44-397: İznik ( Turkish pronunciation: [izˈnik] ) is a municipality and district of Bursa Province , Turkey . Its area is 753 km, and its population is 44,236 (2022). The town is at the site of the ancient Greek city of Nicaea , from which the modern name derives. The town lies in a fertile basin at the eastern end of Lake İznik , with ranges of hills to the north and south. As
88-401: A century later in 1624 recorded 351 Muslim and 10 Christian households. Assuming five members for each household, these figures suggest that the population was around 2,000. Estimates made in the 18th and 19th centuries arrived at similar numbers. The town was poor and the population small even when ceramic production was at its peak during the second half of the 16th century. The Byzantine city
132-435: A province is designated the central district ( merkez ilçe ) from which the district is administered. The central district is administered by an appointed provincial deputy governor and other non-central districts by an appointed sub-governor ( kaymakam ) from their district center ( ilçe merkezi ) municipality. In these central districts the district center municipality also serves as the provincial center municipality. Both
176-548: A small artillery battery , were established in April 1822, and were commanded by European Philhellenes (such as Joseph Balestra and others). Lack of funds however forced its disbandment soon after, and it was not until July 1824 that regular units were reformed, under the Greek Colonel Panagiotis Rodios . In May 1825, the first law on conscription was passed, and the command of the entire regular forces entrusted to
220-548: Is ازنيق : İznîq. İznik appears as نيقية ( Nîkıye ) in Arabic sources, while Ibn Battuta , who visited the area, recorded it as يزنيك ( Yiznîk ). In ancient times, this was the site of Nicaea , a Hellenistic city founded by Antigonus in 316 BC. In 1331, Orhan captured the city from the Byzantines and for a short period the town became the capital of the expanding Ottoman Emirate . The large church of Hagia Sophia in
264-506: Is estimated to have had a population of 20,000–30,000 but in the Ottoman period the town was never prosperous and occupied only a small fraction of the walled area. It was, however, a centre for the production of highly decorated fritware vessels and what are known as İznik tiles during the 16th and 17th centuries. In 1677 the English clergyman John Covel visited Iznik and found only a third of
308-835: Is mostly of foreign manufacture, from German , French , Italian , American , British and Russian suppliers. A notable exception is the indigenous Leonidas armoured personnel carrier which was built by the Hellenic Vehicles Manufacturer Industry ELVO , such as the ELVO Kentaurus fighting vehicle. Equipment runs the gamut from state-of-the art to obsolete Cold War inventories; the latter are gradually being retired. The structure of Hellenic Army ranks has its roots in British military traditions and follows NATO standard rank scale . The rank of Stratarchis (Στρατάρχης, equivalent to Field Marshal or General of
352-800: Is the largest of the three branches of the Hellenic Armed Forces , also constituted by the Hellenic Air Force (HAF) and the Hellenic Navy (HN). The army is commanded by the chief of the Hellenic Army General Staff (HAGS), which in turn is under the command of Hellenic National Defence General Staff (HNDGS). The motto of the Hellenic Army is [Ἐλεύθερον τὸ Εὔψυχον] Error: {{Lang}}: invalid parameter: |3= ( help ) ('Freedom stems from valour'), from Thucydides 's History of
396-780: The Evelpidon Military Academy in Athens ( Στρατιωτική Σχολή Ευελπίδων , ΣΣΕ ), the Corps Officers Military Academy in Thessaloniki ( Στρατιωτική Σχολή Αξιωματικών Σωμάτων, ΣΣΑΣ ) and the Non-Commissioned Officers Academy ( Σχολή Μονίμων Υπαξιωματικών ) in Trikala. Unlike what the title of the latter suggests, ΣΜΥ graduates do comprise a large part of the officer corps and are able to advance to
440-525: The Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922) . These include: There are 46 neighbourhoods in İznik District: The İznik Ultramarathon is a 130 km (81 mi) endurance running event that has taken place around Lake İznik every April since 2012. It is the country's longest single-stage athletics competition. İznik is twinned with: Districts of Turkey The 81 provinces of Turkey are divided into 973 districts ( ilçeler ; sing. ilçe ). In
484-729: The Ottoman Empire and in the early Turkish Republic, the corresponding unit was the kaza . Most provinces bear the same name as their respective provincial capital districts. However, many urban provinces, designated as greater municipalities, have a center consisting of multiple districts, such as the provincial capital of Ankara province , The City of Ankara , comprising nine separate districts. Additionally three provinces, Kocaeli, Sakarya, and Hatay have their capital district named differently from their province, as İzmit, Adapazarı, and Antakya respectively. A district may cover both rural and urban areas. In many provinces, one district of
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#1732848828024528-657: The Tunisian campaign and the Battle of Rimini (1944) . After the war, Greece incorporated the Dodecanese . Soon, the political polarization between communist (or leftist) and anticommunist forces, led to a three-and-a-half-year-long civil war , which ended with communist defeat. The Greek Expeditionary Force took part in the Korean War with a total of 10,255 Greek personnel, of whom 186 or 187 were killed and 617 were wounded. The army
572-640: The Army continued relying on the Army Organization Statute of 1833. The Greek royal army in 1860 was approximately 200,000 men. The first major reforms were undertaken in 1877, in response to the Balkan Crisis that eventually led to the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878 . Among other measures, for the first time the Hellenic Army was briefly subdivided into divisions and brigades . Universal conscription
616-515: The Army engineering corps was founded (28 July 1829), and a concerted effort was made to reform the various irregular forces into regular light infantry battalions. Throughout these early years, French influence pervaded the Greek regular army, in tactics as well as appearance, as most of the instructors were French—at first Philhellenes, and later serving officers of General Maison's Expeditionary Corps . After Kapodistrias' assassination in 1831 and in
660-541: The French Colonel Charles Fabvier . Under Fabvier, the regular corps expanded, and for the first time came to include cavalry, military music detachments, and, with Lord Byron 's aid, military hospitals. The governorship of Ioannis Kapodistrias (1828–1831) saw a drastic reorganization of the national military: a Secretariat on Army and Naval Affairs and the Hellenic Army Academy were created,
704-483: The Greek annexation of Thessaly , and again in September 1885 – May 1886, when Bulgaria annexed Eastern Rumelia . The great financial burden of these long periods of mobilization, however, exhausted the public treasury, and stalled the reform process. The result was that the Hellenic Army was wholly unprepared for war on the outbreak of the Greco-Turkish War of 1897 : plans, fortifications and weapons were non-existent,
748-524: The Greeks had adopted the triangular infantry division as their main formation, but more importantly, the overhaul of the mobilization system allowed the country to field and equip a far greater number of troops than it had in 1897: while foreign observers estimated a mobilized force of approximately 50,000 men, the Army eventually fielded 125,000, with another 140,000 in the National Guard and reserves. After
792-572: The Hellenic Army are the defence of the state's independence and integrity, the safeguarding of national territory, and the decisive contribution to the achievement of the country's policy objectives. During peacetime, the Army has the following main objectives: The Hellenic Army traces its origin to the regular units established by the Greek provisional government during the Greek War of Independence (1821–1829). The first of these, an infantry regiment and
836-434: The Hellenic Army's higher command is the Hellenic Army General Staff . There are four major military commands which supervise all army units, Although divisions still exist, having the role of forward commands, the Army is mainly organized in brigades , that follow the typical NATO standards consisting of five battalions , three manoeuvre, one artillery, one support and some other company sized formations. According to
880-454: The Hellenic army battalions are commanded by either a ranking officer major general or if in a combat mission by another state which in agreement with the Greek state will be commanded by a ranking General of their own. The rank insignia of commissioned officers . The rank insignia of non-commissioned officers and enlisted personnel . The heavy equipment and weaponry of the Hellenic Army
924-585: The Peloponnesian War (2.43.4) , a remembrance of the ancient warriors that defended Greek lands in old times. The Hellenic Army Emblem is the two-headed eagle with a Greek Cross escutcheon in the centre. The Hellenic Army is also the main contributor to, and lead nation of, the Balkan Battle Group , a combined-arms rapid-response force under the EU Battlegroup structure. The main missions of
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#1732848828024968-652: The ages of 18 and 45. Citizens discharged from active service are normally placed in the Reserve and are subject to periodic recall of 1–10 days at irregular intervals. Greek males between the age of 18 and 60 who live in strategically sensitive areas may also be required to serve part-time in the National Guard . During a mobilization the amount of conscripts may exceed 180,000. Conscript enlisted men and non-commissioned officers wear special rank insignia to differentiate them from volunteers. Professional officers graduate from
1012-566: The centre of the town was converted into the Orhan Mosque and a medrese (theological school- Süleyman Paşa Medresesi ) and hamam (bathhouse) were built nearby. In 1334 Orhan built another mosque and an imaret (soup kitchen) just outside the Yenisehir gate (Yenişeh Kapısı) on the south side of the town. The Moroccan traveller Ibn Battuta stayed in Iznik at the end of 1331 soon after the capture of
1056-425: The ceramics industry declined in the 17th century and İznik was reduced to a minor agricultural settlement when it was bypassed by the railway in the 19th century. A number of monuments were erected by the early Ottomans in the period between the conquest in 1331 and 1402 when the town was sacked by Timur . Among those that have survived are: Several monuments survived into the 20th century but were destroyed during
1100-502: The crow flies, the town is only 90 kilometres (56 miles) southeast of Istanbul but by road it is 200 km (124 miles) around the Gulf of İzmit . It is 80 km (50 miles) by road from Bursa . İznik has been a district centre of the province of Bursa since 1930 but belonged to the district of Kocaeli between 1923 and 1927. It was a township of Yenişehir (connected to Bilecik before 1926) district between 1927 and 1930. Ancient Nicaea
1144-460: The deputy governor and sub-governors are responsible to the province governor ( vali ). Greater Municipalities, however, are administered differently where a separate seat of municipality exists for the entire province, having administrative power over all districts of the province. Municipalities ( belediye ) can be created in, and are subordinate to, the districts in which they are located. Each district has at least one municipality ( belde ) in
1188-454: The district center from which both the municipal government for that municipality and the district government is administered. A municipality is headed by an elected mayor ( belediye başkanı ) who administers the local government for defined municipal matters. More and more settlements which are outside district centers have municipalities as well, usually because their population requires one. A municipality's borders usually correspond to that of
1232-872: The higher organisation of the Greek Army on 15 August 1940, with the General Staff of the Army directly supervising five corps, three divisions, and the Thessaloniki Fortress. The exiled Greek government, with units of the Army, were transferred to the Middle East, where they continued the war with the Allies as the Greek Armed Forces in the Middle East . The Sacred Band and the 3rd Greek Mountain Brigade were formed in exile, and took part in various operations; including
1276-602: The latest developments, up to 2015, all active divisions will dissolve, but all brigades will acquire one more manoeuvre battalion, largely eliminating the distinction between mechanized and armoured formations, thus creating a new type brigade, which will be named Strike Brigade . There are three classes of personnel in the Hellenic Army, namely professional, volunteer and conscript . There are currently 90,000 personnel on active duty, of which 30,000 are conscripted. The Hellenic Republic has mandatory military service (conscription) as of March 2021 of 12 months for all males between
1320-439: The mass of the officer corps was unsuited to its tasks, and training was inadequate. As a result, the numerically superior, better organized, equipped and led Ottoman forces pushed the Greek forces south out of Thessaly. The dismal performance of the Hellenic Army in the war of 1897 led to a major reform programme under the administration of Georgios Theotokis (1899–1901, 1903–1904 and 1906–1909). A new Army Organization Statute
1364-445: The province. The districts and their populations (as of December 31, 2019) are listed below, by region and by province (with capital district in bold text). Greek Army The Hellenic Army ( Greek : Ελληνικός Στρατός , romanized : Ellinikós Stratós , sometimes abbreviated as ΕΣ ), formed in 1828, is the land force of Greece . The term Hellenic is the endogenous synonym for Greek . The Hellenic Army
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1408-565: The rank of lieutenant colonel , starting at the rank of corporal, while their ΣΣΕ and ΣΣΑΣ counterparts graduate as second lieutenants and could, theoretically, attain flag officer ranks. Thus, in the chain of command , graduates of the two military academies in Athens and Thessaloniki are considered higher in seniority compared to professional officers of the same rank who graduated from Trikala . The latter officers are followed in seniority by volunteer and finally conscript staff. During war,
1452-520: The subsequent internal turmoil over the next two years, however, the regular army all but ceased to exist. The first king of the newly independent Greek kingdom, the Bavarian prince Otto , initially relied on a 4,000-strong German contingent . The royal government re-established the regular army and dissolved the irregular forces that had largely fought the War of Independence. Following the ousting of Otto in 1862,
1496-451: The tasks, which are largely similar but are adapted to their locality. Greater municipalities ( büyükşehir belediyesi ) exist for large cities like Istanbul and İzmir that consist of an extra administrative layer run by an elected head mayor, who oversee the municipalities and mayors within the province. Currently, 30 provinces are administered by greater municipalities in addition to having separate municipalities for every district within
1540-400: The town by Orhan. According to Ibn Battuta, the town was in ruins and only inhabited by a small number of people in the service of the sultan. Within the city walls were gardens and cultivated plots with each house surrounded by an orchard. The town produced fruit, walnuts, chestnuts and large sweet grapes. A census in 1520 recorded 379 Muslim and 23 Christian households while another one taken
1584-495: The town occupied. In 1745 the English traveller Richard Pococke reported that Iznik was no more than a village. A succession of visitors described the town in unflattering terms. For example in 1779, the Italian archaeologist Domenico Sestini wrote that Iznik was nothing but an abandoned town with no life, no noise and no movement. In 1797 James Dallaway described Iznik as "a wretched village of long lanes and mud walls...". The town
1628-554: The urban settlement it covers, but may also include some undeveloped land. Villages ( köy ) outside municipalities and quarters or neighborhoods ( mahalle ) within municipalities are the lowest level of local government, and are also the most numerous unit of local government in Turkey. They elect muhtars to care for specific administrative matters such as residence registration. The designation slightly differs ( köy muhtarı for village muhtar, mahalle muhtarı for quarter muhtar) and
1672-464: The victorious Balkan Wars , the country doubled its territory. During the WWI, a disagreement between King Constantine and Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos caused a National Schism , but eventually a united Greece joined in 1917 the Allies. As a winner of the war, Greece annexed Western and Eastern Thrace and landed units in 1919 at Asia Minor , starting so the Greco-Turkish War (1919-22) , which
1716-430: Was briefly renamed "Royal Hellenic Army" from August 20th, to October 25th, 1964, on the initiative of then Minister of National Defence Petros Garoufalias . In total, the Hellenic Army has taken part in the following engagements: After a major reorganization which occurred in the last decade, which included the transformation of most Infantry formations into Mechanized Brigades and a parallel reduction of personnel,
1760-567: Was introduced in 1879, and under the premiership of Charilaos Trikoupis , in 1882–1885 major steps were undertaken to improve the training and education of the officer corps: a French military mission was called to Greece, new schools were founded and Greek officers were sent abroad for studies, and efforts were made to make officers on active service refrain from participating in politics and focus on their professional duties. The Army also underwent its first mobilizations , in July 1880 – April 1882 due to
1804-537: Was issued in 1904 (revised in 1910), purchases of new artillery material (including the 75 mm Schneider-Danglis 06/09 gun) and of the Mannlicher–Schönauer rifle were made, and a new, khaki field uniform was introduced in 1908. Reform was accelerated after the Goudi coup of 1909. The new government under Eleftherios Venizelos brought a French military mission to train the Hellenic Army. Under its supervision,
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1848-679: Was ringed with walls that still survive to this day, despite having been pierced in places to accommodate roads. Inside the walls stands the Ayasofya Mosque where the Second Council of Nicaea was held in A.D. 787. The town is famous for the Iznik tiles and pottery . İznik derives from the Ancient Greek name of the city, Νίκαια Nikaia (Latinized as Nicaea ), prefixed with εἰς eis , meaning 'to' or 'into'. The Ottoman Turkish spelling
1892-560: Was seriously damaged by the Greek Army in 1921 during the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922) ; the population became refugees and many historical buildings and mosques were damaged or destroyed. Iznik's main period of importance came in the 16th century with the development of a pottery and tile making industry. Iznik ceramic tiles ( Turkish : İznik Çini .) were used to decorate many of the mosques designed by Mimar Sinan in Istanbul . However,
1936-563: Was unsuccessful for Greece, in 1922. The country joined WWII with the Allies side in October 1940, when dictator Ioannis Metaxas rejected an Italian ultimatum by Mussolini. In the Greco-Italian War , the Hellenic Army pushed back the Italian and occupied large parts of southern Albania, but after a German invasion ( Battle of Greece ) fell under the Axis domination. Leo Niehorster's website shows
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