AMASYA 05

Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar · İKİNCİ BÂB · BİRİNCİ FASIL

Amâs Hân

Encyclopedia · History of Amasya, Volume 6, p. 24 • Edited by: Doç. Dr. Recep Orhan ÖZEL - Doç. Dr. Metin HAKVERDİOĞLU

Original Text (Ottoman Turkish)

Amasya şehrinin bânîsi ve Amasitlerin hükümdârı olan zâtın adıdır. “Amâs” Türk dilinde yavuz arslan ma’nâsınadır. Amasya ırmağı nehr-i Amâs demekle meşhûr idi. Bunlar Türklerden olup Âmâzitler de denmişdir. Miladdan beş yüz yıldan önce zamana âiddir.

Our Research Article Editor: Mevlüt Erdem Öztürk

In Modern English

This is the name of the founder of the city of Amasya and ruler of the Amasites. "Amâs" means "fierce lion" in the Turkish language. The river of Amasya was known as "Nehr-i Amâs." These people were Turks and were also called "Âmâzites." They belong to a time more than five hundred years before the Common Era.

Notes and Research

Old Words in the Text

  • bânî: founder, the one who had something built
  • ma'nâsına: means

The Known Origin of the Name Amasya

According to the ancient geographer Strabo, the city was founded by the Amazon queen Amasis, who gave it the name "Amaseia." The meaning is "the city of Amasis." Strabo himself was born in Amasya (about 64 BC to AD 24). On ancient coins the name of the city is written in forms such as Amaseia, Amassia and Amasia; in Turkish this name became Amasya. Another view explains the name as the city of the Mother Goddess "Mâ"; an old account is also known that names Hermes as the founder of the city on the basis of a coin inscription. These are not certain; they remain at the level of tradition and interpretation.

Hüsameddin's Explanation

Hüsameddin, by contrast, ties the name to a Turkish word ("fierce lion") and regards the founder as a Turkish ruler called "Amâs Han." This interpretation does not agree with the ancient sources above; the tradition of the Amazon queen Amasis conflicts with an explanation of Turkish origin. Hüsameddin's linking of the names "Amasites" and "Âmâzites" with the Turks is not information supported by ancient sources; it can be said to be this section's own interpretation. One of the oldest known names of the city appears in Hittite sources as "Hakmiş"; the mounds of Suluova nearby show that settlement reaches back to the years 5500-3500 BC.

The old name of the Yeşilırmak is the Iris. The name "Nehr-i Amâs," which Hüsameddin mentions, is not among the ancient designations; from which period it comes could not be verified in other sources.

Bibliography

Primary sources

  • Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 6, p. 24–24. amasya.bel.tr

Other sources

Volume 6 contents