The city, which lies at an elevation of 1,278 metres (4,193 ft) in the broad valley of theKızılırmak river, is a moderately sized trade centre and industrial city, although the economy has traditionally been based onagriculture. Rail repair shops and a thriving manufacturing industry of rugs, bricks, cement, and cotton and woolentextiles form the mainstays of the city's economy. The surrounding region is a cereal-producing area with large deposits of iron ore which are worked atDivriği.
Sivas is also acommunications hub for the north–south and east–west trade routes to Iraq and Iran, respectively. With the development of railways, the city gained new economic importance as junction of important rail lines linking the cities ofAnkara,Kayseri,Samsun, andErzurum. The city is linked byair toIstanbul andİzmir. The popular nameSebastian derives fromSebastianòs, Σεβαστιανός, meaning someone from the city of Sebastia.[3][4]
Little is known of Sivas' history prior to its emergence in theRoman period. In 64 BC, as part of his reorganization ofAsia Minor after theThird Mithridatic War,Pompey the Great founded a city on the site called "Megalopolis".[8] Numismatic evidence suggests that Megalopolis changed its name in the last years of the 1st century BC to "Sebaste", the feminine form ofSebastos, theGreek equivalent ofAugustus.
Sebasteia was the first important city to be plundered by Turkish tribes in 1059.[11] In August of that year the troops of various emirs gathered before the unwalled city. Initially they hesitated to sack it, mistaking the domes of the city's several Christian churches for tents of military camps. As soon as they realized that the city was defenceless they burned it for eight days, slaughtered a large part of its population and took many prisoners.[12] The city came under the domain of theTurkmenDanishmend dynasty (1071–1174) after theBattle of Manzikert in 1071. After the death of Danişmend Gazi, Sivas passed to NizamettinYağıbasan who won it after a struggle with Danişmend Gazi's successors. In 1174, the city was captured bySeljuk rulerKilij Arslan II and periodically served as capital of the Seljuk empire along withKonya. Under Seljuk rule, Sivas was an important center of trade along theSilk Road and site of a citadel, along with mosques andmadrasas (Islamic educational institutions), four of which survive today and one of which houses the Sivas Museum. Then it passed to theIlkhanids,Eretna andKadı Burhanettin.
The city was acquired by Ottoman SultanBayezid I (1389–1402). In 1398,Tamerlane swept into the area and his forces destroyed the city in 1400, after which it was recaptured by the Ottomans in 1408.[14] Under the Ottomans, Sivas served as the administrative center of theEyalet of Rum[10] until about the late 19th century. TheArmenian Apostolic Church maintained six Armenian churches in Sivas, being the Meryemana, Surp Sarkis, Surp Minas, Surp Prgitsh, Surp Hagop, and Surp Kevork; four monasteries,Surp Nschan, Surp Hreshdagabed, Surp Anabad, and Surp Hntragadar; an Armenian Apostolic orphanage, and several schools. TheArmenian Catholic Church and theLatins also had one church and a metropolitan of Sebastea, as did theGreek Orthodox Church.[15] Two Protestant churches and eight, mostlyGerman- andAmerican-staffed, schools. During thegenocide against Armenians as well as during thegenocide against Greek Christians from July 5, 1915 onward, the Christian community of Sivas was exterminated during deportations and mass executions.[16]
TheSivas Congress (Heyet-i Temsiliye) was held in this city 4–11 September 1919.[17] With the arrival ofMustafa Kemal Atatürk (1881–1938), the founder of the Turkish Republic, fromAmasya, theCongress of Sivas is considered a turning point in the formation of the Turkish Republic. It was at this congress that Atatürk's position as chair of the executive committee of the national resistance was confirmed (seeTurkish War of Independence). Sivas was depicted on thereverse of the Turkish 500lira banknote of 1927–1939.[18]
Historical Sivas Gendarmerie Barracks
On 2 July 1993, 37 participants in anAlevi cultural and literary festival were killed when a mob of demonstrators set fire to the Madımak hotel in Sivas during a violent protest by some 15,000 members of various radicalIslamist groups against the presence ofAziz Nesin. The deaths resulted in the Turkish government taking a harder stance against religious fanaticism, militant Islam, and antisecularism. In late 2006, there was a campaign by thePir Sultan Abdal Cultural Institute to convert the former hotel into a museum to commemorate the tragedy, now known as theSivas massacre.
In the mid 19th century, Sivas had 17,000 inhabitants, with a majority of Muslim Turks.[19] In 1914, Sivas had 45,000 inhabitants: a third were Armenians, the rest Turks and 1,500 Greeks.[19] In July 1915, Armenian families were deported as part of theArmenian genocide.[19] Greeks were removed as part of the 1923population exchange between Greece and Turkey.[19] In 1925, there were 3,000 Armenians left around Sivas.[19] By 1929, Armenians numbered 1,200. In 1939 the total population was 35,000, including 2000 Armenians.[19] In the 1970s, there were 300 Armenians.[19] In the 1990s, there were 50 Armenians.[19]
Sivas has ahumid continental climate (Köppen:Dsb,Trewartha:Dcbo), with warm, dry summers and cold, snowy winters. The driest months are July and August and the wettest are April and May.
Climate data for Sivas (1991–2020, extremes 1930–2023)
A cultural hub as well as an industrial one, Sivas contains many examples of 12th and 13th-centurySeljuk architecture. The Great Mosque (Ulu Cami) of Sivas was first built in 1197.[13] TheSifaiye Medresesi was completed in 1217–1218 and served as adarüşşifa (hospital and medical school). It has afour-iwan layout typical of Seljuk madrasas and is fronted by an elaborately carved entrance portal. It also contains the tomb of its founder, the Seljuk sultanIzz al-Din Kayka'us I (d. 1220).[13] In 1271–1272, when the city was under Ilkhanid influence, three different madrasas were built by competing patrons: theBuruciye Medrese, theÇifte Minare Medresesi, and theGök Medrese ("Blue Madrasa"; depicted on theobverse of the Turkish 500lira banknote of 1927–1939[18]). All three have elaborate entrance portals.[13][23]
The city also contains some fine examples of the Ottoman architectural style. The most prominent example ofOttoman architecture in the city is the Kale Camii ("Citadel Mosque"), built in 1580 by Mehmet Pasha, an Ottoman vizier.[24]Kurşunlu Hamamı ("Leaden Bath") which was completed in 1576, is the largest historicbathhouse in the city and it contains many details from the classical Ottoman bath building.Behrampaşa Hanı (acaravanserai), was completed in 1573 and it is famous for the lion motifs around its windows.
Atatürk Congress and Ethnography Museum (Atatürk Kongre ve Etnografya Müzesi) is a museum with two sections. One is a dedicated to the Ottoman heritage of Sivas. The other is to the Sivas Congress, one of the pivotal moments in the Turkish national movement. Other museums include theSivas Congress and Ethnography Museum and theSivas Archaeology Museum. The Madımak Science and Culture Centre is housed in the former Madımak Hotel.[25]
The modern heart of the city is Hükümet Square (Hükümet Meydanı, also called Konak Meydanı) located just next to the Governor's mansion. This area is also home to many of the city's high end hotels and restaurants. The city's shoppers usually head to Atatürk Avenue.
Sivas is also famous for its thermal springs which have a respectable percentage in the city's income. People believe that the water of these thermal springs can cure many illnesses. The most famous thermal areas are,Sıcak Çermik,Soğuk Çermik andKangal Balıklı Kaplıca.
Football is the most popular sport: in the older districts above the city centre children often kick balls around in the evenings in the smallest streets. The city'sfootball club isSivasspor, which plays its games at theNew Sivas 4 Eylül Stadium. The club currently plays inSüper Lig.
Specialties of Sivas are tarhana (a soup made using sour yogurt), kelecos (a sour potato soup made with yoghurt) andkatmer, a flaky pastry-bread which can be consumed on its own. One distinct feature of Sivas cooking is the use ofmadimak, which is a local herb used similarly to spinach. Sivas kebabı is a variety of kebab originating from Sivas.
^abcdM. Bloom, Jonathan; S. Blair, Sheila, eds. (2009). "Sivas".The Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art and Architecture. Oxford University Press.ISBN9780195309911.
^Henry Hoyle Howorth:History of the Mongols from the 9th to the 19th Century, 2008, p. 166
^Pars Tuğlacı: Tarih boyunca Batı Ermenileri tarihi. Cilt 3. (1891 – 1922), Pars Yayın ve Tic., Istanbul und Ankara 2004ISBN975-7423-06-8, p. 43
^Raymond Kévorkian: Le Génocide des Arméniens; Odile Jacob, Paris 2006, p. 542
^Halil Gülbeyaz:Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. Vom Staatsgründer zum Mythos, Parthas, Berlin 2003, p. 87
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