Bursa City!
Bursa History
Bursa and its surroundings, one of the paradise corners of Anatolia, the cradle of civilizations, have been the scene of settlements since ancient times. It was revealed during the excavations of the Ilıpınar Tumulus that the civilizations created by the old settlements in the region went back 7 thousand years. As a result of the excavations in the mound, BC. A settlement dating back to 5200 years ago was found. 7 km from Bursa. north of Demirtaş township, 2.5 km. south, 90 m. circumference of 5 m. “Demirtaş Tumulus” with a height is located. In this mound, there are pottery fragments of bowls, jars and jugs made by hand, and a small amount by wheel. These are from the early bronze age and date back to BC. It is dated to the 2500s.
Bursa Conquest Gate
The dimensions of "Çayırköy Mound", 14 km west of the city and 1 km southwest of Çayırköy, are the same as Demirtaş Mound. The ceramic pieces found here are dominated by gray, red, brown and black colors. Most of the pottery fragments found were made by hand, and very few of them were made on wheels. The oldest find of the mound dates back to BC. It belongs to the year 2700. B.C. The first name of the city, which was founded by the Bithynians and Prusias in the 3rd century, was “Prusa”. The oldest settlements of Bursa and its surroundings, which are also referred to as "Bitinya" in written sources, are around Lake Iznik. Only around Lake Iznik, there are seven important mounds that seem to have been founded in the stone ages. Ilıpınar near Orhangazi and its 750 m. Hacılartepe Mound to the east, Tepecik Mound at Yeniköy sub location on the Orhangazi-İznik road, and Körüstan, Üyücek Tepe, Höyücek and Karadin mounds to the east of İznik Lake.
In the city center of İnegöl, Cumatepe mound and Doğutepe Akhisar mounds 3 km east and Yenişehir Babasultan Mound indicate prehistoric settlements. The ruins in Demirtaş Village Mound, Dorak Village and Tahtalı Village in M. Kemalpaşa indicate that the Bursa region has been an important civilization area for at least five thousand years. Bursa and its surroundings were previously called Bithynia. The south and west of Uludağ were called Mysia. The Bithynians living in the Bursa region were of Thracian origin. Because it was located on the crossing point of Asia and Europe, very different peoples settled in the region. Before the Bithyns, the Bebryks lived in the area. Then the Mysi came. The Bithyns are often referred to as Asian Thraks because of their adherence to Thrak customs and traditions.
It is understood from the documents that the language they use is Thracian. However, with the influence of the Greek colonies, the people of Bithynia gradually became Greek. Before the Bithyns, Bebryk was spoken in the region and Mygdon in the east. In the west, the Mysia language was spoken. It is known that the Byzantines settled many Serbs and Bulgarians in Bursa and its vicinity in the 12th century. When the Ottomans came to this region, they found Orthodox Christians in Bursa and its environs, from very different ethnic groups. It should also be stated that when the Ottomans took Bursa, the city consisted only of a fortress.
Orhan Gazi took the city out of the fortress and established a new city outside the walls, forming the core of today's Bursa. Public buildings such as schools, hospitals, bridges, soup kitchens, caravanserais, and baths were built and the foundations of today's “Green Bursa” were laid by creating residential areas around them.