Karaman (Stadt) 6.66

Karaman is a city in south central Turkey, located in Central Anatolia, north of the Taurus Mountains, about 100km south of Konya. It is the capital district of the Karaman Province. According to 2000 census, the population of the province is 231,872 of which 132,064 live in the town of Karaman. The district covers an area of 3686km2, and the town lies at an average elevation of 1039m. The Karaman Museum is one of the major sights.EtymologyThe town owes its name to Karaman Bey who was one of the rulers of the Karamanid dynasty. The former name Laranda which in turn comes from the Luwian language Larawanda, literally "sandy, a sandy place".HistoryIn ancient times Karaman was known as Laranda . In the 6th century BC it came under Achaemenid rule until 322 BC, when it was destroyed by Perdiccas, a former general of Alexander the Great, after he had defeated Ariarathes, king of Cappadocia. It later became a seat of Isaurian pirates. It belonged to the Roman and later Byzantine Empire until it was captured by the Seljuks in the early 12th century. Karaman was occupied by Frederick Barbarossa in 1190 and by Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia between 1211 and 1216. In 1256, the town was taken by Karamanoğlu Mehmet Bey and was renamed Karaman in his honour. From 1275, Karaman was the capital of the Karamanid beylik.