Konya[a] is a major city in central Turkey, on the southwestern edge of the Central Anatolian Plateau, and is the capital of Konya Province. During antiquity and into Seljuk times it was known as Iconium. In 19th-century accounts of the city in English its name is usually spelt Konia or Koniah. In the late medieval period, Konya was the capital of the Seljuk Turks' Sultanate of Rum, from where the sultans ruled over Anatolia.
A folk etymology holds that the name Ikónion was derived from εἰκών ('icon'), referring to an ancient Greeklegend according to which the hero Perseus vanquished the native population with an image of the "GorgonMedusa's head" before founding the city.[8]
The Konya region has been inhabited since the third millennium BC and fell at different times under the rule of the Hittites, the Phrygians, the Greeks, the Persians and the Romans. In the 11th century the Seljuk Turks conquered the area and began ruling over its Rûm (Byzantine Greek) inhabitants, making Konya the capital of their new Sultanate of Rum. Under the Seljuks, the city reached the height of its wealth and influence. Following their demise, Konya came under the rule of the Karamanids, before being taken over by the Ottoman Empire in the 15th century. After the Turkish War of Independence the city became part of the modern Republic of Turkey.
Excavations have shown that the region was inhabited during the Late Copper Age, around 3000 BC.[8]
The Phrygians established their kingdom in central Anatolia in the eighth century BC and Xenophon describes Iconium (as the city was originally called) as the last city of Phrygia. The region was overwhelmed by Cimmerian invaders c. 690 BC. Later it formed part of the Persian Empire, until Darius III was defeated by Alexander the Great in 333 BC. Alexander's empire broke up shortly after his death and the town came under the rule of Seleucus I Nicator.
During the Hellenistic period the town was ruled by the kings of Pergamon. As Attalus III, the last king of Pergamon, was about to die without an heir, he bequeathed his kingdom to the Roman Republic. Once incorporated into the Roman Empire, under emperor Claudius, the city's name was changed to Claudiconium. During the reign of emperor Hadrianus it was known as Colonia Aelia Hadriana.
Under the Byzantine Empire, the city became the seat of a bishop, and in c. 370 was raised to the status of a metropolitan see for Lycaonia, with Saint Amphilochius as the first metropolitan bishop.[13] In the 7th century it became part of the Anatolic Theme and was, together with the nearby (Caballa) Kaballah Fortress (Turkish: Gevale Kalesi) (location) a frequent target of Arab attacks during the Arab–Byzantine wars in the eighth to tenth century,[13] being captured by Arabs in 723–724.[14] The rebellious general Andronikos Doukas used the Kaballah fortress as his base in 905–906.[15] During the tenth or eleventh century the church of Saint Amphilochius was constructed inside the citadel of Kaballa, housing the tomb of the saint which the Turks later believed to be the tomb of Plato, renaming the church to Eflâtun Mescidi (mosque of Plato).[16] The monastery of Saint Chariton, another local from Iconium, was located a few miles away in Sylata.[17]
The Seljuk Turks first raided the area in 1069, but a period of chaos overwhelmed Anatolia after the Seljuk victory in the Battle of Manzikert in 1071, and the Norman mercenary leader Roussel de Bailleul rose in revolt at Iconium. The city was finally conquered by the Seljuks in 1084.[13]
Konya reached the height of its wealth and influence in the second half of the 12th century when the Seljuk sultans of Rum also subdued the Anatolian beyliks to their east, especially that of the Danishmends, thus establishing their rule over virtually all of eastern Anatolia,. They also acquired several port towns along the Mediterranean (including Alanya) and the Black Sea (including Sinop) and even gained a brief foothold in Sudak, Crimea. This golden age lasted until the first decades of the 13th century.[citation needed]
Between 1483 and 1864, Konya was the administrative capital of the Karaman Eyalet. During the reforming Tanzimat period, it became the seat of the larger Vilayet of Konya which replaced the Karaman Eyalet, as part of the new vilayet system introduced in 1864.
In 1832 Anatolia was invaded by Mehmed Ali Paşa of Kavala whose son, İbrahim Paşa, occupied Konya. Although he was driven out with the help of the European powers, Konya went into a decline after this, as described by the British traveller, William Hamilton, who visited in 1837 and found a scene 'of destruction and decay', as he recorded in his Researches in Asia Minor, Pontus and Armenia, published in 1842.[20]
Konya's textile and mining industries flourished under the Ottomans.[21]
Turkish Republic
Greeks from nearby village of Sille in 19th century
During the Turkish War of Independence (1919–1922) Konya was a major air base. In 1922, the air force, renamed as the Inspectorate of Air Forces,[b] was headquartered in Konya.[22][23]
Before 1923, 4,000 Orthodox, Turkish-speaking and Greek-speaking Christians lived there. The Greek community numbered approximately 2,500 people who maintained, at their own expense, a church, a boys' school and a girls' school.
In 1923 during the population exchange between Greece and Turkey, the Greeks of the nearby village of Sille were forced to leave as refugees and resettle in Greece.[24]
Government
Konya Metropolitan Governor's Office
The first local administration in Konya was founded in 1830 and converted into a municipality in 1876.[c] In March 1989, the municipality became a Metropolitan Municipality. As of that date, Konya had three central district municipalities (Meram, Selçuklu, Karatay) and a Metropolitan Municipality.
Economy
Home to several industrial parks. The city ranks among the Anatolian Tigers.[25][26][27][28] In 2012 exports from Konya reached 130 countries.[28] A number of Turkish industrial conglomerates, such as Bera (ex Kombassan) Holding, have their headquarters in Konya.[29]
While agriculture-based industries play a role, the city's economy has evolved into a center for the manufacturing of components for the automotive industry; machinery manufacturing; agricultural tools; casting; plastic paints and chemicals; construction materials; paper and packaging; processed foods; textiles; and leather.[28]
Summer daytime temperatures average 30 °C (86 °F), although summer nights are cool. The highest temperature recorded in Konya was 40.9 °C (106 °F) on 14 August 2023, closely beating the former record of 40.6 °C (105 °F) on 30 July 2000. Winters average −4.2 °C (24 °F), and the lowest temperature recorded was −26.5 °C (−16 °F) on 6 February 1972. Precipitation levels are low and happen mainly in winter and spring.
Climate data for Konya (1991–2020, extremes 1929–2023)
Konya has a reputation for being one of the more religiously conservative metropolitan centres in Turkey.[35]
Konya was the final home of Rumi (Mevlana), whose turquoise-domed tomb in the city is its primary tourist attraction. In 1273, Rumi's followers established the MevleviSufi order of Islam and became known as the Whirling Dervishes.
Every Saturday, there are Whirling Dervish performances (semas) at the Mevlana Cultural Centre. Unlike some of the commercial performances staged in cities like Istanbul, these are genuinely spiritual sessions.
Expensive, richly patterned Konya carpets were exported to Europe during the Renaissance[36] and were draped over furniture to show off the wealth and status of their owners. They often crop up in contemporary oil paintings as symbols of the wealth of the painter's clients.[37]
One of the city's best-known dishes, etli ekmek consists of slices of lamb served on flaps of soft white bread.[41] Konya is also known for unfeasibly long pides (Turkish pizzas) intended to be shared, and tirit, a traditional rice dish made from meat and assorted vegetables.
Tirit
Konya is also known for its sweets, including cezerye, an old Turkish sweet made from carrots, and pişmaniye, which is similar to American cotton candy.
The central bus station has connections to a range of destinations, including Istanbul, Ankara and İzmir. It is connected to the town centre by a tram.
Inner-city public transport
The Konya Tram network is 41 km (25 mi) long and has two lines with 41 stations. Opened in 1992, it was expanded in 1996 and 2015. The Konya Tram uses Škoda 28 T vehicles.[46]
Work began on building a Konya Metro in 2020 and is expected to be completed in 2024 and will have 22 stations.[47]
Konya also has an extensive inner-city bus network.
^Forlanini, Massimo (2017). "South Central: The Lower Land and Tarḫuntašša". In Weeden, Mark; Ullmann, Lee (eds.). Hittite Landscape and Geography. Brill. p. 244. doi:10.1163/9789004349391_022. ISBN978-90-04-34939-1.
^Bryce, Trevor (2006). The Trojans and their neighbours. London: Routledge. p. 81. ISBN9780415349550.
^Tekinalp, V. Macit (2009). "Palace churches of the Anatolian Seljuks: tolerance or necessity?". Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies. 332 (2): 148–167. doi:10.1179/174962509X417645.
^Breytenbach, Cilliers; Zimmermann, Christiane (2017). Early Christianity in Lycaonia and Adjacent Areas From Paul to Amphilochius of Iconium. Brill. ISBN9789004352520.
^"Small Ruminant Congress". kucukbas2014.com. 2014-10-18. Archived from the original on 2014-10-18. Retrieved 2019-08-29.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
^Mehmet Kayhan YILDIZ- Hasan BÖLÜKBAŞ- Serdar ÖZGÜR- Tolga YANIK- Hasan DÖNMEZ/ KONYA,(DHA) (21 February 2014). "TSK yeni yıldızı Barış Kartalı'na kavuştu". HÜRRİYET – TÜRKİYE'NİN AÇILIŞ SAYFASI. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
ArchNet.org. "Konya". Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA: MIT School of Architecture and Planning. Archived from the original on 2012-10-23. Retrieved 2013-02-10.
"Konya". Islamic Cultural Heritage Database. Istanbul: Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Research Centre for Islamic History, Art and Culture. Archived from the original on May 16, 2013.
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