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Konya

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Konya

Konya 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.

As of 2024, the population of the Metropolitan Province was 2 330 024 of whom 1 433 861 live in the three urban districts (Karatay, Selcuklu, Meram), making it the sixth most populous city in Turkey, and second most populous of the Central Anatolia Region, after Ankara. City has Konya is served by TCDD high-speed train (YHT) services from Istanbul, Ankara and Karaman. The local airport (Konya Havalimanı, KYA) is served by frequent flights from Istanbul whereas flights to and from İzmir are offered few times a week.

Konya is believed to correspond to the Late Bronze Age toponym Ikkuwaniya known from Hittite records. This placename is regarded as Luwian in origin. During classical antiquity and the medieval period it was known as Ἰκόνιον (Ikónion) in Greek and as Iconium in Latin.

A folk etymology holds that the name Ikónion was derived from εἰκών ('icon'), referring to an ancient Greek legend according to which the hero Perseus vanquished the native population with an image of the "Gorgon Medusa's head" before founding the city.

Konya was known as Dârülmülk to the Rum Seljuks.

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.

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.

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