Dumanlı

Coordinates: 40°40′49″N 39°47′3″E / 40.68028°N 39.78417°E / 40.68028; 39.78417

Dumanlı (Greek: Σάντα, Santa) was formerly a mid-size community in Gümüşhane Province of Turkey, close to its border with Trabzon Province. Today it is a sparsely populated district in the far north of Gümüşhane province, consisting of seven villages:[1]

Before 1856, the inhabitants of Dumanlı were recorded as Christian (51%) and Crypto-Christian (49%).[2] After 1856, with the Ottoman Reform Edict of 1856 that equalized all citizens regardless of religion (removing the "first citizen" status of the Muslims), they changed their status to Christian instead of Crypto-Christians, as pretending to be Muslim was no longer necessary to receive equal rights.

Most of the Pontic Greeks were forced to leave their houses and find other place to live during the 1877–78 Russo-Turkish War. Most of the citizens of Santa moved to the Republic of Georgia, Armenia, and southern parts of Russia. Their primary language was Pontic Greek and they lived in the region up until the population exchange.

During World War I, the Greeks of Santa tried to organize armed resistance against the Turkish army. Pontian guerrilla bands appeared in the mountains of Santa as early as 1916 with leadership Euklidis Kourtidis and successfully resisted against a Turkish attack on September 6, 1921. After population exchange, they settled in Macedonia and Thrace. The town of Nea Santa was founded by them in the Kilkis regional unit in Central Macedonia.

Notes

  1. Özhan Öztürk. Karadeniz Ansiklopedik Sözlük. 2005. Istanbul pp.1009-10011
  2. Bryer, A. (1988), People and Settlement in Anatolia and Caucasus 800-1900. Variorum Reprintis. London

See also


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