Samsat
Samsat | |
---|---|
Coordinates: 37°34′46″N 38°28′53″E / 37.57944°N 38.48139°E | |
Country | Turkey |
Province | Adıyaman |
District | Samsat |
Established | 12th c. BC |
Government | |
• Mayor | Halil Fırat (AKP) |
Elevation | 610 m (2,000 ft) |
Population (2022)[1] | 3,790 |
Time zone | UTC+3 (TRT) |
Website | www |
Samsat (
Halil Fırat from the Justice and Development Party (AKP) was elected mayor in the local elections in March 2019.[6] The current Kaymakam is Halid Yıldız.[7]
Samsat was the ancient capital of
Its population was 3,790 in 2022, up from 3,520 in 2017.[1]
History
Antiquity
The city of Samosata was founded sometime before 245 BC on the previous
Like other early-Orontid royal residences, Samosata experienced a sudden shift in its architectural style under the Orontids of
Roman legions were later placed in Samosata to discourage the Sasanian Empire (224–651) from attacking it. In 260, it was the first city that was sacked by the Sasanian emperor Shapur I (r. 240–270) following his capture of the Roman emperor Valerian (r. 253–260). Shapur I is known to have had coins minted in the same fashion as the Roman antoninianus, which he may have taken from the material used in the mint of Samosata.[20]
It was at Samosata that
Samosata was the birthplace of several renowned people from antiquity such as Lucian (c. 120-192) and Paul of Samosata (fl. 260).
Medieval history
The Arabs conquered Commagene from the Byzantines in 640.
In the tenth century, the town, which was the second biggest in the region after Melitene, was recaptured by the Byzantines.[21] In June 966, Samosata was the venue of an exchange of prisoners between the Byzantine Emperor Nikephoros II Phokas and his Muslim foe Sayf al-Dawla.[22]
After the collapse of Byzantine authority in the region, the town fell into the domain of the Armenian
Warfare in the
Samosata was temporarily absorbed into the
Modern times
During Turkey's republican period, the population of the town decreased. In 1960, Samsat was made a district center and connected to the province of Adıyaman.
The city of Samsat was evacuated from the old settlement on 5 March 1988 due to the construction of the Atatürk Dam. A new location for the settlement was announced through Law No. 3433 on 21 April 1988. The historical Samsat was submerged in 1989 as the dam created the Atatürk Reservoir. The new town was built beside the new waterline by the Turkish government to house the displaced residents.
Samsat, which was moved to the new location, was destroyed by an earthquake on 2 March 2017. The city was largely rebuilt afterwards.[25][26]
In Christianity
In the Christian
Chabot gives a list of twenty-eight
Archaeology
Samsat Höyük is a tell located just north of the Samsat district of Adıyaman. Archaeological research on the hill of Şehremuz in Samsat has uncovered relics from the 7000 BC Paleolithic era; the 5000 BC Neolithic, 3000 BC Chalcolithic and 3000 to 1200 BC Bronze Ages. The ancient city of Ḫaḫḫum (Hittite: Ḫaḫḫa) was located nearby; it is recorded as a source of gold for ancient Sumeria.
The first excavations were conducted in 1964 and 1967 under the direction of the American archeologist Theresa Goell.[32] In fact, the settlement was known and famous before these excavations. Then, in 1977, under the Lower Euphrates Project, plans were put together aimed at identifying and saving the archaeological settlements that were to be inundated by the reservoir of Karakaya and Atatürk Dams. Surface surveys were conducted under the direction of Mehmet Özdoğan. In these studies, it was concluded that the settlement was permanently inhabited from the Halaf Period to the Ottoman Period. The following year, the excavations started in 1978, except for 1980, until 1987, under Ankara University, Faculty of Language and History-Geography It was conducted by the team led by Nimet Özgüç. These excavations were carried out on a very wide area, including the lower city and surrounding walls.
Coins belonging to the 12th - 13th centuries AD were identified during the excavations in the layers dating to the late phases of the Middle Ages. Of these Seljuk sultans I. Gıyaseddin Keyhusrev (1192–1195), Ala al-Din Keykubbad, (1219-1236), II. Gıyaseddin Keyhusrev (1236-1246), IV. Rükn el-Din The coins of Kılıç Arslan (1257–1264), as well as the coins of Saladin (1170-1193) printed in Harran, were uncovered.[33]
The collection of glassware with cups, glasses and bowls is very rich. Other finds include oil lamps, ivory comb, fragrance bottle,[34] terracotta lamps, bone spoons, leaf-shaped marble sconces and coins.[35]
The walls of the Seljuk Period, built on a solid Byzantine fortress, were preserved intact. The inscription on the limestone of this fortification was studied by a master calligrapher. The landfill belonged to Diyarbekr Şah Karaaslan.[36]
The centre of the palace, which is thought to be the central courtyard, is 14,65 X 20,55 meters and it has a mosaic corner.[37]
The skeletons of five people thrown into a 1.8 meter diameter well of the Islamic Period were found. At the bottom with the skeletons, five gold coins and silver coins from the Abbasid Period were found. One of the gold coins belongs to Harun al-Rashid (766 - 709) and the others to Mutawakkil (822 - 861).[38]
Today the settlement is under the Euphrates, but before inundation it was 37–40 meters above the plain level and had an area of 500 x 350 meters. The steepest slope is the eastern slope and the lowest slope is the southwest-facing slope. The mound consists of a terrace and a ruined town covered with sediment.[39] Samsat Höyük as an archaeological site is considered to be no longer accessible while it is covered by the waters of the reservoir. The old town of Samosata below the tell was not excavated.[40]
References
- ^ a b "Population Of Municipalities, Villages And Quarters". TÜIK. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
- ^ Avcıkıran, Adem (2009). Kürtçe Anamnez Anamneza bi Kurmancî (in Turkish and Kurdish). p. 56.
- ^ İlçe Belediyesi, Turkey Civil Administration Departments Inventory. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
- ^ Aşiretler raporu (in Turkish) (3rd ed.). Kaynak Yayınları. 2014. p. 14.
- .
- ^ "Adıyaman Samsat Seçim Sonuçları - 31 Mart 2019 Yerel Seçimleri". www.sabah.com.tr. Retrieved 2019-12-18.
- ^ "T.C. Samsat Kaymakamlığı". www.samsat.gov.tr. Retrieved 2019-12-18.
- ^ Samsat, Gezilecek Yerler.
- ^ Samsat’ta kalıcı konutların temelleri atılıyor.
- ^ Canepa 2018, p. 109.
- ^ Michels 2021, pp. 478–479.
- ^ Canepa 2021, p. 84; see also Canepa 2018, p. 110
- ^ Canepa 2021, p. 82.
- ^ Canepa 2018, p. 110.
- ^ Canepa 2021, p. 84.
- ^ Andrade 2013, p. 74.
- ^ Andrade 2013, p. 77.
- ^ Andrade 2013, p. 87.
- ^ Andrade 2013, p. 177.
- ^ Gyselen 2010, p. 76.
- ^ Beihammer 2017, p. 54.
- ^ Fattori 2013, p. 117.
- ^ a b Beihammer 2017, p. 285.
- ^ Beihammer 2017, p. 256.
- ^ "Adıyaman'daki depremde 13 kişi yaralandı, yıkılan binalar var". BBC News Türkçe.
- ^ "Samsat ilçesi yeniden inşa ediliyor". 20 March 2022.
- ^ Mansi, Conciliorum collectio, XVII-XVIII, 445.
- Le Quien, Oriens christianus, II, 994.
- ^ Le Quien, Oriens christianus, II, 933-6.
- ^ Revue de l'Orient chrétien, VI, 203.
- ISBN 3-515-05718-8
- ^ Samosata Archaeological Excavations, Turkey, 1967, In: National Geographic Society Research Reports, 1967 Projects. 1974, pp. 83–109
- ^ Nimet Özgüç, 1985 Yılında Yapılmış Olan Samsat Kazılarının Sonuçları' – 8. Kazı Sonuçları Toplantısı (1986) Sh.: 297
- ^ Nimet Özgüç, 8. Kazı Sonuçları Toplantısı, p298
- ^ Nimet Özgüç, 7. Kazı Sonuçları Toplantısı, p 227
- ^ Nimet Özgüç, Samsat Kazıları 1982' – 5. Kazı Sonuçları Toplantısı (1983) p111.
- ^ Nimet Özgüç, Samsat 1984 Yılı Kazıları, 7. Kazı Sonuçları Toplantısı (1985) p224.
- ^ Nimet Özgüç, 7. Kazı Sonuçları Toplantısı (1985) Sh.: 226
- ^ TAY – Yerleşme Ayrıntıları.
- ^ Samsat.
Sources
- Andrade, Nathanael J. (2013), Syrian Identity in the Greco-Roman World, Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-1-107-01205-9
- Beihammer, Alexander Daniel (2017). Byzantium and the Emergence of Muslim Turkish Anatolia, ca. 1040-1130. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-138-22959-4.
- Canepa, Matthew (2021). "Commagene Before and Beyond Antiochos I: Dynastic Identity, Topographies of Power and Persian Spectacular Religion". Common Dwelling Place of all the Gods: Commagene in its Local, Regional, and Global Context. Franz Steiner Verlag. pp. 71–103. ISBN 978-3515129251.
- ISBN 9780520379206.
- Curtis, Vesta Sarkhosh; Stewart, Sarah (2008). The Sasanian Era. I.B. Tauris. ISBN 978-1845116903.
- Fattori, Niccolò (June 2013). "The Policies of Nikephoros II Phokas in the context of the Byzantine economic recovery" (PDF). Middle East Technical University.
- Gyselen, Rika (2010). "Romans and Sasanians in the Third Century. Propaganda warfare and ambiguous imagery". In Börm, Henning; Wiesehöfer, Josef (eds.). Commutatio Et Contentio. Wellem Verlag. pp. 71–120. ISBN 978-1463239886.
- Haase, C.P. (1997). "Sumaysāṭ". In ISBN 978-90-04-10422-8.
- Michels, Christoph (2021). "'Achaemenid' and 'Hellenistic' Strands of Representation in the Minor Kingdoms of Asia Minor". Common Dwelling Place of all the Gods: Commagene in its Local, Regional, and Global Context. Franz Steiner Verlag. pp. 475–496. ISBN 978-3515129251.