Ordu

Sister cities

• Batumi
• Marmaris
• Ganja

History

In the 8th century BC, Cotyora (Κοτύωρα) was founded by the Miletians as one of a string of colonies along the Black Sea coast. The town lay on a bay that shared its name, having been named after the town. Xenophon's Anabasis states that the city was a colony of Sinop, and that the Ten Thousand rested there for 45 days before embarking for home. Xenophon also mentioned that when the Ten Thousand reached Cotyora, ambassadors arrived from Sinope, expressing their fears. They explained that not only did the city belong to them, but the entire area as well. The ambassadors were worried that the army might lay waste to the area and thus talked with the soldiers. Diodorus Siculus also wrote that it was a colony founded by the Sinopians. Strabo writes that Cotyora sent people το establish the colony of Pharnacia, but his words do not rule out the possibility that other towns also contributed. Under Pharnaces I of Pontus, Cotyora was united in a synoikismos with Cerasus. Ptolemy, in his Geography, referred to it as Kyteoron or Cyteoron (Κυτέωρον), a corruption of the original name, and noted that it was located within the region of Polemonian Pontos, one of the administrative subdivisions of Pontus during the Roman period. Stephanus of Byzantium referred to the town as Cotyora. Suda write that it was also called Cytora or Kytora (Κύτωρα). The area came under the control of the Danishmends, then the Seljuk Turks in 1214 and 1228, and the Hacıemiroğulları Beylik in 1346. Afterwards, it passed to the dominion of the Ottomans in 1461 along with the Empire of Trebizond. The modern city was founded by the Ottomans as Bayramlı near Eskipazar as a military outpost west of Ordu. In 1869, the city's name was changed to Ordu and it was united with the districts of Bolaman, Perşembe,…