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Konya (; also Koniah, Konieh, Konia, and Qunia; historically also known as Iconium (Latin
Latin

Latin is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Military history of the Roman Empire, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe....
), Greek
List of traditional Greek place names

This is a list of Greek place names. That is, a list of the toponym as they exist in the Greek language. This list includes:* Places involved in the history of Greek culture, including but not limited to:...
: Ikónion) is a city in Turkey
Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in southwest Asia and Thrace in the Balkans region of Southern Europe....
, on the central plateau of Anatolia
Anatolia

Anatolia or Asia Minor is a region of Western Asia, comprising most of the modern Republic of Turkey. It is a geographic region bounded by the Black Sea to the north, the Caucasus to the northeast, the Aegean Sea to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and the Iranian plateau to the east and southeast....
. It has a population of 1,412,343 (in 2007).

vations have shown that the region was inhabited during the Late Copper Age
Copper Age

The Chalcolithic period or Copper Age period [also known as the Eneolithic ], is a phase in the development of human culture in which the use of early metal tools appeared alongside the use of stone tools....
, around 3000 BC. The city came under the influence of the Hittite
Hittite

Hittite may refer to:*Hittites, ancient Anatolian people*Neo-Hittite states, Iron Age successors to the Hittite people located in modern Turkey and Syria...
s around 1500 BC.






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Konya (; also Koniah, Konieh, Konia, and Qunia; historically also known as Iconium (Latin
Latin

Latin is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Military history of the Roman Empire, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe....
), Greek
List of traditional Greek place names

This is a list of Greek place names. That is, a list of the toponym as they exist in the Greek language. This list includes:* Places involved in the history of Greek culture, including but not limited to:...
: Ikónion) is a city in Turkey
Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in southwest Asia and Thrace in the Balkans region of Southern Europe....
, on the central plateau of Anatolia
Anatolia

Anatolia or Asia Minor is a region of Western Asia, comprising most of the modern Republic of Turkey. It is a geographic region bounded by the Black Sea to the north, the Caucasus to the northeast, the Aegean Sea to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and the Iranian plateau to the east and southeast....
. It has a population of 1,412,343 (in 2007).

Ancient history

Excavations have shown that the region was inhabited during the Late Copper Age
Copper Age

The Chalcolithic period or Copper Age period [also known as the Eneolithic ], is a phase in the development of human culture in which the use of early metal tools appeared alongside the use of stone tools....
, around 3000 BC. The city came under the influence of the Hittite
Hittite

Hittite may refer to:*Hittites, ancient Anatolian people*Neo-Hittite states, Iron Age successors to the Hittite people located in modern Turkey and Syria...
s around 1500 BC. These were overtaken by the Indo-European Sea Peoples
Sea Peoples

The Sea Peoples is the term used for a confederacy of seafaring raiders of the second millennium BC who sailed into the eastern shores of the Mediterranean, caused political unrest, and attempted to enter or control Egyptian territory during the late Nineteenth dynasty of Egypt, and especially during Year 8 of Ramesses III of the Twentieth dy...
 around 1200 BC. The Phrygia
Phrygia

In antiquity, Phrygia was a kingdom in the west central part of Anatolia, in what is now modern-day Turkey. The Phrygians initially lived in the Southern Balkans; according to Herodotus, under the name of Bryges, changing it to Phruges after their final migration to Anatolia, via the Hellespont....
ns established their kingdom in central Anatolia
Anatolia

Anatolia or Asia Minor is a region of Western Asia, comprising most of the modern Republic of Turkey. It is a geographic region bounded by the Black Sea to the north, the Caucasus to the northeast, the Aegean Sea to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and the Iranian plateau to the east and southeast....
 in the 8th century BC. Xenophon
Xenophon

Xenophon , son of Gryllus, of the deme Erchia of Athens, also known as Xenophon of Athens and Xenophon of Thebes, was a soldier, mercenary and a contemporary and admirer of Socrates....
 describes Iconium, as the city was called, as the last city of Phrygia. The region was overwhelmed by Cimmerian
Cimmerians

The Cimmerians or Kimmerians were ancient equestrian nomads who, according to Herodotus, originally inhabited the region north of the Caucasus and the Black Sea, in what is now Ukraine and Russia, in the 8th century BC and 7th century BC....
 invaders c. 690 BC. It was later part of the Persian Empire, until Darius III was defeated by Alexander the Great
Alexander the Great

Alexander the Great , also known as Alexander III of Macedon was an ancient Greeks King of Macedon . He was one of the most successful military commanders of all time and is presumed undefeated in battle....
 in 333 BC. Alexander's empire broke up shortly after his death and the town came under the rule of Seleucus I Nicator
Seleucus I Nicator

Seleucus I , was a Ancient Macedonians officer of Alexander the Great. In the Wars of the Diadochi that took place after Alexander's death, Seleucus established the Seleucid dynasty and the Seleucid Empire....
. During the Hellenistic period the town was ruled by the kings of Pergamon
Pergamon

Pergamon or Pergamum was an ancient Ancient Greece city in modern-day Turkey, in Mysia, north-western Anatolia, 16 miles from the Aegean Sea, located on a promontory on the north side of the river Caicus , that became the capital of the Kingdom of Pergamon during the Hellenistic Greece, under the Attalid dynasty, 281–133 BC....
. As Attalus III
Attalus III

Attalus III Philometor Euergetes was the last Attalid king of Pergamon, ruling from 138 BC to 133 BC.He was the son of Eumenes II and wife Stratonike and the nephew of Attalus II, whom he succeeded....
, the last king of Pergamon, was about to die without an heir, he bequeathed his kingdom to Rome. Under the rule of emperor Claudius
Claudius

Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus or Claudius I was the fourth Roman Emperor, a member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, ruling from January 24, AD 41 to his death in AD 54....
, the city's name was changed to Claudioconium, and during the rule of emperor Hadrianus
Hadrianus

Hadrianus may refer to:* Hadrian , Roman ruler* Hadrianus An extinct genus of Tortoise* C. Fabius Hadrianus , Roman colonial administrator & politician...
 to Colonia Aelia Hadriana.

Saint Paul
Paul of Tarsus

Saint Paul, also called Paul the Apostle, the Apostle Paul or Paul of Tarsus , was a Hellenistic Judaism, who called himself the "Apostle to the Gentiles", and was, together with Saint Peter and James the Just, the most notable of early Christian missionaries....
 and Barnabas
Barnabas

Saint Barnabas , born Joseph, was an early Christianity convert, one of the earliest disciples in Jerusalem. Like almost all Christians at the time, Barnabas was Jewish, specifically a Levite....
 preached in Iconium during the First Missionary Journey in about 47-48 AD (see and ), and Paul and Silas
Silas

Saint Silas or Saint Silvanus was a leading member of the early Christian community, who later accompanied Paul of Tarsus in some of his missionary journeys....
 again visted it during the Second Missionary Journey in about 50 (see ) and probably also the Third Missionary Journey in about 52 (see ). In Christian legend, it was also the birthplace of Saint Thecla
Acts of Paul and Thecla

The Acts of Paul and Thecla is part of the New Testament apocrypha. Originally it formed part of the 2nd century text, the Acts of Paul, but circulated separately....
. During the Byzantine Empire
Byzantine Empire

Byzantine Empire and Eastern Roman Empire are conventional names used to describe the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centered on its capital of Constantinople....
 the town was destroyed several times by Arab invaders in the 7th-9th centuries.

Seljuk era

The city was captured by the Seljuk Turks following the Battle of Manzikert
Battle of Manzikert

The Battle of Manzikert, or Malazgirt, was fought between the Byzantine Empire and Great Seljuq Empire forces led by Alp Arslan on August 26, 1071 near Manzikert ....
 in 1071, and from 1097 to 1243 it was the capital of Anatolian Seljuk Sultanate, though very briefly occupied by the Crusaders Godfrey of Bouillon
Godfrey of Bouillon

Godfrey of Bouillon was a medieval knight who was one of the leaders of the First Crusade from 1096 until his death. He was the Lord of Bouillon, from which he took his byname, from 1076 and the Duke of Lower Lorraine from 1087....
 (August 1097) and Frederick Barbarossa (May 18, 1190). The name of the town was changed to Konya by Rukn al-Din Mas'ud in 1134.

Konya reached its height of wealth and influence as of the second half of the 12th century when Anatolian Seljuk sultans also subdued the Turkish Beyliks
Anatolian Turkish Beyliks

Image:Anadolu Beylikleri.pngAnatolian Beyliks or Turkmen Beyliks were small Turkey emirates or Muslim principalities governed by Beys, which were founded across Anatolia at the end of the 11th century in a first period, and more extensively during the decline of the Seljuk Sultanate of R?m during the second half of the 13th century....
 to their east, especially that of Danishmends
Danishmends

The Danishmend dynasty was a Oghuz Turks dynasty that ruled in north-central and eastern Anatolia in the 11th and 12th centuries. The centered originally around Sivas, Tokat, and Niksar in central-northeastern Anatolia, they extended as far west as Ankara and Kastamonu for a time, and as far south as Malatya, which they captured in 1103....
, thus establishing their rule over virtually all of eastern Anatolia
Anatolia

Anatolia or Asia Minor is a region of Western Asia, comprising most of the modern Republic of Turkey. It is a geographic region bounded by the Black Sea to the north, the Caucasus to the northeast, the Aegean Sea to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and the Iranian plateau to the east and southeast....
, as well as acquiring several port towns along the Mediterranean
Mediterranean Sea

The Mediterranean Sea is a sea or Ocean off the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Europe, on the south by Africa, and on the east by Asia....
 and the Black Sea
Black Sea

The Black Sea is an inland sea sea bounded by southeastern Europe, the Caucasus and the Anatolia and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean Sea and Aegean Seas and various straits....
 and even gaining a momentary foothold in Crimea
Crimea

Crimea or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea is an autonomous republic of Ukraine located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name....
. This golden age lasted until the first decades of the 13th century.

By the 1220s, the city was filled with refugees from the Khwarezmid Empire, fleeing the advance of the Mongol Empire
Mongol Empire

The Mongol Empire was the List of largest empires#Contiguous Empires empire and the largest bar none. It emerged from the unification of Mongols and Turkic peoples tribes in modern day Mongolia, and grew through Mongol invasions, after Genghis Khan had been proclaimed ruler of all Mongols in 1206....
. Sultan Ala al-Din Kayqubad bin Kayka'us fortified the town and built a palace on top of the citadel. In 1228 he invited Bahaeddin Veled and his son Mevlana, the founder of the Mevlevi order, to settle in Konya.

In 1243, following the Seljuk defeat in the Battle of Köse Dag
Battle of Köse Dag

The Battle of K?se Dag was fought between the Seljuk Turks of Seljuk Sultanate of R?m and the Mongol Empire on June 26 1243 at the defile of K?se Dag, a location between Erzincan and G?m?shane in northeast Turkey, and ended in a decisive Mongol victory....
, Konya was captured by Mongols as well. The city remained the capital of Seljuk sultans, vassalized to the Ilkhanate
Ilkhanate

The Ilkhanate, also spelled Il-khanate or Il Khanate , was a Mongol khanate established in Persia in the 13th century, considered a part of the Mongol Empire....
 until the end of the century.

Following the fall of the Anatolian Seljuk Sultanate, Konya was made an emirate
Emirate

An emirate is a political territory that is ruled by a dynastic Arab Monarch styled emir....
 in 1307 which lasted until 1322 when the city was captured by the Beylik
Beylik

Beylik is a Turkish word, meaning:*The territory under the jurisdiction of a Bey*Beuluk, a member of the Ottoman Sultan's janissary bodyguard...
 of Karamanoglu
Karamanoglu

Beylik of Karaman or of Karamanoglu , also called the Karamanid Dynasty or the Karamanids, was an Anatolian Turkish Beylik state centered in south-central Anatolia, around the present-day Karaman Province....
. In 1420, Karamanoglu fell to the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman Empire , also known by its contemporaries as the Turkish Empire or Turkey , was an empire that lasted from 1299?1923. It was Treaty of Lausanne by the Republic of Turkey, which was officially proclaimed on October 29, 1923....
 and, in 1453, Konya was made the provincial capital of the Ottoman Province of Karaman.

Ottoman era


Under the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman Empire , also known by its contemporaries as the Turkish Empire or Turkey , was an empire that lasted from 1299?1923. It was Treaty of Lausanne by the Republic of Turkey, which was officially proclaimed on October 29, 1923....
, in the vilayet system established after 1864, Konya was the seat of the Vilayet of Konya
Konya Province, Ottoman Empire

Konya was a Subdivisions of the Ottoman Empire in Asia Minor which included the whole, or parts of, the ancient regions of Pamphylia, Pisidia, Phrygia, Lycaonia, Cilicia and Cappadocia....


According to the 1895 census, Konya had a population of nearly forty-five thousand, of which 42,318 Muslims, 1,566 Christian Armenians and 899 Christian Greeks. There were also 21 mosques and 5 Churches in the town . A still-standing Catholic church was built for Italian
Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia....
 railroad workers in the 1910s. By 1927, after the Greek-Turkish population exchange of 1923
Population exchange between Greece and Turkey

The 1923 population exchange between Greece and Turkey is the first large-scale Population transfer, or agreed mutual expulsion in the 20th century....
, the city was almost exclusively Muslim.

Universities

textile collections.]]

Konya is home to Selçuk University
Selçuk University

Sel?uk University was founded on 1975. The name of the University comes from the Seljuk Empire whose capital was Konya and which reigned in Anatolia....
, one of the largest universities in Turkey.

Notable residents and visitors

  • Ibn Arabi
    Ibn Arabi

    Ibn Arabi was an Arab Sufism Muslim mysticism and philosopher. His full name was Abu abd-Allah Muhammad ibn-Ali ibn Muhammad ibn al-`Arabi al-Hatimi al-TTaa'i ....
    , the Sufi
    Sufism

    Sufi is generally understood to be the inner, mystical dimension of Islam. A practitioner of this tradition is generally known as a ufi , though some adherents of the tradition reserve this term only for those practitioners who have attained the goals of the Sufi tradition....
     visited Konya in 1207 at the invitation of the Seljuq
    Seljuq dynasty

    The Seljuq were a Turco-Persian Sunni Muslim dynasty that ruled parts of Central Asia and the Middle East from the 11th to 14th centuries. They set up an empire known as Great Seljuq Empire that stretched from Anatolia through Persia and was the target of the First Crusade....
     governor of that time and married the mother of his disciple Sadreddin Konevi.
  • The tomb of Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi, the Persian Sufi poet commonly known as "Mevlâna" and who is the founder of the Sufi Mevlevi
    Mevlevi

    The Mevlevi Order or the Mevleviye are a Sufism order founded by the followers of Rumi, a 13th century Persian speaking people poet, Islamic jurist, and theologian, in Konya ....
     order (known for The Whirling Dervishes), is located in Konya where he spent the last fifty years of his life.
  • Hazrat Shah Jalal
    Hazrat Shah Jalal

    Shah Jalal was a saint of Bengal and is the most celebrated personality of the Sylhet Division, Bangladesh. Shah Jalal commands great respect of Muslims of the Indian subcontinent and is regarded as a national hero by Bangladeshis....
     was born in 1271 in Konya.
  • Nasreddin
    Nasreddin

    Nasreddin is a legendary satirical sufi figure who lived during the Middle Ages , in Aksehir, and later in Konya, under the Seljuq dynasty rule....
     died in Konya in the 13th century


Notable structures

  • Alaeddin Mosque
  • Ince Minaret Medrese-- Museum
  • Karatay Medrese
    Karatay Medrese

    Karatay Medrese is a medrese, meaning a school with a frequently but not absolutely religious focus, built in Konya, Turkey, in 1251 by the Amir of the city Celaleddin Karatay, serving the Seljuk Sultanate of Anatolia sultan....
     -- Museum
  • Mevlana Museum
    Mevlana Museum

    The Mevl?na museum, located in Konya, Turkey, is the mausoleum of Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi, a Sufi mystic also known as Mevl?na or Rumi. It was also the dervish lodge of the Mevlevi order, better known as the whirling dervishes....
    , formerly the tekke
    Tekke

    Tekke can refer to several things:*The Teke are a tribe of southern Turkmenistan most famous for their horses, the Ahal-Teke desert horse....
     of Mevlana


Culture

Alongside a generally high level of instruction and very modern buildings, Konya has a reputation of being one of the more religiously conservative metropolitan centers in Turkey. It was once known as the "citadel of Islam
Islam

Islam is a Monotheism, Abrahamic religion originating with the teachings of the Prophets of Islam Muhammad, a 7th century Arab religious and political figure....
", and it is still more devout than other cities.

One of the best known Turkish
Turkish people

The Turkish people , also known as "Turks" are defined mainly as citizens of the Republic of Turkey. An early history text provided the definition of being a Turk as "any individual within the Republic of Turkey, whatever his faith who speaks Turkish, grows up with Turkish culture and adopts the Turkish ideal is a Turk." This ideal...
 folk songs is named "Konyalim" (making reference to a loved one from Konya). The song's slightly suggestive lyrics are known virtually by everybody in Turkey
Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in southwest Asia and Thrace in the Balkans region of Southern Europe....
.

Konya was a prominent source for export of "Turkey carpets" to Europe during the Renaissance
Renaissance

The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe....
. These costly, richly-patterned textiles were draped over tables, beds, or chests to proclaim the wealth and status of their owners, and were often included in contemporary oil paintings as symbols of the wealth of the painter's clients. See, for example, Hans Holbein the Younger
Hans Holbein the Younger

Hans Holbein the Younger was a Germans artist and printmaker who worked in a Northern Renaissance style. He is best known as one of the greatest portraitists of the 16th century....
.

Image gallery

gallery> Image:Fro6.jpg|Nalçaci Image:Konya06.jpg|Mevlana Meydani (Square) Image:Dedemank.jpg|Dedeman Konya Image:Sss ph.jpg|Alâeddin Image:afra.jpg|Uyum Shopping Mall Image:rixos.jpg|Rixos Konya Image:mevlanax.jpg|Mevlana Image:thinminaret.jpg|Thin Minaret Image:alaaddin.jpg|Alaaddin Mosque Image:alaaddinhill.jpg|Alaaddin Hill Park Image:mevlanaentrance.jpg|Mevlana Museum Image:merammm.jpg|Picnic Area in the City of Meram Image:meram8.jpg|Meram Brook Image:realll.jpg|Real Shopping Mall Image:Etliekmek3.jpg |The traditional food, Etliekmek Image:Yaban koyunuu.jpg |The wild sheep on Bozdag,Konya Image:K41.jpg |Haciveyiszade Mosque Image:Konya16.jpg |Uyum Shopping Mall

See also

  • Anatolian Seljuk Sultanate
  • Konya Province, Ottoman Empire
    Konya Province, Ottoman Empire

    Konya was a Subdivisions of the Ottoman Empire in Asia Minor which included the whole, or parts of, the ancient regions of Pamphylia, Pisidia, Phrygia, Lycaonia, Cilicia and Cappadocia....
  • Anatolian Tigers
    Anatolian Tigers

    Anatolian Tigers is a term internationally used in the context of the Turkish economy to refer to and to explain the phenomenon of a number of cities in Turkey which have displayed impressive growth records since the 1980s, as well as to a defined new breed of entrepreneurs rising in prominence and who can often be traced back to the citie...


Footnotes


External links

  • William M. Ramsay,