Mazgirt
Historically a market town, Mazgirt was an important
fortified settlement during the period of Arab rule (7th to 10th centuries). It
lay in a border region and was likely connected to Bağın and then Kiğı by a
road for defensive purposes.In 1144, Arslan-Doğmuş, brother of the Artukid
ruler Kara Arslan, seized Mazgirt and made it his capital. Mazgirt's
high and relatively inaccessible position made it a good place for him to
resist his brother's rule, but he died in 1148 after only four years in power
and Kara Arslan took over Mazgirt.
