Hınıs

Hınıs (; ) is a municipality and district of Erzurum Province, Turkey. Its area is 1,367 km2, and its population is 24,680 (2022). Historical monuments in the town include the castle and the Ulu Cami Mosque, said to be built in 1734 by Alaeddin, the bey of Muş. The town is populated by Kurds.

The district, which is 150 km away from the city of Muş, is very close to Hamurpert Lake, which has an important place in history. Hınıs district is surrounded by the Ak Dağ mountains from the north, Bingöl Mountains from the west and south, and Akdoğan mountains from the south to the east. Hınıs district is neighbors with Tekman and Karayazı districts to the north, Karaçoban district to the east, and Varto, Bulanık and Malazgirt districts of Muş to the south. In addition, the Varto city is only 40 km from Hınıs. Hınıs is a plain district and Hınıs plain is one of the most fertile plains of the region. Therefore, agriculture and animal husbandry are the main sources of income in the district. It has the same characteristics as Erzurum in terms of climate and nature. Winters are cold and snowy, and summers are generally cool. In general, it can be said that it is 5-6 degrees warmer than Erzurum.

Geography

The Hınıs plain is an upland plain centered on a tributary of the Murat River. A range of hills on the south separates the Hınıs plain from the Murat River. Kocasu Creek is the biggest water source of Hınıs. It passes through the district center and pours into the Murat river in Bulanık district. On the southwest, the Hınıs plain is separated from the Varto plain by a series of hills and steep valleys. To the north is a range of pyramid-shaped hills called the Ak Dağ, or White Mountains, which are in turn connected to the Bingöl Mountains further west by a plateau called the Menge Dağ. The Menge Dağ forms the northwestern border of the Hınıs plain; from its foothills, Süphan mountain is visible over the hills to the southeast. The Hınıs plain consists of two distinct, gently undulating bands that are occasionally broken up by low-lying hills. The valley has fertile soil and has historically formed a breeding ground for sheep and horses.

The town of Hınıs itself lies near the upper end of the valley, on a volcanic table raised above the surrounding plain. At this end, more than 20 smaller streams join together into the plain's main river.

History
The Hınıs plain formed the main part of the early medieval Armenian canton of Varazhnunik. During this period (roughly the 4th through 7th centuries), Hınıs was probably a fortified market town. Later, after the Arab conquest of Armenia, the region became divided into several small principalities. Hınıs was "almost certainly" the capital of one of these principalities, which was called Sermatz in Greek sources. Sermatz seems to have covered the old district of Varazhnunik as well as the Varto plain to the southwest. Its rulers were probably vassals of the Kaysite emirs of Malazgirt.

During the Kara Koyunlu period, Hınıs was the capital of a small Kurdish emirate which was a vassal of the emirate of Bitlis, which was in turn a vassal of the Kara Koyunlu themselves. The emirate of Hınıs was mainly based on the Hınıs plain but also extended south of the Murat river to include Lake Nazik and the area around Bulanık. Later, under the Ottoman Empire, Hınıs formed a sanjak of Erzurum Eyalet.

Monuments

Castle
Hınıs's old castle crowns a small rocky promontory jutting out above a depression in the middle of the plateau. The castle rock is only accessible on one side, by an elevated "neck" connecting it to the rest of the plateau. This "neck" was the starting point for the walls that historically surrounded the town. Only a couple of towers of the castle remain intact today.

Mosque
The Ulu Cami is beneath the castle rock and outside the town. It dates to 1734 and is traditionally attributed to Ala ed-Din, the bey of Muş who also fortified Mercimekkale on the Muş plain. The mosque is roughly cube-shaped, with one relatively small pyramidal cap crowning the roof, surrounded by 8 smaller domes. The mosque has one, black-and-white striped minaret, on the northwest corner.

Composition
There are 98 neighbourhoods in Hınıs District:

 Acarköy
 Akbayır
 Akçamelik
 Akgelin
 Akgöze
 Akören
 Alaca
 Alagöz
 Alikırı
 Alınteri
 Altınpınar
 Arpadere
 Aşağı Kayabaşı
 Avcılar
 Bahçe
 Başköy
 Bayırköy
 Bellitaş
 Beyyurdu
 Burhanköy
 Çakmak
 Çamurlu
 Çatak
 Çilligöl
 Dağçayırı
 Demirci
 Derince
 Dervişali
 Dibekli
 Dikili
 Divanhüseyin
 Elbeyli
 Elmadalı
 Erduran
 Erence
 Esenli
 Göller
 Güllüçimen
 Gülüstan
 Gürçayır
 Güzeldere
 Halilçavuş
 Hayran
 Ilıcaköy
 İsmail
 Kalecik
 Karaağaç
 Karabudak
 Karakula
 Karamolla
 Kazancı
 Ketenci
 Kısık
 Kızılahmet
 Kızmusa
 Kolhisar
 Kongur
 Köprübaşı
 Meydanköy
 Mezraa
 Mollacelil
 Mollakulaç
 Mutluca
 Ortaköy
 Ovaçevirme
 Ovakozlu
 Parmaksız
 Pınarbaşı
 Pınarköy
 Şahabettinköy
 Şahverdi
 Şalgamköy
 Saltepe
 Sanayi
 Sarılı
 Sıldız
 Söğütlü
 Sultanlı
 Suvaran
 Tanır
 Tapuköy
 Taşbulak
 Tellitepe
 Tipideresi
 Toprakkale
 Toraman
 Uluçayır
 Ünlüce
 Uyanık
 Yamanlar
 Yaylakonak
 Yelpiz
 Yenikent
 Yeniköy
 Yeşilbahçe
 Yeşilyazı
 Yolüstü
 Yukarı Kayabaşı

References

 
Populated places in Erzurum Province
Kurdish settlements in Turkey
Districts of Erzurum Province
Metropolitan district municipalities in Turkey