Yazıbaşı is a village in the Kovancılar District of Elazığ Province in Turkey.Köy , Turkey Civil Administration Departments Inventory. Retrieved 22 December 2022. 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. This link is to the Library of Congress catalog entry for a book published by the Turkish government in 1960 detailing the old and new names of villages in the Elazığ province. Page 25 states the new name for Sekrat was Yazıbaşı. In addition, the 1955 Turkish census cited below uses of the old name of Sekrat, while the 1960 Turkish census uses Yazıbaşı. Its population is 737 (2021).
The Ottoman population registers from 1840 detailed two Muslim males in one householdBaşbakanlık Osmanlı Arşivi (BOA) Nüfus Defterleri (NFS.d.), folder 2688, “Harput eyaleti, (Maadin-i Hümayun) sancağı, Palu, Hün, Veşin, Sivan, Gökdere, Bulanık, Ohu, Karaçor nahiyeleri, müslim defteri. a.g.tt”, 1256 (1840). Image NFS_d_02688_00176. and 123 non-Muslim males (entirely Armenian) in 23 households.Başbakanlık Osmanlı Arşivi (BOA) Nüfus Defterleri (NFS.d.), folder 2689, “Harput eyaleti, (Maadin-i Hümayun) sancağı, Palu kazası, reaya defteri. a.g.y.tt”, 1256 (1840). Images NFS_d_02689_00031 - NFS_d_02689_00032. Note that while the last male is numbered 122, there were two males assigned as 102. Thus, in total there were really 123 Armenian males identified in the register. The 1847 non-Muslim population register recorded 110 Armenian males in 24 households.Başbakanlık Osmanlı Arşivi (BOA) Nüfus Defterleri (NFS.d.), folder 2692, “Harput eyaleti, (Maadin-i Hümayun) sancağı, Palu kazası, reaya defteri. a.g.tt”, 1263 (1847). Image NFS_d_02692_00002. 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.Դիւան Հայոց Պատմութեան, Գիրք ԺԳ. Հարստահարութիւններ Տաճկահայաստանում (վաւերագրեր 1801-1888) ։ Խմբ. Գիւտ Աւագ Քահանայ Աղանեանց, Թիֆլիս, Տպարան Ն. Աղանեանցի Պօլիտ 7, 1915 թ. pp. 290-296. 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.Kévorkian, Raymond H., and Paul B. Paboudjian. Les ArméNiens Dans l’Empire Ottoman à La Veille Du GéNocide. Editions d’art et d’histoire, 1992.
Censuses during the modern Turkish Republican period recorded the following populations. +YearNameMalesFemalesTotal Population1935Şekerat1901853751940Şekerat11797214Genel nüfus sayımı: 20 İlkteşrin 1940. Recensement général de la population au 20 octobre 1940. 1941. İstanbul: Hüsnütabiat Basımevi. p. 222.1945Sekrat13191222Genel nüfus sayimi, 21 ekim 1945. = Recensement géneral de la population au 21 octobre 1945. 1948. Ankara. p. 206.1950Serkat210Turkey. İstatistik Umum Müdürlüğü. 1954. 22-Ekim-1950 umumı̂ nüfus sayımı : vilayet, kaza, nahiye ve köyler itibariyle nüfus = Recensement général de la population du 22 - Octobre - 1950 : population par provinces, districts, communes et villages. Ankara]: Başvekâlet, İstatistik Umum Müdürlüğü. p. 162.1955Sekrat8362145Genel nüfus sayımı, 23-ekim-1955; vilâyet, kaza, nahiye ve köyler itibariyle nüfus. Census of population 23 Oct.1955; population by provinces, by districts and by sub-districts. 1961. Ankara. p. 188.1960Yazıbaşı (Sokrat)8291173Genel nüfüs sayımı, 23 Ekim 1960. İl, ilce, bucak ve köyler itibariyle nüfus = Census of population, 23 October 1960. Population by provinces, districts, sub-districts and villages. 1963. Ankara: T.C. Başbakanlık, Devlet İstatistik Enstitüsü. p.206.1965Yazıbaşı (Sekrat)136138274Genel nüfus sayimi idare bölünüs, il, ilce, bucak ve köy (muhtarlik) nüfúslari. 24.10.65. Census of population by administrative division, province, district, sub-district, and village (muhtarlik) popluation. 1968. Ankara: Prime Ministry State Institute of Statistics. p.236.1980Yazıbaşı (Sekrat)280294574Genel nüfus sayımı : nüfusun sosyal ve ekonomik nitelikleri : 12.10.1980 = Census of population : social and economic characteristics of population. 1982. Ankara]: Başbakanlık Devlet İstatistik Enstitüsü. 23-Elazığ. p. 9.1985Yazıbaşı310327637Devlet Istatistik Enstitusu, Ankara tur. 1989. Genel Nufus Sayimi. Nufusun Sosyal ve Ekonomik Nitelikleri, 20.10.1985. Ankara (Turkey) State Inst. of Statistics, Printing Div. 23-Elazığ. p. 9.1990Yazıbaşı684Devlet İstatistik Enstitüsü. 1991. Genel nüfus sayımı. İdari bölünüş, 1990 = Census of population. Administrative division, 1990. Ankara]: Başbakanlık Devlet İstatistik Enstitüsü. 23-Elazığ. p. 8.1997Yazıbaşı7771997 genel nüfus tespiti : idari bölünüş = 1997 population count : administrative division. 1999. Ankara: Devlet İstatistik Enstitüsü Matbaası. 23-Elazığ. p. 8.2000Yazıbaşı427500927Devlet İstatistik Enstitüsü. 2002. Genel nüfus sayımı :nüfusun sosyal ve ekonomik nitelikleri 2000 : Türkiye. Ankara: T.C. Başbakanlık Devlet İstatistik Enstitüsü. 23-Elazığ. p. 69.
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