Elazig

Elazığ was once a suburb of the ancient fortress town of Harput called Mezre. Heinrich Hübschmann believed Mezre to be the settlement of Mazara (Μαζάρα) mentioned by Ptolemy, while Nicholas Adontz derived the name from an Arabic word meaning arable land or hamlet (borrowed into Turkish as mezra 'hamlet'). The toponym Mezre originated as a shortening of Ağavat Mezrası ('hamlet of the aghas/landlords') or Mezra-ı Çötelizade ('Çötelizade [a family name] hamlet'). This may be explained by the fact that some notables from Harput had been exiled from the city and settled in nearby villages in the late 18th century. Some Armenians from Harput (Armenian: Խարբերդ, romanized: Kharberd) are said to have settled on the site in 1617, so Elazığ was sometimes called Nor Kharberd (lit. 'New Harput') in Armenian. The Kurdish name is Xarpêt. …

The town of Mezre (future Elazığ) was founded on the fertile plain below the hill on which the much older fortress and settlement of Harput were constructed. It was located about five kilometres (three miles) southwest of Harput. The Hurrians, who settled in this area in c. 2000 BC, are the earliest known inhabitants of the area. Harput and its surrounding region were part of the kingdom of Urartu at its maximum extent, and the Urartians may have been the first to build a fortress here. Historian Hakob Manandian believed it to have been the main fortress of the earlier Hayasa-Azzi confederation. It is possible that Harput stands on or is near the site of Carcathiocerta (more commonly identified with Eğil), the first capital of the Kingdom of Sophene. …

Elazığ is situated at the northwestern corner of a 30-mile-long valley, known locally as Uluova (literally the Great Valley). The area's Armenians called this valley "Vosgetashd" (the Golden Plain). Its altitude is 3,300 feet (1,000 m), latitude and longitude of 38 degrees and 41 minutes North, and 39 degrees and 14 minutes East. Elazığ Province is surrounded by the Euphrates in the north, and since the completion of Keban Dam the rivers came to cover almost ten percent of the surface area (826 square kilometres (319 sq mi)) of the province (8,455 square kilometres (3,264 sq mi)). Elazığ's adjacent province borders are with Tunceli (North), Erzincan (North-West), Bingöl (East), Diyarbakır (South), and Malatya (West). …