Kırşehir | |
---|---|
Municipality | |
Coordinates: 39°08′44″N 34°09′39″E / 39.14556°N 34.16083°ECoordinates: 39°08′44″N 34°09′39″E / 39.14556°N 34.16083°E | |
Country | Turkey |
Province | Kırşehir |
Government | |
• Mayor | Yaşar Bahçeci (AKP) |
Area | |
• District | 1,677.67 km2 (647.75 sq mi) |
Population (2012) | |
• Urban | 114,244 |
• District | 128,806 |
• District density | 77/km2 (200/sq mi) |
Website | www |
Kırşehir, formerly Macissus (also spelled Mocissus and Mokissos, Μωκισσός in Greek) and Justinianopolis, is a city in Turkey. It is the capital district of the Kırşehir Province. According to the 2000 census, the population of the district is 121,947 of which 105,826 live in the city of Kırşehir.
The history of Kırşehir dates back to the Hittites. During the period of the Hittites, the basin of Kırşehir was known as the country of "Ahiyuva". This basin also took the name Cappadocia at the time of the Romans and Byzantines.
Kırşehir was once known as Parnassos or Mokissos for the Greeks. The Romans called the city Macis, and after the city was rebuilt by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian (527-565), it was renamed Justinianopolis. This name was retained until the end of Byzantine rule. The Turks took the city in 1071 and bestowed the current name. In Turkish, "Kır Şehri" means "steppe city" or "prairie city". It became the chief town of a sanjak in the Ottoman vilayet of Angora, which possessed 8000 inhabitants, most of them Muslims.
In the 19th century, Kırşehir was attached to the sanjak of Ankara. In the year 1921, Kırşehir was made capital of its own province. Kemal Atatürk visited the city in 1921 and 1931.
Kesikköprü is one of the bridges built by Seljuk Empire in Middle Anatolia. It is on the way of Kırşehir-Konya, about 20 km (12.43 mi) to the south of Kırşehir, and across the River Kızılırmak with its 13 parts.
In the inscription of bridge, it is written that the bridge was built by Atabeg İzzü’d-Din Muhammed in 646 of the Hegira/1248 of the Christian era during the rule of Keykavus, the son of Keyhüsrev.