Marash (Armenian: Մարաշ), officially Kahramanmaraş () and historically Germanicea (Greek: Γερμανίκεια), is a city in the
Mediterranean Region
In biogeography, the Mediterranean Basin (; also known as the Mediterranean Region or sometimes Mediterranea) is the region of lands around the Mediterranean Sea that have mostly a Mediterranean climate, with mild to cool, rainy winters and wa ...
of
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
and the administrative center of
Kahramanmaraş Province
Kahramanmaraş Province kurdish( tr, Kahramanmaraş ili ) is a province of Turkey. Its provincial capital is the city of Kahramanmaraş, the traffic code is 46.
Geography
Kahramanmaraş is traversed by the northeasterly line of equal latitude and ...
. Before 1973, Kahramanmaraş was officially named Maraş, and later, it attained the prefix "kahraman" (meaning "hero" in Turkish) to commemorate
Battle of Marash. The city lies on a plain at the foot of the Ahir Dağı (Ahir Mountain).The region is best known for its
distinctive ice cream, and its production of
salep
Salep, also spelled sahlep or sahlab,( tr, salep, sahlep; fa, ثعلب, ; ar, سحلب, ; al, salep; az, səhləb; he, סַחְלָבּ, ; el, σαλέπι, ; Serbian, Macedonian, Bulgarian and Bosnian: салеп, ''salep'') is a flour ma ...
, a powder made from dried
orchid
Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant.
Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowerin ...
tubers.
Kahramanmaraş Airport has flights to
İstanbul
)
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code = 34000 to 34990
, area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side)
, registration_plate = 34
, blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD
, blank_in ...
and
Ankara
Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...
.
History
Early history
In the early
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostl ...
(late 11th century BC to ca. 711 BC), Maraş was the capital city of the
Syro-Hittite state Gurgum
Gurgum was a Neo-Hittite state in Anatolia, known from the 10th to the 7th century BC. Its name is given as Gurgum in Assyrian sources, while its native name seems to have been Kurkuma for the reason that the capital of Gurgum— Marqas in Assyria ...
(
Hieroglyphic Luwian
Hieroglyphic Luwian (''luwili'') is a variant of the Luwian language, recorded in official and royal seals and a small number of monumental inscriptions. It is written in a hieroglyphic script known as Anatolian hieroglyphs.
A decipherment was pr ...
Kurkuma). It was known as "the Kurkumaean city" to its
Luwian
The Luwians were a group of Anatolian peoples who lived in central, western, and southern Anatolia, in present-day Turkey, during the Bronze Age and the Iron Age. They spoke the Luwian language, an Indo-European language of the Anatolian sub-fam ...
inhabitants and as Marqas to the
Assyria
Assyria ( Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , romanized: ''māt Aššur''; syc, ܐܬܘܪ, ʾāthor) was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization which existed as a city-state at times controlling regional territories in the indigenous lands of the ...
ns. In 711 BC, the land of Gurgum was annexed as an
Assyria
Assyria ( Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , romanized: ''māt Aššur''; syc, ܐܬܘܪ, ʾāthor) was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization which existed as a city-state at times controlling regional territories in the indigenous lands of the ...
n province and renamed Marqas after its capital.
Maraş was called Germanicia Caesarea ( grc, Γερμανίκεια, Germanikeia) in the time of the
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
and
Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
empires, probably after
Germanicus Julius Caesar rather than the German people. According to a 2010 ''
Cumhuriyet
''Cumhuriyet'' (; English: " Republic") is the oldest up-market Turkish daily newspaper. It has been described as "the most important independent public interest newspaper in contemporary Turkey". The newspaper was awarded the ''Freedom of Pr ...
'' article, the first ruins of Germanicia have already been unearthed in the Dulkadiroğulları quarters of the city.
Late Antiquity and Medieval Period
During the Byzantine Empire, Germanikeia was seat of an
eparch and one of the city's eparch participated in the
First Council of Nicea
The First Council of Nicaea (; grc, Νίκαια ) was a council of Christian bishops convened in the Bithynian city of Nicaea (now İznik, Turkey) by the Roman Emperor Constantine I in AD 325.
This ecumenical council was the first effort ...
. The city was lost to the Arabs in the 7th century and during the rule of
al-Mansur
Abū Jaʿfar ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Manṣūr (; ar, أبو جعفر عبد الله بن محمد المنصور; 95 AH – 158 AH/714 CE – 6 October 775 CE) usually known simply as by his laqab Al-Manṣūr (المنصور) w ...
the whole Christian population of the Germanikeia valley was deported and resettled at
Ramla
Ramla or Ramle ( he, רַמְלָה, ''Ramlā''; ar, الرملة, ''ar-Ramleh'') is a city in the Central District of Israel. Today, Ramle is one of Israel's mixed cities, with both a significant Jewish and Arab populations.
The city was f ...
in
Palestine. After the fall of the Armenian kingdoms in the 11th century the city became an important stronghold for the exiled
Armenians
Armenians ( hy, հայեր, '' hayer'' ) are an ethnic group native to the Armenian highlands of Western Asia. Armenians constitute the main population of Armenia and the ''de facto'' independent Artsakh. There is a wide-ranging diasp ...
and the city became the capital of the short-lived principality of
Philaretos Brachamios
Philaretos Brachamios ( el, Φιλάρετος Βραχάμιος; Armenian: Փիլարտոս Վարաժնունի, Pilartos Varajnuni; la, Philaretus Brachamius) or Vahram Varajnuni was a distinguished Byzantine general and warlord of Armenia ...
that at times included
Antioch
Antioch on the Orontes (; grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου, ''Antiókheia hē epì Oróntou'', Learned ; also Syrian Antioch) grc-koi, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου; or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπ ...
and
Edessa.
After Philaretos' death, another Armenian general named Tatoul took over the city and hosted the exhausted army of the
First Crusade
The First Crusade (1096–1099) was the first of a series of religious wars, or Crusades, initiated, supported and at times directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Islamic r ...
for four days before it moved on to the
Siege of Antioch
The siege of Antioch took place during the First Crusade in 1097 and 1098, on the crusaders' way to Jerusalem through Syria (region), Syria. Two sieges took place in succession. The first siege, by the crusaders against the city held by the Sel ...
. According to the Chronicle of
Matthew of Edessa
Matthew of Edessa (, Matevos Uṛhayetsi; late 11th century – 1144) was an Armenian historian in the 12th century from the city of Edessa (, ''Uṛha''). Matthew was the superior abbot of Karmir Vank' (Red Convent), near the town of Kaysun ...
, Germanikeia was destroyed by an earthquake and 10,000 people were killed, which is probably an exaggeration. In 1100, the city was captured by the
Danishmends
The Danishmendids or Danishmends ( fa, دودمان دانشمند; tr, Dânişmendliler) was a Turkish beylik that ruled in north-central and eastern Anatolia from 1071/1075 to 1178. The dynasty centered originally around Sivas, Tokat, and N ...
, followed by the
Seljuks
The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; fa, سلجوقیان ''Saljuqian'', alternatively spelled as Seljuqs or Saljuqs), also known as Seljuk Turks, Seljuk Turkomans "The defeat in August 1071 of the Byzantine emperor Romanos Diogenes
by the Turk ...
in 1103. In 1107, Crusaders led by
Tancred
Tancred or Tankred is a masculine given name of Germanic origin that comes from ''thank-'' (thought) and ''-rath'' (counsel), meaning "well-thought advice". It was used in the High Middle Ages mainly by the Normans (see French Tancrède) and espe ...
retook it with aid from
Toros I
Toros I ( hy, Թորոս Ա), also Thoros I, (unknown – 1129 / February 17, 1129 – February 16, 1130) was the third King of Cilicia, lord of Armenian Cilicia or “Lord of the Mountains” (c. 1100 / 1102 / 1103 – 1129 / 1130).
His alliance ...
of
Little Armenia. In 1135, the Danishmends besieged Germanikeia unsuccessfully, but captured it the next year. However, the Crusaders retook it in 1137.
Kaykhusraw I, Sultan of Rum captured Marash in 1208. Seljuk rule lasted to 1258, when Marash was captured by the
Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, following the war with the
Ilkhanate
The Ilkhanate, also spelled Il-khanate ( fa, ایل خانان, ''Ilxānān''), known to the Mongols as ''Hülegü Ulus'' (, ''Qulug-un Ulus''), was a khanate established from the southwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. The Ilkhanid realm ...
. Served by an
Armenian Apostolic Church
, native_name_lang = hy
, icon = Armenian Apostolic Church logo.svg
, icon_width = 100px
, icon_alt =
, image = Էջմիածնի_Մայր_Տաճար.jpg
, imagewidth = 250px
, a ...
Archbishop, it became for a very short period of time, the seat of the
Catholicossate of the Great House of Cilicia
The Armenian Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia ( hy, Կաթողիկոսութիւն Հայոց Մեծի Տանն Կիլիկիոյ) is an autocephalous Oriental Orthodox church. Since 1930, the Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilici ...
. Marash was captured by
Al-Ashraf Khalil
Al-Ashraf Salāh ad-Dīn Khalil ibn Qalawūn ( ar, الملك الأشرف صلاح الدين خليل بن قلاوون; c. 1260s – 14 December 1293) was the eighth Bahri Mamluk sultan, succeeding his father Qalawun. He served from 12 Novem ...
, Mamluk Sultan, in 1292. It was recaptured by
Hethum II
Hethum II ( hy, Հեթում Բ; 1266– November 17, 1307), also known by several other romanizations, was king of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, ruling from 1289 to 1293, 1295 to 1296 and 1299 to 1303, while Armenia was a subject state of the M ...
, King of Cilician Armenia, in 1299. Marash was finally taken by the Mamluks in 1304.
Marash was ruled by Dulkadirs as vassals of the Mamluks from 1337–1515 before being annexed to the Ottoman Empire. In the early days of Ottoman rule (1525–6) there were 1,557 adult males (total population 7,500); at this time all the inhabitants were Muslims, but later a substantial number of non-Muslims migrated to the city, mainly in the 19th century.
Modern period
During
Ottoman rule, the city was initially the centre of
Eyalet of Dulkadir (also called
Eyalet of Zûlkâdiriyye) and then an administrative centre of a
sanjak
Sanjaks (liwāʾ) (plural form: alwiyāʾ)
* Armenian: նահանգ (''nahang''; meaning "province")
* Bulgarian: окръг (''okrǔg''; meaning "county", "province", or "region")
* el, Διοίκησις (''dioikēsis'', meaning "province" ...
in the
Vilayet of Aleppo.
After the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, Marash was controlled by
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
troops between 22 February 1919 and 30 October 1919, then by
French troops, after the
Armistice of Mudros
Concluded on 30 October 1918 and taking effect at noon the next day, the Armistice of Mudros ( tr, Mondros Mütarekesi) ended hostilities in the Middle Eastern theatre between the Ottoman Empire and the Allies of World War I. It was signed by th ...
. It was taken over by the
Turkish National Movement
The Turkish National Movement ( tr, Türk Ulusal Hareketi) encompasses the political and military activities of the Turkish revolutionaries that resulted in the creation and shaping of the modern Republic of Turkey, as a consequence of the def ...
after the
Battle of Marash on 13 February 1920. Afterward a massacre of Armenian civilians took place. Roving Turkish bands threw
kerosene
Kerosene, paraffin, or lamp oil is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid which is derived from petroleum. It is widely used as a fuel in aviation as well as households. Its name derives from el, κηρός (''keros'') meaning "wax", and was regi ...
-doused rags on Armenian homes and laid a constant barrage upon the American relief hospital. The Armenians themselves, as in previous times of trouble, sought refuge in their churches and schools. Women and children found momentary shelter in Marash's six
Armenian Apostolic and three
Armenian Evangelical
The Armenian Evangelical Church ( hy, Հայաստանեայց Աւետարանական Եկեղեցի) was established on July 1, 1846, by thirty-seven men and three women in Constantinople.
History
In the 19th century there was an intellectua ...
churches, and in the city's sole
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
cathedral. All the churches, and eventually the entire Armenian districts, were set alight. When the 2,000 Armenians who had taken shelter in the Catholic cathedral attempted to leave, they were shot.
[Hovannisian, Richard G. (1971). ''The Republic of Armenia: The first year, 1918-1919''. University of California Press, p. 41. ] Early reports put the number of Armenians dead at no less than 16,000, although this was later revised down to 5,000–12,000.
In 1973, Marash's name was changed to Kahramanmaraş when the Turkish government added "Kahraman" to the name, in reference to the resistance to the French occupation after the First World War. ''Kahraman'' means "heroic" or “brave” in
Turkish.
In December 1978, the
Maraş Massacre
Maras or Maraş (pronounced Marash) may refer to:
Places
*Maraş, Turkey, previous name until 1973 of Kahramanmaraş, a city in the Mediterranean Region, Turkey and the administrative center of Kahramanmaraş Province
* Maras, Iran (disambiguation ...
of
leftist Alevis
Alevism or Anatolian Alevism (; tr, Alevilik, ''Anadolu Aleviliği'' or ''Kızılbaşlık''; ; az, Ələvilik) is a local Islamic tradition, whose adherents follow the mystical Alevi Islamic ( ''bāṭenī'') teachings of Haji Bektash Veli, ...
took place in the city. A
Turkish nationalist
Turkish nationalism ( tr, Türk milliyetçiliği) is a political ideology that promotes and glorifies the Turkish people, as either a national, ethnic, or linguistic group. The term "ultranationalism" is often used to describe Turkish nationali ...
group, the
Grey Wolves
The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly un ...
, incited the violence that left more than 100 dead. The incident was important in the Turkish government's decision to declare martial law, and the eventual
military coup in 1980.
Demographics
In 1913, the town was home to 45 thousand Turks and 30 thousand Armenians, while other ethnic groups had very small representation. The population of the province (which includes the city) was 1,112,634 as of 2017.
[see Demographics of Turkey#Census]
Climate
Kahramanmaraş has a
Mediterranean climate
A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...
(
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...
: ''Csa'',
Trewartha: ''Cs''). Summers are very hot and dry with a daytime average of 35 °C (95 °F) but temperatures can reach 40 °C (104 °F) quite easily. The highest recorded temperature is 45.2 °C (113.3 °F) on 30 July 2007. Winters are cool and wet with daytime temperatures typically in the 5-10 °C (40-50 °F) range. The coldest temperature recorded is -9.6 °C (14.7 °F) on 6 February 1997.
Industry
Several internationally known ice cream companies, like
MADO,
Yaşar Pastanesi Yaşar is a Turkish name and surname. It may refer to:
*Yaşar (name), a Turkish given name and surname, including a list of people with the name
*Yaşar University
Yaşar University ( Turkish: ''Yaşar Üniversitesi'') is a university in İzmi ...
,
EDO and
Ferah Pastanesi, started their business in Kahramanmaraş, and thousands of people visit the city because of its ice cream (
dondurma
Dondurma is the common word in Turkish for all kinds of ice cream that is often used to refer to Turkish mastic ice cream in English. It typically includes the ingredients cream, whipped cream, salep (ground-up tuber of an orchid), mastic (pla ...
in Turkish).
Sports
At elevation, the nearby
Yedikuyular Ski Resort offers winter sports activities.
Notable natives
*
Leo III - Byzantine emperor (717 - June 18, 741)
*
Nestorius
Nestorius (; in grc, Νεστόριος; 386 – 451) was the Archbishop of Constantinople from 10 April 428 to August 431. A Christian theologian, several of his teachings in the fields of Christology and Mariology were seen as contr ...
- 5th century
religious
Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatur ...
leader
*
Gülbahar Hatun Gülbahar is a Turkish given name for females and may refer to:
* Gülbahar Hatun, consort of Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II, and Valide Sultan as the mother of Sultan Bayezid II
* Gülbahar Hatun, consort of Ottoman Sultan Bayezid II and the mother of ...
- consort of Sultan Bayezid II and the mother of Sultan Selim I of the Ottoman Empire
*
Veysi Kaynak
Veysi Kaynak (born 1 January 1962) is a Turkish politician from the Justice and Development Party (AKP) who currently serves as a Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey in the government of Binali Yıldırım since 24 May 2016. He is a Member of Parli ...
- Turkish politician from the Justice and Development Party (AKP) who currently serves as a Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey
*
Mahir Ünal
Mahir Ünal (born 1 July 1966) is a Turkish politician and academic from the Justice and Development Party (AKP) who served as the Minister of Culture and Tourism from 24 November 2015 to 24 May 2016. He has been a Member of Parliament for the ...
- Turkish politician and academic from the Justice and Development Party (AKP) who served as the Minister of Culture and Tourism
*
Ben Bagdikian
Ben-hur Haig Bagdikian (January 30, 1920 – March 11, 2016) was an Armenian-American journalist, news media critic and commentator, and university professor.
An Armenian genocide survivor, Bagdikian moved to the United States as an infant and ...
- Armenian-American journalist, news media critic and commentator
*
Emine Hatun
Emine Hatun ( ota, امینہ خاتون) was a consort of Sultan Mehmed I of the Ottoman Empire.
Early life
Emine Hatun was born as a Dulkadirid princess, the daughter of Șaban Suli Bey, third ruler of the Beylik of Dulkadir (reign 1386– ...
- principal consort of Sultan Mehmed I of the Ottoman Empire
*
Serdar Bilgili - Turkish businessman
*
Soner Sarikabadayi - Turkish singer
*
Necip Fazıl Kısakürek
Ahmet Necip Fazıl Kısakürek (May 26, 1904 – May 25, 1983) was a Turkish poet, novelist, playwright, and Islamist ideologue. He is also known simply by his initials NFK. He was noticed by the French philosopher Henri Bergson, who later ...
- Turkish poet and writer
*
Hasibe Eren
Hasibe Özlem Eren (born 6 June 1975) is a Turkish actress. She starred in the Show TV animated series ''Sıdıka'' in 1997. Eren played the role of Makbule on the show Avrupa Yakası.
Life and career
Hasibe Eren graduated from Istanbul Univer ...
- Turkish actor
*
Şeref Eroğlu
Şeref Eroğlu (born 25 November 1975, in Kahramanmaraş) is a Turkish wrestler. He is the current president of the Turkish Wrestling Federation.
Career
He was born on November 25, 1975, in Dereköy, Kahramanmaraş. He started wrestling wit ...
- European and World champion and Olympic medalist wrestler
*
George E. White - American missionary and
witness to the Armenian Genocide
*
Necmettin Hacıeminoğlu, Turkish writer
See also
*
Anatolian Tigers
In the context of the Turkish economy, Anatolian Tigers ( tr, Anadolu Kaplanları) are a number of cities in Turkey which have displayed impressive growth records since the 1980s, as well as a defined breed of entrepreneurs rising in prominence a ...
*
Cilicia War
*
Domuztepe
Domuztepe (meaning ''Pig Hill'' in Turkish) was a large, Late Neolithic settlement in south east Turkey, occupied at least as early as c.6,200BC and abandoned c.5,450BC. The site is located to the south of Kahramanmaraş. Covering 20 hectares, ...
*
Dulkadiroğlu, Kahramanmaraş Dulkadiroğlu is a planned district and second level municipality in Kahramanmaraş Province, Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located ...
*
Onikişubat Onikişubat is a district and second level municipality in Kahramanmaraş Province, Turkey. According to Law No 6360, any Turkish province with a population of more than 750,000 is classed as a metropolitan municipality, and the districts within t ...
*
Kahramanmaraş Sütçüimam University (KSU)
References
External links
Kahramanmaraş Sütçüimam UniversityKahramanmaraş Official Government WebsiteKahramanmaraş Town Office Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kahramanmaras
Populated places in Kahramanmaraş Province
Recipients of the Medal of Independence with Red Ribbon (Turkey)
Districts of Kahramanmaraş Province
Aleppo vilayet
Crusade places
Roman sites in Turkey