For most of the periods described there Doğubeyazıt was a bigger and more important settlement than the present-day provincial capital Ağrı, not least because this is the Iranian border crossing.
The area has had a rich history with monuments dating back to the time of the Kingdom of Urartu (over 2700 years ago). Before the Ottoman empire the site was referred to by its Armenianname, Daroynk. In the 4th century the Sasanians failed to capture the Armenian stronghold and royal treasury at Daroynk. Princes of the Bagratid dynasty of Armenia resided at Daroynk and rebuilt the fortress. It was subsequently conquered by Persians,Romans, Arabs, and Byzantines all of whom would have used the plain to rest and recoup during their passages across the mountains. Turkish peoples arrived in 1064, but were soon followed by theMongols and further waves of Turks. The castle of Daroynk was built and rebuilt many times throughout this history, although it is now named after the Turkish warlord Celayırlı Şehzade Bayazıt Han who ordered one of the rebuildings (in 1374). Ultimately, the town was renamed Beyazit itself in the 16th century.
After its conquest by the Ottoman Empire in 1514 the area was ruled by Turkish generals, later including İshakpaşa, who built the palace that still bears his name.
The town saw fighting in the Turko-Persian War of 1821-1822, was attacked by Russia in 1856, and taken by the Russians during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878. When the Russians retreated many of the Armenian population left with them to build New Beyazit (now Gavar at Armenia) on the shore of lake Sevan.
Doğubeyazıt was further ravaged during World War I and the Turkish War of Independence
The town of Bayazit was populated by Kurds in 1930, when the Turkish army destroyed it.. A new town was built in the plain below the old site in the 1930s (hence the new name "Doğubeyazıt" which literally means "East Beyazıt")
