ZEYTÛN (Süleymanlı)

 city, town, christianity, place with historical importance

ZEYTUN or ZEÏTOUN - now renamed " Süleymanlı ", since after the Armenian Genocide of Apr/May 1915 - is an ancient Armenian mountain town in South-Central Anatolia, present day Turkey - referred to by Armenians as "Artsivapouyn" or "Eagle's Nest" ( Turkish= Kartal Yuvasi ) - a bastion of warlike and brave Christian Armenians originally from Eastern Anatolian Armenian highlands of Ani, Kars and Sassoun who settled this beautiful mountain town of historic Kilikya (Cilicia) and named it Anetzor, then Ulniya Şehircek initially around 1064-1071 AD, then the name changed to Zeytoun around the year 1375. The mountaineer Armenians continuously lived in this mountain town semi-independent, governed locally by the four Armenian feudal "princes": Yenidünya clan of Yuqarı Mahallesi, Sürenyan clan of Orta Mahallesi, Shorvoğluyan clan of Boz Bayır Mahallé, and Yaqubian clan of the Gargalar /Aşağı Mahallesi until they were forcibly uprooted and deported by Ottoman Turkish government decision, "Tehcir Kânunu" = Deportation Law in APR/MAY 1915 - the beginning of the Genocide of Armenians by the Ottoman Turkish authorities. After the Genocide of 1915-1918, about 1380 Zeytunlu Armenians returned to Zeytoun and lived in its ruins from Nov 1919- Jun 1921.. Zeytoun boasted 8 Armenian Apostolic churches before the Great Fire of 1884: Sourp Astvadzatsin in Orta Mahallesi (Sourenian Quarter), Sourp Sarkis in Kargalar Mahallesi (Yaqoubian Quarter), Sourp Hovhannes in Boz Bayır (Şorvoğluyan Quarter), Sourp Lousavoritch in Yuqarı Mahallesi (Yenidünya Quarter), Sourp Haqob in Aşağı Mahallesi (Yaqoubian Quarter), Sourp Hreshtaqabet chapel in Orta Mahallesi (Sourenian Quarter), Sourp Pauğos-Petros chapel in Boz Bayır (Şorvoğluyan Quarter), and the ancient 15th century Armenian Apostolic Christian Vank [Monastery] of Sourp Mayr Astvadzatsine (Tekke Ermeni Gregoryen Hıristiyan Manastırı) on the slopes of Barzinga mountain just 1 km east of Zeytoun, and the ancient Armenian Apostolic Vank (Monastery) of Sourp Purqitch on the highland plain of Zeytun Cermuq (Zeytin Ilıcası) about 4 km east of Zeytoun town. Unfortunately, none of the churches nor the monasteries survived the Armenian Genocide ravages committed by the Ottoman Turks against the ethnic Armenian Ottoman citizens of Turkey in 1915-1918 period. The only remaining Armenian-constructed cultural and architectural antiquities remaining to this day are: 1. Bagh-Ağpyür 3-arch water Fountain ( Soğukpunar Aslanlı Çeşmesi built in 1782 by Karaboyaçıyan Haci Petros ); the 17-th century-built Shughri Bartser Qantaro [ Shughor High Bridge or Kanlı Köprüsü over the Şuğur Dere by the Balciyan clan, now Zeytun Dere [Shughor Creek]; the 16-th century built Kars Qantaro or in Turkish Acere/Arefe Köprüsü; the old Nahataq Aghpuyre [Martyr Fountain] or Şehitlik Çeşmesi built circa 1812 in Orta Mahallesi, and the 15-th century Paltentz Ağpyür [Paltentz Fountain] or Tekke Ermeni Çeşmesi high upon the slope of Barzinga mountain east of Zeytoun, it is a fountain of natural spring water coming from under the no-longer existing Sourp Mayre Astvadzatsine Armenian Apostolique Monastery...
Zeytoun is perched high at 3100 ft and nestled between the foothills of Berit Dağ [Berit Mountain] , Çırık Dağ (Kurudağ), Barzinga Dağ / Ak Dağ, Solak Dede (Gangrodt), Atlık Dağ, Yedi-Kardaş Dağlari and Çavdar mountains in South Central Anatolia, about 67km N.W. of the city of Maraş (Kahramanmaraş). The mountain town of Zeytun was the Kaza' centre of the Zeytun District (Nahiye ) of the Maraş (Marash) Sandjak ( i.e.sub-province ) of the Halep (Aleppo) Province of the Ottoman Turkish Empire's Cilicia from 1550's until 1921. In Zeytoun, there was a magnificent old Armenian Apostolic Monastery of Sourp Astvadzatzin bult around 1409-1421 AD and was continuously active and had a treasure of ancient Armenian manuscripts & illustrated handscribed Bibles until its bombing, fire-razing & destruction in March-April 1915 by Turkish Osmanli Jandarma barbarians..
This legendary town has seen a saga of continuous wars and battles pitting the tyrannical and oppressive Ottoman Turk government
with their cohorts, the Turkish/Cherkes /Turkmen hordes on the Muslim side and the valiant mountaineer Zeytunlu Armenian Christian freedom fighters on the other side, namely in 1780, 1801, 1835, Rebellion of 1862, 1871, 1879-1880, and the Grand Uprising of Armenians from Oct 1895 - Jan 1896 where 6,000 Zeytunlu Armenian warriors successfully defended their land, people and honour by crushing the hordes of Iffet Bey, Ali Pasha and Ferik Remzi Pasha then Mushir Edhem Pasha who commanded 24,000 Turkish regular soldiers, Jandarma troops and another 45,000 irregular mobs and gangs of Başibozuq Çeteler (criminal bands) composed of Cherkes and Turkmen hordes who fell upon the innocent Armenian christian villager population of greater Zeytun district in autumn of 1895 and plundered and razed many villages in the county including Avaqgal, Karaağaç, Kapukaya, Azarqenk, Khebi, Fenk, Kozçağız, Fırnız, Telemelik, Alaybozan, Mavilar, Kalustents or Murtadlar, Avaklar or Yezidler, Geben, Şivilgi, Yenice-Kale, Andırın, Mucuq Dere and the Alabaş/Areqine area 29 Armenian villages, massacring the civilian Armenian villagers, burning their houses and orchards with blazes of fire and cutting down their vineyards and fruit trees.. Zeytun caught the attention of Europe's major powers, and the ambassadors/consuls of UK, Italy, Russia, Germany and Austria-Hungary mediated an armistice and peace plan for the Zeytun Armenians with the Sublime Porte granting general amnesty to the Zeytun Armenian rebellion leaders and participants in FEB 1896.
In 8-10 April 1915, after the treacherous "Tehcir Kânunu" [ Deportation Law ] was decreed by the Commitee of Union and Progress Turkish ruling authorities upon the christian Armenians within the Ottoman Turkish Empire's Anatolian land after the outbreak of World War I, the first district in all of Ottoman Turkey where the Armenian civilians were forcibly deported out of their homes and land of almost 900 years was the Zeytoun district and Zeytoun town. Around 18000 Armenians were forcibly deported to the deserts of Karapunar/Sultaniye,Konya and then en masse to the northeastern Syrian deserts stricken with starvation, disease, massacres and death by the Ottoman Turks while being forcibly marched on foot , a few caravans of deportee Armenians from Zeytun to Karapunar desert, while most of the others were deported on foot to Deir-el-Zor harsh and barren deserts of Syria from Apr 1915 - Oct 1916. Only 1600 Zeytunlu Armenians survived the cruel Genocide perpetrated by the criminal masonic İTTİHAD ve TERAKKİ Cemiyeti ruling party of the then Ottoman Turk Empire, and a year after the 1918 Armistice, Nov/Dec 1919, some 1380 wretched and poor Zeytoun Armenian survivors of the Genocide returned to Zeytoun to rebuild their shattered lives. After the French Mandate of Cilicia capitulated in 1920-1921, Kemalist Turkish forces laid siege to and attacked Zeytoun and under orders of Kemal Atatürk - all Armenians were forced to leave Zeytoun and Marash immediately and permanently to out of Turkey's borders to Syria and Lebanon in June 1921. Fierce resistance battles were waged by Aram Bey Tcholaqian and his Amanos Chete Armenian fighters June -July 1921, but Zeytoun became totally devoid of its original 900 year-long Armenian population and the village was stormed by the Kemalist Turk nationalist armies, ruined and razed; and then it was resettled by a few hundred Muslim Boşnak/Arnavut refugees from Ayvalik, Karaferya and Langorinis areas off Selanik (Thrace ) after 1921...
Nowadays it is an insignificant village of about 621 residents, descendants of the Selanik Arnavut and Boşnak Müslümans since 1923. Zeytun can never be the Legendary Zeytoun without its Armenian sons and daughters, and therefore it is called "Süleymanlı" after the bloody beast Jandarma Binbashi Suleyman who was killed by the brave Armenians fighting for their lives on 15 March 1915.