Kahramanmaraş

Kahramanmaraş (kär'əmän'märəsh), formerly Maraş (märäsh'), city (1990 pop. 229,066), S Turkey. The city lies on a fertile plain at the foot of the Taurus Mts. A center for light industry and trade, spices, olive oil, and handicrafts are the chief products. The area surrounding the city is noted for agriculture and mining (especially silver and iron). Ancient inscriptions found there indicate that Kahramanmaraş was a Hittite city-state c.1000 B.C. The city was called Germanikeia in Roman times. It was captured by the Arabs in A.D. 638, In the 12th cent., the city came under the control of the Seljuq Turks; it was annexed by the Ottoman Empire in the early 16th cent. Kahramanmaraş has several medieval mosques.