Amasya
(2002 est. pop. 78,000). Amasya, known historically as Amaseia, is the capital city of the province of Amasya (population 346,191) in Turkey. The city straddles the Yesilirmak River in central Anatolia.
The city was under the rule of nine different civilizations, beginning with the Hittites (second millennium BCE) and ending with the Ottomans (1453–1922), before it became part of the Turkish Republic. The town most likely began as a Hittite settlement, falling to Alexander of Macedon in the fourth century BCE. Under King Mithridates II (123–88 BCE; ruler of the Pontic kingdom that flourished from the fourth century to 66 BCE), Amasya flourished as the Roman royal capital of the kingdom of Pontus. Much of its wealth and power derived from its strategic location on the Roman road system. In about 47 BCE, as Roman influence in Anatolia declined, the city fell under Byzantine (330 CE) and then Seljuk (1075) rule.
The Mongols under Genghis Khan routed the city in the thirteenth century. The town was finally lost to the Ottoman army, led by the sultan Bayezid I (c. 1360–1403). Under Ottoman rule, Amasya flourished as one of the training and education centers for crown princes who often served as governors. During the fifteenth century, it was a center for calligraphic monograms (tuora), and during the nineteenth century it became a major center of Islamic education.
The city also played a major role in Turkish independence when, on 12 June 1919, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk (1881–1938), the founder of the Turkish Republic, came to Amasya. There he met secretly with associates to plan the war of independence to drive out the victorious Allies and Greeks and make Turkey an independent nation. The city suffered a devastating fire in 1915, which destroyed many of its buildings and monuments, as well as earthquakes in 1734, 1825, and 1939.
Amasya is known for its orchards of apples, cherries, and peaches; as well as the rock tombs of the rulers of Pontus, Ottoman buildings, and nineteenth-century wooden homes. Economic activity centers on agriculture, textiles, and mining. It is also known as the birthplace of the Greek geographer and historian Strabo (64 or 63 BCE–after 23 CE).
Further Reading
Statistical Yearbook of Turkey, 1998. (1998) Ankara, Turkey: Devlet Ystatistik Enstitusu.
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