Sophene

Sophene ( or , ; ) was a province of the ancient kingdom of Armenia, located in the south-west of the kingdom, and of the Roman Empire. The region lies in what is now southeastern Turkey.

Degik was a canton of the province of Sophene in the ancient Kingdom of Armenia. It was located between the Euphrates river and the town of Çemişgezek. It had three prominent fortified settlements, Qruik, Mok, and Krni. It passed from Armenian rule to the Eastern Roman Empire, then to Arab-ruled Arminiya. The local Armenian prince Manuel handed Degik over to the Byzantine emperor Leo VI () and was gifted land in the Pontic region. A number of the Armenian villages in the region united with the Byzantine church and became Chalcedonian, adopting the Byzantine rite while still using the Armenian