Gümüshane
Encyclopedia
Features
Gümüşhane has a rich historical background so there are many historical places, mosques, churches, castles. Ancient city of Satala in the modern village of Sadak was the most important military camp of the ancient Roman EmpireRoman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
in the east. This place was ruled by the Hittites
Hittites
The Hittites were a Bronze Age people of Anatolia.They established a kingdom centered at Hattusa in north-central Anatolia c. the 18th century BC. The Hittite empire reached its height c...
, Assyrians, Urartu
Urartu
Urartu , corresponding to Ararat or Kingdom of Van was an Iron Age kingdom centered around Lake Van in the Armenian Highland....
, Persians, Pontic Greeks
Pontic Greeks
The Pontians are an ethnic group traditionally living in the Pontus region, the shores of Turkey's Black Sea...
, Romans
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
, and Byzantines
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
. Today, rests of the Sadak village is protected by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism
Ministry of Culture and Tourism (Turkey)
The Ministry of Culture and Tourism is a government ministry office of the Republic of Turkey, responsible for culture and tourism affairs in Turkey. As of 2008, it is headed by Ertuğrul Günay.- External links :***...
. In addition, Süleymaniye Mosque is in the previous Gümüşhane settlement and it was commissioned by the Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
sultan Süleyman the Magnificent. Küçük Mosque and Çit Village Mosque are some of other popular mosques in the city. Besides, there are numerous churches within Gümüşhane. Santa Çakallı, Santa Terzili, Kalur Rock, Samamoni, and Theodor Churches are some examples of historical churches in Gümüşhane.
There are numerous large and small caves due to the geological structure of Gümüşhane. Karaca Cave is the most popular in Gümüşhane due to its some specific characteristics. The total length of the cave is 150 meters. It is a fossil cave and is located between Torul and Gümüşhane. The waters leaking from the crack system cutting each other. Formation of interesting stalactites, stalagmites, columns, and travertine pools are some features of Karaca Cave.
Gümüşhane is also popular with plateaus hidden between the forests. Zigana, Taşköprü, Artabel, Şiran and Kalis plateaus are some of them and summer festivals are organized every year. Many native tourists join these festivals to entertain and also to shop some regional items or food. Pestil and köme are renowned desserts of Gümüşhane, they are made from mulberry, honey, nut, walnut and milk. In addition to köme and pestil, rosehips, apples, and walnuts are some common natural food and by means of them many different desserts are made in Gümüşhane. It has a rich food culture; mantı
Manti
Mantu are a type of dumpling in Turkish and various Central Asian and Northwest China and Caucasian cuisines, closely related to the east Asian mantou, baozi, and mandu and the Nepali momo. Manti dumplings archetypically consist of a spiced meat mixture, usually lamb or ground beef, in a dough...
, lemis, erişte, borani, kuymak, evelek dolma
Dolma
Dolma is a family of stuffed vegetable dishes in the cuisines of the former Ottoman Empire and surrounding regions such as Russia, Middle East and the Caucasus and Central and South Asia. Perhaps the best-known is the grape-leaf dolma. Common vegetables to stuff include onion, zucchini, eggplant,...
sı and siron are some of well known food in Gümüşhane.
Pontic Greek influence
Gümüşhane is a town located 80 km south of TrabzonTrabzon
Trabzon is a city on the Black Sea coast of north-eastern Turkey and the capital of Trabzon Province. Trabzon, located on the historical Silk Road, became a melting pot of religions, languages and culture for centuries and a trade gateway to Iran in the southeast and the Caucasus to the northeast...
in Pontus (Turkey), and hometown of the province of Chaldia. The city was established around 700 BC as the settlement of Thyra (Greek: Θύρα) by Ionian Greeks who first discovered silver in the region. Its Greek name stems from two Greek words (argyro, meaning silver and polis = city). Other names used to describe the town were Argyropolis (Αργυρόπολις), Γκιμισχανά, and Κιουμουσχανά.
Around 840 AD, Argyroupolis was included in the new Roman (Byzantine) province of Chaldia (Χαλδία). It was also ruled by Umayyads, Emirate of Mengujekids, Empire of Trebizond
Empire of Trebizond
The Empire of Trebizond, founded in April 1204, was one of three Byzantine successor states of the Byzantine Empire. However, the creation of the Empire of Trebizond was not directly related to the capture of Constantinople by the Fourth Crusade, rather it had broken away from the Byzantine Empire...
, Akkoyunlu and Safavids. During Ottoman years, the sanjak of Argyroupolis fell under the administration successively Rum Province
Rûm Province, Ottoman Empire
Eyalet of Rûm , later named as the Eyalet of Sivas, was an Ottoman eyalet in northern Anatolia, founded following Bayezid I's conquest of the area in the 1390s. The capital was the city of Amasya, which was then moved to Tokat and later to Sivas...
, Erzurum Province
Erzurum Province
Erzurum Province is a Province of Turkey, in the Eastern Anatolia Region of the country. It is bordered by the provinces of Kars and Ağrı to the east, Muş and Bingöl to the south, Erzincan and Bayburt to the west, Rize and Artvin to the north and Ardahan to the northeast. The provincial capital is...
and Trabzon (Trapezunta in Greek) Province, and was divided into four kazas: Argyroupolis (Gümüşhane), Torul (capital city Ardassa), Şiran (Cheriana), and Kelkit (Keltik).
The sanjak in which Argyroupoli was situated at some stage comprised 37 mines of argentiferous lead and six copper mines. There is no evidence that these mines were in use during Byzantine times.
The first residents of Argyroupolis settled in the region just after the fall of Trebizond (1461) and the town soon became a home for miners. Sultan Murad ΙΙΙ (1574–1595) appears to have granted extra privileges to the chief miners and the town prospered and soon became a centre of Hellenism. At the time, it had 60,000 residents. Its trade was increasing and the whole province of Chaldia was on the rise. Another example of its development was that they minted coins with the name Kioumous-hane on them. Another example was the settlement of chief mining families there such as the Sarasites, the Karatsades, the Stavracoglous, the Kalimachidises, the Grigorantons and others. There were also more jewellery shops opening, as well as more hagiography and other arts in the region.
The rise in wealth and abundance soon brought positive changes to the communities. From the beginning of the 18th century new schools were opening, and from 1723 the Frontistirion (Greek Tuition Centre) of Argyroupolis was in full operation. The tuition centre became an educational institution and spiritual centre of the region. In 1650 the diocese was elevated to archdiocese status, and hundreds of churches and temples were built.
New mines rich in minerals were discovered in Ak-dag Maden and Argoni, which resulted in a large exodus of miners from Argyroupolis to the new mines. The drop in population was followed by the Russo-Turkish War of 1829–30, and the majority of its inhabitants fled to Southern Russia, Nicomedea, Mesopotamia and other mining regions; from Tiflis to as far as Ak-Dag and the Taurus. During those years tension between the Greek and Muslim population was also growing due to the Greek Revolution and the revelations of the Stavriotes who practiced two religions (Christianity in private), but came forward and publicly declared their Orthodoxy.
During those confusing and troubling times many people became benefactors of Argyroupolis, such as the Sarasite family and the influential teacher Georgios Kyriakidis. Kyriakidis identified the need to extract large sums of money from the churches of Saint George, Saint Theodore, Τίμιου Σταυρού and Παναγίας for the educational needs of the town. Sale of church property as well as donations and consecrations resulted in the erection of a new school at the Frontistirion of Argyroupolis, a school which was to operate until the Exchange (1923). The Frontistirion comprised a three-grade high school, a seven-grade primary school including scholarship classes, and a six-grade girl's school, as well as a carpet-making technical school.
Another public building was the library, the Educational Society Kyriakidis, as well as the Metropolis of Chaldia. The Argyroupolitans therefore are very much regarded
After the turmoil and ethnic strife (1914–1923), few ethnic Pontic Greeks managed to flee to Greece. Those that did settled in the Macedonia region of Northern Greece. A small group which settled in Naousa brought precious items with them from their churches in town, as well as items from the library of the Frontistirion, including rare manuscripts and books. This collection is still in use today and is considered a prized asset of Naousa.
The town was occupied by the Russian army on July 20, 1916, but the Russians withdrew on February 15, 1918, after the fall of the czar. After the exchange (1923) no Orthodox remained in the region.
Notable natives
- Mahmut Oltan Sungurlu, Turkey's former Justice Minister and Minister of Defense
- Coskun Bayrak, academician and philanthropist
- Derya Erturk, famous local celebrity
- Turgay Erdener, composer and teacher
- Nurettin Ozdemir, Poet, Former Member of Parliament
- Aydin DoganAydin DoganAydın Doğan is a Turkish entrepreneur and businessman.-Biography:Born in 1936 as a member of a well-known family in Kelkit, Aydin Dogan got his elementary and secondary school education in Kelkit and finished high-school in Erzincan...
, Entrepreneur and Businessmen