Silvan has been identified by several scholars as one of two possible locations (the other being Arzan) of
Tigranocerta, the ancient capital of the
Kingdom of Armenia, which was built by
Tigranes the Great (ruling 95–55 BCE) and named in his honor.
Roman era In 69 BCE, the
army of Republican Rome defeated Tigranes' troops at the
battle of Tigranocerta. The city lost its importance as a thriving center for trade and
Hellenism in the following decades. In 387 AD, with the
Peace of Acilisene, Tigranakert was made part of the
Byzantine Empire. Around 400 CE, the city's bishop,
Maruthas of Martyropolis, brought a large number of
relics of
Christian martyrs back from the
Sasanian Empire. For this reason, Tigranakert was renamed Martyropolis (), 'city of the martyrs'. Following the reforms of
Justinian I (rule 527–565), the city was made the capital of the province of
Sophene. The city was inconclusively
besieged by the Persians in the last phase of the
Iberian War. The city suffered heavily in the
Battle of Martyropolis in 588
AD, but soon prospered again.
Islamic era It was known as
Mayyāfāriqīn after the
early Muslim conquests in the 7th century. It was then controlled by the first three
caliphates until it came under the control of the
Hamdanids in 935, then the
Buyids in 978, then it came under the
Kurdish Marwanids and became the capital of their dynasty until the end of the 11th century. The city and the entire province of Diyarbakir were taken in 1085 by the
Seljuk Turks under
Malik-Shah I. During the following years, the city changed hands several times due to rivalries between Seljuk clans and local rulers. In 1118, the
Artukids took the city. They resisted the attacks of
Zengid ruler
Imad al-Din Zengi for many years. The Artukid
Husam al-Din Timurtash built the
Malabadi Bridge near Meiafarakin, one of the wonders of the time by its dimensions. The dynasty remained in place but preferred to reside in
Mardin, leaving a governor to preside over Meiafarakin. In early 1260, the city, defended by its last
Ayyubid ruler
Al-Kamil Muhammad, suffered the
Siege of Mayyāfāriqīn, and its population then massacred by the Mongol army led by
Hulagu Khan, with the help of his Georgian and Armenian allies. The
Artukids eventually disappeared in 1408 under the attacks of the
Qara Qoyunlu.
Ottoman Empire In 1896, reports by the British Vice Consul Hallward indicate that many villages were destroyed during the
Armenian massacres in 1895. Hallward was engaged in the rebuilding of about 35 villages.
21st century An
ambush killing 13 Turkish soldiers occurred in the forests of Silvan by
Kurdistan Workers' Party separatists, who also lost seven killed in action. Silvan was also the site of serious clashes between Turkish government forces and Kurdish
Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) separatists in August 2015 during the wider
Operation Martyr Yalçın. Naşide Toprak from the
Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) was elected Mayor of Silvan in the
local elections in March 2019. She was dismissed in March 2020, and Mehmet Uslu has been appointed as a trustee instead of her.
Archaeology Archaeologists headed by professor Ahmet Tanyıldız, the vice-rector of
Dicle University, announced in 2021 that they had discovered the grave of the Seljuk Sultan of Rum
Kilij Arslan I, who fought against the
Crusader forces. They also discovered his daughter Saide Hatun's burial site during nine days of work. Researchers dug two meters deep across a 35-square-meter area and focused their works on two gravesites in Orta Çeşme Park. == Demographics ==