Çemişgezek

Çemişgezek lies among the valleys north of the Euphrates, in a mountainous district ruled for centuries by local lords. Its principality commanded numerous fortresses and settlements, linking the uplands of Dersim with the approaches to Harput. Armenian communities lived alongside the Muslim population, leaving records of their own in manuscript colophons, including a fifteenth-century record naming a local Armenian deputy under Qara Yuluk.

In the early sixteenth century the region became involved in the struggle between the Safavids and Ottomans. After the battle of Chaldiran, Pir Hüseyin sought the return of his father's lands from Sultan Selim. Ottoman forces brought Çemişgezek into their realm in 1515, while local rulers continued to play a part in the administration and military affairs of the frontier.