Muş (; ; ) is a city in eastern

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 ...

. It is the seat of

Muş Province Muş Province (; ; ) is a Provinces of Turkey, province in the east Anatolia region of Turkey (Türkiye). Its area is 8,718 km2, and its population is 399,202 (2022), down from 453,654 in 2000. The provincial capital is the city of Muş. Ano ...

and

Muş District Muş District (also: ''Merkez'', meaning "central" in Turkish) is a district of the Muş Province of Turkey. Its seat is the city of Muş.

.İl Belediyesi
Turkey Civil Administration Departments Inventory. Retrieved 22 May 2023. Its population is 120,699 (2022). The city is majority

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 ...

Etymology

Various explanations of the origin of Muş's name exist. Its name is sometimes associated with 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 ...

word , meaning fog, explained by the fact that the town and the surrounding plain are frequently covered in fog in the mornings. The 17th-century explorer

Evliya Çelebi Dervish Mehmed Zillî (25 March 1611 – 1682), known as Evliya Çelebi (), was an Ottoman Empire, Ottoman explorer who travelled through his home country during its cultural zenith as well as neighboring lands. He travelled for over 40 years, rec ...

relates a myth where a giant mouse created by Nemrud (

Nimrod Nimrod is a Hebrew Bible, biblical figure mentioned in the Book of Genesis and Books of Chronicles, the Books of Chronicles. The son of Cush (Bible), Cush and therefore the great-grandson of Noah, Nimrod was described as a king in the land of Sh ...

) destroys the city and its inhabitants, after which the city was named Muş ( means "mouse" in Persian).. Others have proposed a connection with the names of different ancient Anatolian peoples, the

Mushki The Mushki (sometimes transliterated as Muški) were an Iron Age people of Anatolia who appear in sources from Assyria but not from the Hittites. Several authors have connected them with the Moschoi (Μόσχοι) of Greek sources and the Geor ...

or the

Mysians Mysians (; , ''Mysoí'') were the inhabitants of Mysia, a region in northwestern Asia Minor. Origins according to ancient authors Their first mention is by Homer, in his list of Troy, Trojans allies in the Iliad, and according to whom the Mysia ...

, or the toponyms ''Mushki'' and ''Mushuni'' mentioned in

Assyria Assyria (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , ''māt Aššur'') was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization that existed as a city-state from the 21st century BC to the 14th century BC and eventually expanded into an empire from the 14th century BC t ...

n and Hittite sources, respectively.

History

Iron Age

Kingdom of Urartu

An inscription belonging to Urartian King Argisti I (785-765 BC) was unearthed near Kepenek Castle. The inscription is now under protection by the Muş Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism. The inscription in question reads: The date of foundation of Mush is unknown, although a settlement is believed to have been around by the time of Menua, the king of

Urartu Urartu was an Iron Age kingdom centered around the Armenian highlands between Lake Van, Lake Urmia, and Lake Sevan. The territory of the ancient kingdom of Urartu extended over the modern frontiers of Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Armenia.Kleiss, Wo ...

(c. 800 BC), whose cuneiform inscription was found in the city's vicinity.

Medieval period

During the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, Mush was the center of the Taron region of Armenia. It is first mentioned as a city in

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand or typewritten, as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in some indirect or automated way. More recently, the term has ...

s of the 9th and 10th centuries. In the late 8th century, Mush, along with the Taron region, came under control of the Armenian Bagratid (Bagratuni) dynasty, who reconquered it from 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 ...

. Mush and the Taron region were captured and annexed to the

Byzantine Empire 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 History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

in 969. The region continued to face attacks from the

Hamdanids The Hamdanid dynasty () was a Islam, Shia Muslim Arab dynasty that ruled modern day Northern Mesopotamia and Bilad al-Sham , Syria (890–1004). They descended from the ancient Banu Taghlib tribe of Mesopotamia and Arabia. History Origin ...

, Uqaylids and Marwanids until the

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 ...

s were finally ousted from the region by the

Seljuk Turks The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; , ''Saljuqian'',) alternatively spelled as Saljuqids or Seljuk Turks, was an Oghuz Turks, Oghuz Turkic, Sunni Muslim dynasty that gradually became Persianate society, Persianate and contributed to Turco-Persi ...

following the 1071

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 ...

. Following this battle, it came under the rule of the Ahlatshahs. Armenian monastery of s apostles in moush

After the 11th century, the town was ruled by Islamic dynasties such as the Ahlatshahs,

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 ...

Ilkhanids 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 ...

and

Kara Koyunlu The Qara Qoyunlu or Kara Koyunlu (, ; ), also known as the Black Sheep Turkomans, were a culturally Persianate, Muslim Turkoman "Kara Koyunlu, also spelled Qara Qoyunlu, Turkish Karakoyunlular, English Black Sheep, Turkmen tribal federation th ...

. In the 10th-13th centuries Mush developed into a major city with an estimated population of 20 to 25 thousand people. In 1387 the

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

n conqueror

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 area and apparently captured Mush town without a battle. Later the Akkoyunlu ruled the area until they were conquered by the

Safavid 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 ...

s. 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 ...

under

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 ...

took control over the town and region in the early 16th century from the Persian

s. Mush remained 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 ...

till the early 20th century and during these times retained a large

population. In 1821 a Persian invasion reached Mush.

Modern

British traveller

H. F. B. Lynch Henry Finnis Blosse Lynch, Master of Arts, MA, FRGS (18 April 1862 – 24 November 1913) was a British traveller, businessman, and Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Parliament of the United Kingdom, Member of Parliament. Biography Lynch was the only ...

travelled to Muş at the end of the 19th century. He described the city as "the most mis-governed town in the Ottoman Empire". At the turn of the twentieth century, the city had around 20,000 inhabitants, of which 11,000 were Muslims, while 9,000 were Christian Armenians. According to the

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 ...

(1913) the town had 27,000 inhabitants, of whom 13,300 were Muslims and 13,700

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 ...

. According to the ''

Encyclopædia Britannica The is a general knowledge, general-knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It has been published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. since 1768, although the company has changed ownership seven times. The 2010 version of the 15th edition, ...

'' (1911) the population was nearly equally divided between

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 ...

and

. During the

Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was implemented primarily t ...

of 1915 the indigenous Armenian population of the region was exterminated. Over 140,000 Armenians of the Mush

sanjak A sanjak or sancak (, , "flag, banner") was an administrative division of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottomans also sometimes called the sanjak a liva (, ) from the name's calque in Arabic and Persian. Banners were a common organization of nomad ...

(living in 234 villages and towns) were targeted in June and July 1915. Military-aged Armenian men were conscripted to serve in the

Ottoman Army The Military of the Ottoman Empire () was the armed forces of the Ottoman Empire. It was founded in 1299 and dissolved in 1922. Army The Military of the Ottoman Empire can be divided in five main periods. The foundation era covers the years ...

during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. The Armenian population was largely defenseless to these threats. The massacre of the Armenian population of the city of Mush came only after the surrounding villages were destroyed. The town was captured by the forces of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

in February 1916 during the

. It was recaptured by the Second Army under the command of

Mustafa Kemal Pasha Mustafa () is one of the names of the Prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad, and the name means "chosen, selected, appointed, preferred", used as an Arabic language, Arabic given name and surname. Mustafa is a common name in t ...

in 1917. In the 1960s, the Arakelots Monastery was dynamited by Muş officials.

Education

Alparslan University is one of the universities in Muş.

Tourism and main sights

The touristic places in Muş are the historical Murat Bridge, the tulips on the Muş Plain, Muş Castle, Kepenek Castle, Haspet Castle, Mercimekkale Mound,

Lake Akdoğan Lake Akdoğan, also called Lake Hamurpert, is the name of two neighbouring Crater lakes on the Akdoğan Mountains in Turkey. They are separated by a land strip of about . They are both high-altitude lakes located in Varto district of Muş Provi ...

Künav Cave Künav Cave () is a Karstic cave located near Kayadelen village of Varto district of Muş province, Turkey. The cave is 3 kilometers long and 15 km away from Varto district center. The ceiling height of Künav Cave is around 35 meters in places ...

, Lake Haçlı,

Kayalıdere Castle The Kayalıdere Castle (), is a historical castle on a rocky hill in the Varto district of Muş. This castle was one of the most important checkpoints for the kingdom of Urartu. Kayalıdere Castle is located on the hill that has an island appea ...

and Malazgirt Castle. The area of Muş has several ruined castles. Under the rule of medieval Armenian dynasties, monasteries and churches were built in localities near Mush, such as the Arakelots Monastery, Surp Marineh Church, and Surb Karapet Monastery, most of which are now ruins. Under the rule of Muslim dynasties, other types of buildings were built as well. There are mosques from the Ottoman and pre-Ottoman period which show influences of Seljuk architecture, such as the Alaeddin Bey (18th century), Haci Seref (17th century), and Ulu (14th century, previously an Armenian church) mosques. Other sights include caravanserais like the Yıldızlı Han (13th century) destroyed in 1916, the now almost completely ruined Aslanlı Han, the bathhouse and fountain of Alaeddin Bey, and tombs of Muslim saints.

Transportation

The city is served by the Muş Airport. It has a

train station A train station, railroad station, or railway station is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight, or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track, and a station building providing suc ...

and a bus station (MUŞTİ).

Demographics

In the late 19th century,

reports that the city of Muş had two large mosques with minarets, four Armenian Apostolic churches (Surb Marineh, Surb Kirakos, Surb Avetaranotz, and Surb Stepanos) and one

Armenian Catholic church The Armenian Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Catholic particular church ''sui iuris'' of the Catholic Church. It accepts the papal supremacy, leadership of the bishop of Rome, and is therefore in full communion with ...

. Before the

, Armenians formed the majority of the population in 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 ...

of Muş. According to the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople, on the eve of the First World War, there were 75,623 Armenians, with 113 churches, 74 monasteries, and 87 schools. They were all massacred during the

, many of them burned in their houses. Almost all Muslims were Kurds. According to the 1927 Turkish census, the Muş District had 21,486 Muslims and 13 non-Muslims.Van Gölü Havzası Sempozyumu Bitlis İli (Turkey) İstanbul Üniversitesi Avrasya Arkeoloji Enstitüsü. Yüzüncü Yıl Üniversitesi Atatürk Üniversitesi ÇEKÜL. Ii. Van Gölü Havzası Sempozyumu. 1. Basım ed. Van: Bitlis Valiliği İl Kültür ve Turizm Müdürlüğü; 2007. p. 280 Population of the municipality of Muş numbers 120,699 according to a 2022 estimate.

make up the majority of the population. The rest are

Crypto-Armenians Hidden Armenians (; ) or crypto-Armenians () is an umbrella term to describe Turkey, Turkish citizens hiding their full or partial Armenians, Armenian ancestry from the larger Turkish society. They are mostly descendants of Ottoman Armenians who, ...

, Terekeme Turks and Circassians.

Gallery

File:Mush Alaeddin Pasha Camii 1059.jpg, Muş Alaeddin Pasha Mosque File:Mush Alaeddin Pasha Camii 1153.jpg, Muş Alaeddin Pasha Mosque File:Mush Ulu Cami 09.jpg, Muş Ulu Mosque File:Mush Ulu Cami 1101.jpg, Muş Ulu Mosque File:Mush Ulu Cami 1103.jpg, Muş Ulu Mosque File:Mush Haci Sheref Cami 1160.jpg, Muş Hacı Şeref Mosque File:MushTuba Camii 3923.jpg, Muş Tuba Mosque File:Mush Street scene 1157.jpg, Muş street scene File:Mush Street scene 0476.jpg, Muş street scene File:Mush Street scene.jpg, Muş street scene File:Mush Old houses 0432.jpg, Old house in Muş File:Mush Old house 1111.jpg, Old house in Muş File:Mush Hospital 1230.jpg, Muş Hospital File:Mush Castle 0512.jpg, Haspet Castle File:Mush Castle 0523.jpg, Haspet Castle File:Mush 1213.jpg, View of Muş

Notable locals

* Armenak Shahmuradyan,

operatic tenor *

Zafer Çağlayan Mehmet Zafer Çağlayan (born 10 November 1957 in Muş) is a Turkish people, Turkish politician and former Minister. He is a Grand National Assembly of Turkey, member of parliament from the ruling Justice and Development Party (Turkey), Justice ...

, Turkish politician and former Minister *

Sabahattin Oğlago Sabahattin Oğlago (born June 25, 1984) is a Turkish cross-country skier. He is a four-time Olympian, competing at the 2002 Winter Olympics, 2006 Winter Olympics 2010 Winter Olympics and 2014 Winter Olympics. He is tall and weighs . Born in ...

, four-time Olympian cross-country skier * Zeki Eker, Turkish politician of

origin * Kürşat Duymuş, Turkish

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

defender

Climate

Muş has a

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 climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

: ''Dsa,''

Trewartha climate classification The Trewartha climate classification (TCC), or the Köppen–Trewartha climate classification (KTC), is a climate classification system first published by American geographer Glenn Thomas Trewartha in 1966. It is a modified version of the Köp ...

: ''Dcao'') with cold, snowy winters and hot, dry and sunny summers.

References

Sources and external links

GCatholic - former and titular Armenian Catholic see

Hundreds of pictures of the town
;Bibliography * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mus Populated places in Muş District Eastern Catholic titular sees Former Armenian Catholic eparchies Armenian genocide extermination centers Kurdish settlements in Muş Province Provincial municipalities in Turkey Former Armenian communities in Muş Province