[The ruins of Sebaste are situated at about 6 miles to the east of modern
Sivas, near the village of Gavraz, on the Kizil Irmak. In the 11th
century, the King of Armenia, Senecherim, made his capital of Sebaste. It
belonged after to the Seljukid Turks, and was conquered in 1397 by Bayezid
Ilderim with Tokat, Castambol and Sinope. (Cf. Vital Cuinet.)
One of the oldest churches in Sivas is St. George (Sourp-Kevork),
occupied by the Greeks, but claimed by the Armenians; it is situated near
the centre of the town, in what is called the "Black Earth," the spot
where Timur is said to have massacred the garrison. A few steps north of
St. George is the Church of St. Blasius, occupied by the Roman Catholic
Armenians. The tomb of St. Blasius, however, is shown in another part of
the town, near the citadel mount, and the ruins of a very beautiful
Seljukian Medresseh. (From a MS. Note by Sir H. Yule. The information had
been supplied by the American Missionaries to General Sir C. Wilson, and
forwarded by him to Sir H. Yule.)
It must be remembered that at the time of the Seljuk Turks, there were
four Medressehs at Sivas, and a university as famous as that of Amassia.
Children to the number of 1000, each a bearer of a copy of the Koran, were
crushed to death under the feet of the horses of Timur, and buried in the
"Black Earth"; the garrison of 4000 soldiers were buried alive.
