TRENDEAtlas of the Sultans · Cities

When did Bitlis become Ottoman?

Today: Turkey

408years under Ottoman rule

Bitlis came under Ottoman rule in 1514; it remained an Ottoman city until the end of the empire.

Bitlis
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1514–until 1922 · 408 years

Chronology

  1. 1514
    Became Ottoman

    On the return from the Chaldiran campaign, through the efforts of Idris-i Bitlisi, the local lords of Bitlis declared their allegiance to the Ottomans.

    Sultan: Selim I
  2. 1916
    Note

    In the First World War the city was under Russian occupation from 1 March to 8 August 1916.

    Sultan: Mehmed V

How the total is counted: years of actual Ottoman rule are added up. Temporary occupations shorter than a year (that were reversed) are not subtracted; they appear as notes in the chronology.

In the atlas

On the atlas map the city lies in the region “Diyarbakır–Van–Urfa”. Map colours work at region level, so the city's own dates may differ from the region's by a few years.

Open the map in 1514

Source: TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, “BİTLİS” (Turkish); text written for the atlas.