Silifke
district and town of Mersin, Turkey
Silifke is a municipality and district of Mersin Province, Turkey. Its area is 2,692 km2, and its population is 132,665 (2022). It is 80 km (50 mi) west of the city of Mersin, on the west end of the Çukurova plain.
Silifke lies on the Göksu River, the ancient Calycadnus, near its outlet into the Mediterranean. The river flows from the nearby Taurus Mountains and the city is surrounded by attractive countryside along its banks.
Names
Turkish Silifke (Turkish: [siˈlifce]) derives from Greek Seléfkeia (Σελεύκεια, modern pronunciation: [seˈlefci.a]), the late medieval and modern form of ancient Greek Seleúkeia (Σελεύκεια; Latin: Seleucia), named for its founder Seleucus I Nicator, king of the Seleucid Empire. It was distinguished from the many other places of that name as Seleucia on the Calycadnus (Seleucia ad Calycadnum), Seleucia in Cilicia, Seleucia in Isauria, Seleucia Trachea, and Seleucia Tracheotis.
The site of the ancient city of Olba (Turkish: Oura) is also within the boundaries of modern-day Silifke.
History
Antiquity
Located a few miles from the mouth of the Göksu River, Seleucia was founded by Seleucus I Nicator in the early 3rd century BC, one of several cities he named after himself. It is probable that there were already towns called Olbia (or Olba) and Hyria and that Seleucus I merely united them giving them his name.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Silifke” as district and town of Mersin, Turkey. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as district and town of Mersin, Turkey. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 14, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q650630. VIAF identifies the subject as 144098606. The Library of Congress control number is no94010545. Authority coordinates are 36.378, 33.926. 3 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 1 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2022.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Silifke”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Silifke primary sources, Silifke archive and Silifke research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Silifke”?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Silifke” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.