Merzifon

Template: Infobox city in Turkey / Maintenance / County

Merzifon (formerly also Marsovan or Marsvani called ) is a town and a district in Turkey. It belongs to the province of Amasya is located in the Black Sea region. Merzifon is located in the west of the province, bordering the province of Çorum and Samsun. The district has 70 167 inhabitants Merzifon, the city of 54,709 (as of 2012). The city lies on the southern slope of Tavşan Mountain and bordered by a fertile plain.

The present city Merzifon occupies the site of the ancient city Phazemon ( Φαζημὠν ). Little is known about the history of the city since the Islamization of Anatolia. In the Middle Ages called the territory of the city Marsvani. Merzifon was on the 11th and 12th centuries, part of the Turkish Beyliks the Danishmends, then part of the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum in 1393, then fell to the Ottomans Merzifon. Merzifon was home to some Ottoman scholar and high dignitaries.

Religion

In the city some Byzantine churches were converted into mosques. Examples are the Eski Cami (German: old mosque ), the Madrasa of Mehemmed Çelebi and a building complex that was built by the Ottoman Grand Vizier Kara Mustafa Pasha in the 17th century. In the city there were some Dervish tekkes.

American Protestant missionaries built from 1864 in Merzifon a theological school and charitable institutions; 1886-1924 existed here the prestigious Anatolia College. In the 1930s, a small part of the missionary bodies, nor was active. This missionary work was directed here to the Armenian inhabitants of the area. By the end of World War I lived in Merzifon alongside Muslims and Christian Armenians and Greeks. In addition to the Protestant school, there was also a Roman Catholic and a Gregorian school.

Personalities

• Bilal Kısa - Turkish soccer player
• Gül Baba - Dervish
• Kara Mustafa Pasha - Ottoman grand vizier and general
• Tan Oral - Turkish cartoonist