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Amasya (Turkish pronunciation: [aˈmasja]), the Amaseia of antiquity, is the capital of the administrative district of Amasya Province in northern Turkey. The population of the province is 334,786 and the population of the city is 99,905.[3] The mayor is Cafer Özdemir (AKP).
Amasya stands in the mountains above the Black Sea coast, in a narrow valley along the banks of the Yeşilırmak River. Although near the Black Sea, this area is high above the coast and has an inland climate, well-suited to growing apples, for which the province of Amasya is famed. Amasya is set apart from the rest of Anatolia in its tight mountain valley and hides its beauty. Amasya is one of the provinces in north-central Anatolia Turkey which is distinct for its natural setup and historical values. It was the homeland of the famous geographer Strabo. Located in a narrow cleft of the Yesilirmak (Iris) river, it has a past of 7,500 years during which many civilizations left remains.
In antiquity, Amaseia (Αμάσεια) was a fortified city high on the cliffs above the river. It has a long history as provincial capital, a wealthy city producing kings and princes, artists, scientists, poets and thinkers, from the kings of Pontus, through Strabo the geographer
Etymology
According to Strabo the Greek name Ἀμάσεια comes from Amasis, the queen of the Amazons, who were said to have lived here. The name has changed little throughout history, Ἀμάσεια, Amaseia, Amassia and Amasia all being found in ancient Greek and Roman coinage and continuing to be used through modern times by Greeks. In Armenian, it is written Armenian: Ամասիա, in Ottoman "أماصيا", and in modern Turkish "Amasya", all representing the same sound.
Antiquity
Archaeological research shows that Amasya was first settled in 5500 BC[CN] by the Hittites and subsequently by Phrygians, Cimmerians, Lydians, Persians, Armenians.
Hellenistic period
By 183 BC the city was settled by Hellenistic people, eventually becoming the capital of the kings of Pontus from 333 BC to 26 BC. Today there are prominent ruins including the royal tombs of Pontus in the rocks above the riverbank in the centre of the city. Ancient district in northeastern Anatolia adjoining the Black Sea. In the 1st century BC it briefly contested Rome's hegemony in Anatolia. An independent Pontic kingdom with its capital at Amaseia (modern Amasya) was established at the end of the 4th century BC in the wake of Alexander's conquests. Superficially Hellenized, the kingdom retained its Persian social structure, with temple priests and Persianized feudal nobles ruling over a heterogeneous village population.
Roman-Byzantine period
Amaseia was captured by the Roman Lucullus in 70 BC from Armenia and was quickly made a free city and administrative center of his new province of Bithynia and Pontus by Pompey. By this time Amaseia was a thriving city, the home of thinkers, writers and poets, and one of them, Strabo, left a full description of Amaseia as it was between 60 BC and 19 AD. Around 2 or 3 BC, it was incorporated into the Roman province of Galatia, in the district of Pontus Galaticus. Around the year 112, the emperor Trajan designated it a part of the province of Cappadocia.[7][8] Later in the 2nd century it gained the titles 'metropolis' and 'first city'. After the division of the Roman Empire by emperor Diocletian the city became part of the East Roman Empire (the Byzantine Empire). At this time it had a predominantly Greek-speaking population.
Early Turkish rulers
In 1075 following 700 years of Byzantine rule Amasya was conquered by the Turkmen Danishmend emirs. It became their capital until it was annexed by the Seljuk ruler Kiliç Arslan II. Under the Seljuks and the Ilkhan the city became a centre of Islamic culture. Schools, mosques, tombs and other architecture of this period still remain.
The Ottomans
After being incorporated into the Ottoman Empire under Sultan Bayezid I Amasya grew in importance as a centre of learning; the children of the Ottoman rulers being sent here for their education. As part of their preparation for future rule they were given the position and responsibility of governor of Amasya. Future sultans from Beyazid I in the late 14th century through to Murat III in the 16th were schooled here and held the position of governor in their youth.
The population of Amasya at this time was very different from that of most other cities in the Ottoman Empire; as it was part of their the training for the future sultans to learn about every nation of the Empire. Every millet of the Empire was represented in Amasya in a particular village—such as a pontic village, an Armenian village, a Bosnian village, a Tatar village, a Turkish village etc. (see: 1927 Population count data by DİE.)
References
^ "Area of regions (including lakes), km²". Regional Statistics Database. Turkish Statistical Institute. 2002. Retrieved 2013-03-05.
^ "Population of province/district centers and towns/villages by districts - 2012". Address Based Population Registration System (ABPRS) Database. Turkish Statistical Institute. Retrieved 2013-02-27.
^ Population of city, towns and villages – 2010, TURKISH STATISTICAL INSTITUTE
^ İl ve İlçelerimize Ait İstatistiki Veriler- Meteoroloji Genel Müdürlüğü. Dmi.gov.tr. Retrieved on 2011-04-16.
^ Aamsya (tr)
^ History of Amasya
^ Strabo Geographica, (12.561).
^ Mitchell, Stephen (1996), "Amaseia", in Hornblower, Simon; Spawforth, Anthony, Oxford Classical Dictionary (3rd ed.), Oxford: Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-521693-6
^ Lequien, Oriens Christianus (1740), I, 521–532
^ Amasea (Titular See). [Catholic-Hierarchy] (2011-04-09). Retrieved on 2011-04-16.
^ Amasea (Titular See), Titular Metropolitan See of Amasea, Turkey
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