Muş Province in the context of "Taron (historic Armenia)"

The Battle of Manzikert or Malazgirt was fought between the Byzantine Empire and the Seljuk Empire on 26 August 1071 near Manzikert, Iberia (modern Malazgirt in Muş Province, Turkey). The decisive defeat of the Byzantine army and the capture of the emperor Romanos IV Diogenes played an important role in undermining Byzantine authority in Anatolia and Armenia, and allowed for the gradual Turkification of Anatolia. Many Turks, travelling westward during the 11th century, saw the victory at Manzikert as an entrance to Asia Minor.

The brunt of the battle was borne by the Byzantine army's professional soldiers from the eastern and western tagmata, as large numbers of mercenaries and Anatolian levies fled early and survived the battle. The fallout from Manzikert was disastrous for the Byzantines, resulting in civil conflicts and an economic crisis that severely weakened the Byzantine Empire's ability to defend its borders adequately. This led to the mass movement of Turks into central Anatolia – by 1080, an area of 78,000 square kilometres (30,000 sq mi) had been gained by the Seljuk Turks. It took three decades of internal strife before Alexius I (1081–1118) restored stability to Byzantium. Historian Thomas Asbridge says: "In 1071, the Seljuqs crushed an imperial army at the Battle of Manzikert (in eastern Asia Minor), and though historians no longer consider this to have been an utterly cataclysmic reversal for the Greeks, it still was a stinging setback." It was the only time a Byzantine emperor became the prisoner of a Muslim commander, and the first time since Valerian that a Roman emperor was captured alive by an enemy force.

The Murat River, also called Eastern Euphrates (Turkish: Murat Nehri, Kurdish: Çemê Miradê, Armenian: Արածանի, romanized: Aratsani), is a major source of the Euphrates River. The Ancient Greeks and Romans used to call the river Arsanias (Ancient Greek: Ἀρσανίας). It originates near Mount Ararat north of Lake Van, in Eastern Turkey, and flows westward for 722 km (449 mi) through mountainous terrain. Before the construction of the Keban Dam, the Murat River joined the Karasu River or Western Euphrates 10 km (6.2 mi) north of the dam site and 13 km (8.1 mi) north of the town of Keban.

In Muş Province, the river is interrupted near Toklu by the Alpaslan-1 Dam, which was completed in 2009. The Alpaslan-2 Dam was completed in 2021 and is located downstream of Alpaslan-1. The river merges into the reservoir of the Keban Dam, at one time Turkey's largest dam, which was completed in 1974 and provides electrical power.

Erzurum Province (Turkish: Erzurum ili) is a province and metropolitan municipality in the Eastern Anatolia Region of Turkey. Its area is 25,006 km, and its population is 749,754 (2022). The capital of the province is the city of Erzurum. It is the fourth largest province in all of Turkey. It is bordered by the provinces of Kars and Ağrı to the east, Muş and Bingöl to the south, Erzincan and Bayburt to the west, Rize and Artvin to the north and Ardahan to the northeast. The governor of the province is Mustafa Çiftçi, appointed in August 2023. The province has a Turkish majority.

Ağrı Province (Turkish: Ağrı ili, Armenian: Արարատ մարզ, Kurdish: Parêzgeha Agirîyê) is located in eastern Turkey, bordering Iran to the east and the provinces of Kars to the north, Erzurum to the northwest, Muş and Bitlis to the southwest, Van to the south, and Iğdır to the northeast. Its area is 11,099 km, and its population is 511,238 (2023). The provincial capital is Ağrı, situated on a 1,650 metres (5,410 ft) high plateau. Doğubayazıt was the capital of the province until 1946. The current governor is Mustafa Koç.

The province is considered part of Western Armenia and was part of the ancient province of Ayrarat of Kingdom of Armenia. Before the Armenian genocide, modern Ağri Province was part of the six Armenian vilayets. The majority of the province's population are ethnic Kurds.

Malazgirt (Kurdish: Melezgir; Armenian: Մանազկերտ, romanized: Manazkert; Georgian: მანასკერტი, romanized: Manaskerti; Medieval Greek: Ματζιέρτη, romanized: Matziértē), historically known as Manzikert (Medieval Greek: Μαντζικέρτ), is a town in Muş Province in Turkey. It is the seat of Malazgirt District. Malazgirt was elected from the DEM Party in the 2024 Turkish Local Elections, with Ahmet Kenan Türker serving as the mayor. According to the 2024 population census, the district's total population is 42,135.It is mostly populated by Kurds with few Islamized Armenians.

It is the site of the 1071 Battle of Manzikert between the Byzantines and Seljuk Turks. In the city, there is the Malazgirt Castle, for which the Byzantine Empire and the Seljuk state fought dozens of times.

Muş (pronounced [muʃ]; Armenian: Մուշ; Kurdish: Mûş) is a city in eastern Turkey. It is the seat of Muş Province and Muş District. Its population is 120,699 (2022). The city is majority Kurdish.

Toklu (Kurdish: Mamakhig) is a hamlet of the village Yurttutan in the Varto District, Muş Province, in east Turkey. Alparslan 1 Dam was built near this village, which has a population of 168 (2016).

Alpaslan-1 Dam (Turkish: Alpaslan I Barajı) is a dam and hydroelectric power station in Muş Province, Turkey. The foundation stone was laid in 1994, and construction on the dam's superstructure commenced in 1998. The dam began impounding its reservoir in 2008, and the first of four 40 MW generators became operational in 2009. The second was commissioned in 2012.