Diyarbakır

Diyarbakır (Kurdish: Amed‎) is one of the largest cities in southeastern Turkey. Situated on the banks of the Tigris River, it is the administrative capital of the Diyarbakır Province. With a population of about 930,000 it is the second largest city in Turkey's south-eastern Anatolia region, after Gaziantep.

Diyarbakir is also a major cultural and economic center in Turkey and as such has been a focal point for conflict between Turkey's government and its Kurdish population.

Names and etymology

The name Diyarbakir (Arabic دیار بکر "Diyaru Bakr which means the land of Bakir;Armenian: Տիգրանակերտ Tigranakert;Ancient Greek: Άμιδα, Amida; Ottoman Turkish: دیاربکر‎ Diyâr-ı Bekr; Syriac: ܐܡܝܕ‎) is inscribed as Amid on the sheath of a sword from the Assyrian period, and the same name was used in other contemporary Syriac and Arabic works. The Romans and Byzantines called the city Amida. Among the Artukid and Akkoyunlu it was known as "Black Amid" (Kara Amid) for the dark color of its walls, while in the Zafername, or eulogies in praise of military victories, it is called "Black Fortress" (Kara Kale). In the Book of Dede Korkut and some other Turkish works it appears as Kara Hamid.