Elāzi, city in eastern Turkey, the capital of Elāzig Province. Elāzig is located directly south of a large reservoir on the Euphrates River created by the Keban Dam. The city is a wine-making center and a market for the region's agricultural goods. Elāzig is connected by rail to Tatvan to the east, Diyarbakir to the southeast, and Malatya to the southwest. The city is the site of Euphrates University, which houses the Elāzig Archaeological and Ethnographic Museum. The museum contains ancient artifacts that were collected during excavations of the valleys north of the city before they were flooded by the reservoir. Prehistoric royal seals, gold jewelry, and a cuneiform inscription from the kingdom of Urartu (1200s to 800s BC), are among the excavated items. While the region contains many historic artifacts, Elāzig was not founded until the 19th century AD, on the site of a settlement known as Mezreh. Sultan Mahmud II ordered its establishment as a provincial capital in 1834 to reassert Ottoman control over the semi-independent lords of the region. It was called Marmuret el-Aziz (sometimes shortened to Elaziz) during the reign of Sultan Abdul Aziz (1861-1876). After the founding of the Republic of Turkey in 1923, the city's name was changed to Elāzig. Population (1996 estimate) 228,933.
