The town of Mezre (future Elazığ) was founded on the fertile plain below the hill on which the much older fortress and settlement of Harput were constructed. It was located about southwest of Harput. The
Hurrians, who settled in this area in 2000 BC, are the earliest known inhabitants of the area. Harput and its surrounding region were part of the kingdom of
Urartu at its maximum extent, and the Urartians may have been the first to build a fortress here. Historian
Hakob Manandian believed it to have been the main fortress of the earlier
Hayasa-Azzi confederation. It is possible that Harput stands on or is near the site of
Carcathiocerta (more commonly identified with
Eğil), the first capital of the
Kingdom of Sophene. According to an official history written in 1883, Mezre was originally a small hamlet near Harput which served as the official residence of the Çötelizades, one of the notable families exiled from Harput in the 1780s-90s. In 1834–36, the Çötelizades hosted the governor and military commander
Reşid Mehmed Pasha, who turned the hamlet into a garrison for his campaigns in the eastern regions of the empire. In the 1850s and 60s, Mezre grew into a small town or suburb of Harput with a prosperous Armenian bourgeoisie. In 1869, an Armenian named Krikor Ipekjian (later Fabrikatorian) founded a silk factory in Mezre. The building of the American consulate in Harput, established in 1901, was in fact located in Mezre. Harput was an important station for the American missionaries for many years. The missionaries built
Euphrates College, a theological seminary, and boys' and girls' schools. It operated until 1915 when its buildings were confiscated and used by the
Ottoman Army as barracks. In November 1895, government-backed
Turks and
Kurds massacred, looted and burned the Armenian villages on the plain. In the same month, Harput was attacked and the American schools were burned down. During the
Armenian genocide, many residents were killed. It was used as a base of operations by the
Turkish Army during the
Dersim rebellion. Elazığ was the seat of the
Fourth Inspectorate-General from 1936 until 1952. The Inspectorate General included the provinces of Elazığ,
Erzincan,
Bingöl, and
Tunceli and was governed by a Governor Commander under military authority. He had wide-ranging power over the civilians and could order the application of capital punishment without permission from the Turkish parliament. The office of the Governor Commander was eventually left vacant in 1948 but the legal framework for the
Inspectorate-Generals was only abolished in 1952. Elazığ rapidly developed into a modern city in the Republican era, while Harput was largely an abandoned ruin in the 1930s and 1940s. Efforts began in the 1950s to renovate the old town of Harput: some historic monuments were restored, a new municipality building was built and a museum was opened. Over time, Harput was turned into a suburb of Elazığ, and facilities were created for tourism and recreation. The ruined Armenian neighborhoods of Harput were leveled in the 1960s and the 1970s. ==Ecclesiastical history==