Samsun

Samsun (Greek: Σαμψούντα, Samsounta, Amisos) is a city in northern Turkey, on the coast of the Black Sea, with a population of 725,111 as of 2007. It is the capital city of Samsun Province and an important port. Samsun was founded as the colony Amisos (alternative spelling Amisus, Eis Amison - meaning to amisos took the name Samsunta or Samsus ( Eis Amison - Samson - Samsounta) as in Greek + ounta "Greek toponomical suffix". ) by settlers from Miletus in the 7th century BC. It was later a part of the Pontus realm.

History

Samsun Samsun's ideal combination of fertile ground and shallow waters has attracted numerous trade interests. Greek colonists settled in the 6th century BC and established a flourishing trade relationship with the Anatolians. At that time, Samsun was part of the Greek colony of Amisus. In the 3rd century BC, Samsun came under the expanded rule of the Kingdom of Pontus. The Kingdom of Pontus had been part of the empire of Alexander the Great. However, the empire was fractured soon after Alexander's death in the 4th century BC. At its height, the kingdom controlled the north of central Anatolia and mercantile towns on the northern Black Sea shores.