kurdish (Sorani) **Southern Kurdish ** Laki Kurdish *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern ...

chief named Bāḏ (in Armenian spelled as "Bat"); thereafter, Ahlat was associated with the Kurdish Marwanids (centered in Diyar Bakr), which sprang from Bāḏ. In the winter of 998, the Curopalates

David III of Tao David III Kuropalates (, ''Davit’ III Kurapalati'') or David III the Great (დავით III დიდი, ''Davit’ III Didi''), also known as David II, (c. 930s – 1000/1001) was a Georgia (country), Georgian prince of the Bagrationi, B ...

besieged Khlat but was unable to capture it, partly because of his contemptuous treatment towards its Armenian population. In 1057, Herve Phrangopoulos retreated here with 300 Norman knights after breaking with Michael VI but was betrayed by Aponosar (Abu Nasr), the emir of the city. After the

Battle of Manzikert The Battle of Manzikert or Malazgirt was fought between the Byzantine Empire and the Seljuk Empire on 26 August 1071 near Manzikert, Iberia (theme), Iberia (modern Malazgirt in Muş Province, Turkey). The decisive defeat of the Byzantine army ...

(1071), the

Seljuk Seljuk (, ''Selcuk'') or Saljuq (, ''Saljūq'') may refer to: * Seljuk Empire (1051–1153), a medieval empire in the Middle East and central Asia * Seljuk dynasty (c. 950–1307), the ruling dynasty of the Seljuk Empire and subsequent polities * S ...

army, led personally by Sultan

Alp Arslan Alp Arslan, born Muhammad Alp Arslan bin Dawud Chaghri, was the second List of sultans of the Seljuk Empire, sultan of the Seljuk Empire and great-grandson of Seljuk (warlord), Seljuk, the eponymous founder of the dynasty and the empire. He g ...

(1063-1072), took possession of the town. The Seljuks then gave control over the town to the Turkmen slave commander Sökmen el-Kutbî (or al-Qutbi). Sökmen and his successors were known as the

Shah-Armens The Shah-ArmensClifford Edmund Bosworth "The New Islamic Dynasties: A Chronological and Genealogical Manual". Article «The Shâh-i Armanids», p. 197. (lit. 'Kings of Armenia', ), also known as Ahlatshahs (lit. 'Rulers of Ahlat', ) or Begtimurids ...

(or Ahlat-Shahs) and made Ahlat their capital. In the 11th century accounts of

Nasir Khusraw Nasir Khusraw (; 1004 – between 1072–1088) was an Isma'ili poet, philosopher, traveler, and missionary () for the Isma'ili Fatimid Caliphate. Despite being one of the most prominent Isma'ili philosophers and theologians of the Fatimids and ...

(in his ''

Safarnama ''Safarnāma'' () is a book of travel literature written during the 11th century by Nasir Khusraw (1003–1077). It is also known as the ''Book of Travels.'' It is an account of Khusraw's seven-year journey through the Islamic world. He initial ...

'') the town of "Akhlat" (, ) is mentioned. According to the

Institute of Ismaili Studies The Institute of Ismaili Studies (IIS) is a research institute in London, United Kingdom. It aims to promote the study of Muslim cultures and societies, both historical and contemporary, in order to foster a greater understanding of their relatio ...

(who cite Thackston, W. Wheeler McIntosh, ed. trans., ''Nasir-i Khusraw’s Book of Travels'' (Costa Mesa, CA: Mazda Publishers, 2010), 8.), the excerpt goes as follows: "From there (

Harran Harran is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Şanlıurfa Province, Turkey. Its area is 904 km2, and its population is 96,072 (2022). It is approximately southeast of Urfa and from the Syrian border crossing at Akçakale. ...

) we arrived in the city of Akhlat on the 18th of Jumada al-Awwal ovember 20 CE This city is the border town between the Muslims and Armenians, and from Bekri it is nineteen leagues. The Prince, Nasruddawla, was over a hundred years old and had many sons, to each of whom he had given a district. In the city of Akhlat they speak three languages:

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

, and

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

. It is my supposition that this is why they named the town Akhlat. Their commercial transactions are carried out in puls (possibly ancient Roman and Greek coins), and their rotel (Armenian money) is equivalent to three hundred dirhems." With the decline of the Seljuks, and the new political upheaval presented by the invasions of the

Khwarezmian Empire The Khwarazmian Empire (), or simply Khwarazm, was a culturally Persianate, Sunni Muslim empire of Turkic '' mamluk'' origin. Khwarazmians ruled large parts of present-day Central Asia, Afghanistan, and Iran from 1077 to 1231; first as vass ...

and the

Mongol Empire The Mongol Empire was the List of largest empires, largest contiguous empire in human history, history. Originating in present-day Mongolia in East Asia, the Mongol Empire at its height stretched from the Sea of Japan to parts of Eastern Euro ...

, Ahlat became briefly disputed between the

Ayyubids The Ayyubid dynasty (), also known as the Ayyubid Sultanate, was the founding dynasty of the medieval Sultanate of Egypt established by Saladin in 1171, following his abolition of the Fatimid Caliphate of Egypt. A Sunni Muslim of Kurdish ori ...

, the

Kingdom of Georgia The Kingdom of Georgia (), also known as the Georgian Empire, was a Middle Ages, medieval Eurasian monarchy that was founded in Anno Domini, AD. It reached Georgian Golden Age, its Golden Age of political and economic strength during the reign ...

and the

Sultanate of Rum The Sultanate of Rum was a culturally Turco-Persian Sunni Muslim state, established over conquered Byzantine territories and peoples (Rum) of Anatolia by the Seljuk Turks following their entry into Anatolia after the Battle of Manzikert in 1071. ...

(the Anatolian branch of the

Seljuq dynasty The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; , ''Saljuqian'',) alternatively spelled as Saljuqids or Seljuk Turks, was an Oghuz Turkic, Sunni Muslim dynasty that gradually became Persianate and contributed to Turco-Persian culture. The founder of the S ...

). In the 12th century, Ahlat and its adjacent territory was conquered and vassalized by the Kingdom of Georgia. In this period Georgians called city by name ''Khlati'', modified native Armenian name ''Khlat''. Following the

Battle of Köse Dağ The Battle of Köse Dağ took place in eastern Anatolia on 26 June 1243 when an army of the Sultanate of Rum, led by Sultan Kaykhusraw II, confronted an invading Mongol Empire, Mongol army under the general Baiju Noyan, Baiju and was decisively ...

(1243) and the fall of Baghdad (1258), Ahlat, "together with eastern

Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

and

upper Mesopotamia Upper Mesopotamia constitutes the Upland and lowland, uplands and great outwash plain of northwestern Iraq, northeastern Syria and southeastern Turkey, in the northern Middle East. Since the early Muslim conquests of the mid-7th century, the regio ...

", became part of the Mongol Empire. The Mongols added Ahlat to the

Ilkhanate The Ilkhanate or Il-khanate was a Mongol khanate founded in the southwestern territories of the Mongol Empire. It was ruled by the Il-Khans or Ilkhanids (), and known to the Mongols as ''Hülegü Ulus'' (). The Ilkhanid realm was officially known ...

division, and in the ensuing period, the Ilkhanid rulers minted coins in Ahlat. According to

Hamdallah Mustawfi Hamdallah Mustawfi Qazvini (; 1281 – after 1339/40) was a Persian official, historian, geographer and poet. He lived during the last era of the Mongol Ilkhanate, and the interregnum that followed. A native of Qazvin, Mustawfi belonged to fami ...

(died 1349), the revenues provided by Ahlat under the Ilkhanids, amounted up to 51,500

dinar The dinar () is the name of the principal currency unit in several countries near the Mediterranean Sea, with a more widespread historical use. The English word "dinar" is the transliteration of the Arabic دينار (''dīnār''), which was bor ...

s. After the Ilkhanate, Ahlat became part of the

Jalayirids The Jalayirid Sultanate () was a dynasty of Mongol Jalayir origin, which ruled over modern-day Iraq and western Iran after the breakup of the Ilkhanate in the 1330s.Bayne Fisher, William. ''The Cambridge History of Iran'', p. 3: "From then until ...

and then the Ak Koyunlu. Du Caucase au Golfe Persique p 395

In the early 16th century, the

Ottomans Ottoman may refer to: * Osman I, historically known in English as "Ottoman I", founder of the Ottoman Empire * Osman II, historically known in English as "Ottoman II" * Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empir ...

expanded into Eastern Anatolia (

Western Armenia Western Armenia (Western Armenian: Արեւմտեան Հայաստան, ''Arevmdian Hayasdan'') is a term to refer to the western parts of the Armenian highlands located within Turkey (formerly the Ottoman Empire) that comprise the historic ...

), taking control of the town for the first time under Sultan

Selim I Selim I (; ; 10 October 1470 – 22 September 1520), known as Selim the Grim or Selim the Resolute (), was the List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire, sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1512 to 1520. Despite lasting only eight years, his reign is ...

(1512-1520). Nevertheless, Ahlat remained only loosely under Ottoman control at the time, for it was considered to be a border district between the Ottoman Empire and

Safavid Empire The Guarded Domains of Iran, commonly called Safavid Iran, Safavid Persia or the Safavid Empire, was one of the largest and longest-lasting Iranian empires. It was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often considered the begi ...

. In 1526, during the reign of king (''

shah Shāh (; ) is a royal title meaning "king" in the Persian language.Yarshater, Ehsa, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII, no. 1 (1989) Though chiefly associated with the monarchs of Iran, it was also used to refer to the leaders of numerous Per ...

'')

Tahmasp I Tahmasp I ( or ; 22 February 1514 – 14 May 1576) was the second shah of Safavid Iran from 1524 until his death in 1576. He was the eldest son of Shah Ismail I and his principal consort, Tajlu Khanum. Tahmasp ascended the throne after the ...

(1524-1576), Ahlat was in Safavid hands, and its governor was Delu Montasha Ustajlu. In 1533, during the Ottoman–Safavid War of 1532–1555, Ahlat was taken by the Ottoman army led by Grand Vizier

Pargalı Ibrahim Pasha Pargalı Ibrahim Pasha ( 149515 March 1536), was the first Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire appointed by Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. Ibrahim, born as Orthodox Christian, was enslaved during his youth. He and Suleiman became close frie ...

. In 1548, Ahlat was recaptured by the Safavids, who then sacked it. During

Suleiman the Magnificent Suleiman I (; , ; 6 November 14946 September 1566), commonly known as Suleiman the Magnificent in the Western world and as Suleiman the Lawgiver () in his own realm, was the List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman sultan between 1520 a ...

's reign (1520-1566), Ahlat eventually became a solid part of the Ottoman Empire. However, "in practise", Ahlat remained ''de facto'' under the control of various local Kurdish chiefs until the mid-19th century, when the central Ottoman government in

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

imposed direct rule on the town. Vital Cuinet estimated the population of Ahlat at end of the 19th century at 23,700. According to Cuinet, seventy percent were Muslims, whereas the rest were Christians, mostly

Armenians Armenians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to the Armenian highlands of West Asia.Robert Hewsen, Hewsen, Robert H. "The Geography of Armenia" in ''The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiq ...

. When Cuinet passed through the city during this time period, ancient Ahlat was considered to be "abandoned", and was referred to as ''Kharab Şehir'', i.e. "the ruined town". Later, a new town, which had a population of 5,018 in 1961, grew some two kilometers to the east on the shore of Lake Van. During the

Circassian genocide The Circassian genocide, or Tsitsekun, was the systematic mass killing, ethnic cleansing, and forced displacement of between 95% and 97% of the Circassian people during the final stages of the Russian invasion of Circassia in the 19th centur ...

, several Circassian refugees from the

North Caucasus The North Caucasus, or Ciscaucasia, is a subregion in Eastern Europe governed by Russia. It constitutes the northern part of the wider Caucasus region, which separates Europe and Asia. The North Caucasus is bordered by the Sea of Azov and the B ...

were settled in Ahlat district and established a few villages. As part of the deportations of Kurds from 1916 to 1934, Kurds from Ahlat were deported to Diyarbakır for being disloyal to the

Committee of Union and Progress The Ottoman Committee of Union and Progress (CUP, also translated as the Society of Union and Progress; , French language, French: ''Union et Progrès'') was a revolutionary group, secret society, and political party, active between 1889 and 1926 ...

. It was already noted in 1846 by Ottoman officials that the town could be used to control the Kurds with an iron fist since it was located 'in the heart of Kurdistan'.

Modern day

Ahlat and its surroundings are known for a large number of historic tombstones left by the Ahlatshah dynasty, also known as the Shah-Armen, Shah-i-Arman, or Ahlat-Shah dynasty. Efforts are presently being made by local authorities with a view to including the Tombstones of Ahlat the Urartian and Ottoman citadel on

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

World Heritage List World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural heritag ...

, where they are currently listed tentatively. In recent years, Ahlat also came to be known for the quality of its

potatoes The potato () is a starchy tuberous vegetable native to the Americas that is consumed as a staple food in many parts of the world. Potatoes are underground stem tubers of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'', a perennial in the nightshade famil ...

, which carved themselves a sizable share in the Turkish agricultural products market.

Tourism

The touristic places in Ahlat are Çifte Kümbet (Twin Tombs), Ahlat Seljuk Cemetery, Ahlat Museum, Lake Nemrut and the Cave dwellings of Ahlat.

Demographics

In 1891 the

kaza A kaza (, "judgment" or "jurisdiction") was an administrative divisions of the Ottoman Empire, administrative division of the Ottoman Empire. It is also discussed in English under the names district, subdistrict, and juridical district. Kazas co ...

had 23,659 inhabitants: 16,635 Muslims; 6,609 Armenians; and 415 others. The city was then almost abandoned with only 200 houses on the eve of the First World War, including 15 Armenian houses. The city includes

Kurds Kurds (), or the Kurdish people, are an Iranian peoples, Iranic ethnic group from West Asia. They are indigenous to Kurdistan, which is a geographic region spanning southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Iraq, and northeastern Syri ...

of the Bekiran tribe and

Karapapakhs The Karapapakhs (; ), or Terekeme (; ), are a Turkic people, who originally spoke the Karapapakh language, a western Oghuz language closely related to Azerbaijani and Turkish. Nowadays, the Karapapakh language has been largely supplanted by ...

Gallery

File:Ahlat Bayindir kümbet and mosque.jpg, Ahlat Bayindir kümbet File:Ahlat Kümbet 0725.jpg, Ahlat Bayindir kümbet and mosque File:Ahlat Kümbet 0705.jpg, Ahlat Bayindir kümbet Detail File:Ahlat Kümbet 0681.jpg, Ahlat Hasan Padişah Kümbeti File:Ahlat Kümbet 0682.jpg, Ahlat Hasan Padişah Kümbeti details File:Ahlat Kümbet 0691.jpg, Ahlat Kümbet File:Ahlat Kümbet 0622.jpg, Ahlat Kümbet Ulu Kümbet File:Ahlat Kümbet 8546.jpg, Ahlat Kümbet Interior File:Ahlat Kümbet 8758.jpg, Ahlat Kümbet File:Ahlat Museum object 0737.jpg, Ahlat Museum Catafalque File:Ahlat Museum object 0743.jpg, Ahlat Museum Script File:Ahlat Museum object 8561.jpg, Ahlat Museum Animal with script File:Ahlat Museum object 8564.jpg, Ahlat Museum Water jug File:Ahlat Gravestones 8597.jpg, Ahlat Gravestones File:Ahlat Gravestones 0662.jpg, Ahlat Gravestones File:Ahlat Gravestone 8661.jpg, Ahlat Gravestone File:Ahlat Gravestone 0671.jpg, Ahlat gravestone Detail File:Ahlat Gravestones 0633.jpg, Ahlat Gravestone File:Ahlat Gravestones 8639.jpg, Ahlat Gravestone File:Ahlat Gravestones 8657b.jpg, Ahlat Gravestone File:Ahlat June 2010 8644.jpg, Ahlat Gravestone File:Ahlat Panorama1.jpg, Ahlat Panorama File:Hasan Padişah Kümbeti in Ahlat.png, The tower of the medieval Muslim cemetery of Ulu Kümbet.

Climate

Ahlat has a dry-summer

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

: ''Dsa''), with very warm, dry summers and cold, snowy winters.

Notable people

* Sayyid Husayn Ahlati (d. 1397), Kurdish occulist, lettrist and personal physician-alchemist to Sultan

Barquq Al-Malik Az-Zahir Sayf ad-Din Barquq (; born ) was the first Sultan of the Circassians, Circassian Mamluk Burji dynasty of Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo), Egypt ruling from 1382 to 1389 and 1390 to 1399. Born to a Christianity, Christian father in Cir ...

* Şêx Şemsedînê Exlatî (1588–1674), Kurdish Sufi, poet and Sheikh

References

Sources

* * * * * *

External links

Pictures of the sights by private photographer
{{Authority control District municipalities in Turkey Populated places in Bitlis Province Ahlat District Kurdish settlements in Bitlis Province Cittaslow Former Armenian communities in Bitlis Province Karapapakh settlements in Turkey