Saimbeyli
Encyclopedia
Saimbeyli is a small city and a district in Adana Province
, Turkey
in what was known during the Middle Ages as Cilician Armenia. The city of Saimbeyli is in the Toros
mountains, 157 km north of the city of Adana
, by a difficult road. The city has a population of 3,952.
The city of Saimbeyli is on the river Göksu (one of the sources of the Seyhan
, in a valley between the forested mountains of Dibek and Bakır. There is a pass through the mountains from here to Kayseri
and the valley is watered by many mountain streams.
period and many other civilisations subsequently, including Byzantium. Formerly, the Armenian city of Hadjin stood near Saimbeyli. The name reportedly came from the son of an Armenian lord of the castle of Anazarva on the Cilician plain. When the plain was occupied by invading Turks, the Armenians retreated to the mountains and Hadjin was founded in 1096.
The city thrived until it passed into Ottoman hands.
During the late years of the 19th century and the early years of the 20th century, there were repeated massacres of Armenians throughout Anatolia, and in particular in Adana and Tarsus as well as in Hadjin. These massacres became the official genocidal state policy of both the Ottoman Empire in its waning days and by the new Turkish state that arose at the close of World War I
("The Treatment of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, 1915-16," Viscount Bryce, 1916, G.P. Putnam's Sons). The massacres were carried out by Turkish soldiers as well as by ordinary Turkish citizens living in the surrounding mountains. During World War I
, the Turkish authorities utterly destroyed the Armenian population of Hadjin in the most barbaric manner (no mercy was shown to Armenians; women, children and old men were burnt to death in their churches. See the larger story recounted in the Armenian Genocide
.) Rose Lambert, an American missionary in Hadjin in the early 20h century provides a wealth of details about earlier massacres in her book ("Hadjin and the Armenian Massacres," 1911, Fleming Revell Co. pub.). The last remnants of the original Armenian residents of Hadjin were deported into the deserts of Syria in 1915 by the Ottomans. Most of them died of thirst, starvation, or were savagely murdered.http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/archives/2005/04/28/opinion/12779.shtml. There are no Armenians left in Saimbeyli today. The city of Hadjin was destroyed during WWI.
Adana Province
Adana Province is a province of Turkey located in south-central Anatolia. With a population of 2,085,225, it is the fifth most populous province in Turkey. The administrative seat of the province is the city of Adana, home to 78% of the residents of the province...
, 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...
in what was known during the Middle Ages as Cilician Armenia. The city of Saimbeyli is in the Toros
Toros
Toros may refer to:Sports*Austin Toros, NBA Development League minor league basketball team*Western District Toros, a soccer club from Adelaide, South AustraliaGeography*Taurus Mountains , a mountain range in southern Turkey...
mountains, 157 km north of the city of Adana
Adana
Adana is a city in southern Turkey and a major agricultural and commercial center. The city is situated on the Seyhan River, 30 kilometres inland from the Mediterranean, in south-central Anatolia...
, by a difficult road. The city has a population of 3,952.
The city of Saimbeyli is on the river Göksu (one of the sources of the Seyhan
Seyhan
Seyhan is a district in the Adana Province of Turkey. It is completely within the city of Adana and the municipality of Seyhan is a lower-tier municipality which serves to the entire district....
, in a valley between the forested mountains of Dibek and Bakır. There is a pass through the mountains from here to 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...
and the valley is watered by many mountain streams.
History
The area was occupied as far back as the HittiteHittites
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...
period and many other civilisations subsequently, including Byzantium. Formerly, the Armenian city of Hadjin stood near Saimbeyli. The name reportedly came from the son of an Armenian lord of the castle of Anazarva on the Cilician plain. When the plain was occupied by invading Turks, the Armenians retreated to the mountains and Hadjin was founded in 1096.
The city thrived until it passed into Ottoman hands.
During the late years of the 19th century and the early years of the 20th century, there were repeated massacres of Armenians throughout Anatolia, and in particular in Adana and Tarsus as well as in Hadjin. These massacres became the official genocidal state policy of both the Ottoman Empire in its waning days and by the new Turkish state that arose at the close of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
("The Treatment of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, 1915-16," Viscount Bryce, 1916, G.P. Putnam's Sons). The massacres were carried out by Turkish soldiers as well as by ordinary Turkish citizens living in the surrounding mountains. During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, the Turkish authorities utterly destroyed the Armenian population of Hadjin in the most barbaric manner (no mercy was shown to Armenians; women, children and old men were burnt to death in their churches. See the larger story recounted in the Armenian Genocide
Armenian Genocide
The Armenian Genocide—also known as the Armenian Holocaust, the Armenian Massacres and, by Armenians, as the Great Crime—refers to the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I...
.) Rose Lambert, an American missionary in Hadjin in the early 20h century provides a wealth of details about earlier massacres in her book ("Hadjin and the Armenian Massacres," 1911, Fleming Revell Co. pub.). The last remnants of the original Armenian residents of Hadjin were deported into the deserts of Syria in 1915 by the Ottomans. Most of them died of thirst, starvation, or were savagely murdered.http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/archives/2005/04/28/opinion/12779.shtml. There are no Armenians left in Saimbeyli today. The city of Hadjin was destroyed during WWI.
Places of interest
- near the village of Bahçeköyü there is a castle perched on a rock. This rock has been fortified since antiquity and the castle played an important role in the crusadesCrusadesThe Crusades were a series of religious wars, blessed by the Pope and the Catholic Church with the main goal of restoring Christian access to the holy places in and near Jerusalem...
. - Hadjin castle (known as Badimon in the Middle Ages)