Nusaybin

2025-09-21T16:01:39Z

2001:FB1:47:6E8F:90D2:40F8:EAF:5D8E:

{{Short description|City in southeast Turkey}}
{{redirect|Nisibis}}
{{Lead too long|date=December 2023}}
{{Infobox Turkey place
| type = metro district
| name = Nusaybin
| image_skyline = {{multiple image|total_width=290px|perrow= 2/2/2/2|border=infobox
| image1 = Street scene in Mardin.jpg
| alt1 =
| image2 = Barsı Parkı in Nusaybin, Turkey 2.jpg
| alt2 =
| image3 = Nusaybin city hall.jpg
| alt3 =
| image4 = View of the border zone between Qamishli and Nusaybin.jpg
| alt4 =
| image5 = Outside view over the Church of Saint Jacob of Nisibis archeological site.jpg
| alt5 =
| image6 = Zeynel Abidin Mosque Nusaybin.jpg
| alt6 =
}}
| image_caption = '''Clockwise from top:''' Sakarya Caddesi and Barsı Parkı in central Nusaybin, Nusaybin city hall, the neighboring border zone to Syria, [[Church of Saint Jacob of Nisibis]], Zeynel Abidin Mosque
| image_map = Mardin location Nusaybin.PNG
| map_caption = Map showing Nusaybin District in Mardin Province
| coordinates = {{coord|37|04|30|N|41|12|55|E|display=inline,title}}
| province = Mardin
| leader_party =
| leader_name =
| leader_name1 = Ercan Kayabaşı
| area_total_km2 = 1079
| elevation_m =
| population_footnotes = <ref name=tuik/>
| population_total = 115586
| population_as_of = 2022
| postal_code = 47300
| area_code = 0482
| website = {{URL|http://www.nusaybin.bel.tr/}}<br />{{URL|http://www.nusaybin.gov.tr/}}
}}
'''Nusaybin''' ({{IPA|tr|nuˈsajbin|pron}}, {{Langx|ku|Nisêbîn}}) is a municipality and [[Districts of Turkey|district]] of [[Mardin Province]], [[Turkey]].<ref>[https://www.e-icisleri.gov.tr/Anasayfa/MulkiIdariBolumleri.aspx Büyükşehir İlçe Belediyesi], Turkey Civil Administration Departments Inventory. Retrieved 19 September 2023.</ref> Its area is 1,079 km<sup>2</sup>,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.harita.gov.tr/uploads/files-folder/il_ilce_alanlari.xlsx|title=İl ve İlçe Yüz ölçümleri|publisher=General Directorate of Mapping|access-date=19 September 2023}}</ref> and its population is 115,586 (2022).<ref name=tuik>{{Cite web |title=Address-based population registration system (ADNKS) results dated 31 December 2022, Favorite Reports|url=https://biruni.tuik.gov.tr/medas/?kn=95&locale=en |access-date=19 September 2023|publisher=[[TÜİK]]|language=en|format=XLS}}</ref> The city is populated by [[Kurds]] of different tribal affiliation.<ref name=":02526">{{Cite book |last=Tan |first=Altan |title=Turabidin'den Berriye'ye. Aşiretler - Dinler - Diller - Kültürler |year=2018 |isbn=9789944360944 |pages=326–327, 341 |publisher=Pak Ajans Yayincilik Turizm Ve Diş Ticaret Limited şirketi |language=tr}}</ref>

Nusaybin is separated from the larger [[Kurds|Kurdish]]-majority city of [[Qamishli]] by the [[Syria–Turkey border]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-01-02|title=Will Kurds find a ray of hope in 2020?|url=https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2019/12/syria-qamishli-war-new-year-2020-economy-dollar-christmas.html|access-date=2020-12-15|website=Al-Monitor|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Qamishli Kurds commemorate 2004 uprising|url=https://syriadirect.org/news/qamishli-kurds-commemorate-2004-uprising/|access-date=2020-12-15|website=Syria Direct|date=14 March 2016 |language=en}}</ref>

The city is at the foot of the [[Mount Izla]] [[escarpment]] at the southern edge of the [[Tur Abdin]] hills, standing on the banks of the [[Jaghjagh River]] ({{Langx|tr|Çağçağ}}), the ancient Mygdonius ({{langx|grc|Μυγδόνιος}}).<ref name=":0">{{Citation|last=Keser-Kayaalp|first=Elif|title=Nisibis|url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780198662778.001.0001/acref-9780198662778-e-3379|work=The Oxford Dictionary of Late Antiquity|year=2018|editor-last=Nicholson|editor-first=Oliver|edition=online|publisher=Oxford University Press|language=en|doi=10.1093/acref/9780198662778.001.0001|isbn=978-0-19-866277-8|access-date=2020-11-28}}</ref> The city existed in the [[Assyrian Empire]] and is recorded in [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]] inscriptions as ''Naṣibīna''.<ref name=":0" /><ref>''Mechanisms of Communication in the Assyrian Empire.'' "[http://www.ucl.ac.uk/sargon/peoplegodsplaces/ People, gods, & places]." History Department, University College London, 2009. Accessed 18 Dec 2010.</ref> Having been part of the [[Achaemenid Empire]], in the [[Hellenistic period]] the settlement was re-founded as a ''[[polis]]'' named "Antioch on the Mygdonius" by the [[Seleucid dynasty]] after the [[conquests of Alexander the Great]].<ref name=":0" /> A part of first the [[Roman Republic]] and then the [[Roman Empire]], the city ({{Langx|la|Nisibis}}; {{Langx|grc|Νίσιβις}}) was mainly [[Syriac language|Syriac]]-speaking, and control of it was contested between the [[Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity)|Kingdom of Armenia]], the Romans, and the [[Parthian Empire]].<ref name=":0" /> After a peace treaty contracted between the [[Sasanian Empire]] and the Romans in 298 and enduring until 337, Nisibis was capital of [[Roman Mesopotamia]] and the seat of its [[Roman governor|governor]] ({{Langx|la|[[dux mesopotamiae]]|links=no|label=}}). [[Jacob of Nisibis]], the city's first known [[bishop]], constructed its first [[cathedral]] between 313 and 320.<ref name=":0" /> Nisibis was a focus of international trade, and according to the Greek history of [[Peter the Patrician]], the primary point of contact between Roman and Persian empires.<ref name=":0" />

Nisibis was besieged three times by the [[Sasanian army]] under [[Shapur II]] ({{Reign|309|379}}) in the first half of the 4th century; each time, the city's fortifications held.<ref name=":0" /> The Roman soldier and Latin historian [[Ammianus Marcellinus]] described Nisibis, fortified with walls, towers, and a citadel, as "the strongest bulwark of the Orient".<ref name=":0" /> After the defeat of the Romans in [[Julian's Persian War]], Julian's successor [[Jovian (emperor)|Jovian]] ({{Reign|363|364}}) was forced to cede the five [[Transtigritine provinces]] to the Persians, including Nisibis.<ref name=":0" /> The city was evacuated and its citizens forced to migrate to Amida ([[Diyarbakır]]) – which was expanded to accommodate them – and to [[Edessa]] ([[Urfa]]). Nisibis remained a major [[entrepôt]]; one of only three such cities of commercial exchange allowed by [[Roman law]] promulgated in 408/9.<ref name=":0" /> However, despite several Roman attempts to recapture Nisibis through the remainder of the [[Roman–Persian Wars]] and the construction of nearby [[Dara (Mesopotamia)|Dara]] to defend against Persian attack, Nisibis was not returned to Roman control before it was conquered in 639 by the [[Rashidun Caliphate]] during the [[Muslim conquest of the Levant]].<ref name=":0" />

Under Sasanian rule and after, Nisibis was a major centre of the [[Christian Church]], and the bishop of Nisibis attended the [[Council of Seleucia-Ctesiphon]] convened in 410 by the emperor [[Yazdegerd I]] ({{Reign|399|420}}).<ref name=":0" /> As a result of this council, the [[Church of the East]] was established, and the bishop of Nisibis became the [[metropolitan bishop]] of the five erstwhile Transtigritine provinces.<ref name=":0" /> [[Narsai]], formerly a theologian at the [[School of Edessa]], founded the famous [[School of Nisibis]] with the bishop, [[Barsauma of Nisibis|Barsauma]], in the 470s.<ref name=":0" /> When the Roman emperor [[Zeno (emperor)|Zeno]] ({{Reign|474|491}}) closed the School of Edessa in 489, the scholars migrated to Nisibis's school and established the city as the foremost centre of Christian thought in the Church of the East.<ref name=":0" /> According to the [[Damascus|Damascene]] monk [[John Moschus]], the city's [[cathedral]] had five doors in the 7th century, and the monastic and later [[bishop of Harran]], [[Simeon of the Olives]], was recorded as having renewed several ecclesiastical buildings in the early period of Arab rule.<ref name=":0" /> The [[monasteries]] of the nearby Tur Abdin, led by the reforms of [[Abraham the Great of Kashkar]], founder of the "Great Monastery" of Mount Izla, underwent substantial revival in the years after the Muslim conquest.<ref name=":0" /> However, besides the [[baptistery]] known as the [[Church of Saint Jacob of Nisibis|Church of Saint Jacob]] (''Mar Ya‘qub'') and built in 359 by bishop Vologeses, little remains of ancient Nisibis, probably because of ruinous earthquake in 717.<ref name=":0" /> [[Archaeological excavation]]s were conducted in the vicinity of the 4th-century baptistery in the early 21st century, revealing various buildings including the 4th-century cathedral.<ref name=":0" />

== History ==

=== Antiquity ===
[[File:Stele of Shar-pati-beli, governor of Assur, Naṣibina, Urakka, Kahat, and Masaka. 831 BCE. From Assur, Iraq. Pergamon Museum.jpg|thumb|Stele of Shar-pati-beli, governor of Assur, Naṣibina, Urakka, Kahat, and Masaka. 831 BCE. From Assur, Iraq. Pergamon Museum]]
First mentioned in 901 BCE, '''Naṣibīna''' was an [[Aramean]] kingdom captured by the [[Assyria]]n king [[Adad-Nirari II]] in 896.<ref>Lendering, Jona. "[https://www.livius.org/ne-nn/nisibis/nisibis.html Nisibis] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160430003435/https://www.livius.org/ne-nn/nisibis/nisibis.html |date=2016-04-30 }}." Accessed 18 Dec 2010.</ref> By 852 BCE, Naṣibīna had been fully annexed to the [[Neo-Assyrian Empire]] and appeared in the [[limmu|Assyrian Eponym List]] as the seat of an [[Assyria]]n provincial governor named Shamash-Abua.<ref>Lendering, Jona. ''[https://www.livius.org/li-ln/limmu/limmu_1.html Assyrian Eponym List] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161227115531/https://www.livius.org/li-ln/limmu/limmu_1.html |date=2016-12-27 }}.'' Accessed 18 Dec 2010.</ref>

It was under [[Babylonia]]n control until 536 BCE, when it fell to the [[Achaemenid Empire|Achaemenid Persians]], and remained so until taken by [[Alexander the Great]] in 332 BCE.

==== Hellenistic period ====
The Seleucids re-founded the city as '''Antiochia Mygdonia''' ({{langx|el|Ἀντιόχεια τῆς Μυγδονίας}}), mentioned for the first time in [[Polybius]]' description of the march of [[Antiochus III the Great]] against [[Molon]] ([[Polybius]], V, 51). The Greek historian [[Plutarch]] suggested that the city was populated by descendants of [[Sparta]]ns. Around the 1st century CE, Nisibis ({{langx|he|נציבין|translit=Netzivin}}) was the home of [[Judah ben Bethera]], who founded a famous [[yeshiva]] there.<ref>Talmud, Sanhedrin 32b</ref>
[[File:Near East ancient map.jpg|thumb|The Roman Near East under [[Pompey]] in 63 BCE, showing Nisibis in Parthian territory south of Roman [[Corduene]]]]
In 67 BCE, during Rome's first war with [[Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity)|Armenia]], the Roman general [[Lucullus]] took Nisibis ({{Langx|hy|[[wikt:Մծբին|Մծբին]]|translit=Mtsbin}}) from the brother of [[Tigranes II|Tigranes]].<ref>Philip Matyszak, ''Mithridates the Great, Rome's Indomitable Enemy'', p. 139; Lee Fratantuono, ''Lucullus, the Life and Campaigns of a Roman Conqueror'', pp. 104–105; [[Dio Cassius]], XXXVI, 6–7; Eutropius, ''Breviarium'', 6.9.1.</ref>

Like many other cities in the [[marches]] where [[Roman Empire|Roman]] and [[Parthia]]n powers confronted one another, Nisibis was often taken and retaken. In 115 CE, it was captured by the Roman Emperor [[Trajan]], for which he gained the name of ''Parthicus'',<ref>Dio Cassius, LXVIII, 23</ref> then lost to and regained from the [[Jewish people|Jews]] during the [[Diaspora Revolt]]. After the Romans again lost the city in 194, it was once more conquered by [[Septimius Severus]], who made it his headquarters and re-established a colony there.<ref>Dio Cassius, LXXV, 23</ref> The [[Battle of Nisibis (217)|last battle between Rome and Parthia]] was fought in the vicinity of the city in 217.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Cowan|first=Ross|title=The Battle of Nisibis, AD 217|journal=Ancient Warfare|date=2009|volume=3|issue=5|pages=29–35|url=https://www.academia.edu/6339870|access-date=1 April 2014|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160429192410/http://www.academia.edu/6339870/The_Battle_of_Nisibis_AD_217|archive-date=29 April 2016}}</ref>
[[File:Saint Febronia of Nisibis on colonnade photo.jpg|thumb|left|[[Saint Febronia of Syria|Saint Febronia]] of Nisibis on colonnade]]

=== Late Antiquity ===
[[File:Mar Jacob Church, Nisibis.jpg|thumb|The newly excavated [[Church of Saint Jacob of Nisibis]].]]
With the fresh energy of the new [[Sassanid dynasty]], [[Shapur I]] conquered Nisibis, was driven out, and returned in the 260s. In 298, by a [[Peace of Nisibis (299)|treaty]] with [[Narseh]], the province of Nisibis was acquired by the Roman Empire.

During the Roman–Persian Wars (337–363 CE) Nisibis was unsuccessfully besieged by the [[Sassanid Empire]] thrice, in 337, 346 and 350. According to the ''[[Expositio totius mundi et gentium]]'' bronze and iron were forbidden to be exported to the Persians, but for other goods, Nisibis was the site of substantial trade across the Roman–Persian frontier.<ref name=":0" />

Upon the death of [[Constantine the Great]] in 337 CE, the Sassanid [[Shah]] [[Shapur II]] marched against Roman held Nisibis with a vast army composed of cavalry, infantry and elephants. His combat engineers raised siege works, including towers, so his archers could rain down arrows at the defenders. They also undermined the walls, dammed the [[Jaghjagh River|Mygdonius River]] and constructed dikes to direct the river against the walls. On the seventieth day of the siege, the water was released and the torrent struck the walls; entire sections of the city walls collapsed. The water passed through the city and knocked down a section of the opposite wall as well. The Persians were unable to assault the city because the approaches to the breaches were impassable due to floodwater, mud and debris. The soldiers and citizens inside the city worked all night and by dawn the breaches were closed with makeshift barriers. Shapur's assault troops attacked the breaches, but their assault was repulsed. A few days later the Persian lifted the siege.<ref>Harrel, John S. ''The Nisibis War'', pp. 75–76.</ref>

Nisibis was besieged a second time in 346 CE. The details of the second siege have not survived. Shapur besieged the city for seventy-eight days and then lifted the siege.<ref>Harrel, John S. ''The Nisibis War'', p. 82; Dodgeon and Lieu, ''The Roman Eastern Frontier and the Persian Wars'', pp. 191–192.</ref>

In 350 CE, while the Roman Emperor [[Constantius II]] was engaged in a civil war against the usurper [[Magnentius]] in the West, the Persians invaded and laid siege to Nisibis for the third time. The siege lasted between 100 and 160 days. The Persian engineers tried several innovative siege technics; using the River Mygdonius to bring down a section of the walls, and creating a lake around the city and using boats with siege engines to bring down another section. Unlike the first siege, as the walls fell, Persian assault troops immediately entered the breaches supported by war elephants. Despite all this they failed to break through the breaches and the attack stalled. The Romans, experts at close-quarter combat, and supported by arrows and bolts from the walls and towers checked the assault and a sortie from one of the gates forced the Persians to withdraw. Shortly after the Persian Army, suffering heavy casualties from combat and disease, lifted the siege and withdrew.<ref>Harrel, John S. ''The Nisibis War'', pp 82–83; Dodgeon and Lieu, ''The Roman Eastern Frontier and the Persian Wars'', pp. 193–206.</ref>

The Syriac poet [[Ephrem the Syrian]] witnessed all three sieges, and praised Nisibis's successive bishops for their contributions to the defences in his {{Langx|la|Carmina Nisibena|lit=song of Nisibis|label=none}}, while the Roman ''[[Caesar (title)|caesar]]'' [[Julian (emperor)|Julian]] ({{Reign|355|363}}) described the third siege in his [[panegyric]] to his senior co-emperor, the ''[[Augustus (title)|augustus]]'' [[Constantius II]] ({{Reign|337|361}}).<ref name=":0" /> The Roman historian of the 4th century, [[Ammianus Marcellinus]], gained his first practical experience of warfare as a young man at Nisibis under the ''[[magister equitum]]'', [[Ursicinus (magister equitum)|Ursicinus]]. From 360 to 363, Nisibis was the camp of [[Legio I Parthica]]. Because of its strategic importance on the Persian border, Nisibis was heavily fortified. Ammianus lovingly calls Nisibis the "impregnable city" (''urbs inexpugnabilis'') and "bulwark of the provinces" (''murus provinciarum'').

[[Sozomen]] writes that when the inhabitants of Nisibis asked for help because the Persians were about to invade the Roman territories and attack them, Emperor [[Julian (emperor)|Julian]] refused to assist them because they were [[Christianized]], and he told them that he would not help them if they did not return to paganism.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://cts.perseids.org/read/greekLit/tlg2048/tlg001/1st1K-grc1/5.3|title=SOZOMENOS, ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY, § 5.3}}</ref>

In 363 Nisibis was ceded to the [[Sassanian Empire]] after the defeat of Julian. Before that time the population of the town was forced by the Roman authorities to leave Nisibis and move to [[Amida (Roman city)|Amida]]. Emperor [[Jovian (Emperor)|Jovian]] allowed them only three days for the evacuation. Historian Ammianus Marcellinus was again an eyewitness and condemns Emperor Jovian for giving up the fortified town without a fight. Marcellinus' point-of-view is certainly in line with contemporary Roman public opinion. According to the Latin historian [[Eutropius (historian)|Eutropius]], the cession of Nisibis was supposed to last 120 years.<ref name=":0" />

According to [[Al-Tabari]], some 12,000 [[Persian people|Persians]] of good lineage from [[Istakhr]], [[Isfahan]], and other regions settled at Nisibis in the fourth century, and their descendants were still there at the beginning of the seventh century.<ref>Iranica: [http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/iraq-i-late-sasanid-early-islamic IRAQ i. IN THE LATE SASANID AND EARLY ISLAMIC ERAS]</ref>

The [[School of Nisibis]], founded at the introduction of Christianity into the city by ethnic Assyrians of the [[Assyrian Church of the East]],<ref name=Jonsson>{{cite book |title=The Clash of Ideologies |author=Jonsson, David J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pXstU5Kt-_kC&q=school+of+nisibis+assyrian&pg=PA182 |page=181 |publisher=Xulon Press |isbn=1-59781-039-8 |year=2005}}</ref> was closed when the province was ceded to the Persians. [[Ephrem the Syrian]], an [[Syriac Christianity|Syriac Christian]] poet, commentator, preacher and defender of orthodoxy, joined the general exodus of Christians and re-established the school on more securely Roman soil at [[Edessa, Mesopotamia|Edessa]]. In the fifth century, the school became a center of [[Nestorian Christianity]], and was closed down by Archbishop Cyrus in 489. The expelled masters and pupils withdrew once more, back to Nisibis, under the care of [[Barsauma of Nisibis|Barsauma]], who had been trained at Edessa, under the patronage of Narses, who established the statutes of the new school. Those that have been discovered and published belong to Osee, the successor of Barsauma in the See of Nisibis, and bear the date 496; they must be substantially the same as those of 489. In 590, they were again modified. The monastery school was under a superior called ''Rabban'' ("master"), a title also given to the instructors. The administration was confided to a major-domo, who was steward, prefect of discipline and librarian, but under the supervision of a council. Unlike the Jacobite schools, devoted chiefly to profane studies, the School of Nisibis was above all a school of theology. The two chief masters were the instructors in reading and in the interpretation of Holy Scripture, explained chiefly with the aid of [[Theodore of Mopsuestia]]. The free course of studies lasted three years, the students providing for their own support. During their sojourn at the university, masters and students led a monastic life under somewhat special conditions. The school had a tribunal and enjoyed the right of acquiring all sorts of property. Its rich library possessed a most beautiful collection of Nestorian works; from its remains Ebed-Jesus, Bishop of Nisibis in the 14th century, composed his celebrated catalogue of ecclesiastical writers. The disorders and dissensions, which arose in the sixth century in the school of Nisibis, favoured the development of its rivals, especially that of Seleucia; however, it did not really begin to decline until after the foundation of the School of [[Baghdad]] (832). Notable people associated with the school include its founder Narses; Abraham, his nephew and successor; [[Abraham the Great of Kaskhar|Abraham of Kashgar]], the restorer of monastic life; and Archbishop{{nbsp}}[[Elijah of Nisibis]].

As a fortified frontier city, Nisibis played a major role in the [[Roman-Persian Wars]]. It became the capital of the newly created province of Mesopotamia after [[Diocletian]]'s organization of the eastern Roman frontier. It became known as the "Shield of the Empire" after a successful resistance in 337–350. The city changed hands several times, and once in Sasanian hands, Nisibis was the base of operations against the Romans. The city was also one of the main crossing points for merchants, although elaborate counter-espionage safeguards were also in place.<ref>Lieu, Samuel. [http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/nisibis-city-in-northern-mesopotamia "Nisibis"] in ''[[Encyclopaedia Iranica]]''</ref>

=== Islamic period ===
The city was taken without resistance by the forces of the [[Rashidun Caliphate]] under [[Umar]] in 639 or 640. Under early Islamic rule, the city served as a local administrative centre. In 717, it was struck by an earthquake and in 927 it was [[Qarmatian invasion of Iraq|raided]] by the [[Qarmatians]]. Nisibis was captured in 942 by the Byzantine Empire but was subsequently recaptured by the [[Hamdanid dynasty]]. It was attacked by the Byzantines once again in 972. Following the Hamdanids, the city was administered by the [[Marwanids (Diyar Bakr)|Marwanids]] and the [[Uqaylid dynasty|Uqaylids]]. From the middle of the 11th century onwards, it was subjected to Turkish raids and being threatened by the [[County of Edessa]], being attacked and damaged by [[Seljuq Empire|Seljuq]] forces under [[Tughril]] in 1043. The city nevertheless remained an important centre of commerce and transport.<ref name=islamans>{{TDV Encyclopedia of Islam | title=Nusaybin |pages=269–270 |year=2007 | volume=33 | last = Tuncel | first = Metin | url = https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/nusaybin}}</ref>

In 1120, it was captured by the [[Artuqids]] under [[Ilghazi|Necmeddin Ilgazi]], followed by the [[Zengid dynasty|Zengids]] and [[Ayyubid dynasty|Ayyubids]]. The city is described as a very prosperous one by the period's Arab geographers and historians, with imposing baths, walls, lavish houses, a bridge and a hospital. In 1230, the city was invaded by the [[Mongol Empire]]. Mongol sovereignty was followed by that of the [[Ag Qoyunlu]], [[Kara Koyunlu]] and [[Safavids]]. In 1515, it was taken by the [[Ottoman Empire]] under [[Selim I]].<ref name=islamans/>

=== Modern history ===
[[File:Mitanni in Nusaybin, Türkei.jpg|thumb|A monumental building in Nusaybin]]
On the eve of [[World War I]], Nusaybin had a Christian community of 2000, along with a [[Jew]]ish population of 600.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Armenian Genocide: a Complete History|last=Kevorkian|first=Raymond|publisher=Tauris|year=2011|location=London|pages=378}}</ref> A massacre of Christians took place in August 1915, after which the Christian community of Nusaybin diminished to 1200. [[Syrian Jacobites]], [[Chaldean Catholics]], Protestants, and [[Armenians]] were targeted.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Der Völkermord an den Armeniern, die Türkei und Europa|publisher=Chronos Verlag|year=2006|isbn=978-3-0340-0789-4|editor-last=Kieser|editor-first=Hans Lukas|pages=82|editor-last2=Plozzo|editor-first2=Elmar}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Üngör|first=Uğur|url=http://file.setav.org/Files/Pdf/a-reign-of-terror.pdf|title=A Reign of Terror|publisher=University of Amsterdam|year=2005|pages=75}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Rhétoré|first=Jacques|title=Les chrétiens aux bêtes: souvenirs de la guerre sainte proclamée par les Turcs contre les chrétiens en 1915|publisher=Les Editions du Cerf|year=2005|isbn=2204072435|location=Paris|pages=129}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2016-01-25|title=The Extermination of Ottoman Armenians by the Young Turk Regime (1915-1916) {{!}} Sciences Po Mass Violence and Resistance - Research Network|url=http://extermination-ottoman-armenians-young-turk-regime-1915-1916.html/|access-date=2020-06-16|website=extermination-ottoman-armenians-young-turk-regime-1915-1916.html|language=en}}{{Dead link|date=April 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

As agreed upon by the governments of France and the new Republic of [[Turkey]] in the 1923 [[Treaty of Lausanne]], the [[Turkey-Syria border]] would follow the line of the [[Baghdad Railway]] until Nusaybin, after which it would follow the path of a Roman road leading to [[Cizre]].<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Frontières et pouvoir d'État: La frontière turco-syrienne dans les années 1920 et 1930|last=Altuğ|first=Seda and Benjamin Thomas White|date=Jul–Sep 2009|journal=Vingtième Siècle. Revue d'histoire|doi=10.3917/ving.103.0091|doi-access=free}}</ref> After the establishment of the French [[Mandate for Syria and Lebanon]], Nusaybin lost over 60% of its population to the settlements there, most prominently [[Qamishli]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Gibert |first1=André |last2=Févret |first2=Maurice |date=1953 |title=La Djezireh syrienne et son réveil économique |url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/geoca_0035-113x_1953_num_28_1_1294 |journal=Géocarrefour |volume=28 |issue=1 |pages=11 |doi=10.3406/geoca.1953.1294 |via=Persee}}</ref>

Nusaybin was a place on the transit routes of [[Syrian Jews]] leaving the country after the 1948 [[formation of Israel]] and the subsequent [[Jewish exodus from Arab and Muslim countries]]. Upon reaching Turkey, after a route that took them through [[Aleppo]] and the [[Jazira Canton|Jazira]] sometimes with the help of [[Bedouin]] smugglers, most headed for [[Israel]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Jews of the Middle East and North Africa in Modern Times|url=https://archive.org/details/jewsmiddleeastno00simo_261|url-access=limited|last=Simon |first=Reeva, Michael M. Laskier, and Sara Reguer|publisher=Columbia University Press|year=2003|location=New York|pages=[https://archive.org/details/jewsmiddleeastno00simo_261/page/n350 328]|isbn=9780231107976 }}</ref> There had been a large Jewish community in Nisbis since antiquity, many of whom moved to Qamishli in the early 20th century for economic reasons. A synagogue in Jerusalem practises the Nisibis and Qamishli rites today.

==== 21st century ====
Nusaybin made headlines in 2006 when villagers near Kuru uncovered a mass grave, suspected of belonging to [[Ottoman Armenians]] and [[Assyrian people|Assyrians]] killed during the [[Armenian genocide|Armenian]] and [[Assyrian genocide]]s.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.gundemonline.org/haber.asp?haberid=21953 |access-date=2008-09-23|title=Ermeni köyu'nde toplu mezar|date=2006-10-19|work=Dicle Haber|first=Berguzar|last=Oruc|publisher=Özgür Gündem|language=tr}}</ref> Swedish historian [[David Gaunt]] visited the site to investigate its origins, but left after finding evidence of tampering.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://gundemonline.org/haber.asp?haberid=23426
|access-date=2008-09-23|title=Toplu mezar Ermeni ve Süryanilere ait|date=2006-11-07|first=Ayse|last=Gunaysu|work=Özgür Gündem|language=tr}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Belli|first=Onur Burcak|date=2007-04-27|title=Truth of mass grave eludes Swedish professor|work=[[Turkish Daily News]]|url=http://historyandreconciliation.org/blog/?itemid=60|url-status=live|access-date=2008-09-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100731185311/http://historyandreconciliation.org/blog/?itemid=60|archive-date=2010-07-31}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Blogian (www.blogian.net) » Genocide Mass Grave Manipulated in Turkey|url=https://blogian.hayastan.com/2007/04/25/genocide-mass-grave-manipulated-in-turkey/|access-date=2020-06-16}}</ref> Gaunt, who has studied 150 massacres carried out in the summer of 1915 in [[Mardin]], said that the [[Committee of Union and Progress]]'s governor for Mardin, Halil Edip, had likely ordered the massacre on 14 June 1915, leaving 150 Armenians and 120 Assyrians dead. The settlement was then known as [[Dara (Mesopotamia)|Dara]] (now Oğuz). Gaunt added that the death squad, named ''El-Hamşin'' (meaning "fifty men"), was headed by officer Refik Nizamettin Kaddur. The president of the [[Turkish Historical Society]], Yusuf Halaçoğlu, following the Turkish government's policy of [[Armenian genocide denial]], said that the remains dated back to Roman times.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.gundemonline.org/haber.asp?haberid=25931|access-date=2008-09-23|title=Toplu mezarla yüzleşme vakti|date=2006-12-13|work=Özgür Gündem|language=tr}}</ref> ''[[Özgür Gündem]]'' reported that the [[Turkish military]] and police pressed the [[Turkish media]] not to report the discovery.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.gundemonline.org/haber.asp?haberid=22211|access-date=2008-09-23|title=Toplu mezar gizleniyor|date=2006-10-22|work=Dicle Haber|first=Berguzar|last=Oruc|publisher=Özgür Gündem}}</ref>

The [[Turkish Interior Ministry]] looked into dissolving Nusaybin city council in 2012 after it decided to use [[Arabic]], [[Armenian language|Armenian]], [[Aramaic]], and [[Kurmanji]] on signposts in the town, in addition to the [[Turkish language]].<ref>{{Cite news|title=Sensing a Siege, Kurds Hit Back in Turkey|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/21/world/europe/sensing-a-siege-kurds-hit-back-in-turkey.html|newspaper=The New York Times|date=2012-03-21|access-date=2015-10-16|issn=0362-4331|first=Susanne|last=Gusten}}</ref>

===== Tensions and violence =====
In November 2013, Nusaybin's mayor, [[Ayşe Gökkan]], commenced a [[hunger strike]] to protest against the construction of a wall between Nusaybin and the neighboring [[Kurds|Kurdish]]-majority city of [[Qamishli]] in [[Syria]]. Construction of the wall stopped as a result of this and other protests.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Solidarity with Nusaybin Mayor Ayse Gokkan|url=http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/15053/solidarity-with-nusaybin-mayor-ayse-gokkan|website=www.jadaliyya.com|access-date=2015-10-16}}</ref>

On 13 November 2015, the town was placed under a [[curfew]] by the Turkish government, and [[Ali Atalan]] and Gülser Yıldırım, two elected members of the [[Grand National Assembly of Turkey|Grand National Assembly]] from the pro-Kurdish [[Peoples' Democratic Party (Turkey)|Peoples' Democratic Party]] (HDP), began a hunger strike in protest. Two civilians and ten [[Kurdistan Workers' Party|PKK]] [[Kurdish–Turkish conflict (2015–present)|fighters]] were killed by security forces in the ensuing unrest.<ref>[http://www.todayszaman.com/national_2-hdp-deputies-go-on-hunger-strike-to-end-days-long-nusaybin-curfew_404768.html 2 HDP deputies go on hunger strike to end days-long Nusaybin curfew] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151120205711/http://www.todayszaman.com/national_2-hdp-deputies-go-on-hunger-strike-to-end-days-long-nusaybin-curfew_404768.html |date=2015-11-20 }} dated November 19, 2015, at todayszaman.com, accessed 21 November 2015.</ref> By March 2016, [[PKK]] forces controlled about half of Nusaybin according to ''[[Al-Masdar News]]''<ref>{{cite news|title=Kurds capture 50% of Turkish city on the border with Syria|url=https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/kurds-capture-half-turkish-city-border-syria-map-update/|newspaper=Al-Masdar News|date=2016-03-23|access-date=2016-03-24|archive-date=2021-11-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211104222904/https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/kurds-capture-half-turkish-city-border-syria-map-update/|url-status=dead}}</ref> and the [[Civil Protection Units|YPS]] controlled "much" of it, according to ''[[The Independent]]''.<ref>{{cite web|title=Nusaybin, the Turkish city where war is now a way of life|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/nusaybin-the-turkish-city-where-war-is-now-a-way-of-life-ankara-bombing-pkk-a6931256.html|work=The Independent|date=14 March 2016 |access-date=1 May 2016}}</ref> The Turkish state imposed eight successive curfews over several months and employed the use of heavy weapons in defeating the Kurdish militants, resulting in large swathes of Nusaybin being destroyed.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://nordicmonitor.com/2020/01/new-images-revealed-of-turkish-militarys-offensive-in-southeast-turkey/|title=Images reveal devastating impact of Turkish military's offensive in Turkey's predominantly Kurdish city of Nusaybin - Nordic Monitor|website=nordicmonitor.com|date=3 January 2020 }}</ref> 61 members of the security forces had been killed by May 2016.<ref>{{cite web|title=Nusaybin'den son görüntüler |url=http://www.ntv.com.tr/galeri/turkiye/nusaybinden-son-goruntuler,ilRS9Zkyy0iZlMI_tD1jgw/fG1xke4OsUaKYX1oupY4XA|publisher=NTV|access-date=1 May 2016|language=tr}}</ref> By 9 April, 60,000 residents of the city had been displaced, yet 30,000 civilians remained in the city, including in the six neighborhoods where fighting continued.<ref name="cumh"/> YPS reportedly had 700–800 militants in the city,<ref name="cumh">{{cite news|title=Vali devre dışı, Nusaybin'i asker yönetecek: 30 bin sivil...|url=http://www.cumhuriyet.com.tr/haber/turkiye/512647/Vali_devre_disi__Nusaybin_i_asker_yonetecek__30_bin_sivil....html|work=[[Cumhuriyet]]|access-date=5 May 2016}}</ref> of which the Turkish army claimed that 325 were "neutralised" by 4 May.<ref>{{cite web|title=Nusaybin'de PKK'ya ağır darbe!|url=http://www.milliyet.com.tr/nusaybin-de-pkk-ya-agir-darbe--gundem-2239153/|work=[[Milliyet]]|date=4 May 2016 |access-date=5 May 2016}}</ref> A curfew was in place between 14 March and 25 July in the majority of the town.<ref>{{cite web|title=Nusaybin'de sokağa çıkma yasağı kaldırıldı|url=http://www.cumhuriyet.com.tr/haber/turkiye/573834/Nusaybin_de_sokaga_cikma_yasagi_kaldirildi.html|work=Cumhuriyet|date=25 July 2016 |access-date=30 December 2016}}</ref> After the fighting ended in a Turkish Army victory, in late September 2016 the Turkish government began demolishing a quarter of the city's residential buildings. This rendered 30,000 citizens homeless and caused a mass evacuation of tens of thousands of residents to neighboring towns and villages. Over 6,000 houses were bulldozed. After demolition was completed in March 2017, over one hundred apartment towers were built. The Turkish government offered to compensate homeowners at 12% of the value of their destroyed houses if they agreed to certain relocation conditions.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.crisisgroup.org/europe-central-asia/western-europemediterranean/turkey/243-managing-turkeys-pkk-conflict-case-nusaybin|title=Managing Turkey's PKK Conflict: The Case of Nusaybin|date=May 2, 2017|website=Crisis Group}}</ref>

== Economy ==
As a result of Turkish government policy to close all border crossings with the [[Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria]], the city's border with Syria (i.e. the large Syrian city of Qamishli) has been closed, with claims that the cessation in smuggling has led to a 90% rise in unemployment in the city.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.economist.com/news/europe/21564870-fiercely-anti-assad-stance-turkey-taking-syria-aggravating-long-running-troubles |title=Turkey, Syria and the Kurds: South by south-east |newspaper=The Economist |date=20 October 2012 }}</ref>

== Transportation ==
Nusaybin is served by the [[European route E90|E90 roadway]] and other roads to surrounding towns. The [[Nusaybin Railway Station]] is served by two daily trains. The closest airport is [[Qamishli Airport]] five kilometers to the south, in Qamishli in Syria. The closest Turkish airport is [[Mardin Airport]], 55 kilometers northwest of Nusaybin.

== Geography ==
[[File:Mardin nusaybin ilçesine bağlı beyazsu barajından çekilen bir doğa manzarası.jpg|thumb|A nature scene taken from the Beyazsu Dam in Nusaybin]]
Nusaybin is on the north side of the Syria-Turkey border, which divides it from the city of Qamishli. The [[Jaghjagh River]] flows through both cities. The Nusaybin side of the border has a [[minefield]], with a total of some 600,000 [[landmine]]s having been set by the [[Turkish Armed Forces]] since the 1950s. Located to the east is [[Mount Judi]], which people (including [[Muslim]]s) consider to be the place where the [[Noah's Ark|ark]] of [[Noah in Islam|Nuh]] or [[Noah]] (who is regarded as a ''[[Prophets and messengers in Islam|Nabi]]'' or [[Prophet]] in [[Abrahamic religions]]) came to rest.
===Composition===
There are 84 [[mahalle|neighbourhoods]] in Nusaybin District.<ref>[https://www.e-icisleri.gov.tr/Anasayfa/MulkiIdariBolumleri.aspx Mahalle], Turkey Civil Administration Departments Inventory. Retrieved 19 September 2023.</ref> Fifteen of these (8 Mart, Abdulkadirpaşa, Barış, Devrim, Dicle, Fırat, Gırnavas, İpekyolu, Kışla, Mor-Yakup, Selahattin Eyyübi, Yenişehir, Yenituran and Zeynelabidin) form the central town (''merkez'') of Nusaybin.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Erkınay Tamtamış |first=H.K. |year=2022 |volume=13 |issue=1|title=Nusaybin Mahalle Adlarına Anlambilimsel Bir Bakış |url=https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/1832258 |journal=Mukaddime |language=tr |pages=180}}</ref>
{{div col|colwidth=15em}}
* 8. Mart
* Abdulkadirpaşa
* [[Acıkköy, Nusaybin|Acıkköy]] ({{Lang|ku|Bamidê}})
* [[Açıkyol, Nusaybin|Açıkyol]] ({{Lang|ku|Aferî}})
* [[Akağıl, Nusaybin|Akağıl]] ({{Lang|ku|Derzandik}})
* [[Akarsu, Nusaybin|Akarsu]] ({{Lang|ku|Stîlîtê}})
* [[Akçatarla, Nusaybin|Akçatarla]] ({{Lang|ku|Dal}})
* [[Bahçebaşı, Nusaybin|Bahçebaşı]] ({{Lang|ku|Bawernê}})
* [[Bakacık, Nusaybin|Bakacık]] ({{Lang|ku|Kinikê}})
* [[Balaban, Nusaybin|Balaban]] ({{Lang|ku|Birêgiriya}})
* Barış
* [[Beylik, Nusaybin|Beylik]] ({{Lang|ku|Bakisyan}})
* [[Büyükkardeş, Nusaybin|Büyükkardeş]] ({{Lang|ku|Cinata Miho}})
* [[Çağlar, Nusaybin|Çağlar]] ({{Lang|ku|Şanîşê}})
* [[Çalıköy, Nusaybin|Çalıköy]] ({{Lang|ku|Çalê}})
* [[Çatalözü, Nusaybin|Çatalözü]] ({{Lang|ku|Gundikê Xêlid}})
* [[Çiğdem, Nusaybin|Çiğdem]] ({{Lang|ku|Giremara}})
* [[Çilesiz, Nusaybin|Çilesiz]] ({{Lang|ku|Mezra Mihoka}})
* [[Çölova, Nusaybin|Çölova]] ({{Lang|ku|Menderê}})
* [[Dağiçi, Nusaybin|Dağiçi]] ({{Lang|syr|Harabemişke}})
* [[Dallıağaç, Nusaybin|Dallıağaç]] ({{Lang|ku|Herbê}})
* [[Değirmencik, Nusaybin|Değirmencik]] ({{Lang|ku|Qolika}})
* [[Demirtepe, Nusaybin|Demirtepe]] ({{Lang|ku|Girhesin}})
* Devrim
* [[Dibek, Nusaybin|Dibek]] ({{Lang|syr|Badip}})
* Dicle
* [[Dirim, Nusaybin|Dirim]] ({{Lang|ku|Şabanê}})
* [[Doğanlı, Nusaybin|Doğanlı]] ({{Lang|ku|Talat}})
* [[Doğuş, Nusaybin|Doğuş]] ({{Lang|ku|Qûzo}})
* [[Durakbaşı, Nusaybin|Durakbaşı]] ({{Lang|ku|Qesra}})
* [[Duruca, Nusaybin|Duruca]] ({{Lang|ku|Kertwin}})
* [[Düzce, Nusaybin|Düzce]] ({{Lang|ku|Sirinçk}})
* [[Eskihisar, Nusaybin|Eskihisar]] ({{Lang|ku|Marinê}})
* [[Eskimağara, Nusaybin|Eskimağara]] ({{Lang|ku|Zivingê}})
* [[Eskiyol, Nusaybin|Eskiyol]] ({{Lang|ku|Cuva}})
* Fırat
* [[Girmeli, Nusaybin|Girmeli]] ({{Lang|ku|Girmira}})
* Gırnavas
* [[Görentepe, Nusaybin|Görentepe]] ({{Lang|ku|Bizgur}})
* [[Günebakan, Nusaybin|Günebakan]] ({{Lang|ku|Zorava}})
* [[Güneli, Nusaybin|Güneli]] ({{Lang|ku|Geliyê Sora}})
* [[Günyurdu, Nusaybin|Günyurdu]] ({{Lang|syr|Marbobo}}), ({{Lang|ku|Merbabê}})
* [[Gürün, Nusaybin|Gürün]] ({{Lang|ku|Gurinê}})
* [[Güvenli, Nusaybin|Güvenli]] ({{Lang|ku|Xirbeka}})
* [[Hasantepe, Nusaybin|Hasantepe]] ({{Lang|ku|Tilhasan}})
* [[Heybeli, Nusaybin|Heybeyi]] ({{Lang|ku|Dêrcemê}})
* [[İkiztepe, Nusaybin|İkiztepe]] ({{Lang|ku|Têzxerab}})
* [[Ilkadım, Nusaybin|Ilkadım]] ({{Lang|ku|Habisê}})
* İpekyolu
* [[Kalecik, Nusaybin|Kalecik]] ({{Lang|ku|Kelehê, Keleha Bûnûsra}})
* [[Kaleli, Nusaybin|Kaleli]] ({{Lang|ku|Efşê}})
* [[Kantar, Nusaybin|Kantar]] ({{Lang|ku|Qenter}})
* [[Karacaköy, Nusaybin|Karacaköy]] ({{Lang|ku|Xerabê Reşik}})
* [[Kayadibi, Nusaybin|Kayadibi]] ({{Lang|ku|Mendikan}})
* Kışla
* [[Kocadağ, Nusaybin|Kocadağ]] ({{Lang|ku|Gelîye Pîra}})
* [[Küçükkardeş, Nusaybin|Küçükkardeş]] ({{Lang|ku|Cinata His}})
* [[Kuruköy, Nusaybin|Kuruköy]] ({{Lang|ku|Xerabê Bava}})
* [[Kuyular, Nusaybin|Kuyular]] ({{Lang|ku|Cibilgrav}})
* Mor-Yakup
* [[Nergizli, Nusaybin|Nergizli]] ({{Lang|ku|Nergizlokê}})
* [[Odabaşı, Nusaybin|Odabaşı]] ({{Lang|syr|Igunduke d-'ito}}), {{Lang|ku|Gundik Şukrî}})
* Pazarköy ({{Lang|ku|Bazar}})
* Selahattin Eyyübi
* [[Sınırtepe, Nusaybin|Sınırtepe]] ({{Lang|ku|Aznavur}})
* [[Söğütlü, Nusaybin|Söğütlü]] ({{Lang|ku|Girêbiya}})
* [[Taşköy, Nusaybin|Taşköy]] ({{Lang|syr|ʼArboʼ}})
* [[Tekağaç, Nusaybin|Tekağaç]] ({{Lang|ku|Mişavil}})
* [[Tepealtı, Nusaybin|Tepealtı]] ({{Lang|ku|Tel Yaqub}})
* [[Tepeören, Nusaybin|Tepeören]] ({{Lang|ku|Xirbêzil}})
* [[Tepeüstü, Nusaybin|Tepeüstü]] ({{Lang|ku|Tilminar}})
* [[Turgutköy, Nusaybin|Turgutköy]] ({{Lang|ku|Kemina}})
* [[Üçköy, Nusaybin|Üçköy]] ({{Lang|syr|Arkaḥ}})
* [[Üçyol, Nusaybin|Üçyol]] ({{Lang|syr|Sederi}})
* [[Yandere, Nusaybin|Yandere]] ({{Lang|ku|Hatxê}})
* [[Yavruköy, Nusaybin|Yavruköy]] ({{Lang|ku|Kurke}})
* [[Yazyurdu, Nusaybin|Yazyurdu]] ({{Lang|ku|Qesra Belek}})
* Yenişehir
* Yenituran
* [[Yerköy, Nusaybin|Yerköy]] ({{Lang|ku|Binerdka}})
* Yeşilkent
* [[Yolbilen, Nusaybin|Yolbilen]] ({{Lang|ku|Erbet}})
* [[Yolindi, Nusaybin|Yolindi]] ({{Lang|ku|Cibiltînê}})
* Zeynelabidin
{{div col end}}

=== Climate ===
Nusaybin has a [[semi-arid climate]] with extremely hot summers and cool winters. Rainfall is generally sparse.

{{Weather box |metric first= Yes |single line= Yes |location= Nusaybin
|Jan high C= 11
|Feb high C= 13
|Mar high C= 17
|Apr high C= 22
|May high C= 30
|Jun high C= 37
|Jul high C= 41
|Aug high C= 40
|Sep high C= 35
|Oct high C= 28
|Nov high C= 20
|Dec high C= 13
|Jan low C= 3
|Feb low C= 4
|Mar low C= 7
|Apr low C= 11
|May low C= 16
|Jun low C= 21
|Jul low C= 25
|Aug low C= 24
|Sep low C= 20
|Oct low C= 16
|Nov low C= 9
|Dec low C= 5
|Jan mean C= 6
|Feb mean C= 7
|Mar mean C= 11
|Apr mean C= 16
|May mean C= 22
|Jun mean C= 28
|Jul mean C= 32
|Aug mean C= 31
|Sep mean C= 27
|Oct mean C= 21
|Nov mean C= 13
|Dec mean C= 8
|Jan precipitation mm = 51
|Feb precipitation mm = 30
|Mar precipitation mm = 35
|Apr precipitation mm = 26
|May precipitation mm = 16
|Jun precipitation mm = 0
|Jul precipitation mm = 0
|Aug precipitation mm = 0
|Sep precipitation mm = 0
|Oct precipitation mm = 12
|Nov precipitation mm = 19
|Dec precipitation mm = 34
|Jan rain days= 8
|Feb rain days= 7
|Mar rain days= 7
|Apr rain days= 5
|May rain days= 2
|Jun rain days= 0
|Jul rain days= 0
|Aug rain days= 0
|Sep rain days= 0
|Oct rain days= 2
|Nov rain days= 4
|Dec rain days= 6
|source 1= Weather2<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.myweather2.com/City-Town/Turkey/Nusaybin/climate-profile.aspx|title=June Climate History for Nusaybin | Local | Turkey}}</ref>
|date=January 2012}}

== Demographics ==
Nusaybin is predominantly ethnically [[Kurd]]ish. The city's people have historically close ties with those of neighboring Qamishli, and cross-border marriages are a common practice.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=How Bashar Assad Has Come Between the Kurds of Turkey and Syria|url=http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2110961,00.html|magazine=Time|date=5 April 2012|access-date=5 May 2016|last1=Zalewski|first1=Piotr|archive-date=4 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211104222905/http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2110961,00.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last=Yıldırım |first=Ayşe |year=2013 |title=Devlet, Sınır, Aşiret: Nusaybin Örneği|url=http://www.openaccess.hacettepe.edu.tr:8080/xmlui/bitstream/handle/11655/1200/f14a9da4-8096-432e-bee7-226d3f6471dc.pdf?sequence=1|access-date=6 May 2016|publisher=[[Hacettepe University]]|type=PhD thesis|language=tr}}</ref> The city also contains a minority Arab population.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Halifeoğlu|first1=Fatma Meral|title=SAVUR GELENEKSEL KENT DOKUSU İLE SOSYAL YAPI İLİŞKİSİ ÜZERİNE BİR İNCELEME|journal=Elektronik Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi|date=2006|volume=5|issue=17|pages=76–84|url=http://dergipark.ulakbim.gov.tr/esosder/article/viewFile/5000068032/5000063096|issn=1304-0278|access-date=2016-05-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160604064706/http://dergipark.ulakbim.gov.tr/esosder/article/viewFile/5000068032/5000063096|archive-date=2016-06-04|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In early 20th century, Nusaybin was composed mostly of Arabs who came from [[Mardin]], roughly 500 Jews, and some Assyrians, totaling to 2000 people. Likewise, [[Mark Sykes]] recorded Nusaybin as a town inhabited by Chaldeans, Arabs, and Jews.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sykes |first1=Mark |title=Dar-ul-Islam: A Record of a Journey Through Ten of the Asiatic Provinces of Turkey |date=1904 |publisher=Bickers & Son |page=264}}</ref> The town was largely Arabic-speaking such that Kurdish families settling in the town eventually learned Arabic. The ethnic and linguistic demographics changed after mid-century. Jews migrated to Israel, and Assyrian population substantially decreased. After dense Kurdish migration in late 20th century, Nusaybin became a largely Kurdish-speaking and Kurdish town.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Tan |first=Altan |title=Turabidin'den Berriye'ye. Aşiretler - Dinler - Diller - Kültürler |year=2018 |isbn=9789944360944 |pages=326 |publisher=Pak Ajans Yayincilik Turizm Ve Diş Ticaret Limited şirketi |language=tr}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Mother tongue, [[Nusaybin District]], [[1927 Turkish census]]<ref name=1927census>{{Cite web| title=Mardin population census Republic of Turkey by first results | url=https://www.sosyalarastirmalar.com/articles/mardin-population-census-republic-of-turkey-by-first-results.pdf | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230626015517/https://www.sosyalarastirmalar.com/articles/mardin-population-census-republic-of-turkey-by-first-results.pdf | archive-date=2023-06-26}}</ref>
! [[Turkish language|Turkish]] !! [[Arabic]] !! [[Kurdish languages|Kurdish]] !! [[Circassian languages|Circassian]] !! [[Armenian language|Armenian]] !! Unknown or other languages
|-
| 1,024 || 1,109 || 9,604 || – || – || 536
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Religion, [[Nusaybin District]], [[1927 Turkish census]]<ref name=1927census/>
! [[Islam in Turkey|Muslim]] !! [[Christianity in Turkey|Christian]] !! [[History of the Jews in Turkey|Jewish]] !! Unknown or other religion
|-
| 11,212 || 385 || 392 || 282
|}

A very small Assyrian population remains in the city; what remained of the Assyrian population emigrated during the height of the [[Kurdish-Turkish conflict]] in the 1990s and as a result of the [[Kurdish–Turkish conflict (2015–present)|resumption of the conflict in 2016]], only one Assyrian family reportedly remained in the city.<ref>{{cite web|title=Son Süryaniler de göç yolunda|url=http://www.evrensel.net/haber/276451/son-suryaniler-de-goc-yolunda|publisher=Evrensel|access-date=5 May 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Nusaybin'in son Süryani ailesi: Terk etmeyeceğiz|url=http://www.evrensel.net/haber/274717/nusaybinin-son-suryani-ailesi-terk-etmeyecegiz|publisher=Evrensel|access-date=5 May 2016}}</ref>

=== Christianity ===
[[File:Nisibis Church interior.jpg|thumb|300px|left|The interior of the Church of [[Jacob of Nisibis|Saint Jacob]] in Nisibis]]

Nisibis ({{langx|syr|ܢܨܝܒܝܢ}}, ''Nṣibin'', later Syriac {{lang|syr|ܨܘܒܐ}}, ''Ṣōbā'') had an [[Assyrian people|Assyrian]] [[Christianity|Christian]] [[bishop]] from 300, founded by [[Babu (bishop)|Babu]] (died 309). [[Shapur II]] besieged the city in 338, 346, and 350, when [[Jacob of Nisibis|St Jacob or James of Nisibis]], Babu's successor, was its bishop. Nisibis was the home of [[Ephrem the Syrian]], who remained until its surrender to the [[Sassanian Empire|Sassanid Persians]] by [[Roman Emperor]] [[Jovian (emperor)|Jovian]] in 363. The bishop of Nisibis was the Metropolitan Archbishop of the [[ecclesiastical province]] of [[Bit-Arbaye]]. By 410, it had six [[suffragan]] sees and as early as the middle of the 5th century was the most important episcopal see of the [[Church of the East]] after [[Seleucia on the Tigris|Seleucia]]-[[Ctesiphon]]. Many of its [[Nestorian Church|Nestorian]] or [[Assyrian Church of the East]] and [[Syriac Orthodox Church|Jacobite]] bishops were renowned for their writings, including Barsumas, Osee, Narses, Jesusyab and Ebed-Jesus. The [[Roman Catholic Church]] has defined [[titular archbishopric]]s of Nisibis, for various rites – one Latin and four [[Eastern Catholic]] for particular churches ''sui iuris'', notably the [[Chaldean Catholic Church]] and the [[Maronite Catholic Church]].<ref>''Annuario Pontificio 2013'' (Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2013, {{ISBN|978-88-209-9070-1}}), p. 941]</ref>

When the [[Syriac Catholic Eparchy of Hassaké]] was promoted to archiepiscopal rank, it added Nisibi to its name, becoming the [[Syriac Catholic Archeparchy of Hassaké-Nisibi]] (not Metropolitan, directly dependent on the [[Syriac Catholic Patriarch of Antioch]]).

==== Latin titular see ====
Established in the 18th century as Titular Archiepiscopal see of Nisibis (informally '''Nisibis of the Romans'''). It has been vacant for several decades, having previously had the following incumbents, all of the (intermediary) archiepiscopal rank:
* Giambattista Braschi (1724.12.20 – 1736.11.24)
* José Calzado López ([[Bolaños de Calatrava]], 17/04/1680 – [[Madrid]], 7/04/1761) [[Discalced Franciscans]] (O.F.M. Disc.) (1738.11.24 – 1761.04.07)
* [[Cesare Brancadoro]] (1789.10.20 – 1800.08.11) (later Cardinal)*
* [[Lorenzo Caleppi]] (1801.02.23 – 1816.03.08) (later Cardinal)*
* [[Vincenzo Macchi]] (1818.10.02 – 1826.10.02)(later Cardinal)*
* [[Carlo Luigi Morichini]] (1845.04.21 – 1852.03.15) (later Cardinal)*
* [[Vincenzo Tizzani]], C.R.L. (1855.03.26 – 1886.01.15) (later Patriarch)*
* Johann Gabriel Léon Louis Meurin, [[Jesuits]] (S.J.) (1887.09.15 – 1887.09.27)
* Giuseppe Giusti (1891.12.14 – 1897.03.31)
* [[Federico Pizza]] (1897.04.19 – 1909.03.28)
* [[Francis McCormack]] (1909.06.21 – 1909.11.14)
* Joseph Petrelli (1915.03.30 – 1962.04.29)
* José de la Cruz Turcios y Barahona, [[Salesians]] (S.D.B.) (1962.05.18 – 1968.07.18)

==== Armenian Catholic titular see ====
Established as Titular Archiepiscopal see of Nisibis (informally '''Nisibis of the Armenians''') in ''circa'' 1910. It was suppressed in 1933, having had a single incumbent, of the (intermediary) archiepiscopal rank :
* Gregorio Govrik, [[Mechitarists]] (C.A.M.) (1910.05.07 – 1931.01.26)

====Chaldean Catholic titular see====
Established as Titular Archiepiscopal see of Nisibis (informally '''Nisibis of the Chaldeans''') in the late 19th century, suppressed in 1927, restored in 1970. It has had the following incumbents, all of the (intermediary) archiepiscopal rank :
* Giuseppe Elis Khayatt (22 April 1895 – 13 April 1900)
* Hormisdas Etienne Djibri (30 November 1902 – 31 August 1917)
* Thomas Michel Bidawid (24 August 1970 – 20 March 1971)
* Gabriel Koda (14 December 1977 – February 1992)
* Jacques Ishaq (21 December 2005 – 22 June 2023), [[Curial Bishop]] emeritus of the [[Chaldean Catholic Patriarchate of Babylon]]
* [[George Koovakad]] (25 October 2024 – )<ref>{{Cite press release |date=25 October 2024 |publisher= Holy See Press Office |title=Resignations and Appointments, 25.10.2024 | url= https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2024/10/25/241025b.html |access-date=25 October 2024 }}</ref>

==== Maronite titular see ====
Established as Titular Archiepiscopal see of Nisibis (informally '''Nisibis of the Maronites''') in 1960. It has had two incumbents of the (intermediary) archiepiscopal rank:
* [[Pietro Sfair]] (1960.03.11 – 1974.05.18)
* [[Michel Jalakh]]

== Notable people ==

* [[Ephraim the Syrian]] (4th century), Christian Saint was native of Nisibis (modern Nusaybin)
* [[Musa Anter]] (1920-1992), [[Kurdish people|Kurdish]] writer, journalist and intellectual
* [[Gülser Yıldırım]] (1963*), Politician
* [[Mithat Sancar]] (1963*), professor of [[Public law|public]] and [[constitutional law]], columnist and translator
* [[Sara Kaya]] (1970*), Politician
* [[Ferhad Ayaz]] (1994*), Footballer

== See also ==
* [[Febronia of Nisibis]]
* [[Mor Yakup Church]]
* [[Nisibis (East Syrian Ecclesiastical Province)]]
* [[Thamanin]]
* [[Zeynel Abidin Mosque Complex]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{reflist|3}}

== Sources and external links ==
* {{cite encyclopedia | article = NISIBIS | last = Lieu | first = Samuel | url = http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/nisibis-city-in-northern-mesopotamia | encyclopedia = Encyclopaedia Iranica | year = 2006 }}
* [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11084c.htm Nisibis], ''[[Catholic Encyclopedia]]''
* [http://www.gcatholic.org/dioceses/former/t3379.htm GCatholic, Armenian Catholic titular see]
* [http://www.gcatholic.org/dioceses/former/t2046.htm GCatholic, Chaldean Catholic titular see]
* [http://www.gcatholic.org/dioceses/former/t1272.htm GCatholic, Latin Catholic titular see]
* [http://www.gcatholic.org/dioceses/former/t2047.htm GCatholic, Maronite titular see]
* [http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=syrian-orthodox-church-in-mardin-gets-spray-painted-with-offensive-statements-2010-07-14 Turkish News - Latest News from Turkey], [[Hürriyet Daily News and Economic Review]]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160429192410/http://www.academia.edu/6339870/The_Battle_of_Nisibis_AD_217 The Battle of Nisibis, AD 217]

{{Ancient settlements in Turkey}}
{{Districts of Turkey|provname=Mardin|}}
{{Nusaybin District}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Portal bar|Geography|Kurdistan|Turkey}}

[[Category:Nusaybin| ]]
[[Category:Archaeological sites in the Southeastern Anatolia region]]
[[Category:Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Turkey]]
[[Category:Seleucid colonies]]
[[Category:Roman legionary fortresses in Turkey]]
[[Category:Sasanian cities]]
[[Category:Catholic titular sees in Asia|Nisibis]]
[[Category:Assyrian communities in Turkey]]
[[Category:Populated places in Mardin Province]]
[[Category:Districts of Mardin Province]]
[[Category:Metropolitan district municipalities in Turkey]]
[[Category:Divided cities on the Syria–Turkey border]]
[[Category:Syria–Turkey border crossings]]
[[Category:Mesopotamia (Roman province)]]
[[Category:Roman towns and cities in Turkey]]
[[Category:Kurdish settlements in Mardin Province]]
[[Category:Noah's Ark]]
[[Category:Arab communities in Mardin Province]]
[[Category:Former Jewish communities in Turkey]]
[[Category:Places of the Sayfo]]
[[Category:Populated places in ancient Upper Mesopotamia]]

Vero - Wikipedia - User contributions [en]

Nusaybin