Editing Batman, Turkey (section)

==History==
[[File:Zeynel_Bey_Mausoleum,_Hasankeyf.jpg|thumb|250px| Mausoleum of Zeynel Bey, son of Sultan [[Uzun Hasan]] (Hasan the Tall) of the [[Aq Qoyunlu]] dynasty, or White Sheep Turkomans (1378–1508)]]

=== Early history ===
The Batman Province contains the strategic Tigris River with fertile lands by its sides, as well as rocky hills with numerous caves providing a natural shelter. As a result, it was inhabited from prehistoric times, likely from the [[Neolithic]] ([[Paleolithic]]){{Contradict-inline|date=November 2022}} period, according to archeological evidence. First documented evidence of settlements in the province dates back to the 7th century BC. An artificial "island" was created in this marshy area, which was named ''elekhan'' and stood independent for 194 years from 546 BC until the invasion of [[Alexander the Great]] in 352 BC. The Batman Province was a religious center in the 4th–6th centuries AD and was part of the [[Byzantine Empire]] for seven centuries. In the 11th–12th centuries became under the control of the [[Great Seljuq Empire]] and [[Artuqids]] and became a prominent outpost of the [[Silk Road]]. This area was populated by [[Assyrian people|Syriac Christians]] and had a significant presence of [[Pontic Greeks]], [[Assyrian people|Assyrians]], [[Baghdadi Jews]] and [[Armenians]]; these peoples lived in the region from 500 BC to the late 19th century. Significant changes in its management and language were brought in 1515 by Mahmoud Pasha Elekhani. It is believed that a variant of his name, ''Elah'', was transformed into ''Iluh'' and gave the old name to the Batman city.<ref name="r1">[https://web.archive.org/web/20110310074232/http://www.gap.gov.tr/gap-provinces/batman Batman], gap.gov.tr</ref><ref name="g3">[https://web.archive.org/web/20111223064222/http://www.kultur.gov.tr/TR/belge/1-33025/tarihce.html Batman. Tarihçe], kultur.gov.tr, 21 February 2007 (in Turkish)</ref>

=== During Sayfo ===
During Sayfo a resistance mounted by the Assyrian population in the city of Batman, facing relentless persecution and violence at the hands of Kurdish tribes, employing guerrilla tactics and utilizing their intimate knowledge of the city's streets and alleyways, the defenders of Batman fought, and resist the forces of Kurds but the defense of Batman was ultimately suppressed.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bolton |first=Richard |url=http://oxford.totalh.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/DEFENSE-OF-BATMAN.pdf |title=War – "The unresolved conflict between Kurdish and Assyrian"}}</ref>

=== Modern history ===
[[File:Batman Saat Kulesi1.jpg|200px|thumb|left|Batman clock tower]]
The locality was made the capital of a district in the [[Siirt Province]] in 1957<ref name="r1" /> and as the Batman province was founded in May 1990, also its capital.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Deichmann|first=Somik V. Lall, Souleymane Coulibaly, Uwe|title=Urbanization and Productivity: Evidence from Turkish Provinces over the Period|date=2007|publisher=World Bank Publications|pages=7|language=en}}</ref> The city was connected with [[Istanbul]] in 1944 by a railway line. This was the major transportation route until the 1950s when highways gradually became more important. Until the 1950s, Batman was a village of some 3,000 people;<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20101010142640/http://www.batmanpostasigazetesi.com/yazi/altin-mikrofon-40-yil-aradan-sonra-batmanda-3422.htm ALTIN MİKROFON 40 YIL ARADAN SONRA BATMANDA]. Batmanpostasigazetesi.com. 6 October 2010. Retrieved 12 February 2011.</ref> it was called Iluh and belonged to the [[Siirt Province]]. It was first located in the Elmedin district of Siirt. The entire district disappeared in the early 1926 due to the flood of the Batman River. After that, Iluh became part of Beşiri sub-province.<ref>[[#Balaban|Balaban]], 152</ref> On 2 September 1957, the village became a district center and renamed Batman after the river flowing nearby, which was known under its modern name since at least the 19th century.<ref>{{cite book|title=Two essays on the geography of ancient Asia: intended partly to illustrate the campaigns of Alexander, and the Anabasis of Xenophon|url=https://archive.org/details/twoessaysongeog01willgoog|year=1829|publisher=J. Murray|pages=[https://archive.org/details/twoessaysongeog01willgoog/page/n277 262]–}}</ref> On 16 May 1990, it was designated the capital of the Batman Province.<ref name="g3"/>

This administrative evolution reflected the rapid growth of the city owing to its oil extraction and refinement industries. Oil was found in the region in the 1930s and the oldest in Turkey refinery was built in 1955 to process crude oil of the Raman and Garzan areas. The refinery is operated by [[Tüpraş]], it has a processing capacity of 1.1 million tonnes per year and storage capacity of 253 billion m<sup>3</sup> (330,000 million cubic yards).<ref name="r1"/><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20160614234809/http://www.tupras.com.tr/detailpage.en.php?lPageID=1831 About Tüpraş refineries]. tupras.com.tr</ref><ref name="g1">[https://web.archive.org/web/20111223070809/http://www.kultur.gov.tr/TR/belge/1-33019/genel-bilgiler.html Batman. Genel Bilgiler], kultur.gov.tr, 18 June 2008 (in Turkish)</ref>

Development of the oil fields outside the city resulted in a rapid growth of Batman beginning in the 1950s. As a result, the city was declared a "Priority Region for Development". A high school was established in the city in 1975 and most one-story houses were rebuilt into multi-story buildings. However, the large inflow of labor for the oil industry resulted in construction of hundreds of unauthorized small buildings on the outskirts of the city. Because of the wind direction, most industrial complexes were located in the southern and south-eastern areas.<ref name="b155">[[#Balaban|Balaban]], 155</ref>