EREGLI

formerly Bender-eregli, or Karadenizereglisi, town, northern Turkey, on the Black Sea coast. The town was founded about 560 BC as Heraclea Pontica by a colony of Megarians who soon subjected the native Mariandynians and extended their control over most of the coast. In 74 BC it sided with the Pontic king Mithridates VI the Great against the Romans, who captured and burned the town. Although rebuilt by the Romans, Heraclea Pontica did not recover its former prosperity. Taken by the Turks about AD 1360, it developed as a trading centre of the Genoese, who settled there in large numbers. A ruined citadel on a height overlooking the town is a remnant of that period. In the vicinity of Eregli are three grottoes mentioned by Xenophon: through one of them, according to legend, Hercules descended into Hades to bring out Cerberus, the monstrous, three-headed watchdog of the lower world. Eregli basin lies in the richest coal-mining area of Turkey; some of the high-grade coal is exported through the town's port. Since 1965, with the completion of the first stage of giant integrated iron and steel mills, the town has become a centre of heavy industry. It is expected to satisfy all domestic demand for hot- and cold-rolled sheets, steel strips, and tin and to allow exports. Eregli is linked by road with Zonguldak and by steamer with Istanbul. Pop. (1990) 63,987. town, south-central Turkey. It stands near the foot of the central Taurus Mountains on the northern approach to the Cilician Gates, a major pass. A frontier fortification of the Byzantine Empire, then known as Heraclea Cybistra, the town lay in the way of invading armies and was captured by the Arabs in 806 and again in 832. Near the end of the 11th century, it came under the Seljuq Turks; after their decline it was occupied by Mongols (13th century). The Turkmen Karaman dynasty followed the Mongols until their principality was annexed to the Ottoman Empire c. 1466. The Ulu Cami (Great Mosque) and a caravansary (hostelry), said to have been designed by the 16th-century court architect Sinan, are still standing. About 10 mi (16 km) south of Eregli, near Ivriz, is a famous Hittite rock-cut bas-relief depicting the god Tarhun dispensing grain and grapes while being worshipped by the King of Tuvanuva (Tyana; modern Bor). Modern Eregli lies on the KonyaAdana railway and is linked by road with both cities. It is a centre of cotton-textile manufacture based on cotton grown in the Adana plain. Pop. (1990) 74,283.