Çölemerik

Çölemerik stands amid the steep valleys and high mountains of Hakkari, where the Kurdish emirs established a durable seat of power. Their domain extended across a rugged country of fortified heights and tribal communities, south of Lake Van and towards the upper Tigris. Mountain roads followed the valleys, linking the emir's stronghold to neighbouring districts.

After losing older strongholds farther south, the Hakkari rulers established themselves at Çölemerik. As Ilkhanid power weakened, they extended their influence towards Van; their rulers held its fortress until the early sixteenth century. Following the Ottoman advance into the region, the emirate continued under its own hereditary local lords, who negotiated with their neighbours and the imperial authorities while retaining a measure of local autonomy.