{{Infobox settlement | name = Eastern Anatolia Region | native_name = ''Doğu Anadolu Bölgesi'' | native_name_lang = tr | settlement_type = Region| image_map = Eastern Anatolia Region in Turkey.svg | coordinates = | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = Turkey | area_total_km2 = 165,436 | population_total = 6,513,106 | population_density_km2 = auto | demographics_type1 = GDP | demographics1_footnotes = <ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Statistics by Theme > National Accounts > Regional Accounts |url=https://biruni.tuik.gov.tr/ilgosterge/?locale=tr |access-date=11 May 2023 |website=www.turkstat.gov.tr}}</ref> |demographics1_title1 = Total |demographics1_info1 = US$ 28.582 billion (2022) | demographics1_title2 = Per capita |demographics1_info2 = US$ 4,390 (2022) }} The '''Eastern Anatolia region''' ({{langx|tr|Doğu Anadolu Bölgesi}}) is a geographical region of Turkey. The most populous province in the region is Van Province. Other populous provinces are Malatya, Erzurum and Elazığ.
It is bordered by the Black Sea Region and Georgia in the north, the Central Anatolia Region in the west, the Mediterranean Region in the southwest, the Southeastern Anatolia Region and Iraq in the south, and Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Iran in the east.
[[File:981122-Ararat-IMG_0791-3.jpg|thumb|Mount Ararat]]
The region encompasses most of Western Armenia and had a large population of indigenous Armenians until the Armenian genocide. The Anatolia peninsula historically never encompassed what is now called "Eastern Anatolia" which was, instead, referred to as the Armenian highlands. The term "Armenia" was banned by Ottoman authorities in the 1880s, and the region was officially renamed "Eastern Anatolia" by the Turkish successor state in the 1920s.<ref>* The Armenian Genocide: Cultural and Ethical Legacies – Page 3, by Richard G. Hovannisian – 2011 * {{cite book |last1=Cheterian |first1=Vicken |title=Open Wounds: Armenians, Turks and a Century of Genocide |date=2015 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-1-84904-458-5 |location=Oxford and New York City |page=65 |quote=As a result of policies such as these, the expression Armenian Plateau, which had been used for centuries to denote the mountainous highlands around Lake Van and Lake Sevan, was eliminated and replaced by the expression 'eastern Anatolia'.}} * {{cite book |last1=Galichian |first1=Rouben |author-link=Rouben Galichian |title=Historic Maps of Armenia: The Cartographic Heritage |date=2004 |publisher=I.B. Tauris |isbn=978-1-86064-979-0 |location=London and New York City |pages=8–9}} * {{cite book |title=Journal of the Society for Armenian Studies |date=2005 |volume=14-16 |location=Los Angeles |page=55 |quote=Most of historical Armenia presently constitutes a part of Turkey (renamed "Eastern Anatolia"), which conducts a policy of minimizing the role of the Armenians in history}} * {{cite book |last=Helft |first=Susan |title=Testing the Canon of Ancient Near Eastern Art and Archaeology |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2020 |isbn=978-0-19-067316-1 |editor-last1=Gansell |editor-first1=Amy Rebecca |page=91 |chapter=The Past, Present and Future of the Canon of Ancient Anatolian Art |editor-last2=Shafer |editor-first2=Ann |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hKnDDwAAQBAJ&dq=%22Eastern+anatolia%22+name+changed+armenian&pg=PA91}} * {{Cite journal |last=Smith |first=Adam T. |date=December 2022 |title=Unseeing the Past: Archaeology and the Legacy of the Armenian Genocide |url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/722380 |journal=Current Anthropology |volume=63 |issue=S25 |pages=S56–S90 |doi=10.1086/722380 |issn=0011-3204 |quote=A 1916 decree issued by Enver Pasha, the Young Turks’ minister of war, required that all place names of non-Muslim peoples, be they Armenian, Bulgarian, Greek, or other, should be rendered in Turkish. After 1923, the geographic province that had been referred to as Armenia since the sixth century BC was officially renamed 'eastern Anatolia.' |doi-access=free}}</ref> This has been characterized as an attempt by Turkey to erase the Armenian history of the region.<ref>{{cite book|last= Hovannisian|first=Richard G.| author-link =Richard G. Hovannisian |editor-last1= Andreopoulos |editor-first1=George J. |chapter=Etiology and Sequelae of the Armenian Genocide |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e5I34DePIxYC&dq=%22Eastern+anatolia%22+name+changed+armenian&pg=PA127 |title=Genocide: Conceptual and Historical Dimensions |year=1997 |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press|isbn=978-0-8122-1616-5|page=127}}</ref><ref name="Cheterian"/> The region has the highest average altitude, largest geographical area, and lowest population density of the seven Turkish regions.
== Etymology == {{Further|Geographical name changes in Turkey}} [[File:Armenian Highlands.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Following the Armenian genocide and establishment of the Republic of Turkey, the territory known as the Armenian Highlands (or Western Armenia) were renamed "Eastern Anatolia" by the Turkish government.<ref name="Sahakyan">{{cite book|title=Turkification of the Toponyms in the Ottoman Empire and the Republic of Turkey|last=Sahakyan|first=Lusine|publisher=Arod Books|year=2010|isbn=978-0-9699879-7-0|location=Montreal}}</ref><ref name="Hovannisian3">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K3monyE4CVQC|title=The Armenian Genocide: Cultural and Ethical Legacies|last1=Hovannisian|first1=Richard|date=2007|publisher=Transaction Publishers|isbn=978-1-4128-3592-3|location=New Brunswick, N.J.|page=3|author-link=Richard G. Hovannisian}}</ref><ref name="Cheterian">{{cite book|title=Open Wounds: Armenians, Turks and a Century of Genocide|last1=Cheterian|first1=Vicken|date=2015|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-1-84904-458-5|location=Oxford and New York City|page=65|quote=As a result of policies such as these, the expression Armenian Plateau, which had been used for centuries to denote the mountainous highlands around Lake Van and Lake Sevan, was eliminated and replaced by the expression 'eastern Anatolia'.}}</ref>]]
The English-language name ''Anatolia'' ({{langx|tr|Anadolu}}) derives from the Greek {{lang|grc|Ἀνατολή}} ({{lang|grc-Latn|Anatolḗ}}) meaning "the East" and designating (from a Greek point of view) eastern regions in general.<ref name="etym">{{cite web |url= https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3D%237638 |author= Henry George Liddell |author2= Robert Scott |title= A Greek-English Lexicon |access-date= 20 February 2021 |archive-date= 26 May 2007 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070526063014/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3D%237638 |url-status= live }}</ref><ref name="OED">{{Cite web |title=Anatolia | Origin and meaning of the name Anatolia by Online Etymology Dictionary |url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/anatolia |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170713102500/http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=Anatolia |archive-date=13 July 2017 |access-date=14 May 2021 |website=www.etymonline.com |language=en-US}}</ref> Traditionally, Anatolia was considered to be a peninsula the eastern boundary of which was a line from the Black Sea to the Gulf of Alexandretta, which is to the west of what is now the Eastern Anatolia Region.<ref name="Mitchell">Stephen Mitchell (1995). ''Anatolia: Land, Men, and Gods in Asia Minor. The Celts in Anatolia and the impact of Roman rule''. Clarendon Press, 266 pp. {{ISBN|978-0-19-815029-9}} [https://books.google.com/books?id=pUYtwuve40kC] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170329114033/https://books.google.com/books?id=pUYtwuve40kC|date=29 March 2017}}</ref><ref name="Niewohner2017">{{cite book|author=Philipp Niewohner|title=The Archaeology of Byzantine Anatolia: From the End of Late Antiquity until the Coming of the Turks|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cAUmDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA18|date=2017|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-061047-0|pages=18–|access-date=7 December 2018|archive-date=11 March 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200311111958/https://books.google.com/books?id=cAUmDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA18|url-status=live}}</ref> As a geographical term, this definition continues to be used.<ref name=Merriam>{{cite book |title=Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-87779-546-9 |page=46 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Co_VIPIJerIC&q=anatolia+geographical+dictionary&pg=PA883 |access-date=18 May 2001 |last1=Hopkins |first1=Daniel J. |last2=Staff |first2=Merriam-Webster |author3=편집부 |publisher=Merriam-Webster |archive-date=28 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211128204112/https://books.google.com/books?id=Co_VIPIJerIC&q=anatolia+geographical+dictionary&pg=PA883 |url-status=live }}</ref>
Historically, the region was referred to as the Armenian highlands or Western Armenia. In 1923, the newly founded Republic of Turkey renamed the territory "Eastern Anatolia" as part of a wider policy of removing all non-Turkish names of places following the Armenian genocide.<ref name="Sahakyan"/><ref name="Hovannisian3"/><ref name="Cheterian"/><ref name="JSAS"/> Beginning in 1880, the name Armenia was forbidden to be used in official documents of the Ottoman Empire, in an attempt to play down the role of Armenians in the region.<ref name="Cheterian"/><ref name="Galichian">{{cite book|title=Historic Maps of Armenia: The Cartographic Heritage|last1=Galichian|first1=Rouben|date=2004|publisher=I.B. Tauris|isbn=978-1-86064-979-0|location=London and New York City|pages=8–9|author-link=Rouben Galichian}}</ref><ref name="JSAS">{{cite book|title=Journal of the Society for Armenian Studies|date=2005|volume=14-16|location=Los Angeles|page=55|quote=Most of historical Armenia presently constitutes a part of Turkey (renamed "Eastern Anatolia"), which conducts a policy of minimizing the role of the Armenians in history}}</ref> The government of Sultan Abdul Hamid II replaced the name Armenia with such terms as "Kurdistan" or "Anatolia". The Sublime Porte believed there would be no Armenian question if there was no Armenia. The process of "nationalization" of toponyms was continued and gained momentum under the Kemalists after the foundation of the Republic of Turkey.<ref name="Sahakyan"/><ref name="Hovannisian3"/><ref name="Cheterian"/><ref name="JSAS"/>
The region encompasses most of Western Armenia ({{Langx|hy|Արեւմտյան Հայաստան}}) and had a large population of indigenous Armenians until the Armenian genocide. The Anatolia peninsula never encompassed what is now called "Eastern Anatolia", which has been seen as an attempt by Turkey to erase the Armenian history of the region.<ref name="Cheterian"/><ref name="JSAS"/>
== Subdivision == Eastern Anatolia Region has four subdivisions: * '''Upper Euphrates''' division ({{langx|tr|Yukarı Fırat Bölümü}}) * '''Erzurum-Kars''' division ({{langx|tr|Erzurum-Kars Bölümü}}) * '''Upper Murat-Van''' division ({{langx|tr|Yukarı Murat-Van Bölümü}}) * '''Hakkari''' division ({{langx|tr|Hakkari Bölümü}})
== Provinces == Provinces that are entirely in the Eastern Anatolia Region:
* Ağrı * Bingöl * Bitlis * Elazığ * Malatya * Hakkari * Iğdır * Kars * Muş * Tunceli * Van
Provinces that are mostly in the Eastern Anatolia Region: * Ardahan * Erzincan * Erzurum * Şırnak
==Location and borders== The Eastern Anatolia Region is located in the easternmost part of Turkey. It is bounded by Turkey's Central Anatolia Region to the west; Turkey's Black Sea Region to the north; Turkey's Southeast Anatolia Region and Iraq to the south; and Iran, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia to the east, where Eastern Anatolia overlaps and converges with the South Caucasus region and Lesser Caucasus mountain plateau.
The area of the region is {{cvt|164,330|km2}}, which comprises 20.9% of the total area of Turkey.
{{wide image|20110419 Ani North Walls Turkey Panorama.jpg|1000px|align-cap=center|Panoramic view of Ani in Kars}}
==Demographics== The total population of the region is 5,966,101 (2019 estimate), down from 6,100,000 at the 2000 census. The population density ({{convert|40|PD/km2}}) is lower than the average for Turkey ({{cvt|98|PD/km2}}).{{Citation needed|date=October 2020}} The region has the second most rural population in Turkey after the Black Sea region. Migration, especially to Marmara Region, is high. Migration to other regions and abroad is higher than the natural population increase. Until the Armenian genocide, the region also had a large population of indigenous Armenians, when it was also known as Western Armenia, and in addition had significant minorities of Georgians, Pontic Greeks and Caucasus Greeks.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Holslag |first1=Anthonie |title=The Transgenerational Consequences of the Armenian Genocide: Near the Foot of Mount Ararat |date=2018 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-3-319-69260-9 |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Ms5SDwAAQBAJ&dq=Eastern+Anatolia+armenian+genocide&pg=PA26 26]}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Hovanissian |first1=Anush |editor1-last=Chorbajian |editor1-first=Levon |editor2-last=Shirinian |editor2-first=George |editor1-link=Levon Chorbajian |title=Studies in Comparative Genocide |date=2016 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-1-349-27348-5 |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=aUS_DAAAQBAJ&dq=Eastern+Anatolia+western+armenia+genocide&pg=PA149 149] |chapter=Turkey: a Cultural Genocide}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bloxham |first1=Donald |author-link1=Donald Bloxham |title=The Armenian Genocide of 1915-1916: Cumulative Radicalization and the Development of a Destruction Policy |journal=Past & Present |date=2003 |issue=181 |page=148 |jstor=3600788 |quote=Though no ethnicity comprised an absolute majority of the inhabitants of eastern Anatolia, Armenians formed a plurality, alongside Kurds.}}</ref>
==Geography== The average altitude is {{cvt|2,200|m}}. Major geographic features include plains, plateaus and massifs. There is some volcanic activity today.
===Lakes and rivers=== {{image frame|content={{Van lake map|font-size=85%}}|width=370|align=right|caption=Lakes near Lake Van.}} * Located in the Eastern Anatolia Region Aras and Kura rivers flooded the shed outside the territory of Turkey to the Caspian Sea. Euphrates, the Tigris and the Zab river waters are poured back onto the Persian Gulf Turkey outside. * The regime of the streams of the region is irregular. This is because; the irregularity of the precipitation regime and the fall of winter precipitation in the form of snow. As the snow falls on the ground for a long time without melting, the flow rates of the rivers decrease. The snow melting in spring and summer causes streams to increase their flow rates and flow enthusiastically. On the other hand, the rivers of the region have high hydroelectric energy potential. The reason for this is that it has high elevations and slopes. * Lakes were formed on the fault lines throughout the region. Turkey's largest lake, Lake Van along with Lake Çıldır, Lake Nazik, Lake Erçek, Lake Hazar, Lake Balık, Lake Haçlı and Lake Akdoğan are located within the region.
===Massifs and mountains=== *There are three massif lines running north–south: **To the north, the Çimen Dağı, Kop Dağı and Yalnızçam mountains, Allahuekber Mountains, Aras Mountains and Mount Ararat. **In the centre, the Munzur, Karasu Dağı, Aras Dağı, Bingöl Mountains and Akdoğan mountains. **To the south, Southeast Tauros; Karaçavuş Mountains, Bitlis, Hakkâri, and Buzul mountains. *The volcanic mountains Nemrut, Süphan, Tendürek and Ararat are in the region.
===Plateaus and plains=== *The largest plateau in the region is Erzurum-Kars Plato. *The region includes the Malatya, Elazığ, Bingöl, Muş plains and the Van Lake basin. *The largest plain in the region is the Iğdır Plain. The second largest plain is the Muş Plain.<ref name="Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency">{{Cite web |date=2021|title=İRAP, Il afet risk azaltma planı|url=https://mus.afad.gov.tr/kurumlar/mus.afad/Mus-IRAP-Plani.pdf|archive-url= |archive-date= |publisher=Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency|page=18|language=Turkish}}</ref>
===Lakes=== {{columns-list|colwidth=22em| *Lake Balık *Lake Bulanık *Lake Çıldır *Lake Erçek *Lake Hazar *Lake Kuyucuk *Lake Nazik *Lake Van, the largest of Turkey *Lake Gerendal *Lake Karagöl *Lake Bahri *Lake Aygır (Erzurum) *Lake Aygır (Kars) }}
===Rivers=== {{columns-list|colwidth=22em| *Euphrates *Tigris *Aras River *Kura (Caspian Sea) *Zab River }}
==Climate and nature== {{climate chart|Erzurum |-15|-4|20 |-14|-3|24 |-7|3|33 |0|12|58 |4|17|70 |7|22|43 |10|27|27 |10|28|16 |5|23|21 |1|15|49 |-5|7|33 |-11|-1|22 |float=right |clear=none |source= Turkish State Meteorology<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dmi.gov.tr/veridegerlendirme/il-ve-ilceler-istatistik.aspx?m=ERZURUM |title=İl ve İlçelerimize Ait İstatistiki Veriler- Meteoroloji Genel Müdürlüğü |access-date=2011-05-31 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110620032903/http://dmi.gov.tr/veridegerlendirme/il-ve-ilceler-istatistik.aspx?m=ERZURUM |archive-date=2011-06-20 }}</ref> }}
Since most of the region is far from the sea, and has high altitude, it has a harsh continental climate with long winters and short summers. During the winter, it is very cold and snowy, during summer the weather is cool in the highlands and warm in the lowlands.
The region's annual temperature difference is the highest in Turkey. Some areas in the region have different microclimates. As an example, Iğdır (near Mount Ararat) has a milder climate.
The region contains 11% percent of the total forested area of Turkey, and it is rich in native plants and animals. Oak and yellow pine trees form the majority of the forests.
The region has high potential for hydroelectric power.<ref>{{Cite web|last=C|first=Aykut|date=2020-05-01|title=Hidroelektrik Üretimi En Fazla Hangi Bölgede?|url=https://www.dpumekatronik.com/hidroelektrik-uretimi-en-fazla-hangi-bolgede-2/|access-date=2020-10-08|website=dpumekatronik.com|language=tr}}</ref>
== Gallery == <gallery> File:Iğdırdan Ağrı Dağı.jpg|View of Mount Ararat (Ağrı in Turkish) from Iğdır File:Erzurum Cumhuriyet Caddesi3.jpg|Cumhuriyet Avenue in Erzurum File:Erzurum Cifte Minareli Sunrise.JPG|The 13th-century Çifte Minareli Medrese is an architectural monument of the late Seljuk period in the city of Erzurum File:Erzurum,Yakutiye-W.jpg|The 14th-century Yakutiye Medresesi in Erzurum File:Io panoramic1 (Large).JPG|Panoramic view of the city of Bingöl File:Kars, armenische Kathedrale, Heilige-Apostel-Kirche Սուրբ Առաքելոց Եկեղեցի (10. Jhdt.) (40336417982).jpg|The 10th-century Armenian Church of the Holy Apostles, with the Castle of Kars in the background File:Kars evleri.jpg|Kars city centre File:Akhtamar Island on Lake Van with the Armenian Cathedral of the Holy Cross.jpg|Akdamar Island and the Armenian Cathedral of the Holy Cross, a 10th-century Armenian church and monastic complex File:Fountain at Yeni Cami Sq. Malatya 03.jpg|Ottoman era Yeni (New) Mosque in Malatya File:Harput kalesi-Harput-Elazığ - panoramio.jpg|Harput Castle in Harput </gallery>
== Endnotes == {{Reflist|2}}
==External links== {{Wikivoyage|Eastern Anatolia|position=left}}
{{coord missing|Turkey}}
{{Regions of Turkey}} {{Turkey topics}} {{Authority control}}
Category:Eastern Anatolia region Category:Regions of Turkey Category:Geography of Western Armenia Category:Historiography of Turkey Category:Aftermath of the Armenian genocide Category:Geographical naming disputes