Sivas, Turkey
Encyclopedia
Sivas is a city in east-central Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

 and the seat of Sivas Province
Sivas Province
The Sivas Province is a province of Turkey. It located at the eastern part of the Central Anatolian region of Turkey; it is the second largest province in Turkey. Its adjacent provinces are Yozgat to the west, Kayseri to the southwest, Kahramanmaraş to the south, Malatya to the southeast, Erzincan...

. According to the 2007 Turkish census, its population was 300,795.

The city, which lies at an elevation of 4193 feet (1,278 m) in the broad valley of the Kızılırmak river, is a moderately-sized trade center and industrial city, although the economy has traditionally been based on agriculture. Rail repair shops and a thriving manufacturing industry of rugs, bricks, cement, and cotton and woolen textiles 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 at Divriği
Divrigi
Divriği is a town and a district of Sivas Province of Turkey. The town lies on gentle slope on the south bank of the Çaltısuyu river, a tributary of the Karasu river....

.

Sivas is also a communications 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 of Kayseri
Kayseri
Kayseri is a large and industrialized city in Central Anatolia, Turkey. It is the seat of Kayseri Province. The city of Kayseri, as defined by the boundaries of Kayseri Metropolitan Municipality, is structurally composed of five metropolitan districts, the two core districts of Kocasinan and...

, Samsun
Samsun
Samsun is a city of about half a million people on the north coast of Turkey. It is the provincial capital of Samsun Province and a major Black Sea port.-Name:...

, and Erzurum
Erzurum
Erzurum is a city in Turkey. It is the largest city, the capital of Erzurum Province. The city is situated 1757 meters above sea level. Erzurum had a population of 361,235 in the 2000 census. .Erzurum, known as "The Rock" in NATO code, served as NATO's southeastern-most air force post during the...

. The city is linked by air
Sivas Airport
Sivas Nuri Demirag Airport is an airport in Sivas, the city in mid Anatolian region of Turkey. The airport has 2.000.000 passengers/year capacity. Its area is 6.000 m2 and car parking area capacity is 356.-Airlines and destinations:...

 to Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...

.

Ancient and medieval

Excavations at a mound known as Topraktepe indicate Hittite
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...

 settlement in the area as early as 2600 BC, though little is known of Sivas' history prior to its emergence in the Roman
Roman 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....

 period. In 64 B.C. as part of his reorganization of Asia Minor
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...

 after the Third Mithridatic War
Third Mithridatic War
The Third Mithridatic War was the last and longest of three Mithridatic Wars fought between Mithridates VI of Pontus and his allies and the Roman Republic...

, Pompey the Great
Pompey
Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, also known as Pompey or Pompey the Great , was a military and political leader of the late Roman Republic...

 founded a city on the site called "Megalopolis". Numismatic evidence suggests that Megalopolis changed its name in the last years of the 1st century B.C. to "Sebasteia" in honor of the emperor Augustus
Augustus
Augustus ;23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD.The dates of his rule are contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian...

: Σεβάστεια is the feminine form of the usual Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...

 translation of Augustus. The name "Sivas" is the Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...

 version deriving from the name Sebasteia. Sebasteia became the capital of the province of Armenia Minor under the emperor Diocletian
Diocletian
Diocletian |latinized]] upon his accession to Diocletian . c. 22 December 244  – 3 December 311), was a Roman Emperor from 284 to 305....

, was a town of some importance in the early history of the Christian Church; in the 4th century it was the home of Saint Blaise
Saint Blaise
Saint Blaise was a physician, and bishop of Sebastea . According to his Acta Sanctorum, he was martyred by being beaten, attacked with iron carding combs, and beheaded...

 and St. Peter of Sebaste
Peter of Sebaste
Peter of Sebaste was a bishop, taking his usual name from the city of his bishopry, Sebaste in Armenia.Also known as Peter of Sebasteia....

, bishops of the town, and of Eustathius
Eustathius
Eustathius or Eustathios may refer to:* Eustathius of Antioch, Patriarch of Antioch * Eustathius of Sebaste * Eustathius of Cappadocia Neoplatonist, orator, and diplomat...

, one of the early founders of monasticism
Monasticism
Monasticism is a religious way of life characterized by the practice of renouncing worldly pursuits to fully devote one's self to spiritual work...

 in Asia Minor. It was also the place of martyrdom of the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste
Forty Martyrs of Sebaste
The Forty Martyrs of Sebaste or the Holy Forty were a group of Roman soldiers in the Legio XII Fulminata whose martyrdom in 320 for the Christian faith is recounted in traditional martyrologies.They were killed near Sebaste, in Lesser Armenia, victims of the persecutions of Licinius,...

, also 4th century. Justinian I
Justinian I
Justinian I ; , ; 483– 13 or 14 November 565), commonly known as Justinian the Great, was Byzantine Emperor from 527 to 565. During his reign, Justinian sought to revive the Empire's greatness and reconquer the lost western half of the classical Roman Empire.One of the most important figures of...

 had a fortified wall around it rebuilt in the 6th century.

The city came under the domain of Turkmen
Turkmen people
The Turkmen are a Turkic people located primarily in the Central Asian states of Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, and northeastern Iran. They speak the Turkmen language, which is classified as a part of the Western Oghuz branch of the Turkic languages family together with Turkish, Azerbaijani, Qashqai,...

 Danishmend dynasty (1155–1192) after the Battle of Manzikert
Battle of Manzikert
The Battle of Manzikert , was fought between the Byzantine Empire and Seljuq Turks led by Alp Arslan on August 26, 1071 near Manzikert...

 in 1071. After the death of Danişmend Gazi, Sivas passed to Nizamettin Yağıbasan who won it after a struggle with Danişmend Gazi's successors. In 1174, the city was captured by Seljuk ruler Kilij Arslan II
Kilij Arslan II
Kilij Arslan II was a Seljuk Sultan of Rûm from 1156 until his death in 1192.As Arnold of Lübeck reports in his Chronica Slavorum, he was present at the meeting of Henry the Lion with Kilij-Arslan during the former's pilgrimage to Jerusalem in 1172...

 and periodically served as capital of the Seljuk empire along with Konya
Konya
Konya is a city in the Central Anatolia Region of Turkey. The metropolitan area in the entire Konya Province had a population of 1,036,027 as of 2010, making the city seventh most populous in Turkey.-Etymology:...

. Under Seljuk rule, Sivas was an important center of trade along the silk road
Silk Road
The Silk Road or Silk Route refers to a historical network of interlinking trade routes across the Afro-Eurasian landmass that connected East, South, and Western Asia with the Mediterranean and European world, as well as parts of North and East Africa...

 and site of a citadel, along with mosques and madrasahs (islamic educational institutions), four of which survive today and one of which houses the Sivas Museum. Then it passed to the Ilkhanids and Eretna
Eretna
Eretnids was an Anatolian beylik that succeeded the Ilkhanid governors in Anatolia and that ruled in a large region extending between Caesarea , Sebastea and Amaseia in Central Anatolia between 1328-1381. This principality is generally not considered as one of the Turkish beyliks, because Eretna...


The city was acquired by Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I
Bayezid I
Bayezid I was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from 1389 to 1402. He was the son of Murad I and Valide Sultan Gülçiçek Hatun.-Biography:Bayezid was born in Edirne and spent his youth in Bursa, where he received a high-level education...

 (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. Under the Ottomans, Sivas served as the administrative center of the province of Rum until about the late nineteenth century.

In 1913 a campaign boycotting Christian trade was initiated by vali
Wali
Walī , is an Arabic word meaning "custodian", "protector", "sponsor", or authority as denoted by its definition "crown". "Wali" is someone who has "Walayah" over somebody else. For example, in Fiqh the father is wali of his children. In Islam, the phrase ولي الله walīyu 'llāh...

 Ahmed Muammer Bey. In April/May 1914 the bazaar of Sivas was set alight. 5 July 1915 the Armenian population of Sivas was deported. The Kemalist Sivas Congress
Sivas Congress
Sivas Congress was an assembly of the Turkish National Movement held from 4 September to 11 September 1919 in the city of Sivas, in central-eastern Turkey, that united delegates from all Anatolian provinces of the Ottoman Empire, which was defunct at the time in practical terms...

 (Heyet-i Temiliye) was held in this city 4–11 September 1919. With the arrival of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was an Ottoman and Turkish army officer, revolutionary statesman, writer, and the first President of Turkey. He is credited with being the founder of the Republic of Turkey....

 (1881–1938), the founder of the Turkish Republic, from Amasya
Amasya
- History :Its location in this steep valley makes the city a mountain stronghold, easy to defend, and thus Amasya has had a long and prominent history.-Antiquity:...

, the Congress of Sivas is considered a turning point in the formation of the Turkish Republic. It was at this congress that Kemal's position as chair of the executive committee of the national resistance was confirmed (see Turkish War of Independence
Turkish War of Independence
The Turkish War of Independence was a war of independence waged by Turkish nationalists against the Allies, after the country was partitioned by the Allies following the Ottoman Empire's defeat in World War I...

). Sivas was depicted on the reverse
Obverse and reverse
Obverse and its opposite, reverse, refer to the two flat faces of coins and some other two-sided objects, including paper money, flags , seals, medals, drawings, old master prints and other works of art, and printed fabrics. In this usage, obverse means the front face of the object and reverse...

 of the Turkish 500 lira
Turkish lira
The Turkish lira is the currency of Turkey and the de facto independent state of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. The lira is subdivided into 100 kuruş...

 banknote of 1927-1939.
On 2 July 1993, 37 participants in an Alevi
Alevi
The Alevi are a religious and cultural community, primarily in Turkey, constituting probably more than 15 million people....

 cultural and literary festival were killed when a mob of demonstrators set fire to the Madimak hotel in Sivas during a violent protest by some 15,000 members of various radical Islamist groups against the presence of Aziz Nesin
Aziz Nesin
Aziz Nesin was a famous Turkish writer and humorist of Crimean Tatar origin and author of more than 100 books.-Pseudonyms:...

. 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 the Pir Sultan Abdal
Pir Sultan Abdal
Pir Sultan Abdal was a legendary Turkish Alevi poet, whose direct and clear language as well as the richness of his imagination and the beauty of his verses led him to become loved among the Turkish people. Pir Sultan Abdal reflected the social, cultural and religious life of the people; he was a...

 Cultural Institute to convert the former hotel into a museum to commemorate the tragedy, now known as the Sivas massacre
Sivas massacre
The Sivas massacre refers to the events of July 2, 1993 which resulted in the deaths of 37 people, mostly Alevi intellectuals, and two hotel employees. Two people from the mob were also dead...

.

Climate

Sivas has a continental climate
Continental climate
Continental climate is a climate characterized by important annual variation in temperature due to the lack of significant bodies of water nearby...

 (Köppen climate classification
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by Crimea German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen himself, notably in 1918 and 1936...

: Dsa), with hot and dry summers and cold and snowy winters. The driest months are July and August and the wettest are April and May.

Sights

A cultural hub as well as an industrial one, Sivas contains many examples of 13th-century Seljuk
Seljuq dynasty
The Seljuq ; were a Turco-Persian Sunni Muslim dynasty that ruled parts of Central Asia and the Middle East from the 11th to 14th centuries...

 architecture. The Mavi Medrese from 1271, the Şifaiye Medrese
Sifaiye Medrese
Sifaiye Medresesi is a medrese built in 1217 in Sivas, Turkey. It bears typical Seljuk features and was built by the Rûm Seljuk Sultan Kaykaus I, who was known for his fondness for the city of Sivas where he spent the large part of his period of reign....

si from 1218 and the Çifte Minare Medresesi from 1271, with its intricately carved facade and minarets, are among the most noteworthy monuments. The oldest surviving mosque is the Great Mosque (Ulu Camii) completed in 1196 is famous for its simplicity. The city is also famous for its Medreses (Islamic seminaries). Gök Medresesi (the Celestial Madrasa; depicted on the obverse
Obverse and reverse
Obverse and its opposite, reverse, refer to the two flat faces of coins and some other two-sided objects, including paper money, flags , seals, medals, drawings, old master prints and other works of art, and printed fabrics. In this usage, obverse means the front face of the object and reverse...

 of the Turkish 500 lira
Turkish lira
The Turkish lira is the currency of Turkey and the de facto independent state of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. The lira is subdivided into 100 kuruş...

 banknote of 1927-1939) and Mavi Medrese, Sifaiye Medresesi, on the other hand, was completed earlier, on the eve of the second wave of Turkic immigration to Anatolia, in 1218 and the with its intricately carved facade and minarets are among the most noteworthy edifices carries on the traditional Seljuk Medrese plan.

The city also contains some fine examples of the Ottoman architectural style. Kurşunlu Hamamı (Leaden Bath) which was completed in 1576, is the largest Turkish bath in the city and it contains many details from the classical Ottoman bath building. Behrampaşa Hanı (Caravansaray), 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.
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 and Kangal Balıklı Kaplıca.

Cuisine

Specialies of Sivas are Tarhana (a soup made using yogurt) and Kelecos (a sour potato soup made with yoghurt). One distinct feature of Sivas cooking is the use of Mardamak which is a local herb similar to spinach. Sivas Kebab is a variety of Kebab originating from Sivas

Notable natives

  • Ahmet Ayık
    Ahmet Ayik
    Ahmet Ayık , is a former Turkish World champion and Olympic medalist sports wrestler in the Light heavyweight class and a sports executive...

     - World and Olympic champion sports wrestler
  • Aşık Veysel
    Asik Veysel Satiroglu
    Âşık Veysel Şatıroğlu , also known as just Aşık Veysel, was a Turkish alevi minstrel and highly regarded poet of the Turkish folk literature. He was born in the Sivrialan village of the Şarkışla district, Sivas, on October 25, 1894 and died on March 21, 1973...

     - poet of the Turkish folk literature
    Turkish folk literature
    Turkish folk literature is an oral tradition deeply rooted, in its form, in Central Asian nomadic traditions. However, in its themes, Turkish folk literature reflects the problems peculiar to a settling people who have abandoned the nomadic lifestyle...

  • Cem Yilmaz
    Cem Yilmaz
    Cem Yılmaz is a Turkish stand-up comedian, actor and filmmaker, best known for his films G.O.R.A. , A.R.O.G and Yahşi Batı , who has won two Sadri Alışık awards for his roles in Organize İşler and The Magician .-Biography:While studying at the Department of Tourism and Hotel Management of...

     - Turkish stand-up comedian, actor, cartoonist and screenwriter
  • Çetin Tekindor
    Çetin Tekindor
    -Biography:Çetin Tekindor was born in 1945 in Sivas. After studying theatre at the Ankara State Conservatory. he made his professional acting debut in a play IV. Murat in 1970. Besides acting, he also gave acting lessons at the Hacettepe University State Conservatory and Bilkent University.In 1983,...

     - actor
  • Emel Sayın
    Emel Sayin
    Emel Sayın is a Turkish singer of Turkish classical music. She styles herself the "queen and ambassador of Turkish classical music"....

     - Turkish
    Turkey
    Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

     singer of Ottoman Classical Music
  • Ismail YK
    Ismail YK
    Ismail YK, full name İsmail Yurtseven , is a Turkish pop singer, and composer for Turkish Pop Music. YK stands for Yurtseven Kardeşler, the group he was a member of at the start of his career.-Biography:...

     & Yurtseven kardesler - singers
  • İbrahim Toraman
    Ibrahim Toraman
    İbrahim Toraman , is a Turkish footballer. He plays as a defender in center or right back positions. He currently plays for Beşiktaş J.K. and the national side....

     - football player
  • Mekhitar of Sebastia
    Mekhitar
    Mekhitar da Pietro, known as Abbot Mekhitar, also spelled Mkhitar, born Petros Manuk was an Armenian Catholic monk and a prominent scholar and theologian who founded what would become the Mekhitarist...

     - founder of the Mekhitarist Order of Armenian Catholic monks
  • Muhsin Yazıcıoğlu
    Muhsin Yazıcıoğlu
    Muhsin Yazıcıoğlu was a Turkish politician and member of the Parliament of Turkey. He was the leader and founder of the Great Union Party , a right-wing, nationalist political party....

     - was the president of the BBP party in Turkey
  • Mustafa Balel
    Mustafa Balel
    Mustafa Balel, Turkish short story writer and novelist .After he graduated from Ankara Gazi Institute of Education, Department of French philology , he did his master's at the University of Poitiers in France...

     - Turkish short story writer and novelist
  • Nebahat Albayrak
    Nebahat Albayrak
    Nebahat Albayrak is a Turkish-Dutch politician and former civil servant. As a member of the Dutch Labour Party she is a former State Secretary for Justice in the Netherlands. Since May 12, 2010 she has been an MP. From April till August 2011 she was on maternity leave...

     - Turkish-Dutch politician and currently state minister in the Netherlands government
  • Pir Sultan Abdal
    Pir Sultan Abdal
    Pir Sultan Abdal was a legendary Turkish Alevi poet, whose direct and clear language as well as the richness of his imagination and the beauty of his verses led him to become loved among the Turkish people. Pir Sultan Abdal reflected the social, cultural and religious life of the people; he was a...

     - Alevi
    Alevi
    The Alevi are a religious and cultural community, primarily in Turkey, constituting probably more than 15 million people....

     poet
  • Saint Blaise
    Saint Blaise
    Saint Blaise was a physician, and bishop of Sebastea . According to his Acta Sanctorum, he was martyred by being beaten, attacked with iron carding combs, and beheaded...

     - Armenian
    Armenians
    Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....

     saint
    Saint
    A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...

    , bishop of Sebaste
  • Selda Bagcan
    Selda Bağcan
    Selda Bağcan is a Turkish singer and guitarist. She was born in 1948. The Turkish military rulers persecuted her in the 1980s due to her political songs.-External links:* – official website* discography at Discogs...

     - political protest singer persecuted in the 1980s
    1980s
    File:1980s decade montage.png|thumb|400px|From left, clockwise: The first Space Shuttle, Columbia, lifted off in 1981; American President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev eased tensions between the two superpowers, leading to the end of the Cold War; The Fall of the Berlin Wall in...

  • Torkom Saraydarian
    Torkom Saraydarian
    Torkom Saraydarian was born in Turkey of Armenian parents. Since childhood he was trained in the Teachings of the Ageless Wisdom under the guidance of his father....

     - Armenian
    Armenians
    Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....

     spiritual teacher, author, composer born in Sivas, 1917
  • Tülin Şahin
    Tülin Şahin
    Tülin Şahin is a Turkish Danish fashion designer, TV-presenter, actress, author and top model.- Life and career :Tülin was born in Odense in Denmark and spent her childhood there. She was discovered in a shopping mall and went to do professional modeling career in Paris in 1998. She came to...

     - model
  • Ukhtanes of Sebastia
    Ukhtanes of Sebastia
    Ukhtanes of Sebastia was an Armenian historian and prelate.Educated at the Monastery of Narek under the tutelage of its founder Anania, he eventually attained to the bishopric of Sebastia and probably also of Urha...

     - Armenian
    Armenians
    Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....

     historian and prelate

See also

  • Şifaiye Medrese
    Sifaiye Medrese
    Sifaiye Medresesi is a medrese built in 1217 in Sivas, Turkey. It bears typical Seljuk features and was built by the Rûm Seljuk Sultan Kaykaus I, who was known for his fondness for the city of Sivas where he spent the large part of his period of reign....

  • Sivas Congress
    Sivas Congress
    Sivas Congress was an assembly of the Turkish National Movement held from 4 September to 11 September 1919 in the city of Sivas, in central-eastern Turkey, that united delegates from all Anatolian provinces of the Ottoman Empire, which was defunct at the time in practical terms...

  • Kangal Dog
    Kangal Dog
    The Kangal Dog is regarded as the national breed of Turkey. The Kangal, which weighs 100–165 lbs fully grown, was originally used as a livestock guardian dog...

  • Kangal Fish
  • Divriği Great Mosque
    Divrigi Great Mosque
    Divriği Great Mosque and Hospital is an ornately decorated mosque and medical complex built in 1299 in the small eastern Anatolian mountain town of Divriği, now in Sivas Province in Turkey. The architect was Hürremshah of Ahlat and the mosque was built on the order of Ahmet Shah, ruler of the...

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