Ören, Mersin
Encyclopedia
Geography
Ören at 36°02′N 32°47′E is a part of AnamurAnamur
Anamur is a town and district of the province of Mersin, on the Mediterranean coast of southern Turkey, between Antalya and the city of Mersin.Anamur is Turkey's southernmost point, a coastal resort famous for its bananas and peanuts.-Etymology:...
district of Mersin Province. It is one of the southernmost settlements of Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
. It is close to Anamur i.e., only 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) south west of Anamur. Distance to Mersin
Mersin
-Mersin today:Today, Mersin is a large city spreading out along the coast, with Turkey's second tallest skyscraper , huge hotels, an opera house, expensive real estate near the sea or up in the hills, and many other modern urban...
is 228 kilometres (141.7 mi) The population is 3986 as of 2010.
History
Ören is actually the former location of Anamur. It is founded by Phoenicians and occupied by HittitesHittites
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...
. In the 12th century the town was briefly the capital of the Anemurium
Anemurium
Anemurium, in modern Turkish Anamur, is a major city of the Roman province of Rough Cilicia, and Roman Catholic titular see in the former Roman province....
kingdom. In the 6th century BC it was a part of Achaemenid Empire
Achaemenid Empire
The Achaemenid Empire , sometimes known as First Persian Empire and/or Persian Empire, was founded in the 6th century BCE by Cyrus the Great who overthrew the Median confederation...
of Persia and in 333 BC it was annexed by Alexander the Great of Macedodonia. Shortly after the Partition of Babylon
Partition of Babylon
The Partition of Babylon designates the attribution of the territories of Alexander the Great between his generals after his death in 323 BC.-Background:...
in 323 BC it was incorporated into Seleucid Empire
Seleucid Empire
The Seleucid Empire was a Greek-Macedonian state that was created out of the eastern conquests of Alexander the Great. At the height of its power, it included central Anatolia, the Levant, Mesopotamia, Persia, today's Turkmenistan, Pamir and parts of Pakistan.The Seleucid Empire was a major centre...
. During the last years of Seleucids, Ören was captured by pirates. Roman general Pompey
Pompey
Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, also known as Pompey or Pompey the Great , was a military and political leader of the late Roman Republic...
defeated the pirates. After the town was annexed by the Roman Empire
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....
, it was several times captured by the Arabic Empire (Caliphate)
Caliphate
The term caliphate, "dominion of a caliph " , refers to the first system of government established in Islam and represented the political unity of the Muslim Ummah...
. In the 13th century Seljuk Turks and Karamanids captured the city. After 15th century the town became a part of Ottoman Empire
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...
. Beginning by Turkish domination, Anamur flourished as the main settlement of the area. But Ören continued as a village and was renamed Ören (meaning ruins) referring to ruins of ancient Anemurium. In 1992 the village was declared township.