page_title: Konya
section_title: Ancient history
hierarchical_section_title: Konya / History / Ancient history
caption_attribution_description: English: Marble Sarcophagus, typical of Pamphylia. Roman period III century AD Français&#160;: Sarcophage de marbre, typique de Pamphylia. Période romaine IIIème siècle AD
context_page_description: Konya is a major city in south-central Turkey, on south-western edge of the Central Anatolian Plateau and is the seventh-most-populous city in Turkey with a metropolitan population of over 2.2 million. Konya is a large and industrially developed city and the capital of Konya Province.
  The Konya region has been inhabited since the 3rd millennium BC. Known as Iconium during classical antiquity, the city was ruled successively by the Phrygian, Persian, Hellenistic and Roman civilizations. In the 11th century the Seljuk Turks conquered the area from the Byzantines, and Konya then became the capital of the Sultanate of Rum. Under the Seljuks, the city reached the height of its wealth and influence. Following the demise of Rum, Konya came under the rule of the Karamanids, before being taken over by the Ottoman Empire in the 15th century. After the Turkish War of Independence the city became part of the modern Republic of Turkey.
context_section_description: Excavations have shown that the region was inhabited during the Late Copper Age, around 3000 BC. The city came under the influence of the Hittites around 1500 BC. Later it was overtaken by the Sea Peoples in around 1200 BC.
  The Phrygians established their kingdom in central Anatolia in the 8th century BC. Xenophon describes Iconium, as the city was called, as the last city of Phrygia. The region was overwhelmed by Cimmerian invaders c. 690 BC. It was later part of the Persian Empire, until Darius III was defeated by Alexander the Great in 333 BC. Alexander's empire broke up shortly after his death and the town came under the rule of Seleucus I Nicator. During the Hellenistic period the town was ruled by the kings of Pergamon. As Attalus III, the last king of Pergamon, was about to die without an heir, he bequeathed his kingdom to the Roman Republic. Once incorporated into the Roman Empire, under the rule of emperor Claudius, the city's name was changed to Claudioconium, and during the rule of emperor Hadrianus to Colonia Aelia Hadriana.
  According to the Acts of the Apostles, the apostles Paul and Barnabas preached in Iconium during their first Missionary Journey in about 47–48 AD, having been persecuted in Antioch, and Paul and Silas probably visited it again during Paul's Second Missionary Journey in about 50. Their visit to the synagogue of the Jews in Iconium divided the Jewish and non-Jewish communities between those who believed Paul and Barnabas' message and those who did not believe, provoking a disturbance during which attempts were made to stone the apostles. They fled to Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia. This experience is also mentioned in the Second Letter to Timothy,. 19th century American theologian Albert Barnes suggested that Timothy had been present with Paul in Iconium, Antioch and Lystra. The city became the seat of a bishop, which in ca. 370 was raised to the status of a metropolitan see for Lycaonia, with Saint Amphilochius as the first metropolitan bishop.
  In Christian legend, based on the apocryphal Acts of Paul and Thecla, Iconium was also the birthplace of Saint Thecla, who saved the city from attack by the Isaurians.
  Under the Byzantine Empire, the city was part of the Anatolic Theme. During the 8th to 10th centuries, the town and the nearby (Caballa) Kaballah Fortress (Turkish: Gevale Kalesi) (location) were a frequent target of Arab attacks as part of the Arab–Byzantine wars.
caption: Marble Sarcophagus, typical of Pamphylia. Roman period III century AD at the Konya Archaeological Museum
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