Adata
Encyclopedia
Adata in Arabic al-Ḥadath al-Ḥamrā' ("Hadath the Red"), was a town and fortress in the mountains of Cilicia
(modern southeastern Turkey
), which played an important role in the Byzantine–Arab Wars.
The town was located at ca. 1000 m altitude on the southern feet of the Taurus
-Antitaurus
range, near the upper course of the Aksu River in the Gölbaşı district. Its exact location has been lost, and it has been variously identified with locations north or south of Inekli lake.
Adata became important in the early Middle Ages due to its strategic location: it was located in the fortified frontier zone, the Thughūr, that separated the Umayyad
and Abbasid
empires from the Byzantine Empire
. The town lay to the southwest of the important Pass of Adata (darb al-Ḥadath) which led over the Taurus into Byzantine Anatolia
, but was also situated between the two major frontier strongholds of Marash/Germanikeia (mod. Kahramanmaraş
) and Malatya
/Melitene, and controlled passage from Cilicia and northern Mesopotamia to western Armenia
. As such, it became a major base for the frequent Muslim invasions and raids into Byzantine territories, and was often targeted by the Byzantines in return.
It was conquered by the Arabs under Habib ibn Maslama during the reign of Caliph
Umar
(r. 634–644), and became a base for the annual invasions launched against Byzantine Anatolia under the Caliph Muawiyah (r. 661–680). The Byzantines reclaimed the city in the 750s but did not reoccupy it permanently. In 778, the Byzantine general Michael Lachanodrakon
sacked the city, but it was immediately rebuilt by Caliph Al-Mahdi
(r. 775–785). Mahdi renamed it al-Mahdiya or al-Muhammadiya on this occasion, but these names failed to catch on. Mahdi's successor Al-Hadi
further repopulated the city with people from the surrounding region, but in the winter of 786, floods caused heavy damage to the city walls, which had been hastily rebuilt of sun-dried bricks. The Byzantine strategos
of the Armeniacs, Nikephoros, learned of this and destroyed the city, burning it to the ground.
It was completely rebuilt, refortified and garrisoned by Harun al-Rashid
(r. 786–809), who made it one of the most important towns in the Thughūr. It is in this incarnation that the town is best known from literary sources: it was protected by the fortress of al-Uhaydab ("Little Hunchback"), built on a hill, while the town itself was reportedly as big as Marash. Adata continued to serve the Abbasids as a base for cross-frontier raids, but the Byzantines also attacked the city several times, sacking it in 841 and 879. The region around the town and especially the pass were the scene of frequent and bloody clashes, to the extent that the Arabs reportedly renamed it darb al-salāma ("pass of peace") in an attempt, as the Encyclopedia of Islam comments, "to exorcise the evil fate which seemed to be attached to it". In 949/950, the Byzantines under Leo Phokas
seized the town and razed it and its fortifications to the ground. It was rebuilt by the Hamdanid emir Sayf al-Dawla in 954, only to fall again to the Byzantines under Nikephoros Phokas in 957. The Byzantines razed and destroyed the city, but by 970 it was rebuilt and became the center of a new small theme.
The town thereafter descended into obscurity. It was captured by the Seljuks in 1150, and later by the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia
. Under the Armenians it became a base for their raids against the surrounding Muslim states until 1272, when the Mamluk
Sultan Baybars (r. 1260–1277) sacked it, massacred its inhabitants and burned it down. The town continued to exist for a while, named Göynük ("the Burned") by the Turks and Armenians and Alhan by the local Kurds. It is last mentioned in 1436, when the Mamluk Sultan Barsbay
(r. 1422–1438) used it as his base for a campaign against the Turkic beylik of Dulkadir.
Cilicia
In antiquity, Cilicia was the south coastal region of Asia Minor, south of the central Anatolian plateau. It existed as a political entity from Hittite times into the Byzantine empire...
(modern southeastern 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...
), which played an important role in the Byzantine–Arab Wars.
The town was located at ca. 1000 m altitude on the southern feet of the Taurus
Taurus Mountains
Taurus Mountains are a mountain complex in southern Turkey, dividing the Mediterranean coastal region of southern Turkey from the central Anatolian Plateau. The system extends along a curve from Lake Eğirdir in the west to the upper reaches of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers in the east...
-Antitaurus
Anti-Taurus Mountains
Anti-Taurus is a mountain range in southern and eastern Turkey, curving northeast from the Taurus Mountains. The tallest mountain in the range is Mount Erciyes,...
range, near the upper course of the Aksu River in the Gölbaşı district. Its exact location has been lost, and it has been variously identified with locations north or south of Inekli lake.
Adata became important in the early Middle Ages due to its strategic location: it was located in the fortified frontier zone, the Thughūr, that separated the Umayyad
Umayyad
The Umayyad Caliphate was the second of the four major Arab caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. It was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty, whose name derives from Umayya ibn Abd Shams, the great-grandfather of the first Umayyad caliph. Although the Umayyad family originally came from the...
and Abbasid
Abbasid
The Abbasid Caliphate or, more simply, the Abbasids , was the third of the Islamic caliphates. It was ruled by the Abbasid dynasty of caliphs, who built their capital in Baghdad after overthrowing the Umayyad caliphate from all but the al-Andalus region....
empires from the Byzantine Empire
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...
. The town lay to the southwest of the important Pass of Adata (darb al-Ḥadath) which led over the Taurus into Byzantine Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
, but was also situated between the two major frontier strongholds of Marash/Germanikeia (mod. Kahramanmaraş
Kahramanmaras
-Industry:Kahramanmaraş's industry is mainly based on textile and ice cream. Kahramanmaraş is one of the biggest textile industry cities of Turkey. Companies like Kipaş, İskur, Arsan and Bozkurt are one of the richest companies in the city...
) and Malatya
Malatya
Malatya ) is a city in southeastern Turkey and the capital of its eponymous province.-Overview:The city site has been occupied for thousands of years. The Assyrians called the city Meliddu. Following Roman expansion into the east, the city was renamed in Latin as Melitene...
/Melitene, and controlled passage from Cilicia and northern Mesopotamia to western Armenia
Western Armenia
Western Armenia is a term, primarily used by Armenians, to refer to Armenian-inhabited areas of the Armenian Highland that were part of the Ottoman Empire and now are part of the Republic of Turkey....
. As such, it became a major base for the frequent Muslim invasions and raids into Byzantine territories, and was often targeted by the Byzantines in return.
It was conquered by the Arabs under Habib ibn Maslama during the reign of Caliph
Caliph
The Caliph is the head of state in a Caliphate, and the title for the ruler of the Islamic Ummah, an Islamic community ruled by the Shari'ah. It is a transcribed version of the Arabic word which means "successor" or "representative"...
Umar
Umar
`Umar ibn al-Khattāb c. 2 November , was a leading companion and adviser to the Islamic prophet Muhammad who later became the second Muslim Caliph after Muhammad's death....
(r. 634–644), and became a base for the annual invasions launched against Byzantine Anatolia under the Caliph Muawiyah (r. 661–680). The Byzantines reclaimed the city in the 750s but did not reoccupy it permanently. In 778, the Byzantine general Michael Lachanodrakon
Michael Lachanodrakon
Michael Lachanodrakon was a distinguished Byzantine general and fanatical supporter of Byzantine Iconoclasm under Emperor Constantine V . As a result of his iconoclast zeal, in 766 he rose to high office as governor of the Thracesian Theme, and instigated a series of repressive measures against...
sacked the city, but it was immediately rebuilt by Caliph Al-Mahdi
Al-Mahdi
Muhammad ibn Mansur al-Mahdi , was the third Abbasid Caliph who reigned from 158 AH to 169 AH . He succeeded his father, al-Mansur....
(r. 775–785). Mahdi renamed it al-Mahdiya or al-Muhammadiya on this occasion, but these names failed to catch on. Mahdi's successor Al-Hadi
Al-Hadi
Abu Abdullah Musa ibn Mahdi al-Hadi was the fourth Abbasid caliph who succeeded his father Al-Mahdi and ruled from 169 AH until his death in 170 AH ....
further repopulated the city with people from the surrounding region, but in the winter of 786, floods caused heavy damage to the city walls, which had been hastily rebuilt of sun-dried bricks. The Byzantine strategos
Strategos
Strategos, plural strategoi, is used in Greek to mean "general". In the Hellenistic and Byzantine Empires the term was also used to describe a military governor...
of the Armeniacs, Nikephoros, learned of this and destroyed the city, burning it to the ground.
It was completely rebuilt, refortified and garrisoned by Harun al-Rashid
Harun al-Rashid
Hārūn al-Rashīd was the fifth Arab Abbasid Caliph in Iraq. He was born in Rey, Iran, close to modern Tehran. His birth date remains a point of discussion, though, as various sources give the dates from 763 to 766)....
(r. 786–809), who made it one of the most important towns in the Thughūr. It is in this incarnation that the town is best known from literary sources: it was protected by the fortress of al-Uhaydab ("Little Hunchback"), built on a hill, while the town itself was reportedly as big as Marash. Adata continued to serve the Abbasids as a base for cross-frontier raids, but the Byzantines also attacked the city several times, sacking it in 841 and 879. The region around the town and especially the pass were the scene of frequent and bloody clashes, to the extent that the Arabs reportedly renamed it darb al-salāma ("pass of peace") in an attempt, as the Encyclopedia of Islam comments, "to exorcise the evil fate which seemed to be attached to it". In 949/950, the Byzantines under Leo Phokas
Leo Phokas the Younger
Leo Phokas or Phocas was a prominent Byzantine general who scored a number of successes in the eastern frontier in the mid-10th century alongside his older brother, the Emperor Nikephoros II Phokas...
seized the town and razed it and its fortifications to the ground. It was rebuilt by the Hamdanid emir Sayf al-Dawla in 954, only to fall again to the Byzantines under Nikephoros Phokas in 957. The Byzantines razed and destroyed the city, but by 970 it was rebuilt and became the center of a new small theme.
The town thereafter descended into obscurity. It was captured by the Seljuks in 1150, and later by the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia
Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia
The Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia , also known as the Cilician Armenia, Kingdom of Cilician Armenia or New Armenia, was an independent principality formed during the High Middle Ages by Armenian refugees fleeing the Seljuk invasion of Armenia...
. Under the Armenians it became a base for their raids against the surrounding Muslim states until 1272, when the Mamluk
Mamluk
A Mamluk was a soldier of slave origin, who were predominantly Cumans/Kipchaks The "mamluk phenomenon", as David Ayalon dubbed the creation of the specific warrior...
Sultan Baybars (r. 1260–1277) sacked it, massacred its inhabitants and burned it down. The town continued to exist for a while, named Göynük ("the Burned") by the Turks and Armenians and Alhan by the local Kurds. It is last mentioned in 1436, when the Mamluk Sultan Barsbay
Barsbay
Al-Ashraf Sayf-ad-Din Barsbay was the ninth Burji Mamluk sultan of Egypt from AD 1422 to 1438. He was Circassian by birth and a former slave of the first Burji Sultan, Barquq....
(r. 1422–1438) used it as his base for a campaign against the Turkic beylik of Dulkadir.