Adiyaman Hotels

The city officially had the Arabic name Mansur (Castle of Mansur) until the year 1926, named after the fortified castle perched on a hill around which the city grew. As this name was difficult for Turks to pronounce, people were referring the city as adı yaman, which means (its name is tough) or [(the place) whose name is tough] in Turkish.[citation needed] In 1926, this term was adopted as the official name of the city. In present-day Turkish, the word yaman can also have a strong positive connotation, just like the English word (terrific). The area has been inhabited as far back as it s possible to discover. Research in the cave of Palanl 10 km north of Adiyaman show occupation in 40,000 BC and other digs in Samsat reveal continuous occupation through the stone and Bronze Ages. From 900BC onwards came waves of invasions from Assyrians, Persians, and Macedonians until the Commagene kingdom was founded in 69BC. This was the civilisation that built the statues on top of nearby Mount Nemrut. The capital was in Samsat (Samosata) but the town of Adiyaman was a walled city of the Commagenes. The city walls of Adiyaman have been restored and replaced many times since. The Commagene kingdom lasted until the Romans came in 72AD. Yet more campaigns and invasions followed and Adiyaman was controlled by Byzantines 395-670, Ummayads from 670 and then Abbasids 758-926. Then the area returned to Byzantine control during the period of the Crusades 859-1114. The Arabs returned from 1114 to 1204 and finally came the arrival of the Turks. The Arabic name for the castle and town was Hısn Mansur. Turks moved into the area from 1114 onwards and for most of the 1200s was settled by the Selçuk Turks often disrupted by Mongol invasions. From 1298 to 1516 the town was under the control of the Mameluks. Adiyaman was brought into the Ottoman Empire by Selim I in 1516, but local power often rested with the Dulkadiroiullar tribe of Turkmen people that settled here.