Siverek

Siverek (from , ) is a municipality and district of Şanlıurfa Province, Turkey. Its area is 3,936 km2, and its population is 267,942 (2022). Siverek is in Şanlıurfa province but closer geographically to the large city of Diyarbakır (approx 83 km).

History
Siverek was historically known in medieval Arabic as Hisn ar-Ran, which was corrupted into Greek Chasanara () as found in the Escorial Taktikon. The town came under Byzantine control sometime after 956 and by the early 970s had become the seat of a strategos.

In the Ottoman Empire period Siverek was within the Diyarbekir vilayet, and it had several Christian settlements.

Demographics 
9,275 Armenians lived in the kaza on the eve of the First World War according to the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople. They had eight churches and three schools. 5,450 Armenians and 1,200 Syriacs lived in the town of Siverek. 6,550 Syriacs lived in 32 surrounding villages. Armenian men were massacred in May 1915, followed by the deportation of the women and children, as part of the Armenian genocide. Faiz El-Ghusein reported that the road between Urfa and Severek was littered with corpses.

Politics
In common with other districts of Şanlıurfa, business and politics in Siverek are strongly influenced, even controlled, by a powerful clan. Siverek is the home town of Sedat Bucak, the former DYP member of parliament who survived the car crash in the Susurluk scandal. He is the leader of the Bucak tribe, one of whom has represented the area in the Turkish Parliament since its foundation. Sedat Bucak remains a friend of former DYP leader Mehmet Ağar. In the local elections in March 2019, Şehmus Aydın was elected mayor. He resigned due to health problems in 2020, and was succeeded by Ayşe Çakmak (AKP). The current kaymakam is Musa Aydemir.

Composition
There are 180 neighbourhoods in Siverek District:

 Abdalağa
 Alagün
 Alanyurt
 Altaylı
 Altınahır
 Altınlı
 Altınpınar
 Anacak
 Armağanlı
 Aşağı Alınca
 Aşağı Karabahçe
 Aşağı Karacaören
 Aşağıyalankoz
 Aşlıca
 Atmaca
 Avurtepe
 Ayrancı
 Ayvanat
 Azıklı
 Bağcı
 Bağlar
 Bahçe
 Bahçelievler
 Bakı Takoran
 Bakırca
 Bakmaç
 Bardakçı
 Başbük
 Başdeğirmen
 Batı
 Bayırözü
 Beğdeş
 Benek
 Beyali
 Beybaba
 Beyçeri
 Böğürtlen
 Bozkuyu
 Bozlak
 Bürüncek
 Büyük Kazanlı
 Büyük Oba
 Büyük Tepe
 Büyük Yakıtlı
 Büyükgöl
 Çağa
 Çağdaş
 Camiikebir
 Çanakçı
 Canpolat
 Çatlı
 Çavuşlu
 Çaylarbaşı
 Çeltik
 Çepni
 Çevirme
 Çiftçibaşı
 Çinhisar
 Çubuklu
 Dağbaşı
 Damlıca
 Dardağan
 Darıcalı
 Deliktaş
 Dicle
 Dilekli
 Direkli
 Divan
 Doğukent
 Dönemeç
 Düğerin
 Ediz
 Eğriçay
 Endarlı
 Erbey
 Ergen
 Erkonağı
 Ertem
 Eskihan
 Esmerçayı
 Fırat
 Fırın
 Gaziköy
 Gedik
 Gerçek
 Gözcek
 Gözelek
 Gözeli
 Gülabibey
 Güllice
 Gülpınar
 Güney
 Güney Karabahçe
 Gürakar
 Güvenli
 Güvercin
 Güzelpınar
 Hacıömer
 Haliliye
 Hamamören
 Hamidiye
 Hasançelebi
 Hasırlı
 Hayriye
 İleri
 İnanlı
 Kale
 Kalemli
 Kalınağaç
 Kamışlı
 Kapıkaya
 Karabahçe
 Karacadağ
 Karadibek
 Karahisar
 Karakeçi
 Karakoyun
 Kargalı
 Karkaşı
 Karpuzcu
 Kavaklıdere
 Kavalık
 Kayalı
 Kayseri
 Keçiburcu
 Keçikıran
 Keş
 Kesmekaya
 Kıvançlı
 Konurtepe
 Küçükgöl
 Kulaksız
 Küptepe
 Kurbağalı
 Kuşlugöl
 Mezraa
 Narlıkaya
 Nohut
 Ofis
 Oluklu
 Onar
 Önder
 Örgülü
 Ortanca
 Oyman
 Oyuktaş
 Peynirci
 Sabancı
 Şairibrahimrafet
 Salur
 Sarıdam
 Sarıkaya
 Sarıören
 Savucak
 Şekerli
 Selimpınar
 Şirinkuyu
 Sislice
 Soydan
 Söylemez
 Sumaklı
 Tanrıverdi
 Taşağıl
 Taşhan
 Taşıkara
 Taşlı
 Turna
 Ülkülü
 Üstüntaş
 Uzunpınar
 Uzunziyaret
 Yeleken
 Yeniceli
 Yenişehir
 Yoğunca
 Yoğurtçu
 Yücelen
 Yumrutepe
 Yuvar
 Zincirliçay

Climate
Siverek has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification: Csa).

References

External links
 District governor's office
 Siverek
 Siverek Son Haber

Populated places in Şanlıurfa Province
Districts of Şanlıurfa Province
Metropolitan district municipalities in Turkey
Kurdish settlements in Turkey
Assyrian communities in Turkey
Former Armenian communities in Şanlıurfa Province