Kütahya

Sister cities

• Pécs
• Anqing
• Bavly

History

Although the exact date of its establishment cannot be determined, its history dates back to 3000 BC. According to old sources, the ancient names of Kütahya were Kotiaeon, Cotiaeum and Koti. In the Iron Age the province was settled by the Phrygians. The Phrygians, who came to Anatolia in 1200 BC, entered the lands of the Hittite Empire and organized as a state. In 676 BC, the Cimmerians defeated the Phrygian King Midas III and dominated the area and its surroundings. During the time when Alyattes was the King of Lydia, the Cimmerian rule was replaced by the Lydian rule. In 334 BC, Alexander the Great, who defeated the Persians near the Biga River, established dominance in the region. With the death of Alexander in 323 BC, the region passed to Antigonos I. In 133 BC, Cotyaion/Kotyaion (Greek: Κοτύαιον) came under Roman rule and was called Cotyaeum. Cotyaeum became part of the Roman province of Phrygia Salutaris, but in about 820 became the capital of the new province of Phrygia Salutaris III. The most famous event of Christian Church history in Kütahya is the martyrdom of Menas the Great Martyr and Wonderworker. The future saint Menas was born in 285 AD into a Christian family in Niceous, Egypt. He became a professional soldier in the Roman Legion at age 15 and served in Phrygia during the reign of Emperor Diocletian (284–305 AD). In 298, the Roman emperor published an edict ordering everyone to worship and sacrifice the Roman gods and the Legions were ordered to capture and persecute Christians. As a Christian, Menas could not sacrifice to the Roman gods or persecute his fellow Christians, so he threw down his soldiers belt (a symbol of rank) and left the military after three years of service. Menas went to a deserted mountain as a hermit to devote his whole life…