Belen / Bailam in the 1780s, by Louis-François Cassas (source: Louis-François Cassas – Voyage pittoresque de la Syrie, de la Phoenicie, de la Palaestine et de la Basse Aegypte: ouvrage divisé en trois volumes contenant environ trois cent trente planches 1799/1800 https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.4571 https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.4572 https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.4573; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belen,_Hatay#/media/File:Louis-Fran%C3%A7ois_Cassas,_Village_du_Bailam_(today_Belem).jpg) The Belen Pass is the main route across the mountains and joins the port city of İskenderun with Antakya. The pass is a key route between Anatolia, Cilicia and the Middle East. Toponym The word Belen (previously also Beylan, Beylam, Bailam) probably derives from the Greek word for gate (Pylan). In 1770 more people settled here and the [...]
Archives: Regions
Our CPT for the regions
Kaza Iskenderun / Αλεξανδρέττα – Alexandretta
Toponym The city was founded as Alexandria (Ἀλεξάνδρεια) to commemorate Alexander the Great’s victory over the Persian Darius III at Issus (Cilicia) in (333 B.C.). Starting in the Middle Ages, Western pilgrims used the diminutive Romance form Alexandretta. After the Muslim conquest of Syria, it was named al-ʼIskandarūn (Arabic الإسكندرون), the Arabic rendering of the original ‘Alexandrou’; this name was further turkified into Ottoman Turkish as İskenderūn (إسكندرون), which in turn was preserved in its current modern Turkish form as İskenderun. Armenian Population According to the Armenian Apostolic Patriarchate of Constantinople, there lived 14,000 Armenians in 16 localities of the two kazas Iskenderun and [...]
Kaza Şuğur/ Kesab / Kessab / Քեսապ – Kesap / Kessap
General view of Kesab in Syria (2010; source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kessab#/media/File:Kesab_gen._view_2010.jpg) Toponym There are no written sources about the early history of the Kessab region, but the first record of the name of Kessab was mentioned in a historical document dating back to the Crusaders period when Duke Belmont I granted the region of ‘Kasbisi’ to the family of Peter the Hermit. Either Kasbisi, Cassembella or most probably the Latin expression Casa Bella are the names from which Kessab was derived. Population In the beginning of the 20th century, the population of Kessab region was around 6,000 (all Armenians), with more than 20 schools, as a [...]
Kaza of Antakya / Αντιόχεια – Antiócheia / Antiochia / Antioch
Ecumenical Genocide Memorial, Berlin: Commemorative Plate for Antakya / Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (Ancient Greek: Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου, Antiókheia hē epì Oróntou; also Syrian Antioch) was a Hellenistic city on the eastern side of the Orontes River. Its ruins lie near the current city of Antakya. After World War I, Antioch and İskenderun were occupied by France. In 1923, France received the official League of Nations mandate for both cities and Syria. Administered by Damascus, Antioch retained a status as an autonomous area. Nevertheless, Mustafa Kemal’s followers were welcomed with open arms here as well. It is said that [...]
Sancak Antakya / Αντιόχεια – Antiócheia / Antiochia / Antioch
Ecumenical Genocide Memorial, Berlin: Commemorative Plate for Antakya / Antioch Toponym After the Battle of Ipsus in 301 B.C., Seleucus I Nicator won the territory of Syria, and he proceeded to found four ‘sister cities’ in northwestern Syria, one of which was Antioch, a city named in honor of his father Antiochos; according to the Suda, it might be named after his son Antiochos. Administration The Ottoman sancak Antakya consisted of the four kazas Antakya (Antioch), Şuğur/Kesab, Iskenderun/Alexandretta, and Belen. After World War I, Antioch and İskenderun were occupied by France. In 1923, France received the official League of Nations mandate for both cities and [...]