Erzincan

The title of this article is ambiguous. Further meanings are listed under Erzincan (disambiguation) .

Erzincan
Pedestrian zone in the western center
Basic data
Province (il) :	Erzincan
Coordinates :	39 ° 45 '  N , 39 ° 29'  E Coordinates: 39 ° 44 '47 "  N , 39 ° 29' 29"  E
Height :	1185  m
Residents :	145,600 (2019)
Telephone code :	(+90) 446
Postal code :	24,000
License plate :	24
Structure and administration (as of 2019)
Mayor :	Bekir Aksun ( MHP )
Website:	www.erzincan.bel.tr
Erzincan County
Residents :	161,191 (2019)
Surface:	1,521 km²
Population density :	106 inhabitants per km²

Erzincan ( Kurdish Erzingan , Armenian Երզնկա Erznka , German earlier Ersindschan ) is a city and administrative seat of the province of the same name Erzincan in eastern Turkey . At the same time it is also the center of the central district (Merkez).

Location and traffic

The district is located in the center of the province and borders on the Refahiye and Kemah districts to the west and Çayırlı and Üzümlü districts to the east . Furthermore, the Gümüşhane Province in the north and the Tunceli Province in the south form the border.

Erzincan is located on the highlands of Eastern Anatolia in a wide plain on the north bank of the Karasu River , which flows westward and forms a headwaters of the Euphrates . On its north side, the plain is bounded by the Esence Dağları mountain range, which is up to 3549 meters high , while the equally steep foothills of the 3462 meter high Mercan Dağları can be seen in the south . The E 80 motorway runs through the valley floor about two kilometers south of the city and connects Sivas , about 250 kilometers to the west, with Erzurum , 190 kilometers to the east. The closest small town in that direction is Tercan . After Divriği (and on to Sivas) there is a winding rail connection in the Euphrates Valley, which is called Fırat Nehri here, but there is no direct road connection. The railway line leads eastwards via Erzurum to Kars . Doğu Ekspresi , who comes from Istanbul , runs here . The expressway to Elazığ bypasses the Mercan Mountains and branches off 35 kilometers east of the city from the Karasu Valley to the south.

About 18 kilometers south of the city by road is Ergan Dağı, a 3000 meter high mountain with a ski area that can be reached by cable car from the Yaylabaşı valley station. The intermediate station Yaylagöl can also be reached by car. There are restaurants and a hotel.

The Erzincan Airport is located eight kilometers south-east near the village Yogurtlu. There are regular connections to Ankara and Istanbul, and in the summer months also to Izmir and Antalya.

In September 2018, construction began on the first 24-kilometer tram line that will run from the airport to the train station, across the city center and to the university.

population

Population development

The following table shows the comparative population level at the end of the year for the province, the central district and the city of Erzincan as well as the respective share at the higher administrative level. The figures are based on the address-based population register (ADNKS) introduced in 2007.

year	province	district		city
	real	%	real	%	real
2018	236.034	66.71	157.452	89.56	141.018
2017	231,511	68.93	159,589	60.25	96.159
2016	226.032	68.16	154.068	62.47	96,248
2015	222.918	68.40	152.477	62.70	95,596
2014	223,633	67.02	149,879	65.23	97,759
2013	219.996	66.77	146.893	65.98	96.914
2012	217.886	66.34	144,545	66.74	96,474
2011	215.277	65.97	142.009	66.61	94,598
2010	224,949	66.42	149,422	68.38	102.173
2009	213.288	64.50	137,569	65.49	90,100
2008	210,645	64.33	135,511	63.50	86.051
2007	213,538	65.68	140.258	61.87	86,779

Census results

The following population information about the city, the district, the province and the country is available for the censuses:

region	1965	1970	1975	1980	1985	1990	2000
City (Şehir)	45.197	58,352	60,351	70,982	82,616	91,772	107.175
central circle (Merkez)	192,527	120,468	126.088	141,964	160,837	149,837	170,858
Province (İl)	258,586	276.122	283,683	282.022	299,985	299.251	316.841
Turkey	31,391,421	35.605.176	40,347,719	44,736,957	50,664,458	56.473.035	67,803,927

history

Antiquity and late antiquity

The region belonged to the second half of the 2nd millennium BC. To the Hittite Empire , but no Hittite settlement has been found to this day. Sagona wants to equate Erzincan with Urussa , but this is based on the outdated equation of Kizwatna / Kizzuwatna with the Pontus area.

After the fall of the Hittites ruled here from 900 BC. The Urartians . In 1953, Urartean finds were made during an excavation near the city. 600 BC The Medes gained dominion over Erzincan. The battle between the Medieval King Kyaxares II and the Lydians probably took place in the area around Erzincan. From 550 BC The Medes were replaced by the Persians .

In 70 BC The Romans undertook campaigns to Eastern Anatolia and conquered Erzincan. But a short time later (68 BC) the empire of Pontos was able to take the area around Erzincan from the Romans. In the following centuries Erzincan belonged to the area that was contested between the Roman Empire or the Byzantine Empire and the Iranian empires of the Parthians and Sasanids . In the year 629 the Byzantines were able to conquer Erzincan under the emperor Herakleios .

Islamic time

During the Islamic expansion , the Arab general Habib bin Mesleme Erzincan was able to conquer in 655. With the fall of the Sasanids, the Byzantines now fought against the Arabs in Eastern Anatolia. In 859 the Abbasid governor in Malatya Omar bin Abdullah had to recapture the area around Erzincan from the Byzantines.

When the Turks came to Anatolia in the 11th century, they defeated the Byzantines under King Alp Arslan in 1071 at the Battle of Manzikert . This victory enabled the Turks to settle permanently in Anatolia. One of Alp Arslan's generals, Mengücek Ahmet Ghazi, explored and conquered the Erzincan area, among other things. He soon ruled the areas of Erzincan, Kemah , Divriği and Şebinkarahisar . Kemah became its headquarters.

His successors established the Beylik the Mengücek that existed until the 1228th Under the rulers of the Mengücek and especially under Fahrettin Bahram Shah, who ruled between 1165 and 1225 and was the son-in-law of the Seljuk Sultan Kılıç Arslan II , Erzincan experienced an economic and cultural boom. With the conquest of Erzincan and Kemah in 1228 Kai Kobad I. ended the rule of the Mengücek. Kai Kobad I. fought a little later in 1230 in the battle of Yassı Çemen near Erzincan against the last Khorezm Shah Jalal ad-Din , who fled from the Mongols with his entourage to Anatolia. Kai Kobad I. emerged victorious from the battle.

In 1240 the Mongol Ilkhan conquered Erzurum and advanced on Erzincan. In 1243 they defeated the Seljuks under Kai Chosrau II at the Battle of the Köse Dağ . The large Armenian community gained some self-determination under the Mongols from around 1260 and the economy flourished during this period. The representatives of the Ilchane went into business a little later and founded Beylik Eretna in 1335 , which also included Erzincan. Trade relations with Venice show that Erzincan was economically successful at least for the entire 14th century; the goods were transported from the Mediterranean via Malatya and Arapgir . A large number of Europeans are likely to have lived in the city that had become the center of a large emirate .

In the 14th century, Erzincan was constantly contested between the local principalities, some of which had the support of other large states. Later, both the Ottomans and Timur laid claim to Erzincan. Timur defeated the Ottomans under Bayezid I in 1402 in the battle of Ankara and was able to rule over most of Anatolia. From 1402 to 1410 the Timurids held the city in their possession.

The Ottomans could only gain influence again under Fatih Sultan Mehmed II . In the meantime, the Qara Qoyunlu took Erzincan in 1419. In 1455 Uzun Hasan conquered the city and the Qara Qoyunlu were ousted by the Aq Qoyunlu . When the Ottomans under Mehmed II defeated Uzun Hasan at the Battle of Otlukbeli on August 11, 1473 , Erzincan came under Ottoman rule .

In 1502 the first Safavid Shah Ismail set up a headquarters in Erzincan. However, after the Battle of Tschaldiran in 1514, the Safavids had to evacuate Eastern Anatolia and thus also Erzincan, so that the Ottomans again controlled Erzincan and made it the capital of an Eyâlet . Suleyman I visited the city twice, the first time in 1534 when he was pulling against Tabriz , the capital of the Safavids, and again in 1540 when he was pulling again against Iran.

Via the main shopping street and central residential district to the south

Extensive residential areas in the north

Presumably at the end of the 17th century, the trade route between western Asia Minor and Persia shifted further north, whereby Erzincan lost its importance and a large part of the population moved away. At the end of the 19th century, the city experienced another boom when the headquarters of a Turkish army unit, previously stationed in Erzurum, was relocated here.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the area was also inhabited by Armenians who were murdered or expelled around 1915 . From the summer months of 1915 to January 1918, Erzincan was occupied by Russian troops under General Yudenich . Colonel Kâzım Karabekir was appointed commander of the 1st Caucasian Army Corps of the Ottoman Army. After the withdrawal of the Russian army as a result of the Russian Revolution, Erzincan was retaken by the Ottomans in February 1918.

After the end of the Second World War , the city was expanded into a garrison without any significant industry being established. From 1960 and increasingly around 1970, many residents emigrated to Central Europe. In 1985 about 85,000 people lived in the city and 139,000 in the province. With a share of the urban population of less than 40 percent, the infrastructure of the province was agrarian-rural. With a population of 102,173 in the city and 149,422 in the district (2010), the proportion of city dwellers has increased slightly.

Earthquake risk area

Erzincan is one of the regions with the highest earthquake risk (danger zone 1) in Turkey. In 1047 the city was completely destroyed. From the 15th to the 19th centuries there were several major earthquakes with five-digit deaths. The largest earthquake in Turkey in the 20th century occurred on December 27, 1939 with a magnitude of 7.8 M _w . 32,958 people died, around 100,000 were injured and 116,720 buildings were counted. The city was then rebuilt a few kilometers to the northwest and the former place Eski Erzincan ("Alt-Erzincan") has since been abandoned. Other earthquakes in the following decades mostly caused only minor damage.

On March 13, 1992 653 deaths were 6.7 M in another earthquake of magnitude _w counted. Thousands were left homeless afterwards. From 1975 there is a building regulation according to which a maximum of two floors above the basement are permitted for buildings in danger zone 1 as a precautionary measure against future earthquakes. According to an investigation after the earthquake of 1992, the permissible floor height was exceeded in numerous houses, including public buildings.

Eski Erzincan

The remains of the former city are located near the airport on the road to Cağlayan. The city wall, which was maintained until the 16th century, enclosed an area of ​​around 200 × 150 meters. Individual short sections at a low altitude reveal their location. At the southwest corner a hexagonal defense tower remained upright up to the first floor, 20 meters to the north a large gate building from Ottoman times has also been preserved. Two wide hammams with flat domed roofs are 50 meters apart between vegetable fields. Another building ruin is referred to as a medrese . The two hammams and the medrese are currently (2018) being restored. One will be converted into a museum, the other will serve as a bathroom in accordance with its original purpose.

Cityscape

Due to the devastating earthquakes in the 20th century, no older buildings and sights were preserved. The cityscape is characterized by residential quarters laid out in a rectangular grid, which are accessed by a few main streets and a grid of connecting streets. Only along the main shopping street and a parallel street were three- to four-story apartment blocks with shops on the ground floor. Apart from that, with one exception - in accordance with the building regulations - two-storey single-family houses or terraced houses for several parties with tiled hipped roofs predominate throughout the city.

The main shopping street is the former through-town Sivas Erzurum Yolu , the train station is one kilometer away on the southern outskirts. In the vicinity of the train station there is an extensive new building area built after 2000, the uniform apartment blocks of which reach a height of five floors. A new bus station about three kilometers east of the city was completed in 2012. The Binali Yıldırım bus station has a capacity of 3 million passengers per year and was built on an area of ​​35,000 m².

The business center with shops for everyday goods is located in the center of town, along with an open food market. This also includes small metal processing companies and specialist shops for agricultural equipment. To the north, extensive flat residential areas of the middle class extend to the end of the valley floor. In a quarter between the main street and the railway line in the southwest, cheap buildings of the lower class are hidden behind walls. A sugar factory produces further south. On a site south of the train station, a brick factory is burning in the chambers of a 50-meter-long kiln building.

The Erzincan Binali Yıldırım Üniversitesi is a university opened in March 2006 with approximately 22,000 students. There are faculties for educational sciences , medicine and social sciences, among others .

economy

One of Erzincan's specialties is Tulum Peyniri cheese, which is made by farmers in factories. Honey is also produced in Erzincan Province. Erzincan has a long tradition in processing copper into everyday objects and sometimes elaborately decorated handicraft objects, which is done in numerous workshops. The processing of copper has increased significantly since the 1950s. In the 1980 census of industrial and handicraft businesses, there were 243 metalworking businesses in Erzincan with ten or more workers, a large part of which processed copper.

climate

Erzincan has a continental climate. Summers are warm to hot and dry. The winters are rough and snowy. Most of the precipitation falls in spring. The total annual precipitation is around 374 mm and the annual average temperature is 10.9 ° C. The coldest month is January with an average of −3 ° C, the warmest months are July and August with an average of 24 ° C.

Erzincan (1216 m)
Climate diagram
J F. M. A. M. J J A. S. O N D.     28   2 -7     31   4th -6     42   9 -1     53   17th 5     53   22nd 9     31   27 12     11   31 15th     6.4   32 15th     15th   27 11     41   20th 6th     36   12 1     28   4th -4 Temperature in ° C ,  precipitation in mm Source: State Meteorological Office of the Republic of Turkey, data 1926-2016

Average monthly temperatures and precipitation for Erzincan (1216 m) Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Max. Temperature ( ° C ) 1.5 3.5 9.4 16.7 22.2 26.9 31.4 31.9 27.2 19.9 11.6 4.3 O 17.3 Min. Temperature (° C) -7.2 -5.5 -0.9 4.6 8.7 12.0 15.4 15.2 10.7 5.7 0.7 -4.2 O 4.6 Temperature (° C) -3.1 -1.3 3.9 10.7 15.6 20.0 24.0 24.1 19.1 12.2 5.5 -0.3 O 10.9 Precipitation ( mm ) 27.5 30.8 41.8 52.6 52.6 30.8 11.0 6.4 15.3 40.7 35.8 28.2 Σ 373.5 Hours of sunshine ( h / d ) 3.6 4.6 5.1 6.6 7.4 10.6 11.1 10.3 8.6 6.3 4.3 2.5 O 6.8 Rainy days ( d ) 9.4 8.9 11.2 12.6 13.8 8.7 3.3 2.4 4.2 8.2 8.3 9.3 Σ 100.3 Source: State Meteorological Office of the Republic of Turkey, data 1926-2016

sons and daughters of the town

• Soghomon Tehlirian (1897–1960), known for killing Talât Pasha
• Ali Ekber Çiçek (1935–2006), singer and baglama player
• Yıldırım Akbulut (* 1935), former Prime Minister of Turkey
• Edibe Sulari (1953-1993), singer
• Oya Aydoğan (1957-2016), actress
• Hasan Ali Mete (born 1966), actor
• Arzu Şahin (* 1978), singer
• Sibel Arslan (* 1980), Swiss politician
• Uğur Ümit Üngör (* 1980), researcher on genocide and mass violence
• Erman Kılıç (* 1983), football player

Web links

Commons : Erzincan  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Armenian History and Presence in Erzincan
• Erzincan . In: Ehsan Yarshater (Ed.): Encyclopædia Iranica (English, including references)
• Erzincan - Eski Fotoğraflar. wowturkey.com (photos by Eski Erzincan before 1939)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Türkiye Nüfusu İl ilçe Mahalle Köy Nüfusları , accessed on April 13, 2020
2. ↑ Ergan Mountain Winter Sports and Eco-Tourism Center. ergankayak.com/en
3. ↑ Erzincan'da Tramvay Projesinin Çalışmaları başladı. milliyet.com.tr, September 27, 2018 (Turkish)
4. ↑ Central Dissemination System / Merkezi Dağıtım Sistemi (MEDAS) of the TÜIK , accessed on June 12, 2019
5. ↑ Genel Nüfus Sayımları (census results 1965 to 2000) , accessed June 12, 2019
6. ^ Antonio Sagona, Claudia Sagona: Archeology at the North-East Anatolian frontier , I. A historical geography and a field survey of the Bayburt province . In: Ancient Near Eastern Studies , 14, Louvain Peeters 2004, p. 28
7. ^ Thomas Alexander Sinclair: Eastern Turkey: An Architectural and Archaeological Survey . Vol. II. The Pindar Press, London 1989, pp. 438-441
8. ^ Elke M. Geenen : Catastrophe-sociological aspects of the earthquake disaster in Erzincan on March 13, 1992. Institute for Sociology at the Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, 1993
9. ^ Thomas Alexander Sinclair: Eastern Turkey: An Architectural and Archaeological Survey . Vol. II. The Pindar Press, London 1989, pp. 426-430
10. ↑ Çadırcı Hamamı Vatandaşların Hizmetine Açılacak. milliyet.co.tr, November 3, 2018 (Turkish)
11. ↑ Yeni otogar hizmete girdi. Retrieved December 30, 2018 (Turkish). 
12. ↑ Yasar: Anasayfa. In: Erzincan Binali Yıldırım Üniversitesi. Retrieved December 30, 2018 (Turkish). 
13. ^ Fatih Orhan, Ahmet Çavuş, Serhat Zaman: An Example of the Copper Production Area in Anatolia: Coppersmith in Erzincan (Turkey) and Importance of the Production Branch as the Cultural Heritage Value. In: International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, Vol. 6, No. 3, March 2016, pp. 37–53, here p. 42