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Last modified: 2018-05-27 by ivan sache
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Flag of Sulusaray - Image by Tomislav Šipek, 18 January 2018
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The municipality of Sulusaray (8,610 inhabitants in 2016; 4,554 in the town of Sulusaray) is located 70 km south-west of Tokat.
Ivan Sache, 21 January 2018
The flag of Sulusaray (photo) is white with the municipality's emblem. "Belediyesi" means "Municipality".
The emblem features the Roman bridge over river Çekerek Irmak and a
mosaic found in the excavations of the ancient town of Sebastopolis of
Pontus.
The modern town of Sulusaray (lit. "Waters' Palace") exactly covers the
ancient town of Sebastopolis, which had been built on a small mound made
of debris of former buildings (450 m x 300 m).
Sebastopolis was briefly mentioned by ancient sources (Pliny the Elder,
Ptolemy, Gregory of Nyssa, Hierocles; the Antonine Itinerary, Notitia
dignitatum, and Justinian). Isolated from the main roads, Sebastopolis
was not visited, either, by the European travelers from the 18th and
19th centuries. The first foreign visitor of the town might be the
Russian soldier Wrotihensko, who listed Sulusaray on his map. However,
the identification of Sebastopolis with Sulusaray is later: in July
1871, Damon, member of the Constantinople Hellenic Society of Philology
visited the place, finding marble capitals, columns and plaques. He
could not identify the place until he found an engraved stone, known
today only by a fragment reused in an arch of the old bridge. Honoring
Emperor Hadrian and his putative heir, Lucius Aelius Caesar, the stone
was dedicated by the administration and people of the town of
Sebastopolis- Heracleopolis. The identification was subsequently
confirmed by other artifacts. Other travelers described the remains of
the town, which was, however, only briefly described by scholars. While
epigraphic sources were recorded, the site has been hardly excavated.
Basic excavations performed by Birsel Ôzcan, Director of the Tokat
Museum, and Jacques des Courtils, revealed that the site was already
settled by the Hittites - this would be the extreme point of Hittite
spread northeastwards, and, in the 1st millenium BC, by the Phrygians.
Most historians, elaborating a confuse text by Strabo, have considered
that Sebastopolis was the ancient Greek town of Karana, a part of the
principality granted by Caesar or August to the Galatian ruler Ateporix,
incorporated after his death to the Roman province of Galatia. There is,
however, no firm evidence of such an identification.
While all antique historians call the town Sebastopolis, all engravings
and coins minted under the reign of Septimus Severus bear the dual
name of Sebastopolis-Heracleopolis. Sebastopolis is a tribute to August,
the prestigious founder of the town, while Heracleopolis refers to
Herakles, its legendary founder. The dedication to Herakles might have
been related to the sources gushing forth profusely in the area, since
the hero was the source's protector. A legend reported by the Greek
historian Kephalion claimed that Herakles abandoned the Argonauts'
expedition and headed to Cappadocia; whilst crossing Pontus, he defeated
the Amazons and founded a new town.
Sebastopolis-Heracleopolis was officially established in 3/2 BC,
probably the year of integration into the province of Galatia. The town
was subsequently incorporated to other provinces (Cappadocia, Pamphylia,
Lycia, Galatian Pontus, Pontus, Galatia-Pontus). At the time, the town
was located at the crossing of two important ways (WE; connecting Tauium
[Nefesköy] to Sebastea [Sivas] and Armenia; SN, connecting central
Anatolia to Amisos [Samsun]), watched by a military brigade. Gregory of Nyssa reports that the garrison was increased in the first half of the
4th century, probably under the threat of barbarian invasions.
Excavations revealed that the town was surrounded by a wall and counted
several wealthy houses; indirect evidence (engravings, coins) indicates
the presence of a theater, several temples and statues offered by
affluent citizens. The min sources of income of the town were, most
probably, grain cultivation and trade. Remains of thermae were found
south-west of the town; the sulfur-bearing water of Çermik had healing
properties, as evidenced by altars dedicated to Asclepios and Apollo.
There is evidence of the existence of Jewish and Christian communities
during the late Roman period. Remains of a church dated to the 5th-6th
centuries have been identified. A bishopric might have been established
in 325, subsequently the see of a bishopric depending of the metroplite
of Sebastea (Sivas), erected not later than the early Byzantine Empire.
[Brigitte Le Guen-Pollet & Rémy Bernard. 2010. La cité de Sebastopolis
du Pont. Anatolia Antiqua, 18, 97-107]
Tomislav Šipek & Ivan Sache, 21 January 2018
