Samsat

Samsat (Samîsad), formerly Samosata (Σαμόσατα) is a small town in the Adıyaman Province of Turkey, situated on the upper Euphrates river. It is the seat of Samsat District. The town is populated by Kurds of the Bezikan tribe. Halil Fırat from the Justice and Development Party (AKP) was elected mayor in the local elections in March 2019. The current Kaymakam is Halid Yıldız. Samsat was the ancient capital of Kingdom of Commagene. The current site of Samsat is comparatively new, however, being rebuilt in 1989 when the old town of Samosata was flooded during the construction of the Atatürk Dam. As of 2018, reconstruction process had not yet been fully completed. An ancient tell nearby dating back to the paleolithic era has survived to the current day. Its population was 3,790 in 2022, up from 3,520 in 2017. The city of Samosata was founded sometime before 245 BC on the previous Neo-Hittite site of Kummuh by the Orontid king of Sophene, Sames I. He may have founded the city in order to assert his claim over the area, a common practice amongst Iranian and Hellenistic dynasties, such as Cappadocia, Pontus, Parthia and Armenia. The city was built in a "sub-Achaemenid" Persian architectural form, similar to the rest of Orontid buildings in Greater Armenia. Naming cities such as Samosata (Middle Persian *Sāmašād; Old Persian *Sāmašiyāti-) the "joy of" or "happiness of" was an Orontid (and later Artaxiad) practice that recalled the Achaemenid royal discourse. Samosata served as one of the most important royal residences of the Orontid kings of Sophene. Like other early-Orontid royal residences, Samosata experienced a sudden shift in its architectural style under the Orontids of Commagene due to their close involvement in the Greco-Roman world. During this period, Samosata was most likely populated by a variety of peoples, descended from Syrians/Arameans/Assyrians, Neo-Hittites, Armenians, and Persians. Samosata was amongst the places where its ruler Antiochus I Theos (70-31) founded sanctuaries that contained inscriptions about his cult as well as reliefs of his dexiosis with Apollo-Mithras.