Elazığ Province
Elazığ () is a city in the Eastern Anatolia Region, Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey, and the administrative centre of Elazığ Province and Elazığ District. Founded in and around the former city of Harput, it is located in the uppermost Euph ...
of Turkey. It is the seat of
Ağın District
Ağın District is a Districts of Turkey, district of Elazığ Province of Turkey. Its seat is the town Ağın.İlçe Belediyesi Turkey Civil Administration Departments Inventory. Retrieved 20 December 2022. Its population is 1,818 (2021). The mayor is Yılmaz Serttaş from the
Nationalist Movement Party
The Nationalist Movement Party, or alternatively translated as Nationalist Action Party (, MHP), is a Turkish Far-right politics, far-right, ultranationalism, ultranationalist Political parties in Turkey, political party. The group is often de ...
.
History
The city of Ağın was initially founded by
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 ...
who had migrated there from
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
. In 1896, the city was evenly divided between
Muslims
Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
and Armenians. The city was recognized for its wealth and had previously escaped the 1895-1896 Hamidian massacres through a ransom payment by the Armenians of 1500 Turkish gold pounds.
On September 15, 1896, three weeks after the raid of the
Ottoman Bank
The Ottoman Bank (), known from 1863 to 1925 as the Imperial Ottoman Bank (, ) and correspondingly referred to by its French acronym BIO, was a bank that played a major role in the financial history of the Ottoman Empire. By the early 20th cent ...
by
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 ...
Dashnaks
The Armenian Revolutionary Federation (, abbr. ARF (ՀՅԴ) or ARF-D), also known as Dashnaktsutyun (Armenian: Դաշնակցություն, lit. "Federation"), is an Armenian nationalist and socialist political party founded in 1890 in Tifl ...
as a response to the Hamidian massacres, Turkish authorities organized a new massacre in the city of Ağın. Ottoman troops killed "upwards of 2000 Armenians" including "many women and children" according to a report by the
French
French may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France
** French people, a nation and ethnic group
** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices
Arts and media
* The French (band), ...
Ambassador. Of the 1500 houses located in the Armenian quarter of Ağın, 980 were pillaged and burned. According to a report by the
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies.
* British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
Consul at
Harput
Harpoot () or Kharberd () is an ancient town located in the Elazığ Province of Turkey. It now forms a small district of the city of Elazığ. p. 1. In the late Ottoman period, it fell under the Mamuret-ul-Aziz Vilayet (also known as the Harpu ...
, the pretext used to attack the city's Armenian quarter was that the Armenians of the said city were "set to cause trouble". The same report by the Consul said that there were no revolutionary movement whatever and no powder magazine exploded during the massacre. A few pistols and revolvers were found in the ruins of the burnt houses.
Access
Access to Ağın from the province center
Elazığ
Elazığ () is a city in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey, and the administrative centre of Elazığ Province and Elazığ District. Founded in and around the former city of Harput, it is located in the uppermost Euphrates valley. The plai ...
was provided in the past by
Karamağara Bridge
The Karamagara Bridge (, "Bridge of the Black Cave") is a Byzantine or late Roman bridge in the ancient region of Cappadocia in eastern Turkey, and possibly the earliest known pointed arch bridge.
The bridge, along with much of the Arapgir Ç ...
, a
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of Roman civilization
*Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...
arch bridge
An arch bridge is a bridge with abutments at each end shaped as a curved arch. Arch bridges work by transferring the weight of the bridge and its structural load, loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at either si ...
in distance spanning the Arapgir Creek. The bridge was dismantled, and its
ashlar
Ashlar () is a cut and dressed rock (geology), stone, worked using a chisel to achieve a specific form, typically rectangular in shape. The term can also refer to a structure built from such stones.
Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, a ...
were moved to
Elazığ Museum
Elazığ () is a city in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey, and the administrative centre of Elazığ Province and Elazığ District. Founded in and around the former city of Harput, it is located in the uppermost Euphrates valley. The plai ...
when the flooding of the
Keban Dam
The Keban Dam () is a hydroelectric dam on the Euphrates, located in the Elazığ Province of Turkey. The dam is the first and uppermost of several large-scale dams to be built on the Euphrates by Turkey. Although the Keban Dam was not originally ...
reservoir began in 1974. Ağın was accessible only by ferryboat over a period of forty years before the
Ağın Bridge
The Ağın Bridge, Ağın (Karamağara) Bridge, ( or ''Ağın Karamağara Köprüsü'') is a cable-stayed bridge spanning Lake Keban in Elazığ Province, Turkey. It was opened to traffic in 2015.
The construction of the bridge began in 2001. ...
was built and opened to traffic in 2015. The newly built bridge is also named the "Ağın (Karamağara) Bridge" in remembrance of the non-existing old bridge.
Quarters
The town Ağın consists of the following quarters:Mahalle Turkey Civil Administration Departments Inventory. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
*Akpınar
*Başpınar
*Merkez
*Şenpınar