Arapgir

Arapgir lies in the upper Euphrates country of eastern Anatolia, on an uneven plateau crossed by routes toward Malatya, Divriği and the Armenian highlands. Hills, springs and orchards contrast with dry slopes, and sheep pasture supported wool production. The settlement controlled roads across a broken upland rather than a navigable river.

Armenian king Senekerim-Hovhannes Artsruni founded the old town in 1021 after exchanging Vaspurakan for estates in the Byzantine interior. A cathedral was built in the thirteenth century, and Armenian settlement expanded under Seljuk rule as regional commerce revived. Mongols and successive Turkmen dynasties then contested the area.

The Ottoman conquest after the Battle of Çaldıran in 1515 placed Arapgir within the Diyarbakır province. Its mixed Armenian, Turkish and other communities traded textiles, wool, silver and agricultural goods along caravan roads. Churches, schools and markets made the upland town a cultural centre, even after warfare and earthquakes repeatedly damaged it.