Batman Province (Turkish: Batman ili, Kurdish: Parêzgeha Êlihê[2]) is a Turkish province southeast of Anatolia. It was created in May 1990 with the Law No. 3647 taking some parts from the eastern Province of Siirt and some from the southern Province of Mardin.[3] The province’s population exceeded 500,000 in 2010. The province is important because of its reserves and production of oil which started in the 1940s. There is a 494-km long oil pipeline from Batman to the Turkish port of İskenderun. Cotton is the main agricultural product. A railway line connects Batman with the nearby provinces of Diyarbakır and Elâzığ and with the capital Ankara. The city of Batman (Kurdish: Êlih), with 460,955 inhabitants, is the provincial capital. The majority of the province’s population is Kurdish.[4] Its current Governor is Hulusi Şahin.[5]