Despite local and international objections, the city and its archaeological sites have been flooded as part of the Ilısu Dam project. By 1 April 2020, water levels reached an elevation of 498.2m, covering the whole town.[5]
Hasankeyf was an ancient settlement that has borne many names from a variety of cultures during its history. The variety of these names is compounded by the many ways that non-Latin alphabets such as Syriac and Arabic can be transliterated. Underlying these many names is much continuity between cultures in the basic identification of the site.
The city of Ilānṣurā mentioned in the Akkadian and Northwest Semitic texts of the Mari Tablets (1800–1750 BC) may possibly be Hasankeyf, although other sites have also been proposed.[6] By the Roman period, the fortified town was known in Latin as Cephe, Cepha or Ciphas, a name that appears to derive from the Syriac word ܟܐܦܐ (kefa or kifo), meaning "rock". As the eastern and western portions of the Roman Empire split around AD 330, Κιφας (Kiphas) became formalized as the Greek name for this Byzantine bishopric.
Following the Arab conquest of 640, the town became known under the Arabic name حصن كيفا (Ḥiṣn Kayfa). "Hisn" means "fortress" in Arabic, so the name overall means "rock fortress". Western reports about the town before the 20th century refer to it by various names that are transliterated from Arabic or Ottoman Turkish. The most popular of these were Hisn Kaifa and Hisn Kayfa, although a wide variety of others are used including Ḥiṣn Kaifā, Ḥiṣn Kayfā, Ḥiṣn Kayfâ, Ḥiṣn Kīfā, Ḥiṣn Kîfâ, Hisn Kayf, Husn Kayfa, Hassan-Keyf, Hosnkeif and Husunkeïf. Two early Armenian historians list additional names for the town: Harsenkev (Armenian: Հարսնքվ) is recorded by Matthew of Edessa (Mesrob Eretz) and Kentzy is recorded by P. Lucas Ingigian.[7]
As part of Atatürk's Reforms in the 1920s and '30s, many place names were modified to more Turkish-sounding forms and the town's official name was changed to Hasankeyf. This version appears occasionally in foreign reports in the mid 20th-century but only becomes prevalent after about 1980.
History
Middle Bronze Age (Ilānṣurā?)
During the Middle Bronze Age the area around Hasankeyf was likely part of the Hurrian kingdoms. The Akkadian and Northwest Semitic texts of the Mari Tablets (1800–1750 BC) refer to Ilānṣurā, an important walled city on a large river. Ilānṣurā has been tentatively identified with Hasankeyf, although several locations in northeast Syria have also been proposed.[6]
Late Bronze Age
By the 14th century BC, the Hasankeyf area was within the Hurrian kingdom of Mitanni. Between the 9th and 7th centuries BC it was part of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, and by the mid-6th century it was part of the Median empire.
Roman and Byzantine empires
In Roman times, Hasankeyf (known as Kepha, Cephe, Cepha or Ciphas) was a base for legionaries on the frontier with the Sasanian Empire of Persia.
For a time the town became the capital of the Roman province of Arzanene, although Nisibis was the headquarters of the Dux Mesopotamiae.[8]Constantius II (324–361) built a fort at Kepha, but it is unclear whether this was on the current citadel site.[8] The existence of a Roman bridge across the Tigris at Hasankeyf has been viewed as "highly probable" by one scholar who speculates that (like the later bridge) it may have had "a wooden superstructure based on piers of masonry and natural stone".[9] However, none of the remaining structure of the bridge appears to date from Roman times.[9]
The balance of power in the region shifted significantly in 363. Following the death of the emperor Julian at the Battle of Samarra, his successor Jovian was forced to surrender to the Persian King Shapur II the eastern provinces of Arzanene, Moxoene, Zabdicene, Corduene and Rehimena. This included 15 castles, along with the cities of Singara and Nisibis, but not their inhabitants, and the fortress of Castra Maurorum.[10] While Kiphas had been administered as part of Arzanene up to 363, it lay on the south bank of the Tigris and was not surrendered to the Sasanians.[10] Before the treaty, the fort at Kiphas had been on the border between Roman territory and the Armenian vassal kingdom of Arzanene. Now the border with Persia ran along the Tigris and the legionnaires at Kiphas were stationed right on it.[8] Their role was chiefly to protect the Tur Abdin massif and the approach through it to the Roman province of Sophanene from attack by the Persians in Arzanene.[11]
Recording the situation at the end of the fourth century, the Notitia Dignitatum identifies Cepha as the seat of the commander of the Legio II Parthica.[12] The bishop of Cepha is recorded as attending the Council of Chalcedon in October 451, which implies the settlement must have become a sizeable town by that time.[12][13] As the use of Latin began to wane in the Eastern Roman Empire, Κιφας (Kiphas) became formalized as the Greek name for the Byzantinebishopric.
Rescue excavations from 2005 to 2008 uncovered evidence of the base of a Roman gateway to the upper city, a row of shops from the late Roman period, and Roman floor and wall mosaics.[14][15][16]
By the sixth century, the Persians were mounting frequent attacks on the eastern border of the Byzantine empire.[17] As a consequence, the Byzantines built a great number of military installations in the region during the early and mid-sixth century.[17] Despite this the Persians seized the opportunity of a Byzantine civil war to attack the eastern provinces, in what became the Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628. Early in the conflict they occupied Kiphas along with Mardin, Dara and probably the rest of the Tur Abdin, and these were held for most of the rest of the war.[18] The treaty that concluded the war restored Kiphas to Byzantine control, but the gain was to prove short-lived. Writing between about 600 and 610, the Byzantine geographer George of Cyprus mentions Cepha as a fortress in the Mesopotamia section of his Descriptio Orbis Romani.[12][13]
Muslim conquest
By the 630s, Muslim Arab forces had conquered large parts of Mesopotamia, Syria and Iran. Kiphas appears most likely to have been captured during the Muslim conquest of Armenia in 640, shortly after the conquest of Nisibis.[19] An account from this period provides the earliest mention of any bridge across the Tigris at this site.[20][21]
Over the subsequent five centuries, the town was ruled Arab dynasties under the name Hisn Kayfa, first by the Ummayad and Abbasid caliphates and later by semi-autonomous Hamdanid and Marwanid rulers.
In the 11th century, Seljuk Turks and their Turkmen and Oghuz allies moved into Western Armenia, culminating in the Seljuk defeat of Byzantine forces at the Battle of Manzikert in 1071. Victory at Manzikert quickly resulted in Seljuk forces controlling large parts of Anatolia and northern Mesopotamia. The Seljuk sultan Barkiyāruq granted Hisn Kayfa as a iqtâ' to the Artuqids in 1101/1102.[20]
Control of trade along the Diyarbakır–Mosul road paralleling the Tigris, and north–south between Lake Van and the Euphrates generated prosperity for the Artuqids and ensured their power in the region.[20] Consequently, the existence of a reliable river crossing for goods and people was a priority, and the Artuqids built a bridge across the Tigris at some time between 1147 and 1172.
This period was something of a golden age for Hisn Kayfa, with the Artuqids and their successors, the Ayyubids, building the Small Palace and the Great Palace as well as the Tigris bridge. The infrastructure, location and significance of the city helped increase trade and made Hisn Kayfa a staging post on the Silk Road.
By 1232, control of Amida and Hisn Kayfa had passed to the Artuqid prince al-Masʿud.[28] Troubled by the alliance with Khwarazm, al-Ashraf and al-Kamil resolved to attack Amida, and used as a pretext reports of al-Masʿud's misrule, including his abuse of local women.[28] The combined Ayyubid armies, swelled by contributions from many of their vassals, besieged Amida on October 1232. By 18 October 1232, al-Masʿud surrendered Amida to al-Kamil.[29] Al-Kamil then sent his brother, al-Ashraf, along with al-Muzaffar Ghazi of Mayafaraqin to Hisn Kayfa to obtain its surrender.[30] Even though, the Ayyubid force had brought with them al-Masʿud as a captive, the garrison at Hisn Kayfa resisted for some time, and the city was captured only in Safar 630/November 1232.[31]
Once the citadel fell to the Ayyubid forces, al-Kamil immediately installed his 27-year-old son, as-Salih Ayyub, as governor of both Amida and Hisn Kayfa, beginning the period of Ayyubid rule over the Diyar Bakr.[31][32]
Ayyubid rule of Hisn Kayfa was insecure almost from the start. During 1235, the Rum Seljuk forces of 'Alā ad-Dīn Kayqubād had advanced into Southeast Anatolia, capturing Harput, Urfa and Harran. In Dhu-l-Hijja 632/August 1235, they laid siege to Amida, but were unsuccessful in capturing the city and consequently did not advance as far as Hisn Kayfa.[33]
Only five years after Hisn Kayfa was captured by the Ayyubids, it had already become a pawn in the dynasty's power struggles. By AH634 (1236/1237)al-Ashraf had become resentful of his brother al-Kamil's ill-concealed ambition. al-Ashraf recruited the rulers of Aleppo and Homs to his faction and sent ambassadors to the court of Rum Seljuk sultan 'Alā ad-Dīn Kayqubād to propose an alliance.[34] When they arrived at the Seljuk court they discovered that Kayqubād had died on 4 Shawwal 634/31 May 1237, and they now had to deal with his son, Ghiyath ad-Din Kaykhusrau II.[34] The Middle East historian R. Stephen Humphreys speculates that Kaykhusrau was offered control of Amida and Hisn Kayfa in return for joining the alliance.[34] Although al-Ashraf had assembled a formidable alliance against his brother, he was unable to use this to engage al-Kamil's forces as he was already ill by the time of the negotiations with the Seljuks, and he died on 4 Muharram 635/28 August 1237.[35] His rival, al-Kamil, died on 6 March 1238, and the Ayyubid domain was thrown into fresh turmoil.
Al-Kamil had bequeathed control of the Jazira to as-Salih Ayyub, who had been emir of Hisn Kayfa, and named his younger brother al-Adil as his heir in Egypt. In his new role as sultan, as-Salih Ayyub installed his own young son, al-Muazzam Turanshah as prince of Hisn Kayfa in AH636 (1238/1239), with one of his closest advisers, Husam al-Din, as Turanshah's atabeg.[36] As-Salih Ayyub, meanwhile, gathered an army to take Damascus and challenge al-Adil's rule over Egypt. By June 1240 as-Salih Ayyub's soldiers had captured al-Adil and as-Salih became paramount ruler of the Ayyubid possessions.
It appears that as-Salih's son al-Muazzam Turanshah remained prince of Hisn Kayfa from 1238 until 1249. When as-Salih Ayyub died suddenly on 12 November 1249, Turanshah had to be recalled in a hurry to take control of the Ayyubid empire. As-Salih's widow, Shajar al-Durr, dispatched a special embassy to bring her son to Egypt. Turanshah had left Hisn Kayfa with this party by 18 December 1249, heading for Anah and Damascus.[37]
Al-Muwaḥḥid ʿAbd Allāh succeeded his father, Turanshah, as ruler of Hisn Kayfa.[38] Although his father ruled Egypt for barely a year and was killed during the Mamluk takeover, al-Muwaḥḥid ʿAbd Allāh ruled Hisn Kayfa for more than three decades, from AH647 (1249/1250) to AH693 (1293/1294), and was essentially the founder of the local Ayyubid dynasty.[38] Although little remains standing from this prosperous period of the town's history, there is a detailed contemporary first-hand account by the topographer ʿIzz ad-Dīn Ibn Shaddād, whose last visit was in AH657 (1258/1259).[39] He lists many buildings in the lower town, including a Dār as-Salṭana (near the bridge), a mosque, three medreses, four hammams, tombs, caravanserais and bazaars. At the citadel, Ibn Shaddād mentions another mosque, an open square, and fields to grow enough grain "to feed the inhabitants from year to year".[39] The German historian of Islamic art Michael Meinecke notes that almost none of the buildings that Ibn Shaddād describes can be identified in present-day Hasankeyf, and attributes that to neglect following the subsequent Mongol invasions and political instability.[39]
In 1255, the great khan Möngke charged his brother Hulagu with leading a massive Mongol army to conquer or destroy the remaining Muslim states in southwestern Asia. Hulagu first besieged Baghdad, which was captured on 13 February 1258 and destroyed. He conquered Aleppo on 24 January 1260, and the Nestorian Christian Mongol general Kitbuqa Noyan took Damascus on 1 March. It seemed inevitable that all of the region's cities, including Hisn Kayfa, would fall to the Mongols, and indeed most of them did. Hulagu's plan appears to have been to proceed to Palestine and Egypt. But while he was in Aleppo in the spring of 1260, he received word that the great khan Möngke had died the previous summer (on 11 August 1259).[40] While Hulagu did not expect to succeed his elder brother, there was a struggle between two of his other brothers, Kubilai and Ariq Böke, for control of the Mongol empire, and Hulagu decided it was wise to withdraw to Tabriz to await the resolution of this conflict.[40]
On 23 Rabiʿ II 658/7 April 1260, Mayafaraqin fell to Hulagu's forces, presumably during their retreat towards Ahlat and Tabriz, leaving Mardin and Hisn Kayfa as the only cities outside his control in the Jazira.[40] Mardin was captured by the end of 1260, but Hisn Kayfa appears to have escaped a concerted assault because it controlled only a minor trade route and could simply be bypassed.[40] Nevertheless, it seems that al-Muwaḥḥid decided to submit to being a Mongol vassal at about this time.[41] While most of the Diyar Bakr came under direct control of the Mongol governor or Mosul, both Ayyubid Hisn Kayfa and Artukid Mardin were allowed to remain as vassal states.[41]
By AH665 (1266/1267) the MamlukBaybars was in power in Egypt, and represented the primary force opposing the Mongols, now led by Hulagu's son Abaqa Khan. Baybars sent two eunuchs as emissaries to al-Muwaḥḥid to try to persuade him to abandon the Mongols, and apparently the emir of Hisn Kayfa agreed. However, the envoys were caught by a local Mongol commander as they attempted to carry al-Muwaḥḥid's reply to Baybars. Abaqa had the envoys executed, and al-Muwaḥḥid was banished to the Ilkhanate court for seven years. By AH672 (1273/1274) al-Muwaḥḥid had returned as the nominal ruler of Hisn Kayfa, where he remained until his death, variously reported as having occurred in AH682 (1283/1284) or AH693 (1293/1294).[42][38]
Mongol rule of the region continued until 1335, and this badly damaged both trade and agriculture, which had been the sources of the region's prosperity.[41] The impact was felt hardest between 1260 and 1315, and traders essentially avoided the region because of ongoing war between Mamluk and Mongol forces. In 1315, the Il-Khanate and the Mamluks signed a treaty and trade restarted.[41] This proved to be a boon for Hisn Kayfa. The previous primary routes across the region—through Cizre and Nusaybin, and through Mayafaraqin and Amida (Diyarbakır)—both failed to attract many traders, and a new route from Iran to Aleppo through Siirt, Hisn Kayfa and Mardin took their place.[43]
The economy of the region gradually shrank during the 14th and early 15th centuries, according to historian Thomas Alexander Sinclair, but this probably did not cause any population decline in the cities of Mardin or Hisn Kayfa, where building continued uninterrupted.[44] Several other cities in the region, such as Mayafaraqin, Arzan, Nusaybin and Dara shrank or disappeared.[44] After the breakup of the Ilkhanate, an Artukid force waged war against the Ayyubids of Hisn Kayfa in 1334, but were decisively defeated, with the Ayyubids gaining their possessions on the left bank of the Tigris River.[45]
During the 14th century, the emirs of Hisn Kayfa also controlled the interior of the Tur Abdin and the castle of Haytham (in the Tur Abdin).[46] In 1334/5 al-Adil Hisn Kayfa seized control over Mayafaraqin, which probably had been governed by a Mongol vassal up to that time.[46] Soon after, Al-Adil installed Zeyd, a Kurdish chief of the Zraki (or Zirki) tribe previously based at the castle of Boşat (the present-day village of Boyunlu, in Silvan district), as his client ruler at Mayafaraqin.[46] It seems that this was in payback for Zeyd's assistance in helping Hisn Kayfa repulse an attack by the Artuqid sultan of Mardin.[46]
The Hisn Kayfa emirs also attacked and captured Siirt soon after the Mongol withdrawal. They fought for control of Siirt with forces from Arzan, and al-Ashraf of Hisn Kayfa succeeded in capturing it in 1341/42.[46]
In 1349/50, the Kara Koyunlu rose to dominate the region of the Diyar Bakr, and local princes such as those at Hisn Kayfa, paid tribute to them.[44] Also in 1349/50, the emir of Hisn Kayfa, al-Adil, attacked Azran, breaching its walls and destroying the town in order to get revenge on the local ruler.[44] After this victory the town was abandoned and al-Adil bestowed control of the surrounding region on a Kurdish family.[46]
In the early and middle 15th century, Aq Qoyunlu Turkmen forces attacked Hisn Kayfa several times, but Ayyubid rulers managed to retain control of the city and the city prospered until very end of the 15th century.
In the 14th century, the Ayyubids rebuilt the castle of Hisn Kayfa which served as their stronghold as vassals of consecutively Mamluks and Dulkadirids until they were supplanted by the Ottoman Empire in the early 16th century.[47]
Aq Qoyunlu period (1462–1501)
During the second half of the 15th century, Hisn Kayfa was still governed by the last remaining Ayyubid dynasty, who owed allegiance to the Turkmen Aq Qoyunlu confederation. The Aq Qoyunlu dynasty was headed by Uzun Hassan from 1452 to 1478.
Uzun Hassan's initial capital was at Amida (modern Diyarbakır), which he gained from his brother Jihangir in 1452.[48] From there, Uzun Hassan embarked on a campaign of expanding his territory at the expense of the rival Kara Koyunlu dynasty.[48] Hasankeyf was one of the first towns to acknowledge Uzun Hassan's suzerainty, in an agreement signed by the Ayyubid emir in 1455.[48] While Uzun Hassan managed to extend his influence throughout much of the Diyar Bakr and Jazira during the 1450s, the Ayyubid emir of Hasankeyf rebelled in 1460, attempting to take control of Siirt.[48] Uzun Hassan responded by attacking Hasankeyf in 1461; he finally captured the town in 1462 after a six-month siege.[48] It seems that Uzun Hassan then appointed his son Zeynel as governor of Hasankeyf.
Aq Qoyunlu territory expanded further following their defeat of the Kara Koyunlu in Iran (1467–69), and Uzun Hassan moved his capital to Tabriz.[48] However, Hassan followed up these successes with a disastrous campaign against the Ottoman Empire. Hassan's army of light cavalry was routed by Mehmed II's Ottoman forces, armed with rifles and cannon, at the Battle of Otlukbeli near Erzincan in August 1473.[49] While Uzun Hassan survived, his son Zeynel Bey was killed in battle. In commemoration, the Mausoleum of Zeynel Bey was erected in Hasankeyf in about 1474 on the orders of either Uzun Hassan, or Zeynel's elder brother, Khalil. The shrine is currently moved to a new location to avoid inundation by the rising waters of the nearby dam. [50]
Safavid Empire (1504–1514/1517)
In 1504, during the reign of king (shah) Ismail I (r.1501–1525) the Safavids founded the short-lived Diyarbakr Province, which consisted of six districts, including Hasankeyf.[51]
Ottoman Empire and Turkish Republic
In 1514/1517, the Ottoman Empire took Hasankeyf and the rest of the Safavid Diyarbakr Province.[52] In his 1614 History of the World, Walter Raleigh places "the Citie of Hasan-Cepha, otherwise Fortis Petra", upstream from the island of Eden, which he believed lay in the Tigris, based on his reading of Andreas Masius's De Paradiso Commentarius.[53]
Demographics
While villages surrounding the town are almost exclusively Kurdish, the native Muslim population of the town used to be composed of Arabs, speaking a dialect of Arabic that neither resembles that of Siirt nor Midyat.[54][55] Until the 1980s, Armenian, Assyrian and Arab Christian families lived in the cave houses by the river. Many of these families immigrated to France, Germany, Sweden and Switzerland as the Turkish government's conflict with the PKK escalated during the 1980s.[56] During the same time period, Kurds from nearby villages started settling in the town.[54]Arabic is still spoken in the city.[57]
Archeological sites
Hasankeyf is rich in history throughout the ages and aside from the sites below, thousands of caves exist in the cliffs that surround the city. Many of the caves are multi-storied and have their own water supply. Churches and mosques were also carved into the cliffs and numerous ancient cemeteries exist throughout the area.[58]
The Old Tigris Bridge – Built in 1116 by the Artuqid Sultan Fahrettin Karaaslan, it replaced an older bridge. The bridge over the Tigris River is considered to be the largest from the Medieval Period. Support for the bridge was built with wood in case the bridge had to be removed in order to prevent an attack. Because of this, two piles and some foundation work are all that exist of the bridge today.[58]
The Citadel – This structure sits 100 metres (330ft) above the Tigris River, overlooking Hasankeyf. The Citadel has likely been used as a dwelling place for centuries.
Mausoleum of Zeynel Bey, son of Sultan Uzun Hasan (Hasan the Tall) of the Aq Qoyunlu dynasty, or White Sheep Turkomans (1378–1508)
Small Palace – This palace was built by the Ayyubids and overlooks Hasankeyf as it sits on a cliff.
Ulu (Big) Mosque – With no inscriptions remaining, it is not exactly known when and by whom the mosque was built. However, it is thought that it dates from the period of the Ayyubids who have subsequently restored the mosque in the years 1327, 1394 and 1396.
Great Palace – The palace was built by the Artukids; it occupies an area of 2,350 metres (7,710ft) and has an associated rectangular tower that may have been a watchtower.[58]
El Rizk Mosque – The Mosque was built in 1409 by the Ayyubidsultan Süleyman and stands on the bank of the Tigris River. The mosque also has a minaret that has remained intact.[58]
Süleyman Mosque – This mosque was built by Sultan Süleyman and is all but destroyed except for a minaret. Süleyman's grave is missing from the site as well.
Koc Mosque – The mosque is located east of the Süleyman Mosque and was likely built before the 15th century.[58]
Kizlar Mosque – Located east of the Koc Mosque, the Kizlar mosque was also likely from the Ayyubid period as well. The section of the structure which is used as a mosque today was a mausoleum in the past, containing grave remnants.[58]
Imam Abdullah Tomb – This cube-shaped tomb lies west of the new bridge in Hasankeyf and is the tomb of Imam Abdullah. Abdullah was the grandson of Cafer-i Tayyar, (Jaʿfar ibn Abī Ṭālib (Arabic: جَعْفَر ابْن أَبِي طَالِب) cousin of the prophet Mohammad. The tomb is dated to the 14th century and an epitaph on the tomb states that the tomb was restored in the Ayyubid period.[58]
Zeynel Bey Mausoleum – Named after Zeynel Bey, this mausoleum is opposite Hasankeyf on the Tigris River. Zeynel Bey was the son of Uzun Hassan ruler of the Akkoyunlu Dynasty which ruled over Hasankeyf in the 15th century.[58] Zeynel Bey died in battle in 1473, and was buried in this circular brick mausoleum glazed with navy blue and turquoise tiles built by architect Pir Hasan. The building resembles in its architectural style mausoleums in Central Asia. This shrine has been relocated to the new Hasankeyf Cultural Park in 2017, set aside for historical artifacts impacted by the Ilısu Dam construction.[59]
A panoramic photo of Hasankeyf with the Tigris River in the background, in 2011
Ilısu Dam impact
View of the Tigris River in Hasankeyf, seen from the Citadel, in 2008. Reed covered restaurants are visible along the river.
With its history that spans nine civilizations, the archaeological and religious significance of Hasankeyf is considerable. Many of the city's historical treasures were inundated as construction of the Ilısu Dam is completed.[60][61] These include the ornate mosques, Islamictombs and cave churches. Up to 80,000 people in Hasankeyf were displaced. Some of these people were moved to a new city above the waterline.[62]
There was considerable local opposition to the scheme, and calls for Hasankeyf to be recognised and protected as an UNESCO World Heritage Site.[63][64]
According to the Buğday Association, based in Turkey, Ms. Huriye Küpeli, the prefect of Hasankeyf, the Swiss ambassador to Turkey and representatives of the Swiss led consortium of contractors for the dam project have suggested what they believe to be a suitable nearby spot for moving the historical heritage of Hasankeyf, an operation for which the Turkish Ministry of Culture pledged to provide 30 million euros, however current reports indicate that only eight historical monuments have been moved.[65][66]
The threat of the Ilısu Dam project prompted the World Monuments Fund to list the city on its 2008 Watch List of the 100 Most Endangered Sites in the world.[67] While this listing has created more awareness of the project, it has failed to prompt the Ilısu Consortium to develop alternate plans that are sympathetic to this site of exceptional historical and cultural significance.
In December 2008, following pressure from campaign groups, export credit insurers in Austria, Germany and Switzerland announced suspending their support for the project amid concern about its environmental and cultural impact and gave the Turkish government 180 days to meet standards set by the World Bank.[68] These standards were 153 requirements on environmental protection, resettlement of villages, protection of cultural heritage, and resource management with neighbouring states. As Turkey did not fulfil any of them, the three ECAs indicated in a joint press release issued on 7 July 2009 that they withdrew from the project. Shortly after, in another joint press release issued on the same day, the three banks (Société Générale, UniCredit and DekaBank) financing the Ilısu Dam project also stated – in line with the decision of the ECAs – that the export credit granted by the three banks for the construction of the Ilısu Dam would no longer be available.[69]
This meant that Turkey has had to finance the proposed project with internal sources. The Minister of Forestry and Environment, Veysel Eroğlu, on a number of platforms, declared that the government would build the Dam despite all obstacles - and objections. That the Ilısu Dam has become a "project of honour" for the Turkish State has been made very clear by Eroğlu.[70] "We do not need their money. We will construct this dam at any cost." Since 2009 the construction has proceeded with the financial support of Turkish banks; Garanti Bankası and Akbank. As a result of the resettlement program for the population, many residents of Hasankeyf moved to a Yeni Hasankeyf (New Hasankeyf) on a hill which was to be at the shore of the damreservoir after the construction of the dam is terminated.[71] By July 2020, the ancient town was completely submerged in the waters of the dam.[72]
Climate
The local climate is moderated by the proximity of the Tigris river. It makes the winters milder, with lows of 6°C (43°F). Temperatures in summer can reach 43°C (109°F), and the yearly average temperature is 25°C (77°F).[4]
The Ayyubid dynasty, also known as the Ayyubid Sultanate, was the founding dynasty of the medieval Kurdish runed Sultanate in Egypt & Syria, established by Saladin in 1171, following his abolition of the Fatimid Caliphate of Egypt. A Sunni Muslim of Kurdish origin, Saladin had originally served the Zengid ruler Nur ad-Din, leading Nur ad-Din's army in battle against the Crusaders in Fatimid Egypt, where he was made Vizier. Following Nur ad-Din's death, Saladin was proclaimed as the first Sultan of Egypt by the Abbasid Caliphate, and rapidly expanded the new sultanate beyond the frontiers of Egypt to encompass most of the Levant, in addition to Hijaz, Yemen, northern Nubia, Tarabulus, Cyrenaica, southern Anatolia, and northern Iraq, the homeland of his Kurdish family. By virtue of his sultanate including Hijaz, the location of the Islamic holy cities of Mecca and Medina, he was the first ruler to be hailed as the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, a title that would be held by all subsequent sultans of Egypt until the Ottoman conquest of 1517. Saladin's military campaigns in the first decade of his rule, aimed at uniting the various Arab and Muslim states in the region against the Crusaders, set the general borders and sphere of influence of the sultanate of Egypt for the almost three and a half centuries of its existence. Most of the Crusader states, including the Kingdom of Jerusalem, fell to Saladin after his victory at the Battle of Hattin in 1187. However, the Crusaders reconquered the coast of Palestine in the 1190s.
The Zengid or Zangid dynasty, Atabegs of Mosul was an Atabegate of the Seljuk Empire created in 1127. It formed a Turkoman dynasty of Sunni Muslim faith, which ruled parts of the Levant and Upper Mesopotamia, and eventually seized control of Egypt in 1169. In 1174 the Zengid state extended from Tripoli to Hamadan and from Yemen to Sivas. Imad ad-Din Zengi was the first ruler of the dynasty.
Diyar Bakr is the medieval Arabic name of the northernmost of the three provinces of the Jazira, the other two being Diyar Mudar and Diyar Rabi'a. According to the medieval geographer al-Baladhuri, all three provinces were named after the main Arab tribes that were settled there by Mu'awiya in the course of the Muslim conquests of the 7th century. The Diyar Bakr was settled by the Rabi'a subgroup of the Banu Bakr, and hence the two provinces are sometimes referred to collectively as "Diyar Rabi'a". In later Turkish usage, "Diyar Bakr" referred to the western portion of the former province, around Amid.
The Artuqid dynasty was established in 1102 as an Anatolian Beylik (Principality) of the Seljuk Empire. It formed a Turkoman dynasty rooted in the Oghuz Döğer tribe, and followed the Sunni Muslim faith. It ruled in eastern Anatolia, Northern Syria and Northern Iraq in the eleventh through thirteenth centuries. The Artuqid dynasty took its name from its founder, Artuk Bey, who was of the Döger branch of the Oghuz Turks and ruled one of the Turkmen beyliks of the Seljuk Empire. Artuk's sons and descendants ruled the three branches in the region: Sökmen's descendants ruled the region around Hasankeyf between 1102 and 1231; Ilghazi's branch ruled from Mardin and Mayyafariqin between 1106 and 1186 and Aleppo from 1117–1128; and the Harput line starting in 1112 under the Sökmen branch, and was independent between 1185 and 1233.
Al-Malik as-Salih Najm al-Din Ayyub, nickname: Abu al-Futuh, also known as al-Malik al-Salih, was the Ayyubid ruler of Egypt from 1240 to 1249.
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 cultural region of Turkish Kurdistan. The city had a population of 130,916 in 2021.
An-Nasir Yusuf, fully al-Malik al-Nasir Salah al-Din Yusuf ibn al-Aziz ibn al-Zahir ibn Salah al-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub ibn Shazy, was the Ayyubid Kurdish Emir of Syria from his seat in Aleppo (1236–1260), and the Sultan of the Ayyubid Empire from 1250 until the sack of Aleppo by the Mongols in 1260.
Nasir ad-Din al-Malik al-Mansur Ibrahim bin Asad ad-Din Shirkuh, better known as al-Mansur Ibrahim, was a Kurdish ruler, the emir ("governor") of the Homs principality from 1240 to 1246 under the Ayyubid dynasty. He held Homs with relative independence, but initially as under the command of as-Salih Ismail of Damascus. He would later fight against as-Salih Ismail and his Khwarezemid allies—al-Mansur confronted the latter in 1241, 1242, 1244, and 1246. Mervani State's expedition to Armenia
Dayfa Khatun was a Kurdish Ayyubid princess, and the regent of Aleppo from 26 November 1236 to 1242, during the minority of her grandson An-Nasir Yusuf. She was an Ayyubid princess, as the daughter of Al-Adil, Sultan of Egypt. She married her first cousin, Az-Zahir Ghazi, Emir of Aleppo, which marked the end of the rivalry between the two branches of the family.
Al-Malik al-Muzaffar Shihab ad-Din Ghazi ibn al-Adil Abu Bakr ibn Najm ad-Din Ayyub was the Ayyubid ruler of Mayyafariqin (1220–1247). Al Muzaffar Ghazi was one of the sons of the Sultan Al-Adil, who ruled minor Ayyubid states in the Middle East while their father reigned in Egypt.
'Al-Malik al-Kamil Muhammad ibn al-Muzaffar Ghazi ibn al-Adil Abu Bakr was the son of al-Muzaffar Ghazi and the last Ayyubid emir (prince) of Mayyafariqin (1247–1260). He is also known as Al Kamil Muhammad II to distinguish from his uncle Al Kamil Muhammad I.
The Old Bridge, also known as the Old Tigris Bridge, is a ruined four-arch bridge spanning the Tigris River in the town of Hasankeyf in Batman Province in southeastern Turkey. It was built by the Artuqid Turkmens in the mid-12th century, between about 1147 and 1167, and at the time its central arch was one of the largest in the world, if not the largest. The bridge was repaired by Ayyubid Kurdish and Aq Qoyunlu Turkmen rulers during the 14th and 15th centuries and appears to have eventually collapsed in the early or mid-17th century. The bridge's ruined piers still stand, as does one arch. Since 2020 the ruins of the bridge, along with most of the town of Hasankeyf, have been submerged underwater by the filling of the Ilısu Dam reservoir.
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. In the late Ottoman period, it fell under the Mamuret-ul-Aziz Vilayet. Artifacts from around 2000 BC have been found in the area. The town is famous for its Harput Castle, and incorporates a museum, old mosques, a church, and the Buzluk (Ice) Cave. Harput is about 700 miles (1,100 km) from Istanbul.
The Banu Munqidh, also referred to as the Munqidhites, were an Arab family that ruled an emirate in the Orontes Valley in northern Syria from the mid-11th century until the family's demise in an earthquake in 1157. The emirate was initially based in Kafartab before the Banu Munqidh took over the fortress of Shayzar in 1081 and made it their headquarters for the remainder of their rule. The capture of Shayzar was the culmination of a long, drawn-out process beginning with the Banu Munqidh's nominal assignment to the land by the Mirdasid emir of Aleppo in 1025, and accelerating with the weakened grip of Byzantine rule in northern Syria in the 1070s.
Hasankeyf Emirate or Ayyubid Emirate of Hasankeyf, was a Kurdish emirate centered around Hasankeyf, and ruled over Amida, Mayafariqin, Tur Abdin, siirt and various other regions of Bilad Al-Akrad "Kurdistan". It was ruled by descendants of the Ayyubid dynasty until its dissolution in 1524. They considered their emirate as the last remnant of the Ayyubid state. The rulers were called ‘amlak’ (kings) and continued to lead the emirate from 1232 to 1524 despite invasions and different sovereigns.
The Khwarazmian army, also called the Khwarazmiyya, maintained itself as a force of freebooters and mercenaries between 1231 and 1246, following the Mongol conquest of the Khwarazmian Empire (1221) and the death of the last Khwarazmshah, Jalal al-Din (1231). It was active in Upper Mesopotamia, Anatolia, Syria and Palestine and shifted its allegiance several times, often acting autonomously before it was defeated and destroyed by the Ayyubids.
Rukn al-Dawla Da'ud was a Turkoman emir of the Artuqid dynasty in the early 12th century. He was a son of Sökmen and succeeded his brother Ibrahim of Ḥiṣn Kaifā.
Nasir al-Din Artuq Arslan was a ruler of the Artuqids of Mardin. The "Mardin branch" of the Artuqids ruled in Mardin and Mayyafariqin from 1101 to 1409, and were primarily descendants of Ilghazi and his brother Alp-Yaruq. His predecessor was his father Yuluq Arslan.
Rukn al-Dīn Mawdūd (r.1222–1232/33) was a ruler of the Hasankeyf/ Diyarbakır (Amid) branch of the Artuqids. He was a son of Nāṣir al-Dīn Maḥmūd. His reign is marked by his allegiance to the Ayyubids, the ruler of the Ayyubid Empire al-Kamil, and the regional Ayyubid overlord al-Ashraf Musa.
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Astour, Michael C. (1992), "The North Mesopotamian Kingdom of Ilānșurā", in Young, Gordon Douglas (ed.), Mari in Retrospect, Winona Lake, Indiana: American Oriental Society/Eisenbrauns, pp.1–33, ISBN0-931464-28-5
Floor, Willem M. (2008). Titles and Emoluments in Safavid Iran: A Third Manual of Safavid Administration, by Mirza Naqi Nasiri. Washington, DC: Mage Publishers. ISBN978-1-933823-23-2.
"Hasankeyf Raman Dağı'na taşınıyor"[Hasankeyf is moving to Mount Raman]. Buğday Association for Supporting Ecological Living. 3 October 2005. Retrieved 17 December 2014.
A. Fink: Der arabische Dialekt von Hasankeyf am Tigris (Osttürkei). Geschichte – Grammatik – Texte – Glossar. Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2017 (Semitica Viva 57), ISBN978-3-447-10898-0
Starr, Stephen (28 September 2010), "Turkish history to sink to oblivion", Asia Times, archived from the original on 12 September 2010, retrieved 17 December 2014{{citation}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
Taylor, J.G. (1865), "Travels in Kurdistan, with Notices of the Sources of the Eastern and Western Tigris, and Ancient Ruins in their Neighbourhood", Journal of the Royal Geographical Society, 35, London: 21–58, doi:10.2307/3698077, JSTOR3698077
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