History

See also Kozan, Adana

Kozan, Adana

Kozan is a city in Adana Province, Turkey, 68 km north of the city of Adana, in the northern section of the Çukurova plain. The city is the capital of Kozan district. The Kilgen Stream, a tributary of the Ceyhan River , flows through Kozan crossing the plain south into the Mediterranean Sea....

From 3000 BC onwards there were 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...

 settlements in all these plains behind the Mediterranean coast, based on farming and grazing animals. The area then changed hands many times, eventually becoming Flavias or Flaviopolis in the former Roman province

Roman province

In Ancient Rome, a province was the basic, and, until the Tetrarchy , largest territorial and administrative unit of the empire's territorial possessions outside of Italy...

 of Cilicia

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...

 Secunda. The city was known by the names of Issos, Pindenissos. The names Sisan or Sisia are first mentioned in the fifth and sixth centuries in 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;...

 and Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

 sources. In AD 703 the city was conquered by Arabs. According to Arabic sources from the eighth century, Sis' population was mainly 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....

.

During Thoros I, Prince of Armenia's reign Armenian

Armenia

Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...

 forces with the help of native Armenians

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....

 conquered Sis. Thoros also established Drazark monastery, which later became Rubenid dynasty's mausoleum. In 1173 AD Mleh made Sis Cilician Armenia's capital. During the reigns of Leo II and Hethum II Sis was rebuilt and beautified with court palaces, temporal, religious buildings, gardens. Sis is well presented in the works of Villebrand, an Austrian

Archduchy of Austria

The Archduchy of Austria , one of the most important states within the Holy Roman Empire, was the nucleus of the Habsburg Monarchy and the predecessor of the Austrian Empire...

 ambassador in Sis from 1211 to 1212. There were many churches and monasteries in Sis. After Hromkla was conquered by Mamluks, Catholicos

Catholicos

Catholicos, plural Catholicoi, is a title used for the head of certain churches in some Eastern Christian traditions. The title implies autocephaly and in some cases is borne by the designated head of an autonomous church, in which case the holder might have other titles such as Patriarch...

' residence became Sis. In 1266 Mamluks robbed and burnt the city. In 1275 Mamluks again surrounded the city, but were defeated by Armenian forces. After a century in 1369 Mamluks again conquered the city, but were forced to leave. In 1375 Mamluks took the city, robbed, burnt it, the king and many lords were captured. With Sis fallen fell also 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...

.

Source:
Armenian Soviet Encyclopedia