Zile, anciently known as Zela ( el, Ζῆλα) (still as Latin Catholic

titular see A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbi ...

), is a city and a district of

Tokat Province Tokat Province ( tr, ) is a province in northern Turkey. Its adjacent provinces are Amasya to the northwest, Yozgat to the southwest, Sivas to the southeast, and Ordu to the northeast. Its capital is Tokat, which lies inland of the middle Black ...

, Turkey. Zile lies to the south of

Amasya Amasya () is a city in northern Turkey and is the capital of Amasya Province, in the Black Sea Region. It was called Amaseia or Amasia in antiquity."Amasya" in ''The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th ...

and the west of

Tokat Tokat is the capital city of Tokat Province of Turkey in the mid- Black Sea region of Anatolia. It is located at the confluence of the Tokat River (Tokat Suyu) with the Yeşilırmak. In the 2018 census, the city of Tokat had a population of 155, ...

in north-central Turkey. The city has a long history, including as former

bishopric In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

and the site of the

Battle of Zela The Battle of Zela was a battle fought in 47 BC between Julius Caesar and Pharnaces II of the Kingdom of Pontus. The battle took place near Zela (modern Zile), which is now a small hilltop town in the Tokat province of northern Turkey. The ba ...

, which prompted the phrase " Veni, vidi, vici." Wikisource:Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Zela Today the city is a center for agricultural marketing and

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

History

Historically, Zile has been known as Zela ( el, Ζῆλα), Zelitis ( el, Ζηλίτις), Zelid, Anzila, Gırgırıye (Karkariye), Zīleh, Zilleli, Zeyli, and Silas ( el, Σίλας). Zile castle, the only solid castle in

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

, was built by Roman commander

Lucius Cornelius Sulla Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix (; 138–78 BC), commonly known as Sulla, was a Roman general and statesman. He won the first large-scale civil war in Roman history and became the first man of the Republic to seize power through force. Sulla had ...

. The castle contains the Amanos temple, and is called ''silla'', meaning "respected". In Semra Meral's ''Her Yönüyle Zile'', she claims that the name "Zile" came from "Zela", stemming from "Silla".

Ancient City

According to recent

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

research, there is evidence of human habitation since

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several pa ...

times in Zile. In his book ''

Geographica The ''Geographica'' (Ancient Greek: Γεωγραφικά ''Geōgraphiká''), or ''Geography'', is an encyclopedia of geographical knowledge, consisting of 17 'books', written in Greek and attributed to Strabo, an educated citizen of the Roman ...

'',

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called " Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could s ...

claimed that Zela was founded by

Semiramis ''Samīrāmīs'', hy, Շամիրամ ''Šamiram'') was the semi-legendary Lydian- Babylonian wife of Onnes and Ninus, who succeeded the latter to the throne of Assyria, according to Movses Khorenatsi. Legends narrated by Diodorus Siculus, who dr ...

, a legendary

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 A ...

n queen. By 548 BC, Zela and greater

were under the rule of

Achaemenid Persian Empire The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Based in Western Asia, it was contemporarily the largest emp ...

. Persian rule saw construction of a portion of the

Royal Road The Royal Road was an ancient highway reorganized and rebuilt by the Persian king Darius the Great (Darius I) of the first (Achaemenid) Persian Empire in the 5th century BC. Darius built the road to facilitate rapid communication on the western ...

in the area, and of temples to the

Persian gods Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of ...

Anahita, Vohu-Mano, and Anadates in the city itself.

Darius I of Persia Darius I ( peo, 𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁 ; grc-gre, Δαρεῖος ; – 486 BCE), commonly known as Darius the Great, was a List of monarchs of Persia, Persian ruler who served as the third King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, reigni ...

divided the largest Anatolian state of that time,

Cappadocia Cappadocia or Capadocia (; tr, Kapadokya), is a historical region in Central Anatolia, Turkey. It largely is in the provinces Nevşehir, Kayseri, Aksaray, Kırşehir, Sivas and Niğde. According to Herodotus, in the time of the Ionian Revo ...

, into two, with Zela remaining in Pontus Cappadocia, the northern region.

Classical Era

After roughly 200 years of Persian rule,

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip II to ...

captured Zela from

Darius III of Persia Darius III ( peo, 𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁 ; grc-gre, Δαρεῖος ; c. 380 – 330 BC) was the last Achaemenid King of Kings of Persia, reigning from 336 BC to his death in 330 BC. Contrary to his predecessor Artaxerxes IV Arses, Dariu ...

as a result of the

Battle of the Granicus The Battle of the Granicus in May 334 BC was the first of three major battles fought between Alexander the Great of Macedon and the Persian Achaemenid Empire. The battle took place on the road from Abydus to Dascylium, at the crossing of the Gr ...

(334 BC). Following Alexander's death in 323 BC and the collapse of his empire, Zela passed to the

Seleucid Empire The Seleucid Empire (; grc, Βασιλεία τῶν Σελευκιδῶν, ''Basileía tōn Seleukidōn'') was a Greek state in West Asia that existed during the Hellenistic period from 312 BC to 63 BC. The Seleucid Empire was founded by the ...

, a Hellenistic successor state of Alexander the Great's dominion. It controlled the area for 200 years, but by 100 BC, its power in the region started to collapse. As a consequence, King

Mithridates VI of Pontus Mithridates or Mithradates VI Eupator ( grc-gre, Μιθραδάτης; 135–63 BC) was ruler of the Kingdom of Pontus in northern Anatolia from 120 to 63 BC, and one of the Roman Republic's most formidable and determined opponents. He was an e ...

attacked and took Zela in 88 BC, and ordered the killing of all Romans living there. This led the nearby Cappadocians to call on

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

for help. The Roman army, under Sulla's command, fought and defeated Mithradates in the

First Mithridatic War The First Mithridatic War (89–85 BC) was a war challenging the Roman Republic's expanding empire and rule over the Greek world. In this conflict, the Kingdom of Pontus and many Greek cities rebelling against Roman rule were led by Mithridat ...

. Mithridates attacked Zela again in 67 BC with the help of his Armenian ally

Tigranes the Great Tigranes II, more commonly known as Tigranes the Great ( hy, Տիգրան Մեծ, ''Tigran Mets''; grc, Τιγράνης ὁ Μέγας ''Tigránes ho Mégas''; la, Tigranes Magnus) (140 – 55 BC) was King of Armenia under whom the ...

, king of

Greater Armenia Greater Armenia ( hy, Մեծ Հայք, translit=Mets Hayk) is the name given to the Armenian state that emerged on the Armenian Highlands during the reign of King Artaxias I at the turn of the 2nd century BC. The term was used to refer prin ...

, initiating the

Third Mithridatic War The Third Mithridatic War (73–63 BC), the last and longest of the three Mithridatic Wars, was fought between Mithridates VI of Pontus and the Roman Republic. Both sides were joined by a great number of allies dragging the entire east of th ...

, which ended with victory by the Romans under Pompeius Magnus and the suicide of Mithridates in 63 BC. In Pompey's settlement of Pontus, Zela received a civic constitution and a sizable territory thus transforming from its previous status as a temple domain to a city. In 49 BC, civil war broke out between Julius Caesar and Pompey. While the Romans were distracted by this,

Pharnaces II of Pontus Pharnaces II of Pontus ( grc-gre, Φαρνάκης; about 97–47 BC) was the king of the Bosporan Kingdom and Kingdom of Pontus until his death. He was a monarch of Persian and Greek ancestry. He was the youngest child born to King Mithrida ...

, son of Mithridates, decided to seize the opportunity and take revenge for his father. His attack on Zela was halted by

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, an ...

in the bloody

(47 BC). While Caesar's army suffered great losses, Pharnaces's was completely destroyed in five hours. After this victory, Caesar sent his famous message to the

Roman Senate The Roman Senate ( la, Senātus Rōmānus) was a governing and advisory assembly in ancient Rome. It was one of the most enduring institutions in Roman history, being established in the first days of the city of Rome (traditionally founded in ...

: " Veni Vidi Vici", meaning "I came, I saw, I conquered". Caesar's words were written on a cylindrical marble column and placed in the city castle. According to Strabo, Zela had the temple of Anaïtis ( el, ἱερὸν τῆς Ἀναΐτιδος), who was also revered by the

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 diaspora ...

Middle Ages

In 241, the

Sassanid The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the History of Iran, last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th cen ...

king

Shapur I Shapur I (also spelled Shabuhr I; pal, 𐭱𐭧𐭯𐭥𐭧𐭥𐭩, Šābuhr ) was the second Sasanian King of Kings of Iran. The dating of his reign is disputed, but it is generally agreed that he ruled from 240 to 270, with his father Ardas ...

, attacked the Romans and defeated Roman Emperor Valerian, thus capturing Zela. From 241 to 1071, Zile was conquered many times by the Byzantines and Sasanids. Under Byzantine rule, Zile became a (now Titular Latin) bishopric of Asia Minor,

suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Anglican Communion, a suffragan bishop is a bishop who is subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop (bishop ordinary) and so is not normally jurisdiction ...

of Amasya in the former Roman province of Helenopontus (see below). Zela was conquered by

Danishmend 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, an ...

Melik Ahmet Gazi in 1071 and, since, has belonged to the

Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic ...

, who suppressed the

. In 1174, Anatolian Seljuks captured the city from Danishmends under Izzettin II Kılıçaslan. After the collapse of the Anatolian

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 ...

, the Eretna Emirate was founded in Zile's district in 1335. The Ottomans defeated Ertans in 1397 under the rule of Sultan Bayezid I, integrating Zile into their empire.

Modern History

During the course of the Greco-Turkish War of 1919–1922 (also known as

Turkish War of Independence The Turkish War of Independence "War of Liberation", also known figuratively as ''İstiklâl Harbi'' "Independence War" or ''Millî Mücadele'' "National Struggle" (19 May 1919 – 24 July 1923) was a series of military campaigns waged by th ...

), some supporters of

Sharia Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and the H ...

(strict

Islamic Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ma ...

law) seized power in Zile and attacked the barracks of new Turkish Republic's army. The soldiers were forced to retreat to the city castle and consequently asked for help from the

Çorum Çorum () (Medieval Greek: Ευχάνεια, romanized: Euchaneia) is a northern Anatolian city that is the capital of the Çorum Province of Turkey. Çorum is located inland in the central Black Sea Region of Turkey, and is approximately from A ...

battalion. The

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions ...

reached the city in four days and upon their arrival they started bombing the city so as to force the rebels to surrender. As a result of heavy bombardment, Zile suffered a great fire which led to the loss of two thirds of its

infrastructure Infrastructure is the set of facilities and systems that serve a country, city, or other area, and encompasses the services and facilities necessary for its economy, households and firms to function. Infrastructure is composed of public and priv ...

and most of its forest cover. Finally, the army managed to put down the rebellion and regained control. Since then, Zile has been a rural district in Tokat province of the

Republic of Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

Ecclesiastical history

Zela, in the

Roman province The Roman provinces (Latin: ''provincia'', pl. ''provinciae'') were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was rule ...

of Helenopontus (

civil diocese In the Late Roman Empire, usually dated 284 AD to 602 AD, the regional governance district known as the Roman or civil diocese was made up of a grouping of provinces each headed by a ''Vicarius'', who were the representatives of praet ...

of Pontus), was a

of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Amasea, in the sway of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. The following Suffragan Bishops of Zela are historically documented : * Heraclius took part in the Council of Ancyra in 314 and in the ecumenical

First Council of Nicaea 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 ...

in 325 **’’ Bitinicusus, an Arian (heretic), participated in the synod of Gangra in 340 and intervened at the Arian 'conciliabolum' at Philippopolis in 343/344 * Atticus attended the

Council of Chalcedon The Council of Chalcedon (; la, Concilium Chalcedonense), ''Synodos tēs Chalkēdonos'' was the fourth ecumenical council of the Christian Church. It was convoked by the Roman emperor Marcian. The council convened in the city of Chalcedon, B ...

in 451 * Hyperechius signed in 458 the letter of the episcopate of Helenopontus to

Byzantine emperor This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, to its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as ...

Leo I the Thracian Leo I (; 401 – 18 January 474), also known as "the Thracian" ( la, Thrax; grc-gre, ο Θραξ),; grc-gre, Μακέλλης), referencing the murder of Aspar and his son. was Eastern Roman emperor from 457 to 474. He was a native of Dacia ...

after Coptic mobs lynched Patriarch

Proterius of Alexandria Hieromartyr Proterius of Alexandria (died 457) was Patriarch of Alexandria from 451 to 457. He had been appointed by the Council of Chalcedon to replace the deposed Dioscorus. History Proterius was elected by the Council of Chalcedon in 451 t ...

* Georgius was at the ‘Robber’ Council in Trullo in 692 * Constantinus took part in the

Second Council of Nicaea The Second Council of Nicaea is recognized as the last of the first seven ecumenical councils by the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church. In addition, it is also recognized as such by the Old Catholics, the Anglican Communion, an ...

in 787 * Paulus attended the Council of Constantinople in 869-870 and the Council of Constantinople of 879-880 which rehabilitated Patriarch Photius of Constantinople.

Titular see

The diocese was nominally restored no later than the 18th century as Latin

Titular bishopric A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbish ...

of Zela (Latin = Curiate Italian) / Zeliten(us) It has been vacant for decades, having had the following incumbents: * Francisco San Andrés,

Hieronymites The Hieronymites, also formally known as the Order of Saint Jerome ( la, Ordo Sancti Hieronymi; abbreviated OSH), is a Catholic cloistered religious order and a common name for several congregations of hermit monks living according to the Rule o ...

(O.S.H.) (1758.10.02 – death 1766.01.20) as Auxiliary Bishop of

Salamanca Salamanca () is a city in western Spain and is the capital of the Province of Salamanca in the autonomous community of Castile and León. The city lies on several rolling hills by the Tormes River. Its Old City was declared a UNESCO World Herit ...

(Spain) (1758.10.02 – 1766.01.20) * Giovanni Devoti (1804.03.26 – 1804.05.29); previously Bishop of

Anagni Anagni () is an ancient town and '' comune'' in the province of Frosinone, Latium, central Italy, in the hills east-southeast of Rome. It is a historical and artistic center of the Latin Valley. Geography Overview Anagni still maintains the appea ...

(Italy) (1789.03.30 – 1804.03.26); later ‘promoted’ on emeritate as

Titular Archbishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

Carthage Carthage was the capital city of Ancient Carthage, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classi ...

(1804.05.29 – died 1820.09.18) * Anton Kavčič,

Jesuit Order , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

(S.J.) (1805.09.23 – 1807.07.15) as Auxiliary Bishop of

Wien en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

(Vienna, Austria) (1805.09.23 – 1807.07.15); later Bishop of

Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the ar ...

(Slovenia, now Metropolitan) (1807.07.15 – died 1814.03.17) * Jean-Louis Florens (羅),

M.E.P. The Society of Foreign Missions of Paris (french: Société des Missions Etrangères de Paris, short M.E.P.) is a Roman Catholic missionary organization. It is not a religious institute, but an organization of secular priests and lay persons ...

(1807.09.08 – death 1814.12.14) as Coadjutor Apostolic Vicar of

Szechwan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of th ...

四川 (China) (1807.09.08 – 1814.12.14) * Giuseppe Pezzella,

Augustinians Augustinians are members of Christian religious orders that follow the Rule of Saint Augustine, written in about 400 AD by Augustine of Hippo. There are two distinct types of Augustinians in Catholic religious orders dating back to the 12th–1 ...

(O.E.S.A.) (1828.06.23 – 1830?) as

Coadjutor Bishop A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) is a bishop in the Catholic, Anglican, and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in the administration of the diocese. The coadjutor (literally, "co- ...

of Calvi (Italy) (1828.06.23 – 1830?) and Coadjutor Bishop of

Teano Teano ( Teanese: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Caserta, Campania, southern Italy, northwest of Caserta on the main line to Rome from Naples. It stands at the southeast foot of an extinct volcano, Rocca Monfina. Its St. Clement's c ...

(Italy) (1828.06.23 – 1830?); next succeeded both as Bishop of Calvi (1830? – 1833.01.03) and as Bishop of Teano (1830? – died 1833.01.03) * Peter Paul Lefevère (1841.07.23 – death 1869.03.04) (Belgian) as Coadjutor Bishop of

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

(USA) (1841.07.23 – 1869.03.04) * Manuel María León González y Sánchez (1876.01.28 – 1877.06.22) * Pierre-Noël-Joseph Foucard (富于道),

(1878.08.13 – 1889.03.31) * Father Laurent Blettery,

(1890.09.02 – 1891.08.17) * Hermann Joseph Schmitz (1893.08.25 – 1899.08.21) * Marie-Félix Choulet (蘇裴理斯),

(1901.02.21 – 1923.07.31) * Basil Tatach (1924.05.20 – 1948.05.13) * Alejandro Olalia (later Archbishop) (1949.05.14 – 1950.05.06) * José María García Lahiguera (later Archbishop) (1950.05.17 – 1964.07.07)

Demographics

Zile had a population of 110,139 as of the 2004 census; 52,640 in the city centre and the remaining population in 116 nearby villages. However, the population of Zile has been decreasing as a result of

emigration Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanent ...

due to the high unemployment rate. According to 2007 census, Zile has a population of 68,937; just 36,154 in the city centre and remaining 32,783 live in the surrounding villages.

Attractions

There are several columns in the center of the castle, but some researchers claim that the actual column with Caesar's famous words was stolen, and the thieves have not been found yet. There are many other historical buildings and artifacts from

Hittites The Hittites () were an Anatolian people who played an important role in establishing first a kingdom in Kussara (before 1750 BC), then the Kanesh or Nesha kingdom (c. 1750–1650 BC), and next an empire centered on Hattusa in north-cent ...

, Lycians,

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

ns,

Greeks The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, ot ...

Romans 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

in Zile. Among these, Zile castle, the Roman theatre, Ulu Camii and Çifte Hamam are the most famous. Kaya Mezarı, Kusyuva, Çay Pınarı, Imam Melikiddin Tomb, Seyh Musa Fakih Tomb, Elbaşı Mosque, Mast Tumulus, Namlı Hisar Kale, Anzavur Caves, Hacı Boz Bridge, Koç Taşı and Manastry in Kuruçay are also popular. The remains of the Roman theatre are visible to the east of the citadel hill, together with some rock tombs. Two Ottoman baths, the Yeni Hamam and the Çifte Hamam, date from the 16th and 17th century and the Hasan Aga Madrasah was built in 1497. The Boyaci Hasan Aga Mosque with its stalactiform prayer niche dates from 1479 and the Seyh Musa Fakih Tomb is also very old with 1106 or 1305 given as possible construction dates. Mast Tumulus, an ancient site located in Zile, is of special importance since it hosts the palace of a Hittitite ruler, earthenware utensils and Hittite hieroglyphics.

Geography

Zile covers an area of within its

city limits City limits or city boundaries refer to the defined boundary or border of a city. The area within the city limit can be called the city proper. Town limit/boundary and village limit/boundary apply to towns and villages. Similarly, corporate li ...

and has an elevation of . Turhal, Çekerek,

Artova Artova is a town and a district of Tokat Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey. It is located southwest of Tokat. A railway line through Artova connects the town in the north with Samsun and in the southwest with Sivas Sivas (Latin and ...

Kadışehri Kadışehri is a town and district of Yozgat Province in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey. Neighbouring districts are Zile on the north, Akdağmadeni and Saraykent on the south, Çekerek Çekerek is a town and district of Yozgat Province i ...

, and

are all towns located near Zile. The city is mostly surrounded by a fertile plain called ''Zile Ovası'' crossed by the

Yeşil River Yeşil (green in turkish) may refer to: * Mahmut Yıldırım (born 1953), Turkish contract killer also known as "Yeşil" * Samed Yeşil Samed Yeşil (, born 25 May 1994) is a German professional footballer who plays as a striker for Oberliga ...

and can produce harvests twice a year. South of the city, however, are the Deveci Mountains (1,892 m / 6,207 ft high), Güvercin Çalı, and Hüseyin Gazi Hill. Zile once had a great forest covering most of the plain, but during the 1950s, the city lost much of its forest because of the excessive breeding of

goats The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of th ...

and the use of wood for heating purposes. However, there is a recent study to plan reforestation in the area. The city's water supply is provided by the Çekerek River, flowing from Zile to Çekerek and the Büyükaköz dam which was constructed on the Çatak river. The Süreyyabey Dam and hydroelectric plant is under construction and will provide electricity and water for irrigation in the area.

Climate

Zile's weather is influenced by the narrow coast land of the

Black Sea Region The Black Sea Region ( tr, Karadeniz Bölgesi) is a geographical region of Turkey. The largest city in the region is Samsun. Other big cities are Trabzon, Ordu, Tokat, Giresun, Rize, Amasya and Sinop. It is bordered by the Marmara Regio ...

to the north, bringing humidity, and by the

Central Anatolia The Central Anatolia Region ( tr, İç Anadolu Bölgesi) is a geographical region of Turkey. The largest city in the region is Ankara. Other big cities are Konya, Kayseri, Eskişehir, Sivas, and Aksaray. Located in Central Turkey, it is b ...

inland plateau to the south, with its low rainfall and cold winters. Summers are hot and dry, while the winters are snowy and cold. The weather is hot throughout the months of June to September, as the average summer maximum is 28

°C The degree Celsius is the unit of temperature on the Celsius scale (originally known as the centigrade scale outside Sweden), one of two temperature scales used in the International System of Units (SI), the other being the Kelvin scale. The d ...

(83 °F), and the average minimum is 13 °C (56 °F), and is cold throughout the months of December to February as the average winter maximum is 7 °C (45 °F), and the average minimum is as low as -3 °C (27 °F). Northerly winds are responsible for humid climate from April to June. It is usually rainy during the months of April, May, June, November and December.

Economy

Historically,

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when ...

was mined in Zile. Agriculture, trade, and livestock are the main economic activities of Zile. Zile is a center of cereal production such that she is one of the biggest exporters of

wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...

barley Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley p ...

lentil The lentil (''Lens culinaris'' or ''Lens esculenta'') is an edible legume. It is an annual plant known for its lens-shaped seeds. It is about tall, and the seeds grow in pods, usually with two seeds in each. As a food crop, the largest p ...

and common vetch in the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...

region. Zile is famous for its

grape A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus '' Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters. The cultivation of grapes began perhaps 8,000 years a ...

leblebi Leblebi ( tr, leblebi; acm, لبلبي, leblebi; ar, قضامة, Qdameh, Qudamah; fa, نخودچی, Nokhodchi; scn, Càlia) is a snack made from roasted chickpeas, common and popular in Iran, Palestine, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Greece ...

, cherry, and fruit gardens. The annual Cherry Festival is very famous in Tokat,

Sivas Sivas (Latin and Greek: ''Sebastia'', ''Sebastea'', Σεβάστεια, Σεβαστή, ) is a city in central Turkey and the seat of Sivas Province. The city, which lies at an elevation of in the broad valley of the Kızılırmak river, is ...

and

Yozgat Yozgat is a city and the capital district of Yozgat Province in the Central Anatolia Region of Turkey. According to 2019 census, population of the district is 421,200 of which 106,280 live in the city of Yozgat. History The first surveys were ...

. People of Zile don't use their grapes to produce wine, but

pekmez Pekmez ( tr, pekmez, az, bəkməz/doşab) is a molasses-like syrup obtained after condensing juices of fruit must, especially grape by boiling it with a coagulant agent like wood ashes or ground carob seeds. It is used as a syrup or mixed with ta ...

- a syrup-like liquid mixed from different kinds of fruit-juices. The students of Zile Dinçerler School of Tourism and Hotel Management of Gaziosmanpasha University play an important role in city's economic activities. The industry of Zile is developing rapidly. Since 1996, there has been a major movement from agriculture to industry.

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 ...

constructed 55 factories whose major products include textiles, sugar beet, furniture, tomato sauce,

, marble and shoes. The municipality and the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...

have had a joint project to increase the tourism potential of Zile and to transform the city into a tourism destination. The project is funded by the EU and includes advertisements as well as education of local people about tourism.

Education

The city boasts 100%

literacy Literacy in its broadest sense describes "particular ways of thinking about and doing reading and writing" with the purpose of understanding or expressing thoughts or ideas in Writing, written form in some specific context of use. In other wo ...

in the city centre and over 90% in surrounding villages, with

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

and Imam Hatip schools, and a roughly 1:27

student-teacher ratio A student teacher or prac teacher (''practice teacher'') is a college, university or graduate student who is teaching under the supervision of a certified teacher in order to qualify for a degree in education. The term is also often used interch ...

. There are 126 primary and secondary schools with 14,373 students and 540 teachers. Zile Dinçerler Lisesi, Dinçerler 75th Year Anatolian High School and Anadolu Öğretmen Lisesi provide high school education in Zile. There are also four professional high schools providing technical education. Gaziosmanpasa University's Zile Dinçerler School of Tourism and Hotel Management is also located in Zile. By the end of 2008, with the donations of Serafettin and Cemalettin Dincer, schooling will gain totally new educational premises including a modern and luxurious hotel building which will be also used for practical education by students.

Media and social life

In Zile, theatres and concerts are conducted at a movie theatre whose capacity is 850 people. Along with national TV channels and radios, there is one local TV channel and two radio stations that keep Zile people up to date on current events. Zile has three local daily newspapers (''Özhaber'', ''Zile Postası'', ''Gündem'') and daily newspapers sell around 4000 copies per day.

Gallery

File:Zile 2004 1866.jpg, Zile 2004 1866 File:Zile 2004 1863.jpg, Zile 2004 1863 File:Zile 2004 1854.jpg, Zile 2004 1854 File:Zile 153.jpg, Zile 153 File:Zile 2004 1858.jpg, Zile 2004 1858 File:Zile 2004 1869.jpg, Zile 2004 1869 File:Zile 2004 1878.jpg, Zile 2004 1878 File:Zile 2004 1868.jpg, Zile 2004 1868 File:Zile 2004 1847.jpg, Zile 2004 1847 File:Zile 2004 1845.jpg, Zile 2004 1845 File:Zile 158.jpg, Zile 158 File:Zile 027.jpg, Zile 027 File:Zile 157.jpg, Zile 157 File:Zile 155.jpg, Zile 155 File:Zile 030.jpg, Zile 030 File:Zile 023.jpg, Zile 023 File:Zile 025.jpg, Zile 025

Transportation

Zile is linked by highways with the cities of

and

and is near the Sivas-Samsun railway.

References

Sources and external links

*
GCatholic - (former &) titular bishopric
; Bibliography- ecclesiastical history * Pius Bonifacius Gams, ''Series episcoporum Ecclesiae Catholicae'', Leipzig 1931, p. 442 * Michel Lequien, ''Oriens christianus in quatuor Patriarchatus digestus'', Paris 1740, vol. I, coll. 541-542 * Konrad Eubel, ''Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi'', vol. 6, p. 450 ; Further reading * {{Authority control Populated places in Tokat Province Catholic titular sees in Asia Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Turkey Pontus (region) Roman sites in Turkey Districts of Tokat Province