History of Ankara
According to excavation findings, the citadel hill was in habited in the Stone Age. After the fall of the Hittite Empire in 1200 B.C. Ankara fell into the hands of the Phrygians, who established a big city to the south of the hill.
When Alexander the Great marched to the south through Asia Minor, cutting the famous knot in Gordion, he also captured Ankara. After his death, the city came under the authority of the Seleucids. In 278 B.C. the Celts (Galatians) came to Anatolia and made Ankara their capital, calling it Galatia. In 25 B.C. Galatia was a Roman province. With the Romans, the best period of this old settlement began. In this age also, the Temple of Augustus, the thermal baths and the column of Julian were built. Under the rule of the Byzantines Ankara became a metropolis. In the years 314 and 358 A.D. councils were forme: here. In the 6th and 7th century A.D. the sovereignty of the city changed between the Persians and the Arabs. Later, Crusaders captured the city. In 1071 the city passed into the hands of the Seljuks, and later on the city was captured by Ottoman Turks in 1360.
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