Located on the northern bank of Kizil Irmak river, it was a city of the Hittites, a religious centre and, for a few years, a military capital for the empire.

[2] Samuha was a primary base of field operations for the Hittites while the Kaskas were plundering the Hatti heartland, including the historic capital Hattusa, during the 14th century BC under kings Tudhaliya I-III and Suppiluliuma I.

The Deeds of Suppiluliuma report that he brought Kaska captives back to Samuha after a campaign toward Hayasa (connected somehow with Azzi) on Tudhaliya's behalf.

Mursili II appointed his youngest son Hattusili III priest of the local goddess, referred to as 'Ishtar of Samuha', identified in scholarship as either Sausga or the similar deity DINGIR.GE6 The Hittites of Hattusa worshipped the goddess of Samuha as a protective deity.

Both proposed locations are south of the Kaskian incursion that overtook Hattusa and required the Hittite leadership to move to Samuha.

Mursili II talks of stopping in Samuha on his way home from the Kaska lands in his Ten Year Annals (KBo 34 iii 45), which would argue strongly against a location on or near the Euphrates.

They further pointed out that the town of Pittiyariga, often mentioned in the same texts as Samuha, which is associated with the upper Euphrates areas, must be further east yet.

[7] As of 2020, excavations by Andreas and Vuslat Müller-Karpe in Kayalıpınar, Yıldızeli have revealed cuneiform archives that strongly connect the site's identity with Samuha.