Eynesil is a town and a district of Giresun Province on 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 ...

coast 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 ...

, east of the city of Giresun, towards

Trabzon Trabzon (; Ancient Greek: Tραπεζοῦς (''Trapezous''), Ophitic Pontic Greek: Τραπεζούντα (''Trapezounta''); Georgian: ტრაპიზონი (''Trapizoni'')), historically known as Trebizond in English, is a city on the B ...

. The population was 7,505 in 2010.

Geography

This is a low-lying coastal strip with steep hills behind. The views are breathtaking but life is hard in the hill country, while hazelnuts and tea are grown in the lower land near the coast, along with vegetables and a cow or two in the family garden. Fishing is another source of income although the harbour at Eynesil is small and limiting. The only industry is tea-processing and Eynesil is therefore not a wealthy district and many people have migrated away to jobs in Turkey's larger cities or abroad.

History

Antiquity

The history of the area dates back to the

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-centra ...

in 1500BC, followed by the Phrygians in 1200BC. The

Ancient Greeks Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity ( AD 600), that comprised a loose collection of cult ...

arrived in 765 BC and in 670BC a colony of the Aegean Greek community of

Miletos Miletus (; gr, Μῑ́λητος, Mī́lētos; Hittite transcription ''Millawanda'' or ''Milawata'' (exonyms); la, Mīlētus; tr, Milet) was an ancient Greek city on the western coast of Anatolia, near the mouth of the Maeander River in ...

was founded, one of a chain of 90 trading posts along the Black Sea coast. By 520 BC Eynesil was in the territory of the Satrap of

Pontus Pontus or Pontos may refer to: * Short Latin name for the Pontus Euxinus, the Greek name for the Black Sea (aka the Euxine sea) * Pontus (mythology), a sea god in Greek mythology * Pontus (region), on the southern coast of the Black Sea, in modern ...

, a territory of the Persian Empire. This was succeeded by the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...

and the Byzantines and in 1204 the Empire of Trebizond, a rump-Byzantine state that lasted until it was overthrown by Sultan

Mehmet II Mehmed II ( ota, محمد ثانى, translit=Meḥmed-i s̱ānī; tr, II. Mehmed, ; 30 March 14323 May 1481), commonly known as Mehmed the Conqueror ( ota, ابو الفتح, Ebū'l-fetḥ, lit=the Father of Conquest, links=no; tr, Fâtih Su ...

of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

in 1461. During the medieval period one of the most important guardians of the coastal road connecting Trabzon to Samsun was the large Byzantine garrison fort located about 3 kilometers east of modern town of Eynesil. An archaeological and historical assessment of this site as well as a scaled plan were published in 1985.Robert W. Edwards, “The Garrison Forts of the Pontos: A Case for the Diffusion of the Armenian Paradigm,” ''Revue des Études Arméniennes'' 19, 1985, pp.194-196, pls.23-25a. The impressive circuit walls and defenses create two separate baileys with the remains of numerous rooms. The site briefly served as a Russian military depot and lighthouse (1877–78) during the Russo-Turkish War. Today it has become a popular tourist attraction.

The Turkish era

In December 1461 Eynesil became part of the

, and the first Turkish people to move into the area were the

Chepni Chepni ( az, Çəpni; tr, Çepni; tk, Çepni) is one of the 24 Oghuz Turkic tribes. History In the legend of Oghuz Qaghan, the Chepni was stated as one of the clans of the tribe of ''Gök Han'' that consists of Pecheneg (''Beçenek''), Bayand ...

, followers of

Haji Bektash Veli Haji Bektash Veli or Wali ( fa, حاجی بکتاش ولی, Ḥājī Baktāš Walī; ota, حاجی بکتاش ولی, Hacı Bektaş-ı Veli; sq, Haxhi Bektash Veliu) (1209 – 1271) was a Muslim mystic, saint, Sayyid and philosopher from Kh ...

and therefore responsible for the strength of the

Alevi 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, w ...

community in Eynesil.

References

External links

Note: follow ''resimler'' in Turkish language websites for photographs of the area: *
Eynesilin Vizyonu
*
the district governorate
*
local information

Photographic survey and plan of Eynesil Castle
{{Authority control Populated places in Giresun Province Populated coastal places in Turkey Districts of Giresun Province Towns in Turkey