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History of Konya


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was conquered by the Seljuk Turks in 1084. From 1097 to 1243 it was the capital of the Anatolian Seljuk Sultanate, though very briefly occupied by the Crusaders Godfrey of Bouillon(August 1097) and Frederick Barbarossa (May 18, 1190). The name of the town was changed to Konya byRukn al-DīnMas'ūd in 1134.

Konya reached the height of its wealth and influence as of the second half of the 12th century when Anatolian Seljuk sultans also subdued the Anatolian beyliks to their east, especially that of the Danishmends, thus establishing their rule over virtually all of eastern Anatolia, as well as acquiring several port towns along the Mediterranean (including Alanya) and the Black Sea (including Sinop) and even gaining a momentary foothold in Sudak, Crimea. 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. Sultan Alā al-DīnKayqubād bin Kaykā'ūs fortified the town and built a palace on top of the citadel. In 1228 he invited BahaeddinVeled and his son Mevlana (Rumi), the founder of the Mevlevi order, to settle in Konya.

In 1243, following the Seljuk defeat in the Battle of KöseDağ, Konya was captured by the Mongols as well. The city remained the capital of the Seljuk sultans, vassalized to the Ilkhanate until the end of the century.

Following the fall of the Anatolian Seljuk Sultanate, Konya was made the capital of a beylik(emirate) in 1307 which lasted until 1322 when the city was captured by the neighbouring Beylik ofKaramanoğlu. In 1420, Karamanoğlu fell to the Ottoman Empire and, in 1453, Konya was made the provincial capital of the Ottoman Province of Karaman.

Ottoman era

Under the Ottoman Empire, in the vilayet system established after 1864, Konya was the seat of theVilayet of Konya. Konya was administered by the Sultan's sons starting with Princes Mustafa and Cem and
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