Genisea

Genisea was ruled by the Ottoman Empire from 1478 to 1912, and was known as Yenice; more specifically Karasu Yenicesi (after the Nestos River, Mesta Karasu) or Tütün Yenicesi ('tobacco'), to distinguish it from Yenice-i Vardar (modern Giannitsa).[2] In a tahrir record of 1454-1455, it is referred to as Yenicepazar. According to this record, the town was divided into nine quarters and was home to 154 Muslim Turkish households (about 700 people), 7 of which being imams indicating the existence of seven masjids or mosques. There were no Christians in the town, it remained a purely Muslim city for centuries.[3] In the Ottoman tax registry of 1519 (Hijri 925) the town was recorded as Yenice-i Karasu, and was inhabited only by Muslims (215 households and 124 bachelors); it was in the jurisdiction of Kasım Paşa, and it was also a hass, directly owned by the Sultan.[4] In the Accounting defter of 1530 (Hijri 936), which contains the records ten years before the date it was carried, it is mentioned that there were 204 Muslim households (approximately 1000 people) in Yenice-i Karasu. On the other hand, there were some Christians in the villages of the kaza where it was the center. The district had 110 villages consisting of 3022 Muslim and 1729 Christian households. Most of the Christians lived in 10 large villages. In the tahrir register of 1568-1569 (Hijri 976), the town of Yenice-i Karasu was included in the Süleymaniye Mosque vakif in İstanbul. At that time, there were 223 Muslim households and 88 bachelors (1200 people in total) in the town, and there were no Christians.[3]

Under the spellings "Yenidje" or "Yenidze", Genisea was famous for its superior Oriental tobacco, especially suited for cigarettes. It lent its name to the Yenidze tobacco factory building in Dresden and to the British Yenidje Tobacco Company Limited.

• Vafeika