Editing Van, Turkey (section)

===Turco-Iranian rivalry and the Ottoman era===
{{See also|Eyalet of Van|Vilayet of Van}}
[[File:Wan,Mizgefta_Hezretî_Omer.JPG|thumb|Hz. Ömer Mosque in Van]]
[[File:Van,_Van_Merkez-Van,_Turkey_-_panoramio_(9).jpg|thumb|left|A replica of a 19th-century house]]

The first half of the 15th century saw the Van region become a land of conflict as it was disputed by the [[Ottoman Empire]] and the neighboring [[Persians|Persian]] [[Safavid|Safavid Empire]]. The Safavids captured Van in 1502, as it went naturally with all former territories of the Ak Koyunlu. The Ottomans took the city in 1515 following the climactic [[Battle of Chaldiran]] and held it for a short period. The Safavids retook it again in 1520 but the Ottomans gained an almost definite hold of it in 1548 during another Ottoman-Safavid War. Ottoman control over the town was confirmed in the 1555 [[Peace of Amasya]] which came as a result after the end of the war. They first made Van into a [[sanjak]] dependent on the [[Erzurum eyalet]], and later into a separate [[Van eyalet]] in about 1570. In 1604, the Safavids under king [[Abbas the Great]] recaptured Van alongside other swaths of lost territories in Eastern Anatolia. However, Ottoman control over it was at last now made final and definite in 1639 with the [[Treaty of Zuhab]].
[[File:Wan_Tournefort.png|thumb|Van from [[Joseph Pitton de Tournefort]]'s 1717 book ''Relation d'un voyage du Levant'']]
[[File:The Rock and Walled City of Van (1893).jpg|thumb|The rock and walled city of Van in 1893 by [[H. F. B. Lynch]]]]

During the early 1900s, the city of Van had eleven Armenian schools and ten Turkish schools.<ref name="Hewsen-2000">{{Armenian Van-Vaspurakan 2000|first=Robert H.|last=Hewsen|author-link=Robert H. Hewsen|page=40|title=2: 'Van in This World: Paradise in the Next' – The Historical Geography of Van/Vaspurakan <br> Armenian churches within the walled city included Saint Tiramayr ({{langx|hy|Սուրբ Տիրամայր}}), Saint Vardan ({{langx|hy|Սուրբ Վարդան}}), Saint Poghos ({{langx|hy|Սուրբ Պողոս}}), Saint Nshan ({{langx|hy|Սուրբ Նշան}}), Saint Sahak ({{langx|hy|Սուրբ Սահակ}}), and Saint Tsiranavor ({{langx|hy|Սուրբ Ծիրանաւոր}}); in Aygestan ({{langx|hy|Այգեստան}}), Haykavank ({{langx|hy|Հայկավանք}}), Norashen ({{langx|hy|Նորաշէն}}), Arark ({{langx|hy|Արարք}}), Hankoysner, and other quarters each had a church.}}</ref> Towards the second half of the 19th century Van began to play an increased role in the politics of the Ottoman Empire due to its location near the borders of the Persian, Russian and Ottoman Empire, as well as its proximity to Mosul. During the period leading up to the breakup of the Ottoman Empire, Armenians were well represented in the local administration.<ref>Hewsen 2000, p. 39.</ref>

====Ottoman Era demographics====
The demographics of Ottoman Van are a debated and contentious point as they relate directly to claims of ownership by either side prior to the outbreak of World War I. For the city of Van itself it has been estimated that it had around 50,000 inhabitants prior to World War I, of whom 30,000 were Armenian and 20,000 were Muslims. Based on the official 1914 Ottoman census, the population of Van province consisted of 179,422 Muslims and 67,797 [[Armenians]].<ref name=":0">Values as printed in the [[:File:Proportions des populations en Asie Mineure statistique officielle d1914.png|official statistics from 1914]].</ref> The Ottoman census figures include only male citizens, excluding women and children, and according to more recent research, an estimate for Van province (including women and children) is that it had 313,000 Muslims, 130,000 Armenians, and 65,000 others, including [[Assyrian people|Assyrians]].<ref>Justin McCarthy: ''Muslims and Minorities.'' New York University Press, 1983, p. 110 f.</ref>

The demographics of Van are a greatly debated point also given the changing provincial borders. For example, in 1875 the province was divided; Van and Hakkari were separated, only to be rejoined in 1888, drastically changing the census numbers. Some writers argue that this merging was done to keep the Armenians from forming a majority.<ref>Hewsen 2000, p. 35.</ref> In 1862 it was estimated that in Van there were 90,100 Christians (including [[Syriac Christianity|Syriac Christians]]) and 95,100 Muslims.<ref>{{Armenian Van-Vaspurakan 2000 |last=Ter Minassian |first=Anahide |author-link=Anahide Ter Minassian |title=10: The City of Van at the Turn of the Twentieth Century |p=179}}</ref> The French Consul in Van reported that in Van and Bitlis 51.46% were [[Kurds]], 32.70% were [[Armenians]] and 5.53% were Turks.<ref>Ter Minassian, ch.10, p. 180.</ref> On the other hand, the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople estimated 185,000 [[Armenians]] in Van, 18,000 [[Assyrian people|Assyrians]], 72,000 [[Kurds]], 47,000 [[Turkish people|Turks]], 25,000 [[Yezidis]], 5,000 [[Zazas]] and 3,000 [[Gypsies]].<ref name=":1">Ter Minassian, ch.10, p. 181.</ref> Both sides have been accused of over-counting the numbers at the time given the [[Armenian genocide]] and population statistics became important during the [[Berlin Conference]].<ref>Sarkis Y. Karayan: "Demography of Van Province, 1844–1914". In: [[Richard G. Hovannisian]]: ''Armenian Van/Vaspurakan''. Mazda Publishers, Costa Mesa/CA 2000, p. 196.</ref>