After 1973, Maraş was officially named Kahramanmaraş with the prefix kahraman (Turkish word meaning "heroic") to commemorate the Battle of Marash.

[4] Kahramanmaraş has a Mediterranean climate (Köppen: Csa, Trewartha: Cs) with continental influences from the surrounding northern areas.

[12] Maraş was called Germanicia Caesarea (Ancient Greek: Γερμανίκεια, Germanikeia) in the time of the Roman and Byzantine empires, probably after Germanicus Julius Caesar rather than the German people.

[14] The city was lost to the Arabs in the 7th century and during the rule of al-Mansur the whole Christian population of the Germanikeia valley was deported and resettled at Ramla in Palestine.

[16] After Philaretos' death, another Armenian general named Tatoul took over the city and hosted the exhausted army of the First Crusade for four days before it moved on to the Siege of Antioch.

[17] According to the Chronicle of Matthew of Edessa, it was destroyed by an earthquake and 40,000 people were killed on the 12th of the month of Mareri in the Armenian year 563 (November 29, 1114).

In the early days of Ottoman rule (1525–6) there were 1,557 adult males (total population 7,500); at this time all the inhabitants were Muslims,[20] but later a substantial number of non-Muslims migrated to the city, mainly in the 19th century.

[21] Around Maras, Armenians from Kishifli, Dere Keoy, and Fundijak chose to fight the Ottoman army to oppose deportation.

[25][23] In the months following the end of the war, Cilicia had also become a source of dispute between the British and French, who both aspired to establish influence in the region.

The transfer of command took place on 4 November, but Field Marshal Ferdinand Foch's promise to reinforce the existing forces in the area with at least 32 infantry battalions, 20 cavalry squadrons and 14 artillery batteries went unfulfilled.

The French units were thus deprived of armoured cars and air support and lacked automatic weapons, heavy artillery and even wireless transmitters and carrier pigeons.

[26] On the first day of the French occupation, he was able to telegraph with Mustafa Kemal and succeeded in requesting support from the Turkish National Forces in Marash, though they would not arrive in time for the battle.

According to his account, "Hovnan Pasha had summoned several of the new Armenian recruits and demanded that my blood should not be allowed to dry without being avenged on that very Sunday afternoon...

On 27 November 1919, a group of Turks gathered in secret at the home of Mehmet Veziroghlu to organize resistance to the French occupation.

A committee of eight was decided upon, and all members took this vow:"For the security of our Nation we swear to Allah to sacrifice our lives; and to punish by death —even if it should be our brothers—any treachery made against our organization; and to guard all secrets".

[34] When General Querette of the French learned of these events, he summoned Marash 'notables' (respected leaders of the city) and charged them with complicity in the attacks.

[36][37] The very first shots fired were witnessed by nurse Osanna Maksudian, who "noted a Turkish gendarme escorting four Muslim women to a house.

[39][40] Lieutenant Colonel Thibault recorded that General Querette was head of much of the operations, and told ordered his men to flush out enemy troops from the houses, though Turkish rebels would adopt this strategy to greater success using fire rather than cannons.

[41] Turkish rebels threw kerosene-doused rags on Armenian houses and laid a constant barrage upon the American relief hospital.

[46] Recruitment for the occupying forces began at Fort Said, and Stanley Kerr states that the motivation for many joining up was "revenge for the cruel deportation and massacres".

[57] Upon hearing this news, an Armenian pastor recounted:The Armenians—learning that the city was now evacuated by the Turks—rushed out from their imprisonment and began to help themselves to everything they could carry out of the empty Turkish houses.

"[60] According to Dr. Robert Lambert's report to the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, 4,500 Turks were killed during the battle, but were ultimately victorious against French forces.

[61] The battle was won by the Turkish National Movement on 12 February without outside support arriving, and is commemorated by the naming of Onikişubat, a district of Marash.

[64] In February 2023, a powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck near Kahramanmaraş, causing widespread damage to the city, leaving more than 50,000 people dead.

Maraş was the site of massacres and deportations of Armenians,[73][74] who were subjected to violence, harassment,[75] looting and appropriation of property,[76] and were forced to flee.

[81][1] In February 2023, a powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck near Kahramanmaraş, causing widespread damage to the city and leaving more than 50,000 people dead.