Menemen
Encyclopedia
Menemen is a district of İzmir Province
in Turkey
as well as the district's central town. The district extends on a fertile plain formed by the alluvial soil carried by the Gediz River
. Menemen's district area neighbors the following district areas from east to west; Aliağa
and Foça
to the north and Bornova
, Karşıyaka
and Çiğli
to the south, these last two being among İzmir
's metropolitan districts. Menemen district also has a 27 km (17 mi) long coastline in the west and neighbors Manisa Province
to the east. The town of Menemen is located at a distance of 35 km (22 mi) from İzmir center (Konak Square
). Settlement across the district is loosely scattered along the Greater Metropolitan Area of İzmir in the south and consists of isolated villages along prairies in the north, which results in an average urbanization rate of only 42 per cent. The economy still relies on agriculture and stock breeding in large part, although the production and export of leather, ceramic and other earthenware products, as well as potentially of plastic products, based in two separate and specialized organized industrial zones made important steps forward during the last decade. Menemen's earthenware pottery
products are famous across Turkey since centuries. These two organized industrial zones as well as activities rebounding from the adjacent İzmir metropolitan area gain an increasing importance in the district's economy. Nevertheless, Gediz River
, whose lower basin crosses Menemen plain to join the sea within the district boundaries still constitutes the lifeline of the region and matters relating to the river's flow as well as its present rate of rather high pollution is a matter of constant debate. The level of education is high in Menemen with literacy rate reaching 99 %.
word "menemenos" (μενεμένος) or "menemenus" which meant "flood
" or "overflow". In fact, in the absence of modern dams
and other means of waterflow supervision, Gediz River used to cause serious and frequent damages on the human settlements of the region until very recent times. The river was nicknamed "Gediz the Sorceress" (Cadı Gediz).
On the other hand, some researchers discuss the possibility of a Luwian
origin in connection with the name.
In any case, it is obvious, particularly in the light of recent discoveries made at the premises -of Ege Fertilizer (Ege Gübre; the site being termed in the literature under the name of the industrial installations), at Araptepe and more particularly at Panaztepe and Menemen's Larissa, that settlement in the region extends far back in prehistoric times, at least until the late Neolithic and early Chalcolithic.
The name of the Thessaloniki
borough of Menemeni
is an offshoot of Anatolian Menemen's name. The Greek language
rendering of the city's name is Μενεμένη.
, in a ranking that includes İzmir's metropolitan municipalities and this indicates Menemen's degree of prominence within its province. Considering the district population sttod at slight above a hundred thousand in 2000, it can be deducted that Menemen and especially the center town has a high rate of population increase. The determining factor in this increase was the immigration the region received from Turkey's Eastern Anatolia Region
in the 2000s, especially from such towns as Bulanık
, Karayazı
, Malazgirt
, Midyat
, Diyadin
, Patnos
and Akyaka, Kars according to a report, cited below, prepared on the district.
Menemen has, aside from the district center, eight settlements with their own municipalities. The number of depending villages displayed variations in recent times, a result of development and human movements among others, many former villages having been attached to the district center as its neighborhoods, and new villages having been officially constituted at localities where there were mere hamlets previously or some neighborhood saw their previous status of villages accorded back. The count stood at twenty villages at the end of 2005.
There are 22,100 residences in all in Menemen district. The number of pupils per teacher is 19 and the number of patients per doctor is 1,241.
es, dry raisin
s, pickled products and yoghurt
, and to two items of industrial products, namely leather and ceramics and other earthenware products. The total number of enterprises in Menemen was 10,723 the same year of 2006. Seven banks provide services through seven branches across Menemen district.
Underground riches include andesite
, basalt
and marble
. Drinking water obtained from sources at Mount Yamanlar south of Menemen, and sold under brand names associated with the mountain are also very popular across İzmir region as a whole.
has 7 passenger trains daily.
) whose precise date of construction is unknown but is thought to have been built end-16th or early-17th century. A covered bazaar (bedesten) faces Taşhan and is still awaiting restoration. A few shrines-tombs in the Turkish style dating from mid-Ottoman
centuries near Taşhan, two old mosques, a number of old houses, as well as the abandoned remains of what is likely to have been the town synagogue
complete the picture. In nearby Hıdırtepe, slightly outside the popular quarter of Menemen characterized by low single-storeyed houses with gardens, typical for the climate of the plain, is another Ottoman shrine as well as the memorial area dedicated to Mustafa Fehmi Kubilay in a military zone open to visitors and occupying the summit of the hill, with tombs and a renowned high statue.
and Aeolia
of antiquity. It is believed that the settlement was moved from its former place to today's Asarlık village between 263-241 B.C. and later to its actual place during the Turkish
principalities era in Anatolia
(13th-14th centuries).
The city was founded by Greek
settlers and the region was first under Greek political influence and later came under the rule of Phrygia
n Kingdom. The region was taken over by the Lydians
and their rule lasted between 676-546 B.C. until the commencement of the Persian rule in the western Anatolia after the defeat suffered by the Lydians in the face of the famous Persian King Cyrus
.
As the Persian Empire collapsed after a series of definitive defeats against the Macedonians
, the region became a part of Alexander's Empire. After Alexander's death in 323 B.C. Menemen and its environs had been ruled by the Pergamon
Kingdom.
In 64 B.C. the region became a part of the Roman Empire
. Later, with the division of the Roman territory into two independent states in 395 A.C., it came under the Byzantine
rule with the rest of the eastern Roman provinces.
With the commencement of the Turkish
rule in Anatolia after the Battle of Manzikert
(Malazgirt) (1071 A.C.), the region became a part of the Seljuk Empire in 1084 A.C. But the Seljuk rule was frequently interrupted by the Crusades
which had a devastating influence on both Byzantine and Seljuk territories in Asia Minor
.
With the decadence of Seljuks in the last quarter of the 13th century, local feudal lords had founded several principalities on the Anatolian territory. The Bey
lik of Saruhan
, founded around Manisa
, captured Menemen together with Foça
and its surroundings in 1313.
But the Saruhan rule on Menemen did not last too long as the new emerging power in Anatolia, the Ottomans took over the city in the last quarter of the 14th century during the reign of Bayezid I
the Thunderbolt.
As Timur
invaded Anatolia following the Battle of Ankara
in 1402, the Ottoman state was dismembered and the Saruhan Principality took over the region once more until a definitive annexation
to Ottoman territory in 1425 during the reign of Murad II.
At least under the end of the 18th century, Menemen was one of the important traditional centers of production of textiles and clothing in western Anatolia, advantaged by its location right in the middle of a region where cotton was cultivated in a large scale. Its fabrics, and particularly those called the "demite", "demiton" and "escamite" were much sought after, notably as export products in overseas markets
In 1850 Menemen became a district of newly established Ottoman Vilayet of Aydın
with its seat in İzmir.
Menemen was invaded by the Greek Army on 17–18 May 1919 and recaptured, together with İzmir, three years later on 9 September 1922 by the Turkish Armies. One of the darkest episodes of the Greco-Turkish War (1919-1922)
occurred on 16–17 June 1919 when, in the evening of the Ottoman prefect of Menemen -Kemal Bey- and the six gendarmes accompnying him were assassinated by Greek soldiers. These assassinations became the opening act of the atrocities carried out on the civilian population of Menemen the next day by a Cretan
Brigade aided by a number of accomplices from among the local Greek minority. An estimate recorded by a British captain who came to Menemen in the following day gives the number of a thousand casualties during the single day of 17 June.
The Greek inhabitants of the town had to leave Menemen late in 1923 and in 1924 under the agreement for the Exchange of Greek and Turkish Populations between the two countries according to which Turkish immigrants from different parts of Greece were later lodged in town.
On December 23, 1930, Dervish Mehmed, a Sufi
and self-proclaimed prophet, arrived in Menemen with six followers in an attempt to incite rebellion against the secular government and reestablish Islamic law. Mehmed and his enthusiastic supporters overwhelmed the local army garrison and killed the commander, Lieutenant Mustafa Fehmi Kubilay
. Kubilay's severed head was put on a pole and paraded through the town. The army soon regained control, killing Mehmed and several of his followers.
The young Turkish Republic considered the incident a serious threat against secular reform. After a series of trials, 37 people were sentenced to death and later hanged in the town square; and several others were sent to prison. In 1932 a monument was erected in Menemen to commemorate the incident.
Izmir Province
İzmir Province is a province of Turkey in western Anatolia on the Aegean coast, whose capital is the city of İzmir. On the west it is surrounded by the Aegean sea, and it encloses the Gulf of İzmir. Its area is 11,973 km.2, population 3.948.848 . The population was 3,370,866 in 2000...
in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
as well as the district's central town. The district extends on a fertile plain formed by the alluvial soil carried by the Gediz River
Gediz River
-Name:The ancient name of the river was Hermos or Hermus.The name of the river Gediz may be related to the Lydian proper name Cadys; Gediz is also the name of a town near the river's sources. The name "Gediz" may also be encountered as a male name in Turkey.-Ancient geography:The Hermos separated...
. Menemen's district area neighbors the following district areas from east to west; Aliağa
Aliaga
Aliaga can refer to:* Aliaga, Aragon, Spain* Aliağa, Turkey* the Filipino municipality of Aliaga, Nueva Ecija on Luzon* a family name, as in the case of the Peruvian writer Felipe Pardo y Aliaga...
and Foça
Foça
Foça is town and district in Turkey's İzmir Province.The town of Foça is situated at about north by northwest of İzmir city center. The district also has a township with own municipality named Yenifoça , also along the shore and at a distance of from Foça proper...
to the north and Bornova
Bornova
Bornova is a metropolitan district of İzmir in İzmir Province in Turkey. It is the third largest district in İzmir's Greater Metropolitan Area of and is almost fully urbanized at the rate of 98,6 per cent, with corresponding high levels of development in terms of industry and services...
, Karşıyaka
Karsiyaka
Karşıyaka is a district of İzmir Province in Turkey. It is part of the Greater Metropolitan Area of İzmir, in other words a metropolitan district, the second largest after Konak in terms of population, and it is almost entirely urbanized at the rate of 99,9 per cent, with corresponding high levels...
and Çiğli
Çigli
Çiğli is a metropolitan district of the city of İzmir in İzmir Province, Turkey. Its area covers the northern end of the boundaries of İzmir Metropolitan Municipality. Çiğli district area neighbors that of Karşıyaka, another metropolitan district, to the south and the west, and that of İzmir's...
to the south, these last two being among İzmir
Izmir
Izmir is a large metropolis in the western extremity of Anatolia. The metropolitan area in the entire Izmir Province had a population of 3.35 million as of 2010, making the city third most populous in Turkey...
's metropolitan districts. Menemen district also has a 27 km (17 mi) long coastline in the west and neighbors Manisa Province
Manisa Province
Manisa Province is a province in western Turkey. Its neighboring provinces are İzmir to the west, Aydın to the south, Denizli to the south east, Uşak to the east, Kütahya to the north east, and Balıkesir to the north...
to the east. The town of Menemen is located at a distance of 35 km (22 mi) from İzmir center (Konak Square
Konak Square
Konak Square is a busy square at the southern end of Atatürk Caddesi in the Konak district of İzmir, Turkey. The square is the busiest part of the city, as Konak is the main place of İzmir.-Buildings in the Square:...
). Settlement across the district is loosely scattered along the Greater Metropolitan Area of İzmir in the south and consists of isolated villages along prairies in the north, which results in an average urbanization rate of only 42 per cent. The economy still relies on agriculture and stock breeding in large part, although the production and export of leather, ceramic and other earthenware products, as well as potentially of plastic products, based in two separate and specialized organized industrial zones made important steps forward during the last decade. Menemen's earthenware pottery
Pottery
Pottery is the material from which the potteryware is made, of which major types include earthenware, stoneware and porcelain. The place where such wares are made is also called a pottery . Pottery also refers to the art or craft of the potter or the manufacture of pottery...
products are famous across Turkey since centuries. These two organized industrial zones as well as activities rebounding from the adjacent İzmir metropolitan area gain an increasing importance in the district's economy. Nevertheless, Gediz River
Gediz River
-Name:The ancient name of the river was Hermos or Hermus.The name of the river Gediz may be related to the Lydian proper name Cadys; Gediz is also the name of a town near the river's sources. The name "Gediz" may also be encountered as a male name in Turkey.-Ancient geography:The Hermos separated...
, whose lower basin crosses Menemen plain to join the sea within the district boundaries still constitutes the lifeline of the region and matters relating to the river's flow as well as its present rate of rather high pollution is a matter of constant debate. The level of education is high in Menemen with literacy rate reaching 99 %.
Etymology
There are different accounts related to the historical origin of the name "Menemen". The most commonly encountered in the explanation based on the ancient GreekGreek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
word "menemenos" (μενεμένος) or "menemenus" which meant "flood
Flood
A flood is an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land. The EU Floods directive defines a flood as a temporary covering by water of land not normally covered by water...
" or "overflow". In fact, in the absence of modern dams
DAMS
Driot-Arnoux Motorsport is a racing team from France, involved in many areas of motorsports. DAMS was founded in 1988 by Jean-Paul Driot and former Formula One driver René Arnoux. It is headquartered near Le Mans, only 2 km from the Bugatti Circuit.- History :The year after its foundation,...
and other means of waterflow supervision, Gediz River used to cause serious and frequent damages on the human settlements of the region until very recent times. The river was nicknamed "Gediz the Sorceress" (Cadı Gediz).
On the other hand, some researchers discuss the possibility of a Luwian
Luwian language
Luwian is an extinct language of the Anatolian branch of the Indo-European language family. Luwian is closely related to Hittite, and was among the languages spoken during the second and first millennia BC by population groups in central and western Anatolia and northern Syria...
origin in connection with the name.
In any case, it is obvious, particularly in the light of recent discoveries made at the premises -of Ege Fertilizer (Ege Gübre; the site being termed in the literature under the name of the industrial installations), at Araptepe and more particularly at Panaztepe and Menemen's Larissa, that settlement in the region extends far back in prehistoric times, at least until the late Neolithic and early Chalcolithic.
The name of the Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...
borough of Menemeni
Menemeni
Menemeni is a suburb of the Thessaloniki Urban Area and a former municipality of the regional unit of Thessaloniki, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Ampelokipoi-Menemeni, of which it is a municipal unit. It neighbors Evosmos, Ampelokipoi, Thessaloniki...
is an offshoot of Anatolian Menemen's name. The Greek language
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
rendering of the city's name is Μενεμένη.
Settlement and population
With a population of around 136,000, Menemen is the fifth most populous district in İzmir ProvinceIzmir Province
İzmir Province is a province of Turkey in western Anatolia on the Aegean coast, whose capital is the city of İzmir. On the west it is surrounded by the Aegean sea, and it encloses the Gulf of İzmir. Its area is 11,973 km.2, population 3.948.848 . The population was 3,370,866 in 2000...
, in a ranking that includes İzmir's metropolitan municipalities and this indicates Menemen's degree of prominence within its province. Considering the district population sttod at slight above a hundred thousand in 2000, it can be deducted that Menemen and especially the center town has a high rate of population increase. The determining factor in this increase was the immigration the region received from Turkey's Eastern Anatolia Region
Eastern Anatolia Region
The Eastern Anatolia Region is one of seven non-administrative subdivisions of Turkey and encompasses its eastern provinces.The region and the name "Doğu Anadolu Bölgesi" were first defined at the First Geography Congress in 1941. It has the highest average altitude, largest geographical area, and...
in the 2000s, especially from such towns as Bulanık
Bulanik
Bulanık is a town and district of Muş Province in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey. The current mayor is Ziya Akkaya . He is under governor Ferit Görükmez Kaymakamı....
, Karayazı
Karayazi
Karayazı is a town and district of Erzurum Province in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey. The mayor is Seyfettin Kırık . The population is 4,724 ....
, Malazgirt
Malazgirt
Malazgirt is a town in Muş Province in eastern Turkey, with a population of 23,697 .-Founding:...
, Midyat
Midyat
Midyat is an originally Assyrian/Syriac town in Mardin Province of Turkey. The ancient city is the epicenter of a centuries-old Assyrian/Syriac enclave in Southeast-Turkey, widely familiar under its Syriac name Tur Abdin. A cognate of the name Midyat is first encountered in an inscription of the...
, Diyadin
Diyadin
Diyadin is a district of Ağrı Province of Turkey, at the foot of Mount Tendürek, a high peak in the Aladağlar range that stands between Ağrı and the north shore of Lake Van...
, Patnos
Patnos
Patnos is a district of Ağrı Province of Turkey on a plain surrounded by high mountains including Süphan, watered by tributaries of the Murat River. 82 km south of the city of Ağrı on the road to Van...
and Akyaka, Kars according to a report, cited below, prepared on the district.
Menemen has, aside from the district center, eight settlements with their own municipalities. The number of depending villages displayed variations in recent times, a result of development and human movements among others, many former villages having been attached to the district center as its neighborhoods, and new villages having been officially constituted at localities where there were mere hamlets previously or some neighborhood saw their previous status of villages accorded back. The count stood at twenty villages at the end of 2005.
There are 22,100 residences in all in Menemen district. The number of pupils per teacher is 19 and the number of patients per doctor is 1,241.
Economy
Menemen's yearly per capita income was calculated as 3870 US Dollars in 2006, slightly below the national average despite the region's fertility and its closeness to İzmir center, a rate which could partially be accounted by the high rate of migration Menemen received in recent decades especially from Eastern Anatolia. The district realized exports reaching ten million US Dollars in the same year. Much expected boost to Menemen's economy by the plastic products industrial zone is yet to materialize and the sales made by the district within and beyond Turkey still rely largely on a handful of agricultural and dairy products, such as dried tomatoTomato
The word "tomato" may refer to the plant or the edible, typically red, fruit which it bears. Originating in South America, the tomato was spread around the world following the Spanish colonization of the Americas, and its many varieties are now widely grown, often in greenhouses in cooler...
es, dry raisin
Raisin
Raisins are dried grapes. They are produced in many regions of the world. Raisins may be eaten raw or used in cooking, baking and brewing...
s, pickled products and yoghurt
Yoghurt
Yoghurt, yogurt or yogourt is a dairy product produced by bacterial fermentation of milk. The bacteria used to make yoghurt are known as "yoghurt cultures"...
, and to two items of industrial products, namely leather and ceramics and other earthenware products. The total number of enterprises in Menemen was 10,723 the same year of 2006. Seven banks provide services through seven branches across Menemen district.
Underground riches include andesite
Andesite
Andesite is an extrusive igneous, volcanic rock, of intermediate composition, with aphanitic to porphyritic texture. In a general sense, it is the intermediate type between basalt and dacite. The mineral assemblage is typically dominated by plagioclase plus pyroxene and/or hornblende. Magnetite,...
, basalt
Basalt
Basalt is a common extrusive volcanic rock. It is usually grey to black and fine-grained due to rapid cooling of lava at the surface of a planet. It may be porphyritic containing larger crystals in a fine matrix, or vesicular, or frothy scoria. Unweathered basalt is black or grey...
and marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
. Drinking water obtained from sources at Mount Yamanlar south of Menemen, and sold under brand names associated with the mountain are also very popular across İzmir region as a whole.
Transportation
Menemen is serviced by the E87 roadway, and is railroad is serviced by TCDD. The Menemen Railway StationMenemen Railway Station
The Menemen railway station is a train station in Menemen. The station is served by the Turkish State Railways, the national rail carrier of Turkey. The station is serviced by 6 trains daily. Northbound trains go to either Bandırma, Ankara, Afyon or Uşak and southbound trains all go to Alsancak...
has 7 passenger trains daily.
Sights of interest
Historical vestiges of Menemen occupy a small area in the old neighborhood of the town, marked by the recently restored Taşhan (literally the stone caravanseraiCaravanserai
A caravanserai, or khan, also known as caravansary, caravansera, or caravansara in English was a roadside inn where travelers could rest and recover from the day's journey...
) whose precise date of construction is unknown but is thought to have been built end-16th or early-17th century. A covered bazaar (bedesten) faces Taşhan and is still awaiting restoration. A few shrines-tombs in the Turkish style dating from mid-Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
centuries near Taşhan, two old mosques, a number of old houses, as well as the abandoned remains of what is likely to have been the town synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
complete the picture. In nearby Hıdırtepe, slightly outside the popular quarter of Menemen characterized by low single-storeyed houses with gardens, typical for the climate of the plain, is another Ottoman shrine as well as the memorial area dedicated to Mustafa Fehmi Kubilay in a military zone open to visitors and occupying the summit of the hill, with tombs and a renowned high statue.
History
It is not known exactly when the first human settlers came to this region but archeological findings prove that the first nucleus of Menemen formed on the left bank of the River Gediz in the immediate vicinity of today's Yahşelli village. This settlement dates back to 1000 B.C. and is on the natural fluvial frontier between IoniaIonia
Ionia is an ancient region of central coastal Anatolia in present-day Turkey, the region nearest İzmir, which was historically Smyrna. It consisted of the northernmost territories of the Ionian League of Greek settlements...
and Aeolia
Thessaly
Thessaly is a traditional geographical region and an administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thessaly was known as Aeolia, and appears thus in Homer's Odyssey....
of antiquity. It is believed that the settlement was moved from its former place to today's Asarlık village between 263-241 B.C. and later to its actual place during the Turkish
Turkic peoples
The Turkic peoples are peoples residing in northern, central and western Asia, southern Siberia and northwestern China and parts of eastern Europe. They speak languages belonging to the Turkic language family. They share, to varying degrees, certain cultural traits and historical backgrounds...
principalities era in Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
(13th-14th centuries).
The city was founded by Greek
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
settlers and the region was first under Greek political influence and later came under the rule of Phrygia
Phrygia
In antiquity, Phrygia was a kingdom in the west central part of Anatolia, in what is now modern-day Turkey. The Phrygians initially lived in the southern Balkans; according to Herodotus, under the name of Bryges , changing it to Phruges after their final migration to Anatolia, via the...
n Kingdom. The region was taken over by the Lydians
Lydians
The Lydians were the inhabitants of Lydia, a region in western Anatolia, who spoke the distinctive Lydian language, an Indo-European language of the Anatolian group....
and their rule lasted between 676-546 B.C. until the commencement of the Persian rule in the western Anatolia after the defeat suffered by the Lydians in the face of the famous Persian King Cyrus
Cyrus the Great
Cyrus II of Persia , commonly known as Cyrus the Great, also known as Cyrus the Elder, was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire. Under his rule, the empire embraced all the previous civilized states of the ancient Near East, expanded vastly and eventually conquered most of Southwest Asia and much...
.
As the Persian Empire collapsed after a series of definitive defeats against the Macedonians
Ancient Macedonians
The Macedonians originated from inhabitants of the northeastern part of the Greek peninsula, in the alluvial plain around the rivers Haliacmon and lower Axios...
, the region became a part of Alexander's Empire. After Alexander's death in 323 B.C. Menemen and its environs had been ruled by the Pergamon
Pergamon
Pergamon , or Pergamum, was an ancient Greek city in modern-day Turkey, in Mysia, today located from the Aegean Sea on a promontory on the north side of the river Caicus , that became the capital of the Kingdom of Pergamon during the Hellenistic period, under the Attalid dynasty, 281–133 BC...
Kingdom.
In 64 B.C. the region became a part of the Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
. Later, with the division of the Roman territory into two independent states in 395 A.C., it came under the Byzantine
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
rule with the rest of the eastern Roman provinces.
With the commencement of the Turkish
Turkic peoples
The Turkic peoples are peoples residing in northern, central and western Asia, southern Siberia and northwestern China and parts of eastern Europe. They speak languages belonging to the Turkic language family. They share, to varying degrees, certain cultural traits and historical backgrounds...
rule in Anatolia after the Battle of Manzikert
Battle of Manzikert
The Battle of Manzikert , was fought between the Byzantine Empire and Seljuq Turks led by Alp Arslan on August 26, 1071 near Manzikert...
(Malazgirt) (1071 A.C.), the region became a part of the Seljuk Empire in 1084 A.C. But the Seljuk rule was frequently interrupted by the Crusades
Crusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars, blessed by the Pope and the Catholic Church with the main goal of restoring Christian access to the holy places in and near Jerusalem...
which had a devastating influence on both Byzantine and Seljuk territories in Asia Minor
Asia Minor
Asia Minor is a geographical location at the westernmost protrusion of Asia, also called Anatolia, and corresponds to the western two thirds of the Asian part of Turkey...
.
With the decadence of Seljuks in the last quarter of the 13th century, local feudal lords had founded several principalities on the Anatolian territory. The Bey
Bey
Bey is a title for chieftain, traditionally applied to the leaders of small tribal groups. Accoding to some sources, the word "Bey" is of Turkish language In historical accounts, many Turkish, other Turkic and Persian leaders are titled Bey, Beg, Bek, Bay, Baig or Beigh. They are all the same word...
lik of Saruhan
Manisa Province
Manisa Province is a province in western Turkey. Its neighboring provinces are İzmir to the west, Aydın to the south, Denizli to the south east, Uşak to the east, Kütahya to the north east, and Balıkesir to the north...
, founded around Manisa
Manisa
Manisa is a large city in Turkey's Aegean Region and the administrative seat of Manisa Province.Modern Manisa is a booming center of industry and services, advantaged by its closeness to the international port city and the regional metropolitan center of İzmir and by its fertile hinterland rich in...
, captured Menemen together with Foça
Foça
Foça is town and district in Turkey's İzmir Province.The town of Foça is situated at about north by northwest of İzmir city center. The district also has a township with own municipality named Yenifoça , also along the shore and at a distance of from Foça proper...
and its surroundings in 1313.
But the Saruhan rule on Menemen did not last too long as the new emerging power in Anatolia, the Ottomans took over the city in the last quarter of the 14th century during the reign of Bayezid I
Bayezid I
Bayezid I was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from 1389 to 1402. He was the son of Murad I and Valide Sultan Gülçiçek Hatun.-Biography:Bayezid was born in Edirne and spent his youth in Bursa, where he received a high-level education...
the Thunderbolt.
As Timur
Timur
Timur , historically known as Tamerlane in English , was a 14th-century conqueror of West, South and Central Asia, and the founder of the Timurid dynasty in Central Asia, and great-great-grandfather of Babur, the founder of the Mughal Dynasty, which survived as the Mughal Empire in India until...
invaded Anatolia following the Battle of Ankara
Battle of Ankara
The Battle of Ankara or Battle of Angora, fought on July 20, 1402, took place at the field of Çubuk between the forces of the Ottoman sultan Bayezid I and the Turko-Mongol forces of Timur, ruler of the Timurid Empire. The battle was a major victory for Timur, and it led to a period of crisis for...
in 1402, the Ottoman state was dismembered and the Saruhan Principality took over the region once more until a definitive annexation
Annexation
Annexation is the de jure incorporation of some territory into another geo-political entity . Usually, it is implied that the territory and population being annexed is the smaller, more peripheral, and weaker of the two merging entities, barring physical size...
to Ottoman territory in 1425 during the reign of Murad II.
At least under the end of the 18th century, Menemen was one of the important traditional centers of production of textiles and clothing in western Anatolia, advantaged by its location right in the middle of a region where cotton was cultivated in a large scale. Its fabrics, and particularly those called the "demite", "demiton" and "escamite" were much sought after, notably as export products in overseas markets
In 1850 Menemen became a district of newly established Ottoman Vilayet of Aydın
Aydin
Aydın is a city in and the seat of Aydın Province in Turkey's Aegean Region. The city is located at the heart of the lower valley of Büyük Menderes River at a commanding position for the region extending from the uplands of the valley down to the seacoast...
with its seat in İzmir.
Greek Occupation of Menemen
- For the main article, see Menemen MassacreMenemen massacreThe Menemen Massacre occurred on June 16-17, 1919, during the Greek occupation of the town of Menemen, in western Turkey, shortly after Greek forces had landed and occupied the nearby city of Smyrna. The Ottoman prefect of Menemen, Kemal Bey, and the six gendarmes accompanying him were...
.
Menemen was invaded by the Greek Army on 17–18 May 1919 and recaptured, together with İzmir, three years later on 9 September 1922 by the Turkish Armies. One of the darkest episodes of the Greco-Turkish War (1919-1922)
Greco-Turkish War (1919-1922)
The Greco–Turkish War of 1919–1922, known as the Western Front of the Turkish War of Independence in Turkey and the Asia Minor Campaign or the Asia Minor Catastrophe in Greece, was a series of military events occurring during the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire after World War I between May...
occurred on 16–17 June 1919 when, in the evening of the Ottoman prefect of Menemen -Kemal Bey- and the six gendarmes accompnying him were assassinated by Greek soldiers. These assassinations became the opening act of the atrocities carried out on the civilian population of Menemen the next day by a Cretan
Crete
Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...
Brigade aided by a number of accomplices from among the local Greek minority. An estimate recorded by a British captain who came to Menemen in the following day gives the number of a thousand casualties during the single day of 17 June.
The Greek inhabitants of the town had to leave Menemen late in 1923 and in 1924 under the agreement for the Exchange of Greek and Turkish Populations between the two countries according to which Turkish immigrants from different parts of Greece were later lodged in town.
Menemen Incident
- For the main article, see Menemen IncidentMenemen IncidentThe Menemen Incident refers to a chain of incidents which occurred in Menemen, a small town in the Aegean region of Turkey, on 23 December 1930...
.
On December 23, 1930, Dervish Mehmed, a Sufi
Sufism
Sufism or ' is defined by its adherents as the inner, mystical dimension of Islam. A practitioner of this tradition is generally known as a '...
and self-proclaimed prophet, arrived in Menemen with six followers in an attempt to incite rebellion against the secular government and reestablish Islamic law. Mehmed and his enthusiastic supporters overwhelmed the local army garrison and killed the commander, Lieutenant Mustafa Fehmi Kubilay
Mustafa Fehmi Kubilay
Mustafa Fehmi Kubilay was a Turkish teacher and reserve warrant officer. He is considered a "martyr of revolution" in Turkey.-Biography:...
. Kubilay's severed head was put on a pole and paraded through the town. The army soon regained control, killing Mehmed and several of his followers.
The young Turkish Republic considered the incident a serious threat against secular reform. After a series of trials, 37 people were sentenced to death and later hanged in the town square; and several others were sent to prison. In 1932 a monument was erected in Menemen to commemorate the incident.