HİSTORY

......Samsun was founded at the Mert River Delta where the Kızılırmak ( ancient Halys Alice ) and Yeşilırmak Rivers also empty into the sea. This northern part of the Anatolian peninsula in the middle Black Sea Region is also know as Asia Minor?

......It is uncertain how and when Samsun was established in ancient times. The archeological research and surveys conducted at the Dündartepe tumulus south of the city show that a civilization of the Chalcolithic Age existed in this region. Hittite written sources from this region say that the region had been selected as a settlement place by the Hittites and the Gascarians in the same time period.

......It appears that Samsun was inhabited by several states after the political sovereignty of the Hittites disappeared in Anatolia inthe 12th century BC. Between 760 and 750 BC when the Greek colonies were established in Anatolia, Samsun was a small settlement center named "Amisos" The city is believed to have been established by the Miletians from one of the lonian urban states. The city changed hands many times during these ages. The Athenians ruled the city in the 5th century BC, the Persians and later the Macedonians under Alexander the Great in the 4th century, who proclaimed Amisos an independent city in 311 BC. However, in the 3rd century BC, the state of Pontius extended their sovereignty there. In 47 BC, Samsun was annexed by Caesar into the Roman Empire. It continued to have an important political and religious role as an episcopal center during the Byzantine era following the spread of Christianity.

......After opening the Anatolian gates for Turks through the Malazgirt Victory in 1071, Samsun came under the domiation of the commender Melik Danishment Ghazi who was involved in the conquest of Anatolia. At the end of the 12th century, its domination changed hands again to the Anatolian Seljuks. It was taken in 1413 by Sultan Çelebi Mehmet who established the Ottoman State a second time, and registered it on the map with the name of "Canik" in 1427.

......In the 19th century, Samsun changed its position from a small quay in the Black Sea coast through an increasing tobacco harvest aided by the operation of steam vessels in the Black Sea.

......The whole city was almost reduced to ashed in 1869, but it has recovered quickly due to its feature of being a rich commercial center. Houses within the city have been constructed alongside the narrow streets facing each other in accordance with French architectural desing.

......Samsun is known as the city where the Great Leader Atatürk came ashore initiating the first step of the Independence War of Turkey on May 19, 1919. This date has been celebrated each year since 1936 as the 19th of May Yout and Sports Festival.