Birecik is a municipality and

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

Şanlıurfa Province Şanlıurfa Province (; ), also known as Urfa Province, is a Provinces of Turkey, province and Metropolitan municipalities in Turkey, metropolitan municipality in southeastern Turkey. The city of Şanlıurfa is the capital of the province which be ...

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 ...

. Its area is 912 km², and its population is 93,866 (2023). It lies on the

Euphrates The Euphrates ( ; see #Etymology, below) is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of West Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia (). Originati ...

. Built on a limestone cliff 400 ft. high on the left/east bank of the Euphrates, "at the upper part of a reach of that river, which runs nearly north-south, and just below a sharp bend in the stream, where it follows that course after coming from a long reach flowing more from the west".William Smith, ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography'' (1854)
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Etymology

The historical name of the town, ''al-Bīra'' in Arabic and ''Bīreh'' in Syriac, derives from the Aramaic ''Bīrthā'', meaning fortress. It later evolved to ''Birecik'' with the addition of the Turkish diminutive suffix, ''cik''. It is called ''Belejik'' amongst the local population. In Ottoman times, the historical forms ''Bi'retü'l-Fırat'', ''Biğrecik'', and ''Biğrecek'' are also attested.

Geography

Birecik is located between

Gaziantep Gaziantep, historically Aintab and still informally called Antep, is a major city in south-central Turkey. It is the capital of the Gaziantep Province, in the westernmost part of Turkey's Southeastern Anatolia Region and partially in the Medi ...

to the west and the

Urfa Urfa, officially called Şanlıurfa (), is a city in southeastern Turkey and the capital of Şanlıurfa Province. The city was known as Edessa from Hellenistic period, Hellenistic times and into Christian times. Urfa is situated on a plain abo ...

plateau to the east. The region's elevation varies between about 400 and 500 meters above sea level, with steep slopes along the banks of the Euphrates. Low-lying areas are used for farming; the higher areas are used for livestock grazing. Cotton growing is common in the Birecik area. There are no major tributaries of the Euphrates in the area, although there are some minor streams such as the Kerzin Çayı (located about 8 km south of Birecik), Hamomin Dere, Yedigöz Dere, and Pırpar Dere.

Geology

The lowest geological layer in the Birecik area is the Gaziantep Formation, which dates to

Eocene The Eocene ( ) is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (Ma). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes ...

through

Oligocene The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch (geology), epoch of the Paleogene Geologic time scale, Period that extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that defin ...

times. Large exposed outcroppings of formation this exist around Birecik and along the Euphrates. It consists of gray, soft to medium-hard chalky limestone,

marl Marl is an earthy material rich in carbonate minerals, Clay minerals, clays, and silt. When Lithification, hardened into rock, this becomes marlstone. It is formed in marine or freshwater environments, often through the activities of algae. M ...

, clayey limestone, and limestone. The upper levels of the Gaziantep Formation contain a distinct

karst Karst () is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble carbonate rocks such as limestone and Dolomite (rock), dolomite. It is characterized by features like poljes above and drainage systems with sinkholes and caves underground. Ther ...

ic limestone member. This limestone member was deposited in a shallow marine environment during Eocene-Oligocene times. Karstic springs have formed in these deposits. The transition between this unit and the rest of the Gaziantep Formation is not always clearly discernible. The closest areas to Birecik where this unit is visible are at Kalazan Dağı, Arat Dağı, and the heights to the west of ancient Zeugma. Above the Gaziantep Formation is a

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

formation which covers a large area between Birecik and Suruç. This basalt formation was formed from basalt flows during

Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch (geology), epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.33 to 2.58 By this time, the Birecik area was no longer underwater – during the Middle and

Late Miocene The Late Miocene (also known as Upper Miocene) is a sub-epoch of the Miocene epoch (geology), Epoch made up of two faunal stage, stages. The Tortonian and Messinian stages comprise the Late Miocene sub-epoch, which lasted from 11.63 Ma (million ye ...

, tectonic activity had uplifted the region above sea level. Major basalt outcroppings exist at Arat Dağı, Karadağ, and north of Suruç. To a lesser extent, there are also outcroppings west of the Euphrates. Most of the underlying basalt and limestone formations are now covered by more recent alluvial deposits. There is also an

alluvial plain An alluvial plain is a plain (an essentially flat landform) created by the deposition of sediment over a long period by one or more rivers coming from highland regions, from which alluvial soil forms. A ''floodplain'' is part of the process, bei ...

along the Euphrates, formed by clay, sand, silt, and gravel deposited during floods. This area is about 3 km wide around Birecik but only 1 km wide further north near ancient Zeugma. To the west of the Euphrates, there are also

fluvial terrace Fluvial terraces are elongated Terrace (geology), terraces that flank the sides of floodplains and fluvial valleys all over the world. They consist of a relatively level strip of land, called a "tread", separated from either an adjacent floodplai ...

Climate

Birecik has a

semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of se ...

(

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 ...

: ''BSh''), which borders a

mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

. The average annual temperature in Birecik is , and average annual precipitation is .

Archaeology

Birecik Dam Cemetery is an Early Bronze Age cemetery near Birecik. It was used extensively for about 500 years at the beginning of the third millennium BC. More than 300 graves were excavated here in 1997 and 1998. The site was discovered during the building of the Birecik Dam as part of the GAP project. The cemetery was used between 3100-2600 BC.Sertok, K. and Ergeç, R. 1999. A New Early Bronze Age Cemetery: Excavation near the Birecik Dam, Southeastern Turkey. Preliminary Report (1997-98) ''Anatolica'' 25: 87-107 Early archaeological inspection in the Birecik area was done in 1894 by J.E. Gauiter. Later, in 1946, K. Kökten conducted a survey of the area and found traces of

Middle Paleolithic The Middle Paleolithic (or Middle Palaeolithic) is the second subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age as it is understood in Europe, Africa and Asia. The term Middle Stone Age is used as an equivalent or a synonym for the Middle P ...

occupation. Another survey was done in 1989 by a team headed by G. Algaze. Among the sites first identified by the Algaze survey were Akarçay Tepe and Mezraa Teleilat, which are two of the oldest known settlements in the Euphrates basin. In 1998, with the pending construction of a dam, excavations were done on sites that would be inundated once the dam was completed. More Middle Paleolithic findings were encountered by a team headed by M. Özdoğan and N. Karul in 2001.

History

Antiquity

The 1911 ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' identified Birecik with ancient Apamea or its suburb

Seleucia Seleucia (; ), also known as or or Seleucia ad Tigrim, was a major Mesopotamian city, located on the west bank of the Tigris River within the present-day Baghdad Governorate in Iraq. It was founded around 305 BC by Seleucus I Nicator as th ...

and described it as opposite Zeugma, with which it was connected by a bridge of boats. At the same time, it added that "the place seems to have had a pre- Seleucid existence as Birtha, a name which revived under Roman rule". Later discoveries have shown that the identification with Apamea and its Zeugma (the word ''zeugma'' meant ''junction'' and referred to a junction of roads at a point where a pontoon bridge crossed a river) is false: Bali, some 17 kilometres upstream is now seen as the site of Zeugma, and there may have been no bridge of boats at Birtha/Birecik until the crossings at Zeugma and at Tell-Ahmar (further down) lost popularity.Christina Phelps Grant, ''The Syrian Desert''
(Routledge 2013 ), p. 165, footnote These, rather than the crossing at Birecik/Birtha may therefore be what the 1911 publication said "was used from time immemorial in the passage from North Syria to Haran (Charrae), Edessa and North Mesopotamia, and was second in importance only to that at Thapsacus, by which crossed the route to Babylon and South Mesopotamia." The placing of Apamea-Zeugma further upstream and the identification of Birecik with Roman Birtha was already stated in the ''American Journal of Archaeology'' in 1917; and William Smith's ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography'' (1854) clearly identified Birtha with Birecik, although at another point it seems to confuse it with " the Zeugma of Commagene", the province on the right/west bank of the river. The name "Birtha" is found in no ancient Greek or Roman writer, although ''Bithra'' (

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

: ) (probably meant for "Birtha") appears in the account by

Zosimus Zosimus, Zosimos, Zosima or Zosimas may refer to: People * * Rufus and Zosimus (died 107), Christian saints * Zosimus (martyr) (died 110), Christian martyr who was executed in Umbria, Italy * Zosimos of Panopolis, also known as ''Zosimus Alch ...

of the invasion of

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary of ...

by Roman Emperor Julian in AD 363. The Greeks at one stage called what is now Birecik by the name Macedonopolis (anglicized also as Makedonoupolis). The city represented by bishops at the

First Council of Nicaea The First Council of Nicaea ( ; ) was a council of Christian bishops convened in the Bithynian city of Nicaea (now İznik, Turkey) by the Roman Emperor Constantine I. The Council of Nicaea met from May until the end of July 325. This ec ...

and the

Council of Chalcedon The Council of Chalcedon (; ) was the fourth ecumenical council of the Christian Church. It was convoked by the Roman emperor Marcian. The council convened in the city of Chalcedon, Bithynia (modern-day Kadıköy, Istanbul, Turkey) from 8 Oct ...

is called by this name in Latin and Greek records, but Birtha in Syriac texts. A 6 AD inscription in Syriac found at Birecik contains an epitaph of Zarbian, "commander of Birtha". Ancient Birtha grew when the ancient city of

Carchemish Carchemish ( or ), also spelled Karkemish (), was an important ancient capital in the northern part of the region of Syria. At times during its history the city was independent, but it was also part of the Mitanni, Hittite and Neo-Assyrian ...

(known as Europos to the Greeks) became abandoned; this had happened by the middle of the 4th century. Another possible impetus for Birtha's growth was when the Romans withdrew their legion from Zeugma after a Persian attack in the mid-3rd century; some of Zeugma's inhabitants may have moved to Birtha at that point. Although Birtha served as a crossing point on the Euphrates, the main crossing was still at Zeugma. Birecik_Urfa_Kap%C4%B1_7265

Medieval History

The town maintained its importance during medieval times as it protected the most important crossing of the Euphrates in northern Syria. The crossing at Zeugma was no longer used, and the traffic all went to Birecik instead. Zeugma's population had probably also moved to Birecik as well. Al-bira had been under control by the Muslim

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 ...

from 637 until 1079 when it was conquered by the Seljuk Turk warlord Tutush but at some point afterwards it was taken by the

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 the

First Crusade The First Crusade (1096–1099) was the first of a series of religious wars, or Crusades, initiated, supported and at times directed by the Latin Church in the Middle Ages. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Muslim conquest ...

arrived in the region, the town was under control of the

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 ...

Ablgharib, who was a vassal to the Armenian ruler Kogh Vasil.

Matthew of Edessa Matthew of Edessa (; late 11th century – 1144) was an Armenian historian in the 12th century from the city of Edessa. Matthew was the superior abbot of Karmir Vank, near the town of Kaysun, east of Marash (Germanicia), the former seat of ...

states that the army of Ablgharib numbered 1,000 and that he was eventually removed by the Franks. Matthew's account of this is suspect however as it seems that his daughter married the next lord, Galeran of Le Puiset of the Montlhery family, and it seems that Ablgharib's position was preserved to a certain extent. Birecik then formed part of the

County of Edessa The County of Edessa (Latin: ''Comitatus Edessanus'') was a 12th-century Crusader state in Upper Mesopotamia. Its seat was the city of Edessa (modern Şanlıurfa, Turkey). In the late Byzantine period, Edessa became the centre of intellec ...

; it was strongly fortified with a castle and served as the capital of a minor feudal lordship. In 1151, Birecik was captured by the Artukid ruler Timurtaş of Mardin, an ally of the Zengid ruler Nur ad-Din Zengi, and afterwards Birecik became part of Nur ad-Din's direct holdings. After Nur ad-Din died in 1174,

Saladin Salah ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub ( – 4 March 1193), commonly known as Saladin, was the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty. Hailing from a Kurdish family, he was the first sultan of both Egypt and Syria. An important figure of the Third Crusade, h ...

conquered the whole region. Birecik formed part of the Kurdish

Ayyubid The Ayyubid dynasty (), also known as the Ayyubid Sultanate, was the founding dynasty of the medieval Sultan of Egypt, Sultanate of Egypt established by Saladin in 1171, following his abolition of the Fatimid Caliphate, Fatimid Caliphate of Egyp ...

principality of

Aleppo Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...

; while other towns in the principality were assigned as sub-principalities (namely Tall Bashar and Aintab), Birecik was not and seems to have been governed directly from Aleppo by its Ayyubid governor,

Az-Zahir Ghazi Al-Malik az-Zahir Ghiyath ud-din Ghazi ibn Yusuf ibn Ayyub (commonly known as az-Zahir Ghazi; 1172 – 8 October 1216) was the Kurdish Ayyubid emir of Aleppo between 1186 and 1216. He was the third son of Saladin and his lands included northern ...

. Birecik was later captured by the Mamluks under Baybars 1261. They repaired its castle in 1277-78 and again in 1300-01. Under the Mamluks, Birecik was one of the most important fortified garrisons in the region. A post route ran directly between Birecik and Aleppo. There was little traffic between Birecik and Rum Kale, another important stronghold located a bit to the north. Like Rum Kale, Birecik was not directly located on the frontier itself, but its value to the Mamluks was as a strong fallback position in case their border territories (in Bireci'ks case,

) fell to the Mongols. Birecik wasn't very important commercially until the end of the 1300s, when some commercial traffic between Aleppo and Upper Mesopotamia began to follow the Birecik-Urfa route. It was unsuccessfully besieged by the Dulkadirid leader Sevli Beg in 1390. In 1401, however,

Timur Timur, also known as Tamerlane (1320s17/18 February 1405), was a Turco-Mongol conqueror who founded the Timurid Empire in and around modern-day Afghanistan, Iran, and Central Asia, becoming the first ruler of the Timurid dynasty. An undefeat ...

crossed the Euphrates at Birecik on his way from

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

Malatya Malatya (; ; Syriac language, Syriac ܡܠܝܛܝܢܐ Malīṭīná; ; Ancient Greek: Μελιτηνή) is a city in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey and the capital of Malatya Province. The city has been a human settlement for thousands of y ...

. The Mamluk commander of Birecik's castle submitted to Timur's forces, and it appeared that the town would be spared, but Timur left a contingent of about 3,000 troops in Birecik and they ended up looting the town and castle before leaving to rejoin Timur. Birecik gained in importance during the 1400s as the preferred route connecting Aleppo and Upper Mesopotamia shifted towards the Birecik-Urfa route instead of the

Mardin Mardin (; ; romanized: ''Mārdīn''; ; ) is a city and seat of the Artuklu District of Mardin Province in Turkey. It is known for the Artuqids, Artuqid architecture of its old city, and for its strategic location on a rocky hill near the Tigris ...

- Ra's al-'Ayn route that had been preferred previously. Birecik was unsuccessfully put under siege in 1420 by the Ak Koyunlu leader Kara Yusuf. Again in 1472, the Ak Koyunlu leader Uzun Hasan attacked Birecik unsuccessfully, causing damage to the city walls. The Mamluk sultan, Qaitbay, later came to inspect the damage and ordered significant rebuilding of the walls.

Ottoman History

Birecik became part of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

in 1516. It already had a dock at the time that was collecting tolls; the income from the tolls rose dramatically after

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 campaign to conquer

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

in 1534 (see table). Meanwhile, by 1547 the Ottomans had chosen to make Birecik the site of a major imperial shipyard – the empire's first in Mesopotamia. Birecik's geography made it uniquely well-suited to play such a role: by the time it reaches Birecik, the Euphrates has already descended from the Taurus foothills, and the rest of its course consists of gentle slopes and wide valleys. In contrast, the

Tigris The Tigris ( ; see #Etymology, below) is the eastern of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of the Armenian Highlands through the Syrian Desert, Syrian and Arabia ...

has a steeper gradient at the same latitude, hindering navigation by larger ships. Towns on the upper Tigris like

Diyarbakır Diyarbakır is the largest Kurdish-majority city in Turkey. It is the administrative center of Diyarbakır Province. Situated around a high plateau by the banks of the Tigris river on which stands the historic Diyarbakır Fortress, it is ...

Cizre Cizre () is a city in the Cizre District of Şırnak Province in Turkey. It is located on the river Tigris by the Syria–Turkey border and close to the Iraq–Turkey border. Cizre is in the historical region of Upper Mesopotamia and the cultura ...

would have therefore been less suitable for a large naval base compared to Birecik. At the same time, Birecik has a wetter climate than settlements further downstream because it's closer to the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

coast in Syria, and the mountain regions nearby are able to support large mixed-growth forests to supply timber for shipbuilding. The city of

Basra Basra () is a port city in Iraq, southern Iraq. It is the capital of the eponymous Basra Governorate, as well as the List of largest cities of Iraq, third largest city in Iraq overall, behind Baghdad and Mosul. Located near the Iran–Iraq bor ...

, despite having the advantage of being much further downstream and closer to the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...

, has a drier climate and therefore lacked a consistent supply of wood. The Portuguese explorer Pedro Teixeira noted this problem when he visited Basra in 1604: since importing timber was costly, locally-built ships were small and expensive. Although Basra did also become an Ottoman shipyard later on, Birecik had none of these disadvantages and remained the primary Ottoman shipyard in Mesopotamia. The first reference to the Ottoman shipyard at Birecik is in June 1547, when an Arab merchant from Basra named Hajji Fayat reported to the Portuguese governor in Hormuz about it. Hajji Fayat specifically referred to the abundance of timber as one of the reasons why the "large and well-populated" town of Birecik was such an advantageous shipbuilding location. Around that time, the Birecik shipyard employed 45 tax-exempt workers. The first documented order for ship construction at Birecik dates from July 1552, when the Ottoman Imperial Council commissioned 300 new ships to be built. In 1559, the Ottomans decided to deploy five new

galliot A galiot, galliot or galiote, was a small galley boat propelled by sail or oars. There are three different types of naval galiots that sailed on different seas. A ''galiote'' was a type of French flat-bottom river boat or barge and also a fla ...

s at Basra to counter the presence of Portuguese ships near Ottoman ports, which was causing a decline in customs revenue. From October 1559 until February 1560, the Imperial Council wanted to build the ships at Birecik, but ultimately the vizier Sokullu Mehmed Pasha decided to send the materials to Basra instead and assemble the galliots there. The governor in Basra received the materials that summer. Later, as part of an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to reconquer Baghdad in 1629, the Ottoman vizier Hüsrev Pasha ordered 100 new ships to be built at Birecik.

Modern history

Birecik was the scene of an unusually cruel massacre and persecution of Armenians in 1895. Birecik Dam and hydroelectric power plant, part of the

Southeastern Anatolia Project The Southeastern Anatolia Project (, GAP) is a multi-sector integrated regional development project based on the concept of sustainable development for the 9 million people (2023) living in the Southeastern Anatolia Region, Turkey, Southeastern An ...

, is situated within the district. The Roman city of Zeugma is now drowned in the reservoir behind the dam. Zeugma's famous mosaics, including the 'river god', have been taken to

Museum, but some rescued remains of Zeugma are exhibited in Birecik. With its rich architectural heritage, Birecik is a member of the

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...

-based European Association of Historic Towns and Regions (EAHTR)

Composition

There are 83

neighbourhoods A neighbourhood (Commonwealth English) or neighborhood (American English) is a geographically localized community within a larger town, city, suburb or rural area, sometimes consisting of a single street and the buildings lining it. Neighbourh ...

in Birecik District: * Abdallı * Akarçay * Akpınar * Almaşar * Altınova * Arslanlı * Aşağı Eşme * Aşağı Fatmacık * Aşağı Habib * Aşağı Karkutlu * Aşağı Kuyucak * Aşağıalmaşar * Ayran * Bağlarbaşı * Bahçeönü * Bentbahçesi * Böğürtlen * Bozdere * Boztepe * Cibinören * Çiçekalan * Çiftlikköy * Çoğan * Cumhuriyet * Dağgören * Dalocak * Damlıca * Diktepe * Dışlık * Divriği * Dorucak * Duyduk * Düzlüce * Ekenek * Geçittepe * Göktepe * Günışığı * Güvenir * Güzelyurt * Han * Haydarahmet * Hocaşerif * Ilgar * İnceler * İncirli * İncirlidere * İnnaplı * Karababa * Karşıyaka * Keskince * Kocaali * Kömağıl * Konakköy * Kural * Kurtuluş * Kurucahöyük * Mengelli * Merkez * Meteler * Meyanca * Meydan * Mezra * Ortafatmacık * Özveren * Saha * Sancak * Şekerköy * Sekili * Söğürtlen * Sumaklı * Surtepe * Tüten * Uğurcuk * Ünsal * Yaylacık * Yeniakpınar * Yılmaz * Yukarı Incirli * Yukarı Karabaş * Yukarıhabib * Yukarıyeniçağ * Yuvacık * Ziyaret

Demographics

In mid-19th century, Swiss traveler Alexander Schläfli recorded that Birejik had 5500-6000 people with 50-60 Armenian families and the rest being Turks. He further mentioned that Birejik was an ethnic and linguistic border, because to the east lived Kurdish tribes, to the west Turks-Turkmens, and to the south Arab tribes. In his travels, Julius Heinrich Petermann observed that the north and northeastern sides of the town were inhabited by Kurds, who partly lived in rock caves, while further south lived Turks and some Armenians.

Architecture

Historically, Birecik's urban fabric was made up of stone houses. The stone used in these houses was mostly derived from two sources. The first is limestone quarried from Kalazan Dağı, northwest of the city. This stone, which was also used to build other historical buildings in Birecik, is derived from the upper limestone member of the Gaziantep Formation and is resistant to weathering. Four old quarries at Kalazan Dağı have been identified. The other type main type, used particularly in later times, is the

y limestone known as havara coming from a quarry east of Birecik. This type is less resistant to weathering. In some buildings, both types of stone were used. More recently, Urfa limestone has also been used in restoration work on historic buildings. One example is the Mahmutpaşa Cami, which now has examples of all three types of stone.

Qanat

An old

qanat A qanāt () or kārīz () is a water supply system that was developed in ancient Iran for the purpose of transporting usable water to the surface from an aquifer or a well through an underground aqueduct. Originating approximately 3,000 years ...

, estimated to be 30 km long, historically brought water to Bireck for drinking, irrigation, water mills, and other uses. The exact source of the water is not known – locals believe it comes from Arat Dağı, but a survey by Gürpinar et al was unable to verify this. Gürpinar et al guessed that the ultimate source for the water is the karstic reservoir in the limestone member of the Gaziantep Formation. The main tunnel of the qanat is about 1.5 m in diameter and about 2-10 m below the surface. Its course is dug in a thick and relatively soft layer of rock that forms part of the Gaziantep Formation, and it stands without supports. Vertical wells were dug at several points along the qanat's course so they could access the water. Water flows through the qanat at a rate of approximately 20 liters per second.

Castle

Birecik Castle (in Turkish: ''Birecik Kalesi'') is built on a clayey limestone hill that belongs to the Gaziantep Formation. Rockfall caused by erosion of the hill has happened in some areas. The castle itself is built out of limestone quarried from Kalazan Dağı to the northwest.

Bishopric

As an

episcopal see An episcopal see is the area of a bishop's ecclesiastical jurisdiction. Phrases concerning actions occurring within or outside an episcopal see are indicative of the geographical significance of the term, making it synonymous with ''diocese'' ...

, Birtha was a

suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Catholic Church, a suffragan bishop leads a diocese within an ecclesiastical province other than the principal diocese, the metropolitan archdiocese; the diocese led ...

of the

metropolitan see Metropolitan may refer to: Areas and governance (secular and ecclesiastical) * Metropolitan archdiocese, the jurisdiction of a metropolitan archbishop ** Metropolitan bishop or archbishop, leader of an ecclesiastical "mother see" * Metropolitan ...

Edessa Edessa (; ) was an ancient city (''polis'') in Upper Mesopotamia, in what is now Urfa or Şanlıurfa, Turkey. It was founded during the Hellenistic period by Macedonian general and self proclaimed king Seleucus I Nicator (), founder of the Sel ...

, the capital of the

Roman province The Roman provinces (, pl. ) were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was ruled by a Roman appointed as Roman g ...

Osrhoene Osroene or Osrhoene (; ) was an ancient kingdom and region in Upper Mesopotamia. The ''Kingdom of Osroene'', also known as the "Kingdom of Edessa" ( / "Kingdom of Urhay"), according to the name of its capital city (now Şanlıurfa, Turkey), exi ...

. This is attested in a ''

Notitia Episcopatuum The ''Notitiae Episcopatuum'' (singular: ''Notitia Episcopatuum'') were official documents that furnished for Eastern countries the list and hierarchical rank of the metropolitan and suffragan bishoprics of a church. In the Roman Church (the mos ...

'' of 599, which assigns to it the first place among the suffragans.Louis Petit, "Birtha"
in ''

Catholic Encyclopedia ''The'' ''Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'', also referred to as the ''Old Catholic Encyclopedia'' and the ''Original Catholic Encyclopedi ...

'' (New York 1907) The names of three of its bishops are recorded in extant documents. Mareas signed the acts of the First Council of Nicaea in 325 as bishop of Macedonopolis, The chronicle of

Michael the Syrian Michael the Syrian (),(), died AD 1199, also known as Michael the Great () or Michael Syrus or Michael the Elder, to distinguish him from his nephew, was a patriarch of the Syriac Orthodox Church from 1166 to 1199. He is best known today as th ...

speaks of a Daniel of Birtha at the Council of Chalcedon in 451, while

Giovanni Domenico Mansi Gian (Giovanni) Domenico Mansi (16 February 1692 – 27 September 1769) was an Italian prelate, theologian, scholar and historian, known for his massive works on the Ecumenical council, Church councils. Biography He was born at Lucca, of a pa ...

calls him bishop of Macedonopolis. The Chronicle of

Joshua the Stylite Joshua the Stylite (also spelled Yeshu Stylite and Ieshu Stylite) is the attributed author of a chronicle which narrates the history of the Roman%E2%80%93Persian Wars#Anastasian War, war between the Byzantine Empire and Sassanian Empire, Persians be ...

tells of a Bishop Sergius of Birtha who was entrusted by the

Emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

Anastasius I Dicorus with refortifying the city, something that must have occurred after peace was made with the Persians in 504.G. Levencq, v. ''Birtha'' i
''Dictionnaire d'Histoire et de Géographie ecclésiastiques''
vol. VIII, Paris 1935, coll. 1538-1539 The work was completed by

Justinian Justinian I (, ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 527 to 565. His reign was marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovatio imperii'', or "restoration of the Empire". This ambition was ...

. No longer a residential bishopric, Birtha is today listed by the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

as a

titular see A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbi ...

.''Annuario Pontificio 2013'' (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2013 ), p. 850

Gallery

File:Birecik Street scenes and trades 9276.jpg File:Birecik Street scenes and trades 7264.jpg File:Birecik Street scenes and trades kids 7237.jpg File:Birecik Street scenes and trades 7291.jpg File:Birecik Street scenes and trades 7301.jpg File:Birecik Street scenes and trades 7298.jpg File:Birecik Street scenes and trades 9266.jpg

Notes

References

;Sources * *

External links

District Governor's OfficePicture gallery of this town
{{Authority control Greek colonies in Anatolia Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Turkey Roman towns and cities in Turkey Populated places in Şanlıurfa Province Populated places on the Euphrates River Districts of Şanlıurfa Province Metropolitan district municipalities in Turkey Catholic titular sees in Asia Aleppo vilayet Kurdish settlements in Turkey Former Armenian communities in Şanlıurfa Province