Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality

 city, capital city of state/province/region

Diyarbakır (Ottoman Turkish دیاربکر, Diyâr-ı Bekr; Kurdish ئامه‌د, Amed; anc. Amida) is the largest city in northern Kurdistan. which is now controlled by Turkey,Situated on the banks of the River Tigris, it is the administrative capital of the Diyarbakır Province with a population of 1,607,437. With a population of about 1,300,000, it is the second largest city in Turkey's South-eastern Anatolia region, after Gaziantep. Within Turkey, Diyarbakır is famed for its culture, folklore, and watermelons. Today, the population of Diyarbakır is made up predominantly of Kurdish people.
According to a November 2006 survey by the Sur Municipality, one of Diyarbakır's metropolitan municipalities, 72% of the inhabitants of the municipality use Kurdish most often in their daily speech, followed by Turkish.

The city of Diyarbakır has been capital for many empires in history, such as the Sumerians and the Median Empire. Starting from the earliest period, the city had been successively ruled by the Hurri-Mittani, Hittites, and the Assyrians. It was also once the capital city of the Aramean Bit-Zamani kingdom. From 189 BCE to 384 CE, the region to the east and south of present Diyarbakır remained under the rule of the kingdom of Corduene.

Later, the Romans colonized the city and named it Amida. During the Roman rule, the first city walls were constructed (297 AD) and later, the greater walls were built as per the command of the Roman emperor Constantius II. After the Romans, the Persians came to power and were succeeded by the Muslim Arabs. It was the leader of the Arab Bekr tribe, Bekr Bin Vail, who named the city Diyar Bakr, meaning "the country of Bakr", i.e. Arabs. Much later, in the Republican era, the city got its current name Diyarbakır, which was derived from the abundance of copper ore that exists here.

After a few centuries, Diyarbakır came under the Ottoman Empire and earned the status of the capital of a large province. The city became the base of army troops who guarded the region against Persian invasion. Diyarbakır faced turbulence in the 20th century, particularly with the onset of World War I. The majority of the city's Syriac and Armenian population were massacred and deported during the Armenian Genocide in 1915. In 1925, the Kurdish population rose in a rebellion against the newly established government of the Republic of Turkey, which was crushed by Turkish forces. Thousands of Kurds were killed in this attempt

Historically, Diyarbakır produced wheat and sesame.[30][31] They would preserve the wheat in warehouses, with coverings of straw and twigs from licorice trees. This system would allow the wheat to be preserved for up to ten years.[30] In the late 19th and early 20th century, Diyarbakır exported raisins, almonds, and apricots to Europe.[31] Angora goat's were raised, and wool and mohair was exported from Diyarbakır. Merchants would also come from Egypt, Istanbul, and Syria, to purchase goats and sheep.[32] Honey was also produced, but not so much exported, but used by locals. Sericulture was observed in the area, too.[33]

Prior to World War I, Diyarbakır had an active copper industry, with six mines. Three were active, with two being owned by locals and the third being owned by the Turkish government. Tenorite was the primary type of copper mined. It was mined by hand by Kurds. A large portion of the ore was exported to England. The region also produced iron, gypsum, coal, chalk, lime, jet, and quartz, but primarily for local use.