Bitlis has hot, dry summers and cold, very snowy winters. Economy
Historically, Bitlis produced wheat, which the British, in 1920, described as being "particularly excellent." However, poor trade routes in the area during the early 20th century meant that the wheat was mainly produced and used by locals. During this time, the British stated that the people of Bitlis were unable to use all of the wheat they produced, and most was "left to rot in the underground storehouses." Notable individuals
Badh ibn Dustak (died 991), Kurdish tribal leader
Arakel Paghishetsi (1380-1454) Armenian musician, hymnologist
Hovhannes Paghishetsi (1678-1741) 49th Armenian patriarch of Constantinople
Vardan Paghishetsi (?? ?-1705) Armenian chronographer
Vardan Paghishetsi (16th century) Armenian medieval illuminatorThe city was the home of the sixteenth century Kurdish historian, Sherefxan Bedlisi (also: Sharaf al-Din Bitlisi), author of the Sharafnameh, and who was also an appointed prince of the Persian and later Ottoman Empires. Hosam al-Din Ali Bitlisi was a Kurdish Sufi author. He was the father of the noted historian Idris Bitlisi. Ottoman administrator and Kurdish religious scholar and author Idris-i Bitlisi is claimed to have been born in Bitlis also. He was instrumental in conquest, Ottomanization and administration of Ottoman lands from Urfa, Mardin to Egypt. Said Nursi (Nurs, Bitlis, 1877) notable Kurdish Sunni Muslim Theologian. Writer of the Risale-i-Nur collection used as the foundation of movements such as the Nurcu in Turkey and the Gulenist movement founded by Fetullah Gulen. Fuat Sezgin (Bitlis, 1924), a prominent Historian of Science, Orientalist was born in Bitlis. He is the author and editor of numerous publications.
The donkey died of the freezing temperatures and was only discovered in the spring, once the ice had melted; thus, it received the name Pagh Esh, or "Cold Donkey. "Baghesh was one of the most important cities of the Kingdom of Armenias province of Aghdznik, and it served as the primary fortress of the provinces canton of Salnodzor. Some medieval Armenian writers, such as Anania Shirakatsi and Vardan Areveltsi, later mention it as a part of the canton of Bznunik. The fortress guarded the Baghesh Pass, which linked the southern reaches of the Armenian Plateau to northern Mesopotamia. The Arabs conquered Baghesh at the end of the seventh century and it eventually became the capital of the Zurārid emirs of Arzan. Because it was on an important trade route, it prospered greatly. The next two centuries, however, marked a turbulent period in the towns history. After Bugha al-Kabirs destructive 852-855 campaign in Armenia, the Shaybanid emirs wrested control of Baghesh from the Zurārids; thereafter, in the first quarter of the tenth century, it was taken by the Kaysite emirs of Manzikert. In his 929-30 campaign against the Kaysites, the Byzantine general John Curcuas was able to capture and annex Baghesh. Following the devastation of the Arab emirs in the second half of the tenth century, a great number of Kurds settled in Baghesh and at the end of the tenth century, the city fell into the hands of the Kurdish Marwanid dynasty after breaking from Buyid rule.