Mazgirt
# Mazgirt

Mazgirt (Armenian: Մեծկերտ, romanized: Medzgerd, lit. 'big town'; Kurdish: Mêzgir), is a town and seat of the Mazgirt District of the Tunceli Province in Turkey. It had a population of 1,344 in 2021 and is populated by Kurds.

The current mayor is Murat Becerikli from the Justice and Development Party (AKP).

The town has a number of interesting buildings, such as an abandoned castle, an old mosque, and an Armenian church which is soon to be renovated.

It is divided into the neighborhoods of Eltihatun and Yenimahalle.

## Geography

Mazgirt is located in a bowl-shaped depression in the heights overlooking the Munzur Su $valley.^{:87}$ On the west side of town is a rocky outcrop that has a commanding view of the brush-covered slopes $below.^{:87}$ This outcrop historically served as the castle $rock.^{:87}$

The main road coming from Tunceli turns sharply southeast just beneath the castle rock and then becomes the main commercial street in $town.^{:89}$ There is a gentle slope uphill as it runs southeast to the main town square, which is where the high school is $located.^{:89}$ The historic Elti Hatun mosque and türbe are located further north, along with the old Armenian church of Surb $Hakop.^{:89}$

Historically, Mazgirt was the start point of a route that led to Pülümür through wooded valleys and hills, thus connecting the Dersim region with the upper reaches of the Euphrates while bypassing the narrow Kutu Dere upstream from $Tunceli.^{:87–9,148}$

## History

Historically a market town, Mazgirt was an important fortified settlement during the period of Arab rule (7th to 10th $centuries).^{:87,145}$ It lay in a border region and was likely connected to Bağın and then Kiğı by a road for defensive $purposes.^{:146}$

In 1144, Arslan-Doğmuş, brother of the Artukid ruler Kara Arslan, seized Mazgirt and made it his $capital.^{:152}$ Mazgirt's high and relatively inaccessible position made it a good place for him to resist his brother's rule, but he died in 1148 after only four years in power and Kara Arslan took over $Mazgirt.^{:152}$

## Monuments

### Elte Hatun Cami

The medieval Elte Hatun Cami is built out of a dark purplish composite stone and consists of a main prayer hall with a smaller entrance hall adjoining it on the east side of the north $wall.^{:89–90}$ There is a garden on the east side of the complex, although the gate is usually kept $locked.^{:90}$ There is a çeşme or fountain outside the entrance hall on the north; inside the building on the same wall is a niche where water was also piped $in.^{:90}$ These were designed for worshippers to perform the ghusl washing required before prayer; the fountain outside would have been used mostly during summer while the one inside would have been used during $winter.^{:90}$

The mosque was founded in 1252-3 by Elte Hatun, daughter of a prince named $Süleyman.^{:89}$ She probably belonged to the Seljuk dynasty, since Mazgirt had come under Seljuk control in 1234 when they annexed the principality of $Harput.^{:89–90}$ A medrese, which was probably founded at the same time as the mosque, formerly existed to the east; the garden wall was built over its $remains.^{:90}$

### Elte Hatun Türbesi

The Elte Hatun Türbesi is purportedly the tomb of the same Elte Hatun, but in reality this is unlikely - the carvings are of a much lower quality than the mosque's - and the türbe was probably built well after Elte Hatun's lifetime, perhaps in the 15th $century.^{:90}$ Whoever the tomb actually belongs to is $unknown.^{:91}$

### Castle

The castle rock is basically shaped like an elongated platform running from northwest to $southeast.^{:89}$ Steep cliffs provide a natural barrier on all sides except the southeast, which has a gentler $slope.^{:89}$ An inner rocky outcropping juts up from the main platform towards the northwest $end.^{:89}$ The castle walls are only standing in some $places.^{:89}$ The masonry that survives is mostly the same dark reddish-purple stone as the Elte Hatun mosque and likely date from the same period (mid-13th $century).^{:89}$ On the inner outcropping there is a circular pit carved out of the rock whose original purpose is unknown; a "rectangular block of masonry" built partly over its western side belonged to an old windmill that was built on the site at a later $date.^{:89}$

### Armenian churches

The Armenian church of Surb Hakop appears to date from the 16th or 17th century, although it was probably rebuilt from the ruins of an earlier $church.^{:91}$ The present structure is somewhat awkwardly proportioned - it seems truncated - and the previous building was probably larger than the one $today.^{:91}$ The remains of a second Armenian church, probably a basilica, is located on the northeast slope of the $citadel.^{:89,91}$ This one is hard to date but may have been built in the Middle $Ages.^{:91}$

