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82-694: 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 Paleolithic times has survived to

164-559: A presidential system of government and significantly reduced the number of elected local government positions in 2013. Critics have accused the AK Party of having a 'hidden agenda' despite their public endorsement of secularism and the party maintains informal relations and support for the Muslim Brotherhood . Both the party's domestic and foreign policy has been perceived to be Pan-Islamist or Neo-Ottoman , advocating

246-505: A constitutional reform package. The reform package was first vetoed by President Sezer . Then he applied to the Turkish constitutional court about the reform package, because the president is unable to veto amendments for the second time. The court did not find any problems in the package and 69% of the voters supported the constitutional changes. The reforms consisted of: The 2009 Turkish local elections took place in March 2009, during

328-476: A district center and connected to the province of Adıyaman . The city of Samsat was evacuated from the old settlement on 5 March 1988 due to the construction of the Atatürk Dam . A new location for the settlement was announced through Law No. 3433 on 21 April 1988. The historical Samsat was submerged in 1989 as the dam created the Atatürk Reservoir . The new town was built beside the new waterline by

410-622: A great opponent of the Arians , killed by an Arian woman (c. 380), honoured on 22 June; Andrew, a vigorous opponent of Cyril of Alexandria and of the Council of Ephesus . Chabot gives a list of twenty-eight Syrian Miaphysite bishops. The Syrian bishopric probably lapsed in the 12th century. Samosata is included in the Catholic Church 's list of titular sees , but no further titular bishops have been appointed for that eastern see since

492-872: A hundred AK Party MPs joined those of the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) in parliament to prevent the government from allowing the United States to launch a Northern offensive in Iraq from Turkish territory. Later, Erdoğan's ban was lifted with the help of the CHP and Erdoğan became prime minister by being elected to the parliament after a by-election in Siirt . The AK Party has undertaken structural reforms, and during its rule Turkey has seen rapid growth and an end to its three decade long period of high inflation rates. Inflation had fallen to 8.8% by 2004. Influential business publications such as The Economist consider

574-477: A large number of people joined a political party for the first time, such as Ali Babacan , Nimet Baş , Egemen Bağış and Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu . Controversies over whether the party remains committed to secular principles enshrined in the Turkish constitution have dominated Turkish politics since 2002. Turkey's constitution established the country as a secular state and prohibits any political parties that promote Islamism or shariah law . Since coming to power,

656-497: A repressive climate for LGBT rights in Turkey under the AK Party. In 2002 before his election, Erdoğan said that "homosexuals must be legally protected within the framework of their rights and freedoms." In 2011, AK Party Minister for Families and Social Policy Fatma Şahin said the AK Party government would be willing to work with LGBT rights groups to advance laws protecting Turkey's gay community. However, commentators have argued

738-404: A research motion in the parliament of Turkey on having a parliamentary debate regarding LGBT rights. During the latter debate, AK Party MP Türkan Dağoğlu stated "Homosexuality is an abnormality. Same-sex marriages may not be allowed. It would cause social deterioration"; this prompted criticism from some opposition politicians. In 2017, Erdogan stated that the principle of LGBT rights was "against

820-442: A revival of Ottoman culture often at the expense of secular republican principles, while increasing regional presence in former Ottoman territories . The AK Party has been criticized for supporting a wide-scale purge of thousands of academics after the failed coup attempt in 2016. Primary, lower secondary and secondary school students were forced to spend the first day of school after the failed coup d'état watching videos about

902-427: A series of oppositions and criticism from the opposition parties and their supporters, fearing the measure would give more unchecked power to the current President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan , who has drawn fierce criticisms both from home and abroad for his active role in the election, abandoning the traditional presidential role of maintaining a more neutral and impartial position in elections by his predecessors in

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984-493: A sweeping victory in the 2002 elections , which saw every party previously represented in the Grand National Assembly ejected from the chamber. In the process, it won a two-thirds majority of seats, becoming the first Turkish party in 11 years to win an outright majority. Erdoğan, as the leader of the biggest party in parliament, would have been normally given the task to form a cabinet. However, according to

1066-405: A watered down, not a closely integrated EU. The AK Party withdrew from AECR in 2018. From 2002 to 2011 the party passed series of reforms to increase accessibility to healthcare and housing, distribute food subsidies, increased funding for students, improved infrastructure in poorer districts, and improved rights for religious and ethnic minorities. AK Party is also widely accredited for overcoming

1148-549: Is also accredited for bringing the Turkish military under civilian rule, a paradigm shift for a country that had experienced constant military meddling for almost a century. More recently, nationwide protests broke out against the alleged authoritarianism of the AK Party in 2013, with the party's perceived heavy-handed response receiving western condemnation and stalling the party's once championed EU accession negotiations. In addition to its alleged attempts to promote Islamism,

1230-413: Is being used. These characterizations do not reflect the truth, and they sadden us." Çelik added, "The AK Party is a conservative democratic party. The AK Party's conservatism is limited to moral and social issues." Also in a separate speech made in 2005, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stated, "We are not an Islamic party, and we also refuse labels such as Muslim-democrat." Erdogan went on to say that

1312-582: Is known to have had coins minted in the same fashion as the Roman antoninianus , which he may have taken from the material used in the mint of Samosata. It was at Samosata that Julian II had ships made in his expedition against Shapur II , and it was a natural crossing-place in the struggle between Heraclius and Chosroes in the 7th century. Samosata was the birthplace of several renowned people from antiquity such as Lucian ( c. 120-192) and Paul of Samosata (fl. 260). The Arabs conquered Commagene from

1394-410: Is the party's main colour. Other colours include white for the logo, blue for the flag, and orange-white-blue-red for the corporate design. The AK Party is the only party in Turkey with a significant presence in all provinces of Turkey . Since the beginning of Turkey's multiparty democracy in 1946 , AK Party is the only party to win seven consecutive parliamentary elections. The AK Party has headed

1476-538: Is thought to be the central courtyard, is 14,65 X 20,55 meters and it has a mosaic corner. The skeletons of five people thrown into a 1.8 meter diameter well of the Islamic Period were found. At the bottom with the skeletons, five gold coins and silver coins from the Abbasid Period were found. One of the gold coins belongs to Harun al-Rashid (766 - 709) and the others to Mutawakkil (822 - 861). Today

1558-477: Is very rich. Other finds include oil lamps, ivory comb, fragrance bottle, terracotta lamps, bone spoons, leaf-shaped marble sconces and coins. The walls of the Seljuk Period, built on a solid Byzantine fortress, were preserved intact. The inscription on the limestone of this fortification was studied by a master calligrapher. The landfill belonged to Diyarbekr Şah Karaaslan. The centre of the palace, which

1640-567: The 2001 Turkish economic crisis by following International Monetary Fund guidelines, as well as successfully weathering the 2007–2008 financial crisis . From 2002 to 2011, the Turkish economy grew on average by 7.5 percent annually, thanks to lower inflation and interest rates. The government under AK Party also backed extensive privatization programs. In fact, 88% of the privatizations in Turkey were carried out under AK Party rule. The average income in Turkey rose from $ 2,800 U.S. in 2001 to around $ 10,000 U.S. in 2011, higher than income in some of

1722-526: The Constitutional Court of Turkey to close down the party on charges of violating the separation of religion and state in Turkey. The closure request failed by only one vote, as only six of the 11 judges ruled in favor, with seven required; however, 10 out of 11 judges agreed that the Justice and Development Party had become "a center for anti-secular activities", leading to a loss of 50% of

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1804-590: The Dynamic Monarchian Bishop of Antioch was born in Samosata in 200; Saint Daniel the Stylite was born in a village near Samosata; Saint Rabbulas , venerated on 19 February, who lived in the 6th century at Constantinople , was also a native of Samosata. A Notitia Episcopatuum of Antioch in the 6th century mentions Samosata as an autocephalous metropolis ( Échos d'Orient , X, 144); at

1886-645: The European People's Party (EPP). However, it left the EPP to join the Alliance of European Conservatives and Reformists (AECR) in 2013. On 14 April 2007, an estimated 300,000 people marched in Ankara to protest the possible candidacy of Erdoğan in the 2007 presidential election , afraid that if elected as president, he would alter the secular nature of the Turkish state. Erdoğan announced on 24 April 2007 that

1968-471: The European People's Party between 2005 and 2013. After not being granted full membership in the EPP, the party became a member of the Alliance of Conservatives and Reformists in Europe (ACRE) from 2013 to 2018. AK Party has dominated Turkish politics since 2002. It is the sixth largest political party in the world by membership and the biggest in the world outside India, China and the U.S. The AK Party

2050-466: The Great Recession . After the success of the AK Party in the 2007 general elections, the party saw a decline in the 2009 Turkish local elections . In these elections the AK Party received 39% of the vote, 3% less than in the local elections of 2004. Still, the AK Party remained the dominating party in Turkey. The second party CHP received 23% of the vote and the third party MHP received 16% of

2132-625: The Islamic Gülen movement . On 25 April 2016, the Turkish Parliament Speaker İsmail Kahraman told a conference of Islamic scholars and writers in Istanbul that "secularism would not have a place in a new constitution”, as Turkey is “a Muslim country and so we should have a religious constitution". (One of the duties of Parliament Speaker is to pen a new draft constitution for Turkey). As of 2023, some sources define

2214-652: The Republican People's Party (CHP). Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been chairman of the AK Party since the 2017 Party Congress . The AK Party is the largest party in the Grand National Assembly , the Turkish national legislature, with 267 out of 600 seats, having won 35.6% of votes in the 2023 Turkish parliamentary election . It forms the People's Alliance with the far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP). The current parliamentary leader of

2296-621: The Second Vatican Council . Samsat Höyük is a tell located just north of the Samsat district of Adıyaman. Archaeological research on the hill of Şehremuz in Samsat has uncovered relics from the 7000 BC Paleolithic era; the 5000 BC Neolithic, 3000 BC Chalcolithic and 3000 to 1200 BC Bronze Ages. The ancient city of Ḫaḫḫum ( Hittite : Ḫaḫḫa ) was located nearby; it is recorded as a source of gold for ancient Sumeria . The first excavations were conducted in 1964 and 1967 under

2378-598: The Turkish economic crisis , rising authoritarianism as well as alleged government inaction on the Syrian refugee crisis . Soon after the elections, the Turkish government ordered a re-election in Istanbul . The decision led to a downfall on AK Party's popularity and it lost the elections again in June with an even greater margin. The result was seen as a huge blow to Erdoğan, who had once said that if his party 'lost Istanbul, we would lose Turkey.' The opposition's landslide

2460-433: The national elections of 2002 , Turkey's chief prosecutor, Sabih Kanadoğlu, asked the Turkish constitutional court to close the Justice and Development Party, which was leading in the polls at that time. The chief prosecutor charged the Justice and Development Party with abusing the law and justice. He based his case on the fact that the party's leader had been banned from political life for reading an Islamist poem, and thus

2542-730: The 12th - 13th centuries AD were identified during the excavations in the layers dating to the late phases of the Middle Ages. Of these Seljuk sultans I. Gıyaseddin Keyhusrev (1192–1195), Ala al-Din Keykubbad, (1219-1236), II. Gıyaseddin Keyhusrev (1236-1246), IV. Rükn el-Din The coins of Kılıç Arslan (1257–1264), as well as the coins of Saladin (1170-1193) printed in Harran, were uncovered. The collection of glassware with cups, glasses and bowls

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2624-400: The 550 seat parliament – enough to put the proposals to a referendum. The reform package included a number of issues: such as the right of individuals to appeal to the highest court, the creation of the ombudsman 's office, the possibility to negotiate a nationwide labour contract, positive exceptions for female citizens, the ability of civilian courts to convict members of the military,

2706-495: The AK Party has taken an increasingly hardline stance on LGBT issues since coming to power, which has been characterized variously as part of a general trend towards authoritarianism under the AK Party or as motivated by Islamic and militant nationalist sentiments within the party. In 2012, the AK Party voted against a proposal by the BDP to include legalization of same-sex marriage in the redrafted Turkish constitution and in 2013 blocked

2788-473: The AK Party is Abdullah Güler  [ tr ] . Founded in 2001 by members of a number of parties such as FP , ANAP and DYP , the party has a strong base of support among people from the conservative tradition of Turkey, though the party strongly denies it is Islamist . The party positioned itself as pro-liberal market economy, supporting Turkish membership in the European Union . Orange

2870-555: The AK Party on trumped up "terrorism charges". These charges have drawn condemnation from many western countries, including from the US State Department, the EU, as well as from international and domestic human rights organisations. The party has also been criticized by Turkish and international LGBT rights groups including KAOS GL for homophobic statements made by some AK Party politicians and for what they argue has become

2952-407: The AK Party's agenda is limited to " conservative democracy ". On the other hand, according to at least one observer ( Mustafa Akyol ), under the AK Party government of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan , starting in 2007, "hundreds of secularist officers and their civilian allies" were jailed, and by 2012 the "old secularist guard" in positions of authority was replaced by members/supporters of the AK Party and

3034-609: The AK Party's government the most successful in Turkey in decades. In the local elections of 2004, the AK Party won 42% of the votes, making inroads against the secular Republican People's Party (CHP) on the South and West Coasts, and against the Social Democratic People's Party , which is supported by some Kurds in the South-East of Turkey. In January 2005, the AK Party was admitted as an observer member in

3116-678: The Byzantines in 640. Safwan bin Muattal , a sahabi and commander during the Muslim conquests , was buried in Samosata. In the tenth century, the town, which was the second biggest in the region after Melitene , was recaptured by the Byzantines. In June 966, Samosata was the venue of an exchange of prisoners between the Byzantine Emperor Nikephoros II Phokas and his Muslim foe Sayf al-Dawla . After

3198-583: 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

3280-549: The Roman emperor Hadrian ( r.  117–138 ), Samosata was given metropolis status along with Damascus and Tyre . Roman legions were later placed in Samosata to discourage the Sasanian Empire (224–651) from attacking it. In 260, it was the first city that was sacked by the Sasanian emperor Shapur I ( r.  240–270 ) following his capture of the Roman emperor Valerian ( r.  253–260 ). Shapur I

3362-570: The Turkish Constitution Article 109 the prime ministers had to be also a representative of the Turkish Parliament. Erdoğan, who was banned from holding any political office after a 1994 incident in which he read a poem deemed pro-Islamist by judges, was therefore not. As a result, Gül became prime minister. It survived the crisis over the 2003 invasion of Iraq despite a massive back bench rebellion where over

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3444-559: The Turkish government to house the displaced residents. The new town of Samsat was destroyed by an earthquake on 2 March 2017. The city was largely rebuilt afterwards. In the Christian martyrology , seven Christian martyrs were crucified in 297 in Samosata for refusing to perform a pagan rite in celebration of the victory of Maximian over the Sassanids : Abibus, Hipparchus, James, Lollian, Paragnus, Philotheus, and Romanus. Paul

3526-570: The collapse of Byzantine authority in the region, the town fell into the domain of the Armenian Philaretos Brachamios . At some point after that it fell into the hands of a certain Baluk, on of Amīr Ghāzī, who is mentioned among the army of Ridwan of Aleppo which besieged Edessa in 1095. While he managed to fend off an expedition in 1098 under Baldwin of Boulogne send by the ruler of Edessa, Thoros , he later had to sell

3608-406: The country and its economy would stabilize further "when a prime minister more closely aligned with President Erdoğan takes office". In the general election held on 7 June, the AK Party gained 40.87% of the vote and 258 seats in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (Turkish: Türkiye Büyük Millet Meclisi, TBMM). Though it still remains the biggest party in Turkey, the AK Party lost its status as

3690-485: 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

3772-563: The direction of the American archeologist Theresa Goell . In fact, the settlement was known and famous before these excavations. Then, in 1977, under the Lower Euphrates Project, plans were put together aimed at identifying and saving the archaeological settlements that were to be inundated by the reservoir of Karakaya and Atatürk Dams. Surface surveys were conducted under the direction of Mehmet Özdoğan. In these studies, it

3854-429: The failure of the parties in parliament to agree on the next Turkish president. The opposition parties boycotted the parliamentary vote and deadlocked the election process. At the same time, Erdoğan claimed the failure to elect a president was a failure of the Turkish political system and proposed to modify the constitution. The AK Party achieved a significant victory in the rescheduled 22 July 2007 elections with 46.6% of

3936-507: The former territories of its predecessor state, the Ottoman Empire . However, the party's leadership has also rejected this label. The party's relationship with the Muslim Brotherhood has drawn allegations of Islamism . The AK Party favors a strong centralized leadership, having long advocated for a presidential system of government and significantly reduced the number of elected local government positions in 2013. The party

4018-458: The headscarf is a symbol? Even if it were a political symbol, does that give [one the] right to ban it? Could you bring prohibitions to symbols?" These statements led to a joint proposal of the Justice and Development Party and the far-right Nationalist Movement Party for changing the constitution and the law to lift a ban on women wearing headscarves at state universities. Soon afterwards, Turkey's chief prosecutor, Abdurrahman Yalçınkaya , asked

4100-493: The majority party and the power to form a single-party government. Until then it had held this majority without interruption for 13 years since it had come to power in 2002. In this election, the AK Party was pushing to gain 330 seats in the Grand National Assembly so that it could put a series of constitutional changes to a referendum, one of them was to switch Turkey from the current parliamentary government to an American-style executive presidency government. This pursuit met with

4182-399: The national government since 2002 under Abdullah Gül (2002–2003), Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (2003–2014), Ahmet Davutoğlu (2014–2016), Binali Yıldırım (2016–2018) and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (2018–present). The AK Party's rule has been marked with increasing authoritarianism , expansionism , censorship and banning of other political parties and dissent. The party was an observer in

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4264-658: The new EU member states. Other reforms included increasing civilian representation over military in areas of national security, education and media, and grant broadcasting and increased cultural rights to Kurds . On Cyprus, AK Party supported unification of Cyprus , something deeply opposed by the Turkish military . Other AK Party reforms included lifting bans on religious and conservative dress, such as headscarves , in universities and public institutions. AK Party also ended discrimination against students from religious high schools, who previously had to meet additional criteria in areas of education and upon entry to universities. AK Party

4346-596: The office. The result of the Kurdish issues-centered Peoples' Democratic Party , HDP, breaking through the 10% threshold to achieve 13.12% out of the total votes cast and gaining 80 seats in the Grand National Assembly in the election, which caused the AK Party to lose its parliamentary majority. In the 2019 local elections , the ruling party AK Party lost control of Istanbul and Ankara for the first time in 15 years, as well as five of Turkey's six largest cities. The loss has been widely attributed to AK Party's mismanagement of

4428-530: The only Turkish province where the Alevi form a majority. Abdullah Gül was elected as the President in late August with 339 votes in the third round – the first at which a simple majority is required – after deadlock in the first two rounds, in which a two-thirds majority was needed. After the opposition parties deadlocked the 2007 presidential election by boycotting the parliament, the ruling AK Party proposed

4510-540: The party as being "rooted in political Islam" and an "Islamist-rooted party". In recent years, the ideology of the party has shifted more towards Turkish nationalism , causing liberals such as Ali Babacan and some conservatives such as Ahmet Davutoğlu and Abdullah Gül to leave the party. Several writers have also labelled the party as being right-wing populist since 2007. The party's foreign policy has also been widely described as Neo-Ottomanist , an ideology that promotes renewed Turkish political engagement in

4592-452: The party had decided to nominate Abdullah Gül as the AK Party candidate in the presidential election. The protests continued over the next several weeks, with over one million reported at an 29 April rally in Istanbul, tens of thousands reported at separate protests on 4 May in Manisa and Çanakkale , and one million in İzmir on 13 May. Early parliamentary elections were called after

4674-456: The party had no standing in elections. The European Commission had previously criticized Turkey for banning the party's leader from participating in elections. The party again faced a closure trial in 2008 brought about by the lifting of a long-standing university ban on headscarves. At an international press conference in Spain, Erdoğan answered a question of a journalist by saying, "What if

4756-455: The party has brought about tighter regulations on abortion and higher taxes on alcohol consumption , leading to allegations that it is covertly undermining Turkish secularism. Some activists, commentators, opponents and government officials have accused the party of Islamism. The Justice and Development Party has faced two "closure cases" (attempts to officially ban the party, usually for Islamist practices) in 2002 and 2008. Just 10 days before

4838-408: The party is accused by some of restricting some civil liberties and internet use in Turkey, having temporarily blocked access to Twitter and YouTube in March 2014. Especially after the government corruption scandal involving several AKP ministers in 2013, the party has been increasingly accused of crony capitalism . The AK Party favors a strong centralized leadership, having long advocated for

4920-527: The party is described as an Islamist party in some media, party officials reject those claims. According to former minister Hüseyin Çelik , "In the Western press, when the AK Party administration – the ruling party of the Turkish Republic – is being named, most of the time 'Islamic,' 'Islamist,' 'mildly Islamist,' 'Islamic-oriented,' 'Islamic-based' or 'with an Islamic agenda,' and similar language

5002-419: The party outpolling the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party in traditional Kurdish strongholds such as Van and Mardin , as well as outpolling the secular-left CHP in traditionally secular areas such as Antalya and Artvin . Overall, the AK Party secured a plurality of votes in 68 of Turkey's 81 provinces, with its strongest vote of 71% coming from Bingöl . Its weakest vote, a mere 12%, came from Tunceli ,

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5084-559: The party was described as liberal conservative , conservative liberal , economically liberal , pro-European , and center-right . Some members of the True Path Party , such as Hüseyin Çelik and Köksal Toptan , joined the AK Party. Some members, such as Kürşad Tüzmen or Ertuğrul Günay , had nationalist or center-left backgrounds respectively, while representatives of the nascent, more clearly anti-capitalist 'Muslim left' current were largely excluded. In addition,

5166-698: The right of civil servants to go on strike, a privacy law, and the structure of the Constitutional Court. The referendum was agreed by a majority of 58%. In the presidential election of 2014 , the AK Party's long time leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was elected president. In the party's first extraordinary congress , former foreign minister Ahmet Davutoğlu was unanimously elected unopposed as party leader and took over as prime minister on 28 August 2014. Davutoğlu stepped down as prime minister on 4 May 2016 following policy disagreements with President Erdoğan. Presidential aide Cemil Ertem said to Turkish TV that

5248-417: The ruling party of Turkey since 2002. Third-party sources often refer to the party as national conservative , social conservative , right-wing populist and as espousing neo-Ottomanism . The party is generally regarded as being right-wing on the political spectrum , although some sources have described it as far-right since 2011. It is one of the two major parties of contemporary Turkey along with

5330-464: The settlement is under the Euphrates, but before inundation it was 37–40 meters above the plain level and had an area of 500 x 350 meters. The steepest slope is the eastern slope and the lowest slope is the southwest-facing slope. The mound consists of a terrace and a ruined town covered with sediment. Samsat Höyük as an archaeological site is considered to be no longer accessible while it is covered by

5412-406: The state funding for the party. The party has won pluralities in the seven most recent legislative elections, those of 2002 , 2007 , 2011 , June 2015 , November 2015 , 2018 and 2023 . The party held a majority of seats for 13 years, but lost it in June 2015, only to regain it in the snap election of November 2015 but then lose it again in 2018. Its past electoral success has been mirrored in

5494-527: The synod that reinstated Patriarch Photius I of Constantinople (the Photian Council) of 879, the See of Samosata had already been united to that of Amida , present-day Diyarbakır. By 586, the titular of Amida bore only this title, meaning the union took place between the 7th and the 9th centuries. Earlier bishops included Peperius, who attended the Council of Nicaea (325); Saint Eusebius of Samosata ,

5576-421: The three local elections held since the party's establishment, coming first in 2004 , 2009 and 2014 respectively. However, the party lost most of Turkey's biggest cities including Istanbul and Ankara in 2019 local elections , which has been attributed to the Turkish economic crisis , accusations of authoritarianism, as well as alleged government inaction on the Syrian refugee crisis . The AK Party won

5658-601: The town to Baldwin for 10,000 gold coins upon which it belonged to the county of Edessa . Warfare in the 13th century devastated Samosata. Rukn ad-Din Sulayman Shah II of the Anatolian Seljuks captured Samosata in 1203. The Anushtegins conquered and looted the town in 1237. The Mongol Emperor Hülagü Khan conquered Samosata in 1240 and the Beylik of Dulkadir conquered the town as well. Samosata

5740-515: The values of our nation" and in 2020 endorsed controversial anti-gay statements made by Muslim scholar Ali Erbaş which had received condemnation from some Turkish lawyers and human rights groups. In 2021, AK Party vice chairman and Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu declared LGBT people to be "perverts." Turkish constitutional law experts Sule Ozsoy Boyunsuz and Serkan Koybasi have described public statements on gay people made by AK Party politicians as both constituting as hate speech and contradicting

5822-407: The vote, translating into control of 341 of the 550 available parliamentary seats. Although the AK Party received significantly more votes in 2007 than in 2002, the number of parliamentary seats they controlled decreased due to the rules of the Turkish electoral system . However, they retained a comfortable ruling majority. Nationally, the elections of 2007 saw a major advance for the AK Party, with

5904-537: The vote. The AK Party won in Turkey's largest cities: Ankara and Istanbul . Reforming the Constitution was one of the main pledges of the AK Party during the 2007 election campaign. The main opposition party CHP was not interested in altering the Constitution on a big scale, making it impossible to form a Constitutional Commission ( Anayasa Uzlaşma Komisyonu ). The amendments lacked the two-thirds majority needed to instantly become law, but secured 336 votes in

5986-503: The waters of the reservoir. The old town of Samosata below the tell was not excavated. Justice and Development Party (Turkey) The Justice and Development Party ( Turkish : Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi , Turkish pronunciation: [adaːˈlet ve kaɫkɯnˈma paɾtiˈsi] , AK PARTİ ), abbreviated officially as AK Party in English, is a political party in Turkey self-describing as conservative-democratic . It has been

6068-452: The ‘triumph of democracy’ over the plotters, and listening to speeches equating the civilian counter-coup that aborted the takeover with historic Ottoman victories going back 1000 years. Campaigns have been organised to release higher education personnel and to drop charges against them for peaceful exercise of academic freedom. Imprisonment of political activists continues, while the chair of Amnesty Turkey has been jailed for standing up to

6150-648: Was amongst the places where its ruler Antiochus I Theos ( r.  70–31 BC ) founded sanctuaries that contained inscriptions about his cult as well as reliefs of his dexiosis with Apollo - Mithras . In 73 AD, Samosata as well as the rest of Commagene was incorporated into the Roman Empire . It may have been during this event that the Syriac letter of Mara bar Serapion was composed. The letter makes mention of an Aramaic -speaking elite in Samosata that studied Greek literature and Stoic philosophy . Under

6232-539: Was an observer in the centre-right European People's Party between 2005 and 2013 and a member of the Eurosceptic Alliance of Conservatives and Reformists in Europe (ACRE) from 2013 to 2018. In 2005, the party was granted observer membership in the European People's Party (EPP). In November 2013, the party left the EPP to join the Alliance of European Conservatives and Reformists (now European Conservatives and Reformists Party) instead. This move

6314-558: Was attributed to the AK Party's disappointment to not to be granted full membership in the EPP, while it was admitted as a full member of the AECR. It drew criticism in both national and European discourses, as the driving force of Turkey's aspirations to become a member of the European Union decided to join a largely eurosceptic alliance, abandoning the more influential pro-European EPP, feeding suspicions that AK Party wants to join

6396-529: 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

6478-413: Was characterized as the 'beginning of the end' for Erdoğan, with international commentators calling the re-run a huge government miscalculation that can lead to a potential İmamoğlu candidacy in the next scheduled presidential election . It is suspected that the scale of the government's defeat could provoke a cabinet reshuffle and early general elections, currently scheduled for June 2023. Although

6560-552: Was concluded that the settlement was permanently inhabited from the Halaf Period to the Ottoman Period. The following year, the excavations started in 1978, except for 1980, until 1987, under Ankara University, Faculty of Language and History-Geography It was conducted by the team led by Nimet Özgüç. These excavations were carried out on a very wide area, including the lower city and surrounding walls. Coins belonging to

6642-534: Was established by a wide range of politicians of various political parties and a number of new politicians in 2001. The core of the party was formed from the reformist faction of the Islamist Virtue Party , including people such as Abdullah Gül and Bülent Arınç , while a second founding group consisted of members of the social conservative Motherland Party who had been close to Turgut Özal , such as Cemil Çiçek and Abdülkadir Aksu . Historically

6724-586: Was temporarily absorbed into the Ottoman Empire by Bayazid I in 1392, and in 1401 it was destroyed by Timur . In 1516, the Ottoman Sultan Selim I recaptured it for the Ottomans who renamed it Samsat. It lost its old importance in the Ottoman administration and became the centre of a sanjak . During Turkey's republican period , the population of the town decreased. In 1960, Samsat was made

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