Bishop of Claudiopolis

Bolu
Municipality
The city of Bolu viewed from air
Bolu
Coordinates: 40°44′05″N 31°36′27″E / 40.73472°N 31.60750°E / 40.73472; 31.60750Coordinates: 40°44′05″N 31°36′27″E / 40.73472°N 31.60750°E / 40.73472; 31.60750
Country	Turkey
Province	Bolu
Government
• Mayor	Alaaddin Yılmaz (AKP)
Area
• District	1,524.37 km2 (588.56 sq mi)
Population (2012)
• Urban	131,264
• District	172,355
• District density	110/km2 (290/sq mi)
Website	www.bolu.bel.tr

Bolu is a city in Turkey, and administrative center of the Bolu Province. The population is 131,264 (2012 census).

The city has been governed by mayor Alaaddin Yılmaz (AK Party) since local elections in 2004. It was the site of Ancient Claudiopolis and has also been called Eskihisar ("old fortress") (and as such has several Turkish namesakes).

Bolu is on the old highway from Istanbul to Ankara, which climbs over Mount Bolu, while the new motorway passes through Mount Bolu Tunnel below the town.

Bolu was part of one of the Hittite kingdoms around 2000 BC and later 500 BC became one of the leading cities of the Kingdom of Bithynia (279 BC - 79 BC). Bebryces, Mariandynes, Koukones, Thyns and Paphlagons are native people of the area in antique era. Strabo (XII, 4, 7) mentions a Hellenistic town, Bithynium (Greek: Βιθύνιον), celebrated for its pastures and cheese, which according to Pausanias (VIII, 9) was founded by Arcadians from Mantinea.

In the Ancient Roman era, as is shown by its coins, the town was commonly called Claudiopolis after Emperor Claudius. It was the birthplace of Antinous, the posthumously deified favourite of the Roman Emperor Hadrian, who was very generous to the city, and his name was later added to that of Claudius on the coins of the city. Emperor Theodosius II (408-50) made it the capital of a new province, formed out of Bithynia and Paphlagonia, and called by him Honorias in honour of his younger son and successor Honorius.