Amisos

Samsun
Metropolitan municipality
In order: Artificial lake near Liberation wharf, Statue of Honor in Belediye Park, Istiklal Street, bottom: View of SS Bandırma museum ship, Samsun tram, wall of covered market.
Samsun Location of Samsun within Turkey
Coordinates: 41°17′N 36°20′E / 41.283°N 36.333°E / 41.283; 36.333
Country	Turkey
Region	Black Sea
Province	Samsun
Boroughs	List Atakum Canik İlkadım Tekkeköy
Government
• Mayor	Yusuf Ziya Yılmaz (AKP)
Area
• Metropolitan municipality	1,055 km2 (407 sq mi)
Elevation	4 m (13 ft)
Population (2013)
• Density	573/km2 (1,480/sq mi)
• Urban	605,319
Time zone	FET (UTC+3)
Postal code	55
Area code(s)	(+90) 362
Licence plate	55
Climate	Cfa
Website	www.samsun.bel.tr www.samsun.gov.tr

Samsun is a city on the north coast of Turkey with a population over half a million people. It is the provincial capital of Samsun Province and a major Black Sea port. The growing city has two universities, several hospitals, shopping malls, a lot of light manufacturing industry, sports facilities and an opera.

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk began the Turkish War of Independence here in 1919.

The present name of the city may come from its former Greek name of Amisos (Αμισός) by a reinterpretation of Eis Amison (meaning to Amisos) + ounta (Greek suffix for place names) to Eis Sampsunda (Σαμψούντα) and then Samsun (pronounced [sɑmsun]).

The early Greek historian Hecataeus wrote that Amisos was formerly called Enete, the place mentioned in Homer's Iliad. It has also been known as Peiraieos by Athenian settlers and even briefly as Pompeiopolis by a Roman statesman who wanted it named after him.

The city was called Simisso by the Genoese and during the Ottoman Empire the present name was written in Ottoman Turkish: صامسون‎ (Samsoon).

Paleolithic artifacts found in the Tekkeköy Caves can be seen in Samsun Archaeology Museum.

The earliest layer excavated of the höyük of Dündartepe revealed a Chalcolithic settlement. Early Bronze Age and Hittite settlements were also found there and at Tekkeköy.

Samsun (then known as Amisos, alternative spelling Amisus) was settled between the years of 760–750 BC by people from Miletus, who established a flourishing trade relationship with the ancient peoples of Anatolia. The city's ideal combination of fertile ground and shallow waters attracted numerous traders.