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Template:Infobox Province TR Bitlis is a province of eastern Turkey, located to the west of Lake Van. Kurds form the majority. The capital of the province is the city Bitlis.

A folk etymology explanation of the name Bitlis, is that it is derived from "Bedlis", the name of the commander who built a castle in the province, by the order of Alexander the Great, King of Macedonia. The history of Bitlis extends back to 2000 BC, and the city contains traces from the Urartian, Armenian, Persian, Roman, and Byzantine periods.

It was known as the Kurdish principality Badlis from the 12th to the 19th century. The region was also the home of the 16th century Kurdish historian, Sherefxan Bedlisi (also: Sharaf al-Din Bitlisi), who was also an appointed prince of the Persian and later Ottoman Empires.

Bitlis had a significant population of ethnic Armenians prior to 1915. During the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1917, Turks and Kurds led by Jevdet Bey Pasha massacred some 15,000 Armenians until Russian troops, who were subsequently viewed as liberators by the survivors, moved into the area.

Districts

Bitlis province is divided into 7 districts (capital district in bold):

• Adilcevaz
• Ahlat
• Bitlis
• Güroymak
• Hizan
• Mutki
• Tatvan

References

1. Distribution of Kurdish People — GlobalSecurity.org
2. Source Records of the Great War, Vol. IV, ed. Charles F. Horne, National Alumni 1923

External links

• Pictures of the city of Bitlis, the capital of Bitlis province - and of nearby Siirt
• Bitlis Weather Forecast Information
• The Armenian History and Presence in Bitlis

v t e Bitlis Province of Turkey
Districts	Adilcevaz Ahlat Bitlis Güroymak Hizan Mutki Tatvan
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Metropolitan municipalities are bolded.

38°31′33″N 42°23′16″E / 38.52583°N 42.38778°E / 38.52583; 42.38778

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