Doğubayazıt
district and town of Ağrı, Turkey
Doğubayazıt (Kurdish: Bazîd; Armenian: Պայազատ, romanized: Payazat or Դարոյնք, Daruynk) is a town in Ağrı Province of Turkey, near the border with Iran. Its elevation is 1625 m. It is the seat of Doğubayazıt District. Its population is 80,061 (2021). Also known as Kurdava, the town was the capital of the self-declared Republic of Ararat, a short-lived Kurdish state centered in the Ağrı Province. Demographic research has identified Doğubayazıt as a predominantly Kurdish-speaking city: a public health study by Bakiray Küçükkaya and Erbaydar (2012) noted that "the mother tongue of the majority of the population is Kurdish" in the district. Demographic studies of Kurdish-majority provinces in Turkey have consistently included Doğubayazıt (in Ağrı Province) among areas with high concentrations of Kurdish speakers.
History
For most of the periods described here, Doğubayazıt was a larger and more important settlement than the present-day provincial capital Ağrı, not least because it is located at the Iranian border crossing.
The area has a long history, with monuments dating back to the time of the Kingdom of Urartu (over 2700 years ago). Before the Ottoman Empire the site was referred to by its Armenian name Daruynk (written as Դարույնք in Armenian).
“Doğubayazıt” enters the record as district and town of Ağrı, Turkey. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Doğubayazıt, district and town can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Doğubayazıt” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Doğubayazıt, district and town provides the most credible route into that argument.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 20, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q849535. The first chronological checks are 1625, 2021 and 2012.
Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Doğubayazıt”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Doğubayazıt primary sources, Doğubayazıt archive and Doğubayazıt research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Doğubayazıt”?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Doğubayazıt” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.