The name of Afşin is mentioned as Arabissos in Byzantine sources and Efsus in Arab sources. Seljuk period is also called with the same name. Then this name has been translated into the shape of Yarpuz by our people. It is known that Afsin name came from Afsin Bey, one of the esteemed commanders of Alpaslan during Sultan Alpaslan period.

Afşin, which was thought to date back to 4000 BC until the Hittites, came under Assyrian rule since the year 750 BC. .

The Arabs dominated the region from time to time. The Turks who settled in Anatolia with the victory of 1071 Malazgirt ended the Byzantine rule under the command of Afşin Bey and established Seljuk sovereignty in the region.

After Dulkadir Bey, it came under Ottoman sovereignty since 1572. During the Republican period, Afşin was a district center in the district of Elbistan and became a district center in 1944 with the law numbered 4642 on 02/08/1944.