Konya from the Past to the Present

We are talking about Konya, one of the oldest cities in Turkey and even the whole world. It is a prehistoric city that was founded long before the invention of writing. In addition to this, Konya, which includes Çatalhöyük, the oldest and most developed Neolithic Age settlement, has great importance both in terms of spiritual and historical aspects. Let's take a closer look and see what interesting events happened in its known history...

From the Hittites to Rome

We seem to hear you say, "Again, the Hittites", but what can we do, they are the most developed and most widespread civilizations of their time. The Hittites, who started from Syria and extended to Anatolia and dominated almost all Anatolian lands, played a role in Konya's thousands of years of history. The Phrygians who came after them also gave the place it deserved, but if to go in order, the ancient city was exposed to the occupations of the Lydians, Persians and Alexander the Great. We call it occupation, but this city has reached its present glorious wisdom by acquiring different cultures and knowledge from each civilization. After the Roman Empire came to the stage of history. He quickly enlarged and expanded the lands he dominated. When they added Konya, they gave the name Iconium to the places they ruled.

Konya, which was one of the most valuable settlements of Rome and Byzantium, which abandoned the belief of Paganism and became a completely Christian community after Constantine I, also became a religious center in the first years of Christianity. Even the Christian missionary St. Paul, the founder of the apostolic churches, did not neglect Konya during his religious visits in Anatolia.

Seljuks and Islam

With the birth of the religion of Islam, the Anatolian Seljuk State began to grow at a rapid pace against the Eastern Roman Empire. The Seljuks, who came here and made great efforts to make Konya a Muslim and Turkish city, achieved their goals with the 1071 Malazgirt Victory. Seljuks, who took the majority of Anatolia, including Konya, made their first Islamic formations in this period.

In 1076, Suleyman Shah even declared Konya the capital. Why did the capital move to Iznik afterward, but Konya never lost its importance. In fact, I. Kılıçarslan made Konya the capital again in 1097. After this date, Konya, which was the capital of the Seljuks for 180 years without interruption, was made the largest city of Anatolia by having a wide wall built around it during the reign of Alaeddin Keykubad.

Ottoman Empire and Konya

Konya, which changed hands 16 times with the Anatolian Seljuks and Karamanoğulları 16 times after 1277, finally came under Ottoman rule in 1467. II. The Anatolian lands, which became completely Ottoman lands after Mehmet put an end to the Karamanoğulları, became the home of Muslim families who were forced to migrate during the 93 War and the Balkan Wars in the following centuries.

Turkey and the Republican Period

Holding the title of being the city where the first women's action against the occupation was held, Konya became the logistics center of the country during the War of Independence. The city and its people, who made their patriotism talk as usual, took a sigh of relief with the declaration of the republic in Turkey on October 29, 1923. In 1987, it was accepted as a metropolitan city with the law numbered 3399.