History of Konya
According to the New Testament, St. Paul and Barnabas stayed in Konya (then known as Iconium) for three months before fleeing for their lives. According to Christian legend, Iconium was also the birthplace of Saint Thecla.
From 1097 to 1243 Konya was the capital of the Seljuk Sultans of Rüm, though temporarily occupied by the Crusaders Godfrey of Bouillon (August 1097) and Frederick Barbarossa (May 1190).
Konya reached its height of wealth and influence from 1205 to 1239 when the sultans controlled all of Anatolia, Armenia, some of the Middle East and also Crimea.
In 1219, the city was filled with refugees from the Khwarezmid Empire in Persia, fleeing the advance of the Mongols who had defeated the Shah of Khwarezmid, Muhammad II.
In 1243, Konya was captured by Mongols as well. The city remained the capital of the Turkish puppet-ruler under the Mongol warlord Möngke Khan.
Following the fall of the Sultanate of Rüm, Konya was made an emirate in 1307 to 1322 when it was captured by the Karamanids. In 1420, Karamanid fell to the Ottoman Empire and, in 1453, Konya was made the provincial capital of the Ottoman Province of Karamanid.
Both Saladin and the Ottoman Sultan Selim II built mosques in Konya. The tomb of Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi (known in Turkish as Mevlana), a mystical poet and founder of The Whirling Dervishes makes Konya is one of the holy cities of Islam.
- Konya - Republic of Turkey Ministry of Culture and Tourism
- Iconium (Konya) - Holy Land Photos
- Konya, Turkey - Mersina
- Konya, Turkey - Sacred Sites
- Cappadocia and the Interior: A Cultural Primer - Frommer's
