[2] Silvan has been identified by several scholars as one of two possible locations (the other being Arzan) of Tigranakert (Tigranocerta), the ancient capital of the Kingdom of Armenia, which was built by King Tigran the Great (ruling 95–55 BC) and named in his honor.

During the following years, the city changed hands several times due to rivalries between Seljuk clans and local rulers.

The Artukid Husam al-Din Timurtash built the Malabadi Bridge near Meiafarakin, one of the wonders of the time by its dimensions.

In early 1260, the city, defended by its last Ayyubid ruler Al-Kamil Muhammad, suffered the Siege of Mayyāfāriqīn, and its population then massacred by the Mongol army led by Hulagu Khan, with the help of his Georgian and Armenian allies.

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.

[17] Archaeologists headed by professor Ahmet Tanyıldız, the vice-rector of Dicle University, announced in 2021 that they had discovered the grave of the Seljuk Sultan of Rum Kilij Arslan I, who fought against the Crusader forces.

Researchers dug two meters deep across a 35-square-meter area and focused their works on two gravesites in Orta Çeşme Park.