The history of Amasya

Its location in this steep valley makes the city a mountain stronghold, easy to defend, and thus Amasya has had a long and prominent history.

Antiquity

Archaeological research shows that Amasya was first settled in 5,500 BC by the Hittites and subsequently by Phrygians, Cimmerians, Lydians, Persians.

Greeks and Hellenes

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.

The Romans and Byzantines

Amaseia was captured by the Roman Lucullus in 70 BC and was quickly made a free city and administrative centre 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.^[1] Under the Romans it gained the titles 'metropolis' and 'first city' in the second century AD. 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 Qilic Arslan. 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 villiage, an Armenian village, a Bosnian village, a Tatar village, a Turkish village, an Arab village, a Kurdish village, etc. (see: 1927 Population count data by DİE.)

The Turkish War of Independence

In 1919 Amasya was the location of the final planning meetings held by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk for the building of a Turkish army to establish the Turkish republic following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire at the end of the First World War. It was here that Mustafa Kemal made the announcement of the Turkish War of Independence in the Amasya Circular.

The Republic of Turkey

The Greeks of Amasya were replaced by Turks from Greece in the population exchange at the founding of the Turkish Republic.