| Official Name: | Kahramanmaraş |
| Settlement Type: | Metropolitan municipality |
| Image Blank Emblem: | Kahramanmaraş Metropolitan Municipality Logo.png |
| Pushpin Relief: | 1 |
| Blank Emblem Type: | Emblem of Kahramanmaraş Municipality |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | Turkey |
| Subdivision Type1: | Region |
| Subdivision Name1: | Mediterranean |
| Subdivision Type2: | Province |
| Subdivision Name2: | Kahramanmaraş |
| Pushpin Map: | Turkey |
| Coordinates: | 37.5833°N 92°W |
| Elevation M: | 568 |
| Population Footnotes: | [1] |
| Population As Of: | 2022 |
| Population Urban: | 571,266 |
| Timezone: | TRT |
| Utc Offset: | +3 |
| Postal Code Type: | Postal code |
| Area Code: | 0344 |
| Blank Info: | 46 |
| Blank Name: | Licence plate |
Kahramanmaraş (pronounced as /tr/), historically Marash (Turkish: Maraş; Armenian: Մարաշ) and Germanicea (Γερμανίκεια), is a city in the Mediterranean region of Turkey and the administrative centre of Kahramanmaraş province. After 1973, Maraş was officially named Kahramanmaraş with the prefix kahraman (Turkish word meaning "heroic") to commemorate the Battle of Marash. The city lies on a plain at the foot of Mount Ahır.
On 6 February 2023, much of the city was destroyed in the 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes[2] which had their epicentre in Pazarcık and Elbistan in Kahramanmaraş province.[3]
The city center is 568 meters above sea level. Ceyhan River, which originates from the mountains surrounding Elbistan Plain is the most important hydrological feature in the city.[4]
Kahramanmaraş has a Mediterranean climate (Köppen: Csa, Trewartha: Cs) with continental influences from the surrounding northern areas. Summers are very hot and dry with a daytime average of 35°C but temperatures can reach 40°C quite easily. The highest recorded temperature is 47.2°C on 14 August 2023. Winters are cool and wet with daytime temperatures typically in the 5C10C range. The coldest temperature recorded is -9.6°C on 6 February 1997.
In the early Iron Age (late 11th century BC to ca. 711 BC[5]), Maraş was the capital city of the Syro-Hittite state Gurgum (Hieroglyphic Luwian Kurkuma). It was known as "the Kurkumaean city" to its Luwian inhabitants and as Marqas to the Assyrians.[6] In 711 BC, the land of Gurgum was annexed as an Assyrian province and renamed Marqas after its capital.[7]
Maraş was called Germanicia Caesarea (Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: Γερμανίκεια, Germanikeia) in the time of the Roman and Byzantine empires, probably after Germanicus Julius Caesar rather than the German people. According to a 2010 Cumhuriyet article, the first ruins of Germanicia have already been unearthed in the Dulkadiroğulları quarters of the city.[8]
During the Byzantine Empire, Germanikeia was seat of an eparch and one of the city's eparch participated in the First Council of Nicea.[9] The city was lost to the Arabs in the 7th century and during the rule of al-Mansur the whole Christian population of the Germanikeia valley was deported and resettled at Ramla in Palestine.[10] After the fall of the Armenian kingdoms in the 11th century the city became an important stronghold for the exiled Armenians and the city became the capital of the short-lived principality of Philaretos Brachamios that at times included Antioch and Edessa.[11]
After Philaretos' death, another Armenian general named Tatoul took over the city and hosted the exhausted army of the First Crusade for four days before it moved on to the Siege of Antioch.[12] According to the Chronicle of Matthew of Edessa, it was destroyed by an earthquake and 40,000 people were killed on the 12th of the month of Mareri in the Armenian year 563 (November 29, 1114).[13] In 1100, the city was captured by the Danishmends, followed by the Seljuks in 1103. In 1107, Crusaders led by Tancred retook it with aid from Toros I of Cilician Armenia. In 1135, the Danishmends besieged Germanikeia unsuccessfully, but captured it the next year. However, the Crusaders retook it in 1137.[14]
Kaykhusraw I, Sultan of Rum captured Marash in 1208. Seljuk rule lasted to 1258, when Marash was captured by the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, following the war with the Ilkhanate. Served by an Armenian Apostolic Church archbishop, it became for a very short period of time, the seat of the Catholicossate of the Great House of Cilicia. Marash was captured by Al-Ashraf Khalil, Mamluk Sultan, in 1292. It was recaptured by Hethum II, King of Cilician Armenia, in 1299. Marash was finally taken by the Mamluks in 1304.
Marash was ruled by Dulkadirs as vassals of the Mamluks from 1337 to 1515 before being annexed to the Ottoman Empire. In the early days of Ottoman rule (1525–6) there were 1,557 adult males (total population 7,500); at this time all the inhabitants were Muslims,[15] but later a substantial number of non-Muslims migrated to the city, mainly in the 19th century.[16]
During Ottoman rule, the city was initially the centre of Eyalet of Dulkadir (also called Eyalet of Zûlkâdiriyye) and then an administrative centre of a sanjak in the Vilayet of Aleppo.
Around Maras, Armenians from Kishifli, Dere Keoy, and Fundijak chose to fight the Ottoman army to oppose deportation.[17] On the morning of 26 July 1915, they attacked and burned six Turkish villages and their crops. Due to Muslim conscription for World War One, victims were women, children, and the elderly.[18] In response, the Turkish army began a siege of Fundijak under Ali Bey on August 1.[19] 91 captured fighters were executed, and another 100 were deported. The Turkish losses were estimated at 2,000 soldiers and between 4,000 and 5,000 villagers, while the Armenians lost 2,100, mostly civilians.[20]
In the months following the end of the war, Cilicia had also become a source of dispute between the British and French, who both aspired to establish influence in the region. The British government, however, was under strong domestic pressure to withdraw and demobilize its forces in the Middle East and on 15 September 1919, Prime Minister David Lloyd George begrudgingly accepted a proposal by Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau to have the French formally assume control of Cilicia. The transfer of command took place on 4 November, but Field Marshal Ferdinand Foch's promise to reinforce the existing forces in the area with at least 32 infantry battalions, 20 cavalry squadrons and 14 artillery batteries went unfulfilled. The French units were thus deprived of armoured cars and air support and lacked automatic weapons, heavy artillery and even wireless transmitters and carrier pigeons.
After the First World War, Maras was controlled by British troops between 22 February 1919 and 30 October 1919, then by French troops, after the Armistice of Mudros. Dr. Mustafa, a Turkish revolutionary and leader in Marash, heard news of the Erzurum Congress that stated Turkish people had the right to resist in majority Turkish speaking lands.[21] On the first day of the French occupation, he was able to telegraph with Mustafa Kemal and succeeded in requesting support from the Turkish National Forces in Marash, though they would not arrive in time for the battle.
The Sütçü İmam incident, in which a French Legionnaire ripped off the hijab of a woman, contributed to the sparking of public unrest and led to the first shot being fired against the French occupying forces.[22] There was also another incident in which 20 Turkish 'notables' of the city would be killed during the beginning of the occupation, and 20 more would be injured. The Reverend Pascal Maljian was hit by a stone thrown through a window and cut his cheek. According to his account, "Hovnan Pasha had summoned several of the new Armenian recruits and demanded that my blood should not be allowed to dry without being avenged on that very Sunday afternoon... He fired at the lamp, and taking advantage of the confusion when it flared up, tossed a German hand grenade into the cafe". The explosion wounded some twenty of the Turkish notables and killed another twenty."[23] The cafe was chosen due to its closeness to where the Reverend had been hit, and due to the fact that respected members of the community, or 'notables', often gathered there in the evenings.[24]
On 27 November 1919, a group of Turks gathered in secret at the home of Mehmet Veziroghlu to organize resistance to the French occupation. A committee of eight was decided upon, and all members took this vow:
"For the security of our Nation we swear to Allah to sacrifice our lives; and to punish by death —even if it should be our brothers—any treachery made against our organization; and to guard all secrets".[25]They named the organization The Committee for the Defense of Rights, and split their forces into a clandestine cell system, with the members of each cell only knowing the activities and identities of members of their own group of ten. Additional recruits were sought from neighboring villages.
The Turkish forces in Marash numbered 2,500.[26] Some of them were armed with old hunting rifles and others with melee weapons. Before the battle, they obtained 850 rifles, two machine guns and two cannons (not used during the fighting), from the gendarmerie building in Marash.[27] Those without firearms armed themselves with rifles acquired from dead French soldiers.
On 20 January, the French Captain Fontaine and his battalion[28] were ambushed by Turkish rebels, losing twelve legionnaires.[29] When General Querette of the French learned of these events, he summoned Marash 'notables' (respected leaders of the city) and charged them with complicity in the attacks.[30] The notables refused responsibility, but agreed to paying the French a compensation to replace supplies. However, they also stated that France was violating the terms of the Armistice of Mudros.
Immediately after the remaining notables had left the French headquarters, the Turkish rebellion began. The plan was to strike suddenly.[31] [32] The very first shots fired were witnessed by nurse Osanna Maksudian, who "noted a Turkish gendarme escorting four Muslim women to a house. When they were safely inside he turned and fired his rifle into the air three times. Immediately fire replied from every quarter."[33]
As Stanley Kerr recounts:
The city was deserted except for groups of heavily armed Turks who were all headed in one direction... It was apparent that the insurrection had been carefully planned. Groups of armed men occupied houses at street intersections and shot down French soldiers on the street and sentries at their posts, making use of loopholes prepared in advance. Anyone seen moving was shot, for it was only the Christians who knew nothing of the plan. In the patrols used for policing the city composed of both Turkish gendarmes and French soldiers, the gendarmes turned suddenly on their French companions and killed them. The orders given by the general for the seizure of certain strategic positions could not be carried out, for the Turks themselves performed that maneuver only half an hour before the French zero hour[34]
The French responded with cannon fire, shelling Turkish houses and subjecting the city to 'heavy bombardment'.[35] Lieutenant Colonel Thibault recorded that General Querette was head of much of the operations, and told ordered his men to flush out enemy troops from the houses, though Turkish rebels would adopt this strategy to greater success using fire rather than cannons.[36] Turkish rebels threw kerosene-doused rags on Armenian houses and laid a constant barrage upon the American relief hospital.[37] Thibault recorded "the vigilance and boldness of the rebels, who seemed to be animated by an ardent offensive spirit."[38]
Previously, a telegram sent to the French Commander by the most respected elders of Marash stated that British occupation had been understandable and no incident had occurred and they did not object to a French occupation, but the majority of the occupying force was Armenian,[39] and "from the moment of their arrival had shown nothing but hatred for the Muslims".[40] Recruitment for the occupying forces began at Fort Said, and Stanley Kerr states that the motivation for many joining up was "revenge for the cruel deportation and massacres",[41] which led to inciting incidents such as the 'bomb carrying priest' and the Sütçü İmam incident.
On 8 February, General Querette gave the order to bombard houses rebel Turks were in, in addition to the previous bombardment of Turkish houses.[42] During the battle, a massacre of Christian civilians took place.[43] Most died within the first three days, and those that fled were held in French military quarters or otherwise military defended churches and schools. Christians found shelter in Marash's six Armenian Apostolic and three Armenian Evangelical churches alongside soldiers. All of the churches were set alight.[44] [45] [46] When the 2,000 Armenians who had taken shelter in the Catholic cathedral attempted to leave, they were shot.[47] The official French report stated that the victims did "not exceed 5,000". Early reports put the number of Armenians dead at no less than 16,000, although this was later revised down to 5,000–12,000.[48] [49] Stanley Kerr, who served the remaining Christians, stated that 9,700 Armenians were in Marash after the battle.
In a telegraph, General Dufieux advised the immediate evacuation of Marash if there was no ceasefire. The French secretly planned to withdraw, but Armenian legionnaires spread the word to their neighbors.[50] That morning, Turkish rebels told their families to evacuate the city.[51] Upon hearing this news, an Armenian pastor recounted:
The Armenians—learning that the city was now evacuated by the Turks—rushed out from their imprisonment and began to help themselves to everything they could carry out of the empty Turkish houses. They soon reached our center with the news and our people, too, ran for booty. In a few hours our two buildings were filled with food, clothes, house furnishings, etc. I was displeased by all this... At nightfall, as if to avenge the deeds of the Turks, the Armenians set mosques and Turkish houses on fire and killed a few Turks they found here and there. The Armenians were rejoicing at the defeat of the Turks—not knowing that the French were in the process of evacuating the city.[52]Dr. Mustafa, a leader of the Turks, planned to surrender under the condition that Turkish women and children would be protected, but was murdered after meeting with French leaders.[53] His letter stating his willingness to surrender and his terms was initially hidden by Nazaret Bilezikjian, who protested allowing surrender by turning it in to French authorities in a confrontation with Stanley Kerr, saying "Let the Turks get the punishment that they deserve!"[54] According to Dr. Robert Lambert's report to the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, 4,500 Turks were killed during the battle, but were ultimately victorious against French forces.
The battle was won by the Turkish National Movement on 12 February without outside support arriving, and is commemorated by the naming of Onikişubat, a district of Marash. Marash was an important battle in the Franco-Turkish War, and was one of the first major Turkish victories in the Turkish War of Independence.[55]
In the years following the battle, the Treaty of Lausanne would be established and Marash would become part of the new Turkish Republic. On 7 April 1925, Marash became one of two cities in Turkey to receive a Turkish Medal of Independence (the other city being İnebolu). In 1973, Marash's name was changed to Kahramanmaraş when the Turkish government added "Kahraman" to the name, in reference to the resistance to the French occupation after the First World War. Kahraman means "heroic" or “brave” in Turkish.[56]
In December 1978, the Maraş Massacre of leftist Alevis took place in the city. A Turkish nationalist group, the Grey Wolves, incited the violence that left more than 100 dead. The incident was important in the Turkish government's decision to declare martial law, and the eventual military coup in 1980.[57]
In February 2023, a powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck near Kahramanmaraş, causing widespread damage to the city, leaving more than 50,000 people dead.[58] [59] The city center was hardest-hit as many homes were destroyed. An estimated 17.37 percent of the city was destroyed.[60]
See main article: Diocese of Marash.
| Year | Population[61] | |
|---|---|---|
| 1525–6 | 7,500 | |
| 1564–5 | 13,500 | |
| 1914 | 32,700 | |
| 1927 | 25,672 | |
| 1940 | 27,744 | |
| 1945 | 33,104 | |
| 1950 | 34,641 | |
| 1960 | 54,447 | |
| 1970 | 110,761 | |
| 1980 | 178,557 | |
| 2009 | 399,783 | |
| 2013 | 458,860 | |
| 2017 | 513,582 | |
| 2021 | 559,873 |
The Armenian population of Maraş, like many other Armenian communities in Turkey. Maraş was the site of massacres and deportations of Armenians,[66] [67] who were subjected to violence, harassment,[68] looting and appropriation of property,[69] and were forced to flee. In 1915, Armenians from Marash villages attacked and burned six Turkish villages and their crops. 4,000-5,000 Turkish villagers died, and the Turkish forces lost 2,000 soldiers. Due to Muslim conscription for World War One, victims were women, children, and the elderly. This would severely accelerate the deportation process for Armenians in Marash. A total of 20,000 Armenians from Marash would be deported,[70] as local officials intentionally grouped the local population under the deportation orders for 'foreign armies'[71] due to French association.
During the Turkish War of Independence, the French army occupied Maraş, and some Armenians returned to the city as French legionnaires, in addition to returning locals. In February 1920, Turkish nationalist forces regained control from the French, resulting in a massacre of the Armenian population. The official French report stated that the victims did "not exceed 5,000", though the initial estimates varied. According to Dr. Robert Lambert's report to the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, 4,500 Turks were killed during the battle.[72]
In modern Turkey, data on the ethnic makeup of the country is not officially collected, though estimates exist.[73] Kahramanmaraş is currently predominantly populated by Turkish and also Kurdish people, with a small Armenian population.[74] The population of the city was 571,266 as of 2022.[75] In February 2023, a powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck near Kahramanmaraş, causing widespread damage to the city and leaving more than 50,000 people dead.
Several internationally known ice cream companies, like MADO, Yaşar Pastanesi, EDO and Ferah Pastanesi, started their business in Kahramanmaraş, and thousands of people visit the city because of its ice cream (dondurma in Turkish).
At elevation, the nearby Yedikuyular Ski Resort offers winter sports activities.