Keşan (; ; ;

Byzantine Greek Medieval Greek (also known as Middle Greek, Byzantine Greek, or Romaic; Greek: ) is the stage of the Greek language between the end of classical antiquity in the 5th–6th centuries and the end of the Middle Ages, conventionally dated to the F ...

: Ρούσιον, ''Rusion'')Kenneth M. Setton, Norman P. Zacour, Harry W. Hazard, A History of the Crusades: The Impact of the Crusades on the Near East Wisconsin University Press 1985, p. 545
/ref>Hakan T. Karateke, Evliyā Çelebī’s Journey from Bursa to the Dardanelles and Edirne, From the Fifth Book of the Seyāḥatnāme, Leiden - Boston 2013, p. 197
/ref>Hakan Eşme, Keşan'ın Tarihçesi
/ref> is a town in Edirne Province, Turkey. It is the seat of Keşan District.İlçe Belediyesi
, Turkey Civil Administration Departments Inventory. Retrieved 1 March 2023. Its population is 64,842 (2022). In the summer its population increases because of an influx of tourists. The mayor is Mehmet Özcan ( CHP).

Agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

and

commerce Commerce is the organized Complex system, system of activities, functions, procedures and institutions that directly or indirectly contribute to the smooth, unhindered large-scale exchange (distribution through Financial transaction, transactiona ...

are the two most important sources of

income Income is the consumption and saving opportunity gained by an entity within a specified timeframe, which is generally expressed in monetary terms. Income is difficult to define conceptually and the definition may be different across fields. F ...

in Keşan. Because of its proximity to

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

, there is a daily flow of tourists in and out of the district.

Literacy Literacy is the ability to read and write, while illiteracy refers to an inability to read and write. Some researchers suggest that the study of "literacy" as a concept can be divided into two periods: the period before 1950, when literacy was ...

is 98%. The local music includes gaida, tupan, and hora dance.

History

Humans have lived there continuously since the

30th century BC The 30th century BC was a time period that lasted from the year 3000 BC to 2901 BC. Events * Before 3000 BC: An image of a deity (detail from a Cong (jade), cong) recovered from Tomb 12 in Fanshan, Yuyao, Zhejiang, is made during the Neolithic ...

. The first inhabitants were the Neolithic peoples and later the

Thracians The Thracians (; ; ) were an Indo-European languages, Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Southeast Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied the area that today is shared betwee ...

. Many Thracian coins of the Odrysians have been found near Keşan.''Keşan -'' Rumeli Balkan Edirne haberleri, Trakya-net.com/
/ref> The city was first attested in 580 BC as part of the Odrysian kingdom of Thrace and then came under the rule of the

Persian Empire The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire, also known as the Persian Empire or First Persian Empire (; , , ), was an Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty in 550 BC. Based in modern-day Iran, it was the larg ...

, the Macedonian Empire, the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

(including i.е.

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

), the Bulgarian Empire, the Byzantine Empire, the

Latin Empire The Latin Empire, also referred to as the Latin Empire of Constantinople, was a feudal Crusader state founded by the leaders of the Fourth Crusade on lands captured from the Byzantine Empire. The Latin Empire was intended to replace the Byzantin ...

, again the Bulgarian Empire and the Byzantine Empire. The town lay on the Via Egnatia and was thus mentioned by the geographer Claudius Ptolemy and many others. Throughout its history, the town was referred to as: Zorlanis (and Zerlanis, Zorlanae, Zorlanea), Topiris (and Topir, Topiro, Topirion), Kission (and Kissos, Kissan, Kissupolis), Rusion (and Russa, Roussa, Rossion). It was raided by the Kutrigurs in 538 and again in 559 under the leadership of Khan Zabergan.

Bulgars The Bulgars (also Bulghars, Bulgari, Bolgars, Bolghars, Bolgari, Proto-Bulgarians) were Turkic peoples, Turkic Nomad, semi-nomadic warrior tribes that flourished in the Pontic–Caspian steppe and the Volga region between the 5th and 7th centu ...

and

Slavs The Slavs or Slavic people are groups of people who speak Slavic languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout the northern parts of Eurasia; they predominantly inhabit Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Southeastern Europe, and ...

captured it in 617, 623 and 626, Tervel of Bulgaria in 705 and 717-718, Khan

Krum Krum (, ), often referred to as Krum the Fearsome () was the Khan of Bulgaria from sometime between 796 and 803 until his death in 814. During his reign the Bulgarian territory doubled in size, spreading from the middle Danube to the Dnieper a ...

in 813, Tzar Simeon the Great in 896, 913, 921, 922 and 923, Bulgarian rebels in 1040, Tzar

Ivan Asen II Ivan Asen II, also known as John Asen II (, ; 1190s – May/June 1241), was Emperor (Tsar) of Second Bulgarian Empire, Bulgaria from 1218 to 1241. He was still a child when his father Ivan Asen I of Bulgaria, Ivan Asen I one of the founders of th ...

in 1235-1236, Tzar Michail Shishman in 1328. Here is also the place of the remarkable Battle of Rusion, where Kaloyan of Bulgaria defeated the army of the

in 1206. The castle of Rusion is situated on the hill about 4 km southwest of the city center of Keşan and some ruins still exist around (

coordinates In geometry, a coordinate system is a system that uses one or more numbers, or coordinates, to uniquely determine and standardize the Position (geometry), position of the Point (geometry), points or other geometric elements on a manifold such as ...

: 40.826272N 26.679587E) the so-called "Kaletepe" (tur.- Fortress hill). ''Rusion'' did not easily fall to the

Ottoman Turks The Ottoman Turks () were a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group in Anatolia. Originally from Central Asia, they migrated to Anatolia in the 13th century and founded the Ottoman Empire, in which they remained socio-politically dominant for the e ...

. In 1359, the fortress was first held for a short time by Gazi Süleyman Paşa before being permanently annexed by Lala Şahin Paşa in 1362. Under the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

, ''Rusion'' was renamed to ''Rusköy'' (tur. Rus village), a name derived from the medieval fortress-town, and later to ''Keşan'' (from gr. Kissos, Kissupolis). Keşan belonged to the Galipoli Sanjak, and as such was part of the Rumelia Eyalet and then the Province of the Kapudan Pasha. It was a nahiya center in Enez kaza at first, later it was bound to İpsala kaza. It was transferred to the Eyalet of Edirne in 1530. According to the Ottoman population statistics of 1914, the kaza of Keşan had a total population of 30,644, consisting of 15.371

Greeks Greeks or Hellenes (; , ) are an ethnic group and nation native to Greece, Greek Cypriots, Cyprus, Greeks in Albania, southern Albania, Greeks in Turkey#History, Anatolia, parts of Greeks in Italy, Italy and Egyptian Greeks, Egypt, and to a l ...

, 15.221 Muslims, 51

Armenians Armenians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to the Armenian highlands of West Asia.Robert Hewsen, Hewsen, Robert H. "The Geography of Armenia" in ''The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiq ...

and 1

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

. Keşan was invaded by the

Russians Russians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Eastern Europe. Their mother tongue is Russian language, Russian, the most spoken Slavic languages, Slavic language. The majority of Russians adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church ...

in 1829 and in 1878, by the

Bulgarians Bulgarians (, ) are a nation and South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and its neighbouring region, who share a common Bulgarian ancestry, culture, history and language. They form the majority of the population in Bulgaria, ...

between 1912 and 1913 (on 14 November 1912, the Bulgarian Hayrabol detachment, commanded by

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

Petar Salabashev, took the town and Tzar Ferdinand resided there for a few days), by the

between 30 of July 1920 and 1922. It was ceded to

Republic of Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

on 19 November 1922. Keşan district reached its present borders after the separation of nahiya of Enez in 1953. A large part of the population are Bulgarian speaking Muslims, immigrants from Bulgaria and Greece, Roma, and Turkmens.

Geography

Keşan lies in the southern part of Edirne Province, at the intersection of the State roads D.550 (Edirne–Gelibolu) and D.110 (İpsala–Istanbul). The town consists of 11 quarters: Mustafa Kemal Paşa, Yenimahalle, İspatcami, Cumhuriyet, İstasyon, Yenimescit, Aşağızaferiye, Yukarızaferiye, Büyükcami, Paşayiğit and İzzetiye.

Notable people

* Selim Sesler (1957–2014), clarinet virtuoso of Romani heritage * Aleko Trendafilov - volunteer in

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...

detachment of the Bulgarian Macedonian-Adrianopolitan Volunteer Corps, born and resident of Keşan * Kosta Yanev - volunteer in 3rd

company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of legal people, whether Natural person, natural, Juridical person, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members ...

of the 10th Prilep

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of up to one thousand soldiers. A battalion is commanded by a lieutenant colonel and subdivided into several Company (military unit), companies, each typically commanded by a Major (rank), ...

of Bulgarian Macedonian-Adrianopolitan Volunteer Corps, born and resident of Keşan„Македоно-одринското опълчение 1912-1913 г. Личен състав“, Главно управление на архивите, 2006, стр. 818.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kesan District municipalities in Turkey Populated places in Keşan District