Yazıbaşı, Kovancılar
village in Kovancılar, Elazığ, eastern Turkey
Yazıbaşı is a village in the Kovancılar District of Elazığ Province in Turkey. Previously, the village was known as Sakrat or Sekrat (Սագրաթ in Armenian, سكرات in Ottoman Turkish). The name of the village was changed between 1955 and 1960 to its current name of Yazıbaşı. Its population is 737 (2021).
The Ottoman population registers from 1840 detailed two Muslim males in one household and 123 non-Muslim males (entirely Armenian) in 23 households. The 1847 non-Muslim population register recorded 110 Armenian males in 24 households. By 1878, an Armenian census for Sakrat listed the names of 275 males and 261 females (536 total Armenians) in 51 households and one Turkish household of 6 people, the household of Nejid Bey. On the eve of the Armenian genocide, the village contained 656 Armenians in 75 households. Sakrat was noted to have one Armenian church named St. Toros.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Yazıbaşı, Kovancılar” as village in Kovancılar, Elazığ, eastern Turkey. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as village in Kovancılar, Elazığ, eastern Turkey. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
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 Jul 20, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q6532567. Authority coordinates are 38.719, 39.903. None of the 1 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1955, 1960, 2021 and 1840.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. 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 “Yazıbaşı, Kovancılar”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Yazıbaşı, Kovancılar primary sources, Yazıbaşı, Kovancılar archive and Yazıbaşı 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 “Yazıbaşı, Kovancılar”?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Yazıbaşı, Kovancılar” 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.