Samsat | |
|---|---|
 | |
  Samsat Location in Turkey | |
| Coordinates:37°34′46″N38°28′53″E / 37.57944°N 38.48139°E /37.57944; 38.48139 | |
| Country | Turkey |
| Province | Adıyaman |
| District | Samsat |
| Established | 12th c. BC |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Halil Fırat (AKP) |
| Elevation | 610 m (2,000 ft) |
| Population (2022)[1] | 3,790 |
| Time zone | UTC+3 (TRT) |
| Website | www |
Samsat (Kurdish:Samîsad,[2]Ottoman Turkish صمصادSemisat[3]), formerlySamosata (Ancient Greek:Σαμόσατα) is a small town in theAdıyaman Province ofTurkey, situated on the upperEuphrates river. It is the seat ofSamsat District.[4] The town is populated byKurds of the Bêzikan tribe.[5][6]
Halil Fırat from theJustice and Development Party (AKP) was elected mayor in thelocal elections in March 2019.[7] The currentKaymakam is Halid Yıldız.[8]
Samsat was the ancient capital ofKingdom of Commagene. The current site of Samsat is comparatively new, however, being rebuilt in 1989 when the old town of Samosata was flooded during the construction of theAtatürk Dam.[9] As of 2018, reconstruction process had not yet been fully completed.[10] An ancienttell nearby dating back toPaleolithic times has survived to the current day.
Its population was 3,790 in 2022, up from 3,520 in 2017.[1]
The city of Samosata was founded sometime before 245 BC on the previousNeo-Hittite site ofKummuh by theOrontid king ofSophene,Sames I.[11] He may have founded the city in order to assert his claim over the area, a common practice amongstIranian andHellenistic dynasties, such asCappadocia,Pontus,Parthia andArmenia.[12] The city was built in a "sub-Achaemenid" Persianarchitectural form, similar to the rest of Orontid buildings inGreater Armenia.[13] Naming cities such as Samosata (Middle Persian*Sāmašād;Old Persian*Sāmašiyāti-) the "joy of" or "happiness of" was an Orontid (and laterArtaxiad) practice that recalled the Achaemenid royal discourse.[14] Samosata served as one of the most important royal residences of the Orontid kings of Sophene.[15]
Like other early-Orontid royal residences, Samosata experienced a sudden shift in its architectural style under the Orontids ofCommagene due to their close involvement in theGreco-Roman world.[16] During this period, Samosata was most likely populated by a variety of peoples, descended fromArameans,Assyrians,Neo-Hittites,Armenians, andPersians.[17] Samosata was amongst the places where its rulerAntiochus I Theos (r. 70–31 BC) founded sanctuaries that contained inscriptions about his cult as well as reliefs of hisdexiosis withApollo-Mithras.[18] In 73 AD, Samosata as well as the rest of Commagene was incorporated into theRoman Empire. It may have been during this event that theSyriac letter ofMara bar Serapion was composed. The letter makes mention of anAramaic-speaking elite in Samosata that studiedGreek literature andStoic philosophy.[19] Under the Roman emperorHadrian (r. 117–138), Samosata was given metropolis status along withDamascus andTyre.[20]
Roman legions were later placed in Samosata to discourage theSasanian Empire (224–651) from attacking it. In 260, it was the first city that was sacked by the Sasanian emperorShapur I (r. 240–270) following his capture of the Roman emperorValerian (r. 253–260). Shapur I is known to have had coins minted in the same fashion as the Romanantoninianus, which he may have taken from the material used in the mint of Samosata.[21]
It was at Samosata thatJulian II had ships made in his expedition againstShapur II, and it was a natural crossing-place in the struggle betweenHeraclius andChosroes in the 7th century.
Samosata was the birthplace of several renowned people from antiquity such asLucian (c. 120-192) andPaul of Samosata (fl. 260).
The Arabs conquered Commagene from the Byzantines in 640.Safwan bin Muattal, asahabi and commander during theMuslim conquests, was buried in Samosata.
In the tenth century, the town, which was the second biggest in the region afterMelitene, was recaptured by the Byzantines.[22] In June 966, Samosata was the venue of an exchange of prisoners between the Byzantine EmperorNikephoros II Phokas and his Muslim foeSayf al-Dawla.[23]
After the collapse of Byzantine authority in the region, the town fell into the domain of the ArmenianPhilaretos Brachamios.[24] At some point after that it fell into the hands of a certain Baluk, on of Amīr Ghāzī, who is mentioned among the army ofRidwan of Aleppo which besieged Edessa in 1095.[25] While he managed to fend off anexpedition in 1098 underBaldwin of Boulogne send by the ruler of Edessa,Thoros, he later had to sell the town to Baldwin for 10,000 gold coins upon which it belonged to thecounty of Edessa.[24]
Warfare in the13th century devastated Samosata.Rukn ad-Din Sulayman Shah II of the AnatolianSeljuks captured Samosata in 1203. TheAnushtegins conquered and looted the town in 1237. The Mongol EmperorHülagü Khan conquered Samosata in 1240 and theBeylik of Dulkadir conquered the town as well.
Samosata was temporarily absorbed into theOttoman Empire byBayazid I in 1392, and in 1401 it was destroyed byTimur. In 1516, the Ottoman SultanSelim I recaptured it for the Ottomans who renamed it Samsat. It lost its old importance in the Ottoman administration and became the centre of asanjak.
During Turkey'srepublican period, the population of the town decreased. In 1960, Samsat was made a district center and connected to the province ofAdıyaman.
The city of Samsat was evacuated from the old settlement on 5 March 1988 due to the construction of theAtatürk Dam. A new location for the settlement was announced through Law No. 3433 on 21 April 1988. The historical Samsat was submerged in 1989 as the dam created theAtatürk Reservoir. The new town was built beside the new waterline by the Turkish government to house the displaced residents.
The new town of Samsat was destroyed by an earthquake on 2 March 2017. The city was largely rebuilt afterwards.[26][27]
In the Christianmartyrology, sevenChristianmartyrs were crucified in 297 in Samosata for refusing to perform a pagan rite in celebration of the victory ofMaximian over theSassanids: Abibus, Hipparchus, James, Lollian, Paragnus, Philotheus, and Romanus.Paul theDynamic MonarchianBishop of Antioch was born in Samosata in 200;Saint Daniel the Stylite was born in a village near Samosata;Saint Rabbulas, venerated on 19 February, who lived in the 6th century atConstantinople, was also a native of Samosata. ANotitia Episcopatuum ofAntioch in the 6th century mentions Samosata as an autocephalous metropolis (Échos d'Orient, X, 144); at the synod that reinstatedPatriarch Photius I of Constantinople (the Photian Council) of 879, the See of Samosata had already been united to that ofAmida, present-day Diyarbakır.[28] By 586, the titular of Amida bore only this title,[29] meaning the union took place between the 7th and the 9th centuries. Earlierbishops included Peperius, who attended theCouncil of Nicaea (325);Saint Eusebius of Samosata, a great opponent of theArians, killed by an Arian woman (c. 380), honoured on 22 June; Andrew, a vigorous opponent ofCyril of Alexandria and of theCouncil of Ephesus.[30]
Chabot gives a list of twenty-eightSyrian Miaphysite bishops.[31] The Syrian bishopric probably lapsed in the 12th century.[32] Samosata is included in theCatholic Church's list oftitular sees, but no furthertitular bishops have been appointed for that eastern see since theSecond Vatican Council.
Samsat Höyük is atell located just north of the Samsat district of Adıyaman. Archaeological research on the hill of Şehremuz in Samsat has uncovered relics from the 7000 BC Paleolithic era; the 5000 BC Neolithic, 3000 BCChalcolithic and 3000 to 1200 BC Bronze Ages. The ancient city ofḪaḫḫum (Hittite:Ḫaḫḫa) was located nearby; it is recordedas a source of gold for ancient Sumeria.
The first excavations were conducted in 1964 and 1967 under the direction of the American archeologistTheresa Goell in anticipation of the site being flooded by a new dam across the Euphrates at [Halfeti]. Work in 1964 consisted of a single shallow trench on the acropolis finding only medieval storage vessels. Work in 1967 excavated only down to theSeleucid period.[33] Then, in 1977, under the Lower Euphrates Project, plans were put together aimed at identifying and saving the archaeological settlements that were to be inundated by the reservoir of Karakaya and Atatürk Dams. Surface surveys were conducted under the direction of Mehmet Özdoğan. In these studies, it was concluded that the settlement was permanently inhabited from the Halaf Period to the Ottoman Period. The following year, the excavations started in 1978, except for 1980, until 1987, under Ankara University, Faculty of Language and History-Geography It was conducted by the team led by Nimet Özgüç. These excavations were carried out on a very wide area, including the lower city and surrounding walls.
Coins belonging to the 12th - 13th centuries AD were identified during the excavations in the layers dating to the late phases of the Middle Ages. Of these Seljuk sultans I. Gıyaseddin Keyhusrev (1192–1195), Ala al-Din Keykubbad, (1219-1236), II. Gıyaseddin Keyhusrev (1236-1246), IV. Rükn el-Din The coins of Kılıç Arslan (1257–1264), as well as the coins of Saladin (1170-1193) printed in Harran, were uncovered.[34]
The collection of glassware with cups, glasses and bowls is very rich. Other finds include oil lamps, ivory comb, fragrance bottle,[35] terracotta lamps, bone spoons, leaf-shaped marble sconces and coins.[36]
The walls of the Seljuk Period, built on a solid Byzantine fortress, were preserved intact. The inscription on the limestone of this fortification was studied by a master calligrapher. The landfill belonged to Diyarbekr Şah Karaaslan.[37]
The centre of the palace, which is thought to be the central courtyard, is 14,65 X 20,55 meters and it has a mosaic corner.[38]
The skeletons of five people thrown into a 1.8 meter diameter well of the Islamic Period were found. At the bottom with the skeletons, five gold coins and silver coins from the Abbasid Period were found. One of the gold coins belongs toHarun al-Rashid (766 - 709) and the others to Mutawakkil (822 - 861).[39]
Today the settlement is under the Euphrates, but before inundation it was 37–40 meters above the plain level and had an area of 500 x 350 meters. The steepest slope is the eastern slope and the lowest slope is the southwest-facing slope. The mound consists of a terrace and a ruined town covered with sediment.[40] Samsat Höyük as an archaeological site is considered to be no longer accessible while it is covered by the waters of the reservoir. The old town of Samosata below the tell was not excavated.[41]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Geographic | |
| Other | |
