Muş

Muş is a settlement area located in the north of the historical Kurdistan geography, in the same regional basin as Bitlis and Ahlat, and referred to as an administrative unit (nahiye/sancak) in Ottoman archival sources. Its name appears in sources ranging from Islamic period geographers to Ottoman tahrir defters and XIX. century administrative regulations.

Islamic Period Sources

In Islamic period geography and travel books, the region has often been discussed together with neighboring settlements. Sources describe this basin as a whole while providing a multi-part description of "Armenia" that includes cities like Ahlat (Hilat) and Erciş; the reason for uniting these regions within a single country is stated as the same people living together here. This geography is defined as a multi-ethnic, multi-religious, and multi-sectarian region where Kurds lived together with Armenians, Azeris, and other ethnic groups over a long historical period extending from pre-Islamic times to post-Islamic times (Volume 2, p. 59).

Ottoman Tahrir Records

Ottoman archival documents record Muş directly as an administrative unit. In the Mufassal Tahrir Defterleri, Muş appears as one of a total of 18 nahiyes, along with places such as Gevar Selim, Gevaş, Karçikan, Ahlat, and Sarısu. The defters related to the same region also contain waqf records belonging to the Bitlis vilayet, and these records are of great importance for providing significant clues about the cultural and religious life of the Kurds (Volume 3, p. 23).

XIX. Century Administrative Regulation

In the XIX. century, Muş gained a central position in the Ottoman Empire's attempt to reorganize the region. A new administrative unit called "Kürdistan Eyaleti" was established with the aim of regularly administering the Kurdistan region, which was stated to have been under the control of local potentates for a long time, within the system envisioned by the Tanzimat. This unit was established by combining the Diyarbekir Eyaleti with the Sancaks of Van, Muş, and Hakkâri (Volume 4, p. 199).