AMASIA, the chief town of the Amasia vilayet of Asia Minor and an important trade centre on the Samsun-Sivas road, beautifully situated on the Yeshil Irmak (Iris). Pop. (1927), 60,527, including many Kizilbash (Shia) . It was one of the chief towns of the kingdom of Trebizond and of the Seljuks. one of whose sultans, Kaikobad I., enriched it with fine buildings and restored the castle, which was thus enabled to stand a seven months' siege by Timur. It was also much favoured by the early Osmanli sultans, one of whom, Selim I., was born there. Bayezid II. built a fine mosque. Amasia is an unusually well-built Turkish town with a good bazaar and khans and a fine clock-tower. It has extensive fruit gardens. Wheat, flour and silk are exported.
Ancient Amasia has left little trace of itself except on the castle rock, on the left of the river, where the acropolis walls and a number of splendid rock-cut tombs, described by Strabo as those of the kings of Pontus, can be seen. Amasia rose to historical importance after the time of Alexander as the cradle of the power of Pontus; but the last king to reign there was the father of Mithradates Eupator "The Great." The latter, however, made it the base of his operations against the Romans in 89, 72 and 67 B.C. Pompey made it a free city in 65, after Mithradates' fall. It was the birthplace of Strabo.