Ottoman governors who served in Diyarbakır in the 16th century, their works and protection problems

Cities are a settlement system concentrated in a particular space, decision-making centres with a complex social structure where people exchange the goods they produce, come together, and develop and spread ideas. There are very sharp lines in the memory of humanity that separate cities from each other. While these lines can be shown as the land and soil structure, geopolitical location, historical texture or cultural assets of the city, sometimes they reach the stage of history with the ideas and art movements it contributes to its cultivation. Diyarbakır is a city that includes the recording of a city in the memories and all of these phenomena that will bring it to the stage of history. Located on a border geography that intersects Eastern and Western cultures, on a dominant peak of the Tigris River and the Tigris valley called the Şatt valley, Diyarbakır has hosted many civilisations since its establishment by the Hurrians in the 3000s BC. The city, which was the capital, province and administrative centre of the region from the Assyrian Empire period to the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, was ruled by monarchs and governors for centuries, depending on political developments. In this context, the people who manage the centre at all stages of the developments or regressions experienced after the establishment of the city have made great contributions. Governors (pashas), who were the most authorised administrative officers representing the state during the Ottoman period, made decisions that would change the military, political, economic, architecture and even demographics in the provincial centre of Diyarbakır for four centuries. According to historical sources, Diyarbakır came under the rule of Akkoyunlu, Safavid and Ottoman Empire respectively from the 15th century to the first quarter of the 16th century. For this reason, the city has been constantly exposed to war, fire and disasters over a period of 100 years. The Ottoman Empire took Diyarbakır under its rule at a time when it began to experience its golden age in the 16th century. During this period, political, economic, military and social stability was established in the city. In line with the request of the central authority, the zoning works in the city were started immediately by the governors who are the administrators of the city. This situation enabled the construction of large and ostentatious structures specific to the city. Governors who were appointed as provincial governors of the city over a historical period of approximately 400 years have guided and contributed to the architectural development of the city depending on the political and social situations of the empire. Continuing its development as one of the largest provinces of the empire throughout this historical process, the city of Diyarbakır has not sufficiently adopted the interest of architecture and urban historians due to its historical texture. Perhaps the concept that can best explain the phenomena of humanity and culture is urban diagnosis. The location of the structures built in the city and the physical fabric created through these structures in terms of architecture and human history means serving both national and international art and cultural history. When this definition is emphasised, examining the urban texture of Diyarbakır, which has an open museum with almost 6000 years of history and numerous cultural assets, means owning this purpose. For this purpose, it should also be seen as a necessity to recognise the urban fabric and transfer it to future generations depending on the principles of conservation. In this study, it is aimed to investigate and evaluate the architectural works built by the governors (pashas) who served here in the 16th century in the current Suriçi region, known as the provincial centre, by focussing on the Ottoman period of the city of Diyarbakır, which includes a rich culture gained over the years and the assets of this culture. Among these artefacts, it is aimed to determine the artefacts that have not survived and the determination of the artefacts that have survived to this day, to determine the preservation status and protection problems of the structures, to determine the reasons for these protection problems, to examine the transformations of the artefacts and to explain them in line with the principles of today's protection. Keywords: Diyarbakır, 16th Century, Ottoman Empire, Governors of the Ottoman Period (Pashas), Protection