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Marash, currently known as Kahramanmaraş, has a long history of occupation dating to at least the early Iron Age (late 11th century BCE) when it was the capital city of the Syro-Hittite state Gurgum. In 711 BCE, Gurgum was annexed by the Neo-Assyrian Empire and in Roman and Byzantine times, Marash was known as Germanicia Caesarea, presumably to honor famed Roman General Germanicus. After the 7th century Arab invasion, the entire Christian population was deported and resettled in Ramla in Palestine. By the 11th century CE, the city became an important stronghold for exiled Armenians and in the ensuing centuries, the city was variously ruled by Seljuk Turks, the Crusader Principality of Antioch, the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, the Danishmends, and the Mamluks prior to being annexed into the Ottoman Empire in 1515 CE. The city was said to have been almost entirely destroyed during the 29 November 1114 CE Marash Quake and again suffered extensive damage during the 2023 Turkey-Syria Quakes.