Ankara

Ankara (formerly Angora), city in central Turkey, capital of the country and of Ankara Province. It is principally a residential city and government seat, but a number of small industries produce carpets, leather goods, wine, farm implements, and cement. Ankara is an important market and processing centre for mohair and for the fine fruit and wheat grown in the surrounding region.

Ankara is a city of contrasts. The old quarter, built around the ruins of an ancient citadel, has narrow, winding streets and crowded buildings. The new city, laid out in 1928, is spacious and well planned, with broad boulevards, libraries, museums, embassies, government buildings, and fashionable shops and hotels. The Museum of Anatolian Civilizations contains a notable collection of Hittite artefacts.

Ankara has been a trading centre since ancient times. Hittites occupied the site around 2000 bc, and were succeeded by the Phrygians c. 1000 bc. Alexander the Great subdued the city in 333 bc; after his death, conquering Gaulish tribes (Galatians) made it their capital. Known as Ancyra, it came under Roman rule in 189 bc, and in 25 bc it became capital of the province of Galatia Prima. Later an important city of the Byzantine Empire, it was successively occupied by Persians, Arabs, Seljuk Turks, and Crusaders. The city, renamed Angora by the Seljuks, fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1360, was occupied briefly by Mongols in 1402, but reverted to the Ottoman Empire the following year. In 1923, after the establishment of the republic of Turkey, Angora succeeded İstanbul as the capital. The name was changed to Ankara in 1930. Many ruins from its long history survive. Population 3,023,000 (2000).