THE HISTORY OF SENIRKENT
From ancient times, no significant settlement has been found in the area where Senirkent is located. The mounds in the Senirkent plain indicate that prehistoric settlements were established around the Popa River. The Senirkent district has been influenced by various civilizations throughout its history. There are a total of nine mounds in the Senirkent plain. These are named: Kırbağlar Mound, Mandas Mound, Güreme I Mound (Ortayazı), Güreme II Mound, Gençali I (Lakeside) Mound, Gençali II (Village Center) Mound, Ulaş (Aralık) Mound, Tohum Kesen Mound, and Garip Mound. Pottery fragments obtained from surface excavations at these mounds indicate that people lived in the region during the Chalcolithic (Stone Age: 4000-3000 BC) and Early Bronze Age (3000-2000 BC). The mention of the region as Pitašša in Hittite sources also shows that the Hittites extended their reach to this area. The Phrygians (750-690 BC), Lydians (690-547 BC), Persians (547-334 BC), Macedonians (334-323 BC), Seleucids, and the Kingdom of Pergamon all ruled the region. The Seleucids were defeated by the Roman army in 188 BC, signing the Peace of Apameia (Dinar) and withdrawing from the area up to the Taurus Mountains. After this, the region was ceded to the Kingdom of Pergamon by the Romans. According to the will of King Attalos III of Pergamon, this area, along with its surroundings, was given to the Romans. The Romans, along with other settlements in the area, first annexed Senirkent to the province of Cilicia and then to the province of Asia between 102-49 BC. In 39 BC, the region came under the control of the Galatian King Amyntas and remained so until 25 BC, after which it was incorporated into the province of Galatia. The ancient city of Tymandos, located in the northwest of the Pisidia region near the Phrygian border, is near the present-day town of Yassıören. There is no information about the city's founding date. However, its name appears as Tymandos or Tymandros in medieval church records. Although no remains of this city exist, the Roman-era architectural fragments, gate-shaped and pedimented tomb steles, and two palmette and one sphinx tomb steles from the Late Archaic period (540/530-480 BC) found scattered in Yassıören are very important as they are among the first examples of Greco-Persian style architecture found in the part of the Pisidia region within the provincial borders. The region remained within the borders of the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantine Empire) after the fragmentation of the Roman Empire in 395 AD. After the Battle of Manzikert, the Turks conquered many parts of Western Anatolia. Senirkent and its surroundings came under Seljuk rule in 1074 through an agreement between Süleyman Shah, who was commissioned by the Seljuk Sultan Melikshah to conquer Anatolia, and the Byzantine Emperor Michael VII. However, Seljuk rule in these areas was not long-lasting. Due to the strong Byzantine defenses and the Crusades, Turkish rule could not be established. The conquered territories changed hands between the Byzantines and the Seljuks. Following the Battle of Myriokephalon in 1176 during the reign of Kilij Arslan II, the Uluborlu and Senirkent region definitively came under Seljuk rule in 1182. After the establishment of the Hamitoğulları Principality in 1301, Uluborlu and the surrounding area remained under its dominion.
After the Battle of Manzikert (1071), the region frequently changed hands between the Byzantines and the Seljuks. Senirkent was founded in 1370 by a group of Turks from the Kayı tribe of the Oghuz Turks. Turks under the command of Sheikh Ahmet Sultan, Elperek, and Turgut Baba settled in these lands. Senirkent and its surroundings, founded in 1370, were incorporated into Ottoman territory in 1381. Ottoman Sultan Murad I launched an expedition in 1387 to inspect the territories that had been incorporated into the Ottoman State. During this journey, while passing through Senirkent, he met with Sheikh Ahmet Veli, who was among those who greeted him. At the end of the 19th century, it was administered as a sub-district within the Hamid Sanjak, the central district of Konya province. Following the Tanzimat reforms, it gained district status within the Isparta Sanjak. During the years of the War of Independence, on February 17, 1920, the Committee for the Defense of Rights was established in Senirkent, chaired by Bezirganzade Ali Efendi, and including Başyiğitzade Süleyman Efendi, Meydanzade Hafız Mehmet Efendi, İdriszade Ali Efendi, Durmuşzade Tevfik Efendi, Yassıviranlızade Hüseyin Efendi, and Tola Bayramzade Hacı Veli Efendi. This committee provided material and moral support to the front. After the proclamation of the Republic, Senirkent, which was a sub-district of Uluborlu district, was elevated to district status in 1952. Among the surviving historical artifacts in the district are: Uluğbey Veli Baba Mosque and Veli Baba Sultan Tomb are located in the district. Additionally, the ruins of the ancient city of Tymandos, and the mounds of Yassıören, Güreme, Garip, Tohumkesen, Aralık, and Gençali are also found within the district.
**ETHNIC STRUCTURE OF SENIRKENT**
“Senirkent has maintained its Turkish identity for approximately 830 years. There is information indicating that many people migrated from Senirkent to other places..."