Arzes
| Erciş | |
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A view from Erciş city center
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 Erciş
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| Coordinates: 39°01′52″N 43°21′35″E / 39.03111°N 43.35972°ECoordinates: 39°01′52″N 43°21′35″E / 39.03111°N 43.35972°E | |
| Country | Turkey |
| Province | Van |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Diba Keskin (BDP) |
| • Kaymakam | Barboros Baran |
| Area | |
| • District | 1,876.38 km2 (724.47 sq mi) |
| Population (2012) | |
| • Urban | 81,212 |
| • District | 165,953 |
| • District density | 88/km2 (230/sq mi) |
| Post code | 65400 |
| Website | www.ercis.bel.tr |
Erciş (pronounced [eɾˈdʒiʃ]; Armenian: Ականց, Agants; historically Արճեշ, Arjesh, Kurdish: Erdîş) is a town and district located in the Van Province, Turkey on Lake Van. In Classical Antiquity, it was known as Arsissa, and as Arjish in Arabic and Western Armenian during the Middle Ages. The Byzantines knew it as Arzes (Ἂρζες or Ἀρζές) and the 10th-century emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos records in his De administrando imperio (Chapter XLIV) that it was under the rule of the Kaysite emirate of Manzikert.
The majority of the city's population is Kurdish. The total population of the district is 145,229 and spread among the capital city and villages. The rural population is 66,832, while the urban population is 78,397. Population density is 47/km². The population of the city of Erciş is 77,065 inhabitants.
This small district several times was the capital city of some ruling states. It was a main center of the province of Turuberan as part of the ancient Kingdom of Armenia. The city changed hands on several occasions between the Arabs and the Byzantines, in the early Middle Ages. In 1054, while under Byzantine administration, it was captured and sacked by the Seljuk Turks after an eight-day siege. It was fortified in the early 14th century by the Ilkhanid vizier Ali Shah. Erciş was part of the Karakoyunlu state and later became a part of the Ottoman Empire. It was moved to a new location called Alada in 1841, due to floods. After the Armenian Genocide in 1915, the Russian forces captured the city as part of the Caucasus Campaign. They were replaced by Russian Armenian troops after December 1917. These were eventually driven out by the Ottomans on April 1, 1918.
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Wikipedia