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Mardin province

Mardin Province
Mardin ili
Province of Turkey
Location of Mardin Province in Turkey
Location of Mardin Province in Turkey
Country Turkey
Region Southeast Anatolia
Subregion Mardin
Government
 • Electoral district Mardin
Area
 • Total 8,891 km2 (3,433 sq mi)
Population (2010-12-31)
 • Total 744,606
 • Density 84/km2 (220/sq mi)
Area code(s) 0482
Vehicle registration 47

Mardin Province (Turkish: Mardin ili, Kurdish: Parêzgeha Mêrdînê‎, Arabic: ماردين,), is a province of Turkey with a population of 744,606. The population was 835,173 in 2000. The capital of the Mardin Province is Mardin (Syriac: ܡܶܪܕܺܝܢ‎ "Mardin" in related Semitic language Arabic: ماردين, Mardīn). Located near the traditional boundary of Anatolia and Mesopotamia, it has a diverse population, composed of Kurdish, Arab and Assyrian people, with Muslims forming the majority of the province's population.

Mardin comes from the Syriac word (ܡܪܕܐ) and means "fortresses".

The first known civilization were the Subarian-Hurrians who were then succeeded in 3000BCE by the Hurrians. The Elamites gained control around 2230 BCE. and were followed by the Babylonians, Hittites, Assyrians, Romans and Byzantines.

The local Assyrians/Syriacs, while very reduced due to the massacres of the Assyrian Genocide and conflicts between the Kurds and Turks, hold on to two of the oldest monasteries in the world, Dayro d-Mor Hananyo (Turkish Deyrülzafaran, English Saffron Monastery) and Deyrulumur Monastery. The Christian community is concentrated on the Tur Abdin plateau and in the town of Midyat, with a smaller community (approximately 100) in the provincial capital.


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