Kirsehir is a small province (6.665 km²) in
Central
Anatolian region with approximately 300.000 inhabitants and at 985 meters above
sea level. Its districts are Akçakent, Akpinar, Boztepe, Çiçekdagi, Kaman, and
Mucur. It stands on the Anatolian
tectonic fault as most of Anatolia
does. It has a typical Central
Anatolian climate; cold and snowy winters and hot and dry
summers.
Some of the sites of interest are Çiçekdagi forest recreation area, Terme hot
springs, Keçi and Ömerhacili castle ruins, Caca Bey old theological school
(medrese), Kale and Alaeddin mosques, Ahi Evran
mosque and mausoleum, Karakurt
Baba, Melik Gazi and Asik Pasha mausoleums, Kesikköprü Inn (Caravanserai), and
Kirsehir Museum which has more than 3300 items consisting of coins and
ethnographic and archaeological materials. Also Mucur Underground City and
Inlimurat Underground City are considered as historical sites.
The research and excavations of the recent years have shown that human
settlements in Kirsehir started in 3000 B.C. Ceramic pieces from that period are
found in the tumulus's of the city. The archaeological excavations undertaken at
Hashöyük, a village of the central district of Kirsehir, in 1930 by Turkish and
Italian archaeologists has revealed pieces of pottery from 3000 B.C.
2000 BC was the start of Assyrian Trade Colonies period and the
Hittite period.
Two altars with cow heads from Old Hittite Period brought to the Hirfanli
Dam operations from the shores of the Kizilirmak River (Red river), Malkayasi
with hieroglyph inscriptions and known as Hittite road inscription located
between the villages of Sevdigin and Kale, also the seals, ceramic kitchen
utensils, public buildings with walls etc found at Kaman Kale Tumulus are
important traces of the Hittite period.
Current archaeological excavations and surface investigations also reveal that,
after the Old and Late Hittite Periods, the Old and Late
Phrygian Periods were
also lived in a most dense fashion. In 550 BC, Anatolia was completely under
Persian dominance. Within this period, Kirsehir was part of the
Central Anatolia
history, a region which became well known as Cappadocia. As Persians sufficed
with only military invasion of Anatolia, significant ruins or remains cannot be
found in Kirsehir, but Persian seals were found at excavations of the Kaman Kale
tumulus. Persian dominance came to end in 334 BC when the armies of
Alexander
the Great came to Anatolia and defeated the Persians. Kirsehir and environs
experienced severe pressures due to lack of authority during the period of the
Cappadocia Kingdom which was established in 333 BC. In the year 18, Roman
Emperor Tiberius officially annexed Cappadocia to the Roman Empire and converted
it into a provincial status.
Roman period was a period of strong paganism as well as a period where
Christianity was fast expanding. About 15 underground cities of varying size are
known to exist from that period in Kirsehir, which were built as places of
worship and sanctuary for the Christians. Historical research shows that
Kirsehir was for a while an important political center during the Roman period
and even functioned as the provincial capital.
There isn't much information about the Byzantine period of this area, but ruins
and remains indicate that a Byzantine period did exist. Üç Ayak church from the
10th century at Taburoglu village of the provincial center, which is one of the
first big village churches in Anatolia, was a church where Protestants and
Catholics worshipped together, and the church ruins at Fakil village and Temirli
are interesting.
Seljuk period is significant for Kirsehir as it is for
Anatolian Turkish history
as a whole, and worth investigating.
Urbanization of Kirsehir during the Seljuk period started in the early years of
13th century. Kirsehir was given to one of the Emirs of the Mengücük dynasty,
Melik Muzaffererüddin Muhammed as a fief, who was defeated in battle by
Seljuks
at Erzincan, for his outstanding performance. During his stay in Kirsehir, Melik
Muzaffererüddin Muhammed built the Melik Gazi
Medrese in 1230.
Mongolians which invaded whole of Anatolia in 1240 after the Kösedag defeat
converted Kirsehir into a rest stop for winter and a summer place in the plateau.
The long lasting military presence of Mongolians in Kirsehir turned it into an
important political and military center.
Nureddin Cibril Bin Cacabey, who was appointed as Emir to Kirsehir in 1260's,
started the first significant construction activities of the
Turkish period,
thanks to the good relations he established with the Mongolians. Cacabey
Medrese
which was one of the first schools of astronomy and Cacabey Inn near Kizilirmak
as well as numerous big and small buildings were all realized during his times.
In the 13th century, Ahi Evran which organized the Anatolian Turkish union in
general and the organization and unification of the trade and craftsmen in particular, came to Kirsehir after
Denizli, Konya and
Kayseri and carried out his
mission there, turning Kirsehir into the center of the Ahi movement. After the
leader Ahi Evran, Kirsehir sustained its position as the center of the Ahi. The
decisions taken at the lodge in Kirsehir were influential from Azerbaijan to
Bosnia-Herzegovina.
In 1293, Mevlana's son Sultan Veled sent ambassadors to certain centers in
Anatolia, with the aim of spreading the Mevlevi belief
of Sufism. The person assigned to
Kirsehir was Seyh Süleyman Türkmani who established a lodge in
Kirsehir and spread Mevlevi belief from this base. His close relationship to
Mevlana and Mevlana's appreciation of him are apparent from his letters.
It is also known that Mevlana's son Alaaddin fled to Kirsehir after his name got
involved in the case of Semsi Tebrizi murder in Konya. All this show that
Kirsehir was one of the important centers of the Mevlevis in
Anatolia.
Haci Bektas-i Veli, who came to Suluca Karahöyük, received a great number of
people there, who had a leaning towards his ideas.
On March 29th, 2006, Total Solar Eclipse will be seen from Kirsehir at 14:01pm local time.
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