| Type: | municipality |
| Bingöl | |
| Province: | Bingöl |
| District: | Bingöl |
| Leader Party: | AK Party |
| Leader Name: | Erdal Arıkan |
| Elevation M: | 1120 |
| Population Total: | 133423 |
| Population As Of: | 2022 |
| Postal Code: | 12000 |
| Area Code: | 0426 |
Bingöl (Armenian: Ճապաղջուր|translit=Chapaghjur, Kurdish: script=latn|Çewlik,[1] [2]), known as Çapakçur before 1944, is a city in Turkey. It is the seat of Bingöl Province and Bingöl District,[3] having a population of 133,423 (2022).
One of the historical names for the city, Bingöl literally means thousand lakes in Turkish; however, there aren't any lakes of considerable size within the boundaries of the province. The name rather refers to many tarns found around the city.[4] [5]
Bingöl is located in what was historically the region of Sophene (first an independent kingdom and later an Armenian and Roman province).[6] The settlement is mentioned by its Armenian name, Chapaghjur (meaning "spread out water" in Armenian), by the 11th-century Armenian historian Stepanos Asoghik, who mentions it while describing the 995 Balu earthquake. Chapaghjur is sometimes identified with the Roman fortress-town of Citharizum (Ktʻaṛich in Armenian).
In the Middle Ages, Bingöl was known as Romanoupolis (Ῥωμανούπολις) after the Byzantine emperor Romanos I Lekapenos, who incorporated it into the Byzantine Empire in 942. It initially formed a subdivision of the thema of Mesopotamia, but it was later (c. 970) elevated into a separate theme.[7]
Bingöl was ruled by the Suwaydid dynasty, a cadet branch of the Barmakids, from the 13th century until mid-Ottoman rule, autonomously from the Ottomans.[8] Bingöl and the surrounding district had a large Armenian population prior to the Armenian genocide. Until the middle of the 20th century, the city was known as Çapakçur/Çabakçur, derived from its Armenian name.[9] [10] In 1944, the place was renamed Bingöl, meaning "thousand lakes" in Turkish.
Bingöl has been the site of several violent incidents of the Kurdish-Turkish conflict. On 23 October 2016, a car bombing targeting an armored police vehicle perpetrated by PKK militia members killed two police officers and injured 19 others.[11] On 8 June 2018, a group of PKK militia members attacked a military station and killed one Turkish soldier while injuring three others.[12]
Bingöl is east of Elazığ and is situated in the high region of Eastern Anatolia. Bingöl is a mountainous area with heights reaching 3000 m, Bingöl city is at about 1120 m above sea level.[13] The Gayt River (Gayt Çayı), a right-bank tributary of the Eastern Euphrates (Murat River), runs through the city.
Bingöl has a continental climate (Köppen climate classification: Dsa, or Trewartha climate classification Dca), with hot, dry summers and cold, snowy winters. The driest months are July and August and the wettest is February and December.
Highest recorded temperature:42C on 26 July 2001
Lowest recorded temperature:-25.1C on 27 February 1992[14]
On 1 May 2003 the whole area suffered from a magnitude 6.4 earthquake, leaving 176 dead and 520 injured.[15] On 8 March 2010, the area suffered another earthquake, of magnitude 5.9, with its epicenter in Elazığ Province, 45km (28miles) west of Bingöl. On 14 June 2020, a relatively small earthquake occurred in the region, killing a village guard and injuring 21 others.[16]
In 1891, the kaza had 20,800 inhabitants: 16,465 Muslims and 4,385 Armenians.[17]
| 975 | 1 | 9,416 | – | – | – |
| 10,395 | – | – | – |
Bingöl Airport opened on 12 July 2013. It has a passenger capacity of 500,000 a year.
Bingöl University opened on 29 May 2007.[19] The University continues its activities with nine faculties, six vocational schools and five5 institutes.