Ancient and medieval
Excavations at a mound known as Topraktepe indicateHittite settlement in the area as early as 2600 BC, though little is known of Sivas' history prior to its emergence in the Roman period. In 64 B.C. as part of his reorganization of Asia Minor after the Third Mithridatic War, Pompey the Great founded a city on the site called "Megalopolis". Numismatic evidence suggests that Megalopolis changed its name in the last years of the 1st century B.C. to "Sebasteia" in honor of the emperor Augustus: Σεβάστεια is the feminine form of the usual Greek translation of Augustus. The name "Sivas" is the Turkish version deriving from the name Sebasteia. Sebasteia became the capital of the province of Armenia Minor under the emperor Diocletian, was a town of some importance in the early history of the Christian Church; in the 4th century it was the home ofSaintBlaise and Saint Peter of Sebaste, bishops of the town, and of Eustathius, one of the early founders ofmonasticism in Asia Minor. It was also the place of martyrdom of the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste, also 4th century. Justinian I had a fortified wall around it rebuilt in the 6th century.
The city came under the domain of Turkmen Danishmend dynasty (1155–1192) after the Battle of Manzikert in 1071. After the death of DanişmendGazi, Sivas passed to NizamettinYağıbasan who won it after a struggle with DanişmendGazi's successors. In 1174, the city was captured by Seljukruler KilijArslan II and periodically served as capital of the Seljuk empire along with Konya. Under Seljuk rule, Sivas was an important center of trade along the silk road and site of a citadel, along with mosques and madrasahs (Islamic educational institutions), four of which survive today and one of which houses the Sivas Museum. Then it passed to the Ilkhanids and Eretna
The city was acquired by Ottoman Sultan BayezidI(1389–1402). In 1398, Tamerlane swept into the area and his forces destroyed the
