ANCYRA), situated upon a steep, rocky hill, which rises Soo ft. above the plain, on the left bank of the Enguri Su, a tributary of the Sakaria (Sangarius), about 220m. E.S.E. of Constantinople. The hill is crowned by the ruins of the old citadel, which add to the picturesqueness of the view; but the town is not well built, its streets being narrow and many of its houses constructed of sun-dried mud bricks; there are, however, many fine remains of Graeco-Roman and Byzantine architecture, the most remark able being the temple of Rome and Augustus, on the walls of which is the famous Monumentum Ancyranum (see ANCYRA). Ancyra was the centre of the Tectosages, one of the three Gaulish tribes which settled in Galatia in the 3rd century B.C., and became the capital of the Roman province of Galatia when it was for mally constituted in 25 B.C. During the Byzantine period, through out which it occupied a position of great importance, it was cap tured by Persians and Arabs; then it fell into the hands of the Seljuk Turks, was held for 18 years by the Latin Crusaders, and finally passed to the Ottoman Turks in 136o. In 1402 a great battle was fought in the vicinity of Angora, in which the Turkish sultan Bayezid was defeated and made prisoner by the Tatar conqueror Timur. In 1415 it was recovered by the Turks under Mohammed I., and since that period has belonged to the Otto man empire. In 1832 it was taken by the Egyptians under Ibrahim Pasha. Angora exports wool, mohair and grain. Mohair cloth is manufactured, and the town is noted for its honey and fruit. Pop. The Turkish Nationalist Movement, which was organized by Mustafa Kemal in 1919, led to the setting up of a Nationalist Government at Angora in April 192o, the city being chosen owing to the fact that, while it was far enough from the coast to be reasonably safe from attack by the Greeks, or the principal Allied Powers, it was in touch with other parts of the interior of Ana tolia, and was the railhead of the north-eastern branch of the Anatolian railway. The ability of the surrounding area to supply the food requirements of the population and the raw materials needed by local industry was also of importance. On Oct. 13, 1923, by a decision of the Great National Assembly, Angora was declared the capital of Turkey.
The city is connected by the Anatolian railway with Constanti nople, and a line to Sivas had reached Kaisarieh in 1927. In view of its increased importance and growing population, Angora is badly equipped as regards accommodation for its population and for the Government, and as regards sanitary arrangements, etc. Considerable progress has, however, been made by the munici pality in house building, road construction and sanitation. A beginning was made with the drainage of the swampy fields between the station and the town, a breeding ground for the malarial mosquito, and with the construction of a public park; modern systems of drainage and of water supply were commenced. A new parliament house and buildings for the Ministry of Finance, Courts of Justice, General Post Office, etc., and a modern hotel have been built. The industrial development of the city is being actively encouraged, and German engineers have been called in to erect factories and workshops for the production of tiles, cotton and flax goods, etc. The installation of a power station capable of furnishing electric light throughout the city has been com pleted, sawmills constructed, and a flourmill equipped with modern machinery. The Government decided in 1925 to install a telephone exchange and erect a powerful wireless station. By the end of 1925 certain foreign legations had moved their head quarters from Constantinople to Angora, and the others were represented by secretaries.
(2) A Turkish vilayet in north-central Asia Minor, which includes most of the ancient Galatia (pop. [1927], 404,726). It is an agricultural country, depending for its prosperity on its grain, wool and mohair obtained from the beautiful Angora goats. It in cludes the city of Angora.
See C. Ritter, Erdkunde von Asien, vol. xviii. ; V. Cuinet, La Turquie d'Asie (1891) ; Murray's Handbook to Asia Minor (1895) ; and other works mentioned under ANCYRA.