Roman era

In 69 BC, the army of Republican Rome defeated Tigran's troops in the battle of Tigranocerta. The city lost its importance as a thriving center for trade and Hellenistic culture in the following decades. In 387 AD, with the Peace of Acilisene, Tigranakert was made part of the Byzantine Empire.

Around 400 AD, the city's bishop, Marutha (later, saint Maruthas), brought a large number of relics of Christian martyrs persecuted under Sassanid rule back from Sassanid Persia. For this reason Tigranakert was renamed Martyropolis (Μαρτυρούπολις), "city of the martyrs." Following the reforms of Justinian I (rule 527–565), the city was made the capital of the province of Fourth Armenia.^[9] The city was inconclusively besieged by the Persians in the last phase of the Iberian War.

The city suffered heavily in the Battle of Martyropolis in 588 AD, but soon prospered again.^[10]

Islamic era

It was known by the name of Meiafarakin after the Arabs took over this region in the 7th century. It came under the control of the Hamdanids in 935, then the Buyids in 978, then it came under the Kurdish Marwanids and became the capital of their dynasty until the end of the 11th century.^[11] The city and the entire province of Diyarbakir were taken in 1085 by the Seljuk Malik-Shah I.

During the following years, the city changed hands several times due to rivalries between Seljuk clans and local rulers. In 1118, the Artukids took the city. They resisted the attacks of Zengi for many years. The Artukid Husam al-Din Timurtash built the Malabadi Bridge near Meiafarakin, one of the wonders of the time by its dimensions. The dynasty remained in place but preferred to reside in Mardin, leaving a governor to preside over Meiafarakin.

In early 1260, the city was besieged and captured and its population then massacred by the Mongol army led by Hulagu Khan, with the help of his Georgian and Armenian allies.^[12] The Artukids eventually disappeared in 1408 under the attacks of the Qara Qoyunlu.

Ottoman Empire

In 1896, reports by the British Vice Consul Hallward indicate that many villages were destroyed during the Armenian massacres in 1895. Hallward was engaged in the rebuilding of about 35 villages.^[13]

21st century

An ambush killing 13 Turkish soldiers occurred in the forests of Silvan by Kurdistan Workers' Party separatists, who also lost seven killed in action.

Silvan was also the site of serious clashes between Turkish government forces and Kurdish Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) separatists in August 2015 during the wider Operation Martyr Yalçın.^[14]

Naşide Toprak from the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) was elected Mayor of Silvan in the local elections in March 2019.^[15] She was dismissed in March 2020, and Mehmet Uslu has been appointed as a trustee instead of her.^[16]