Kütahya () is a city in western Turkey with 237,804 inhabitants (2011 estimate), lying on the Porsuk river, at 969 metres above sea level.
It is the capital of Kütahya Province, inhabited by some 564,294 people (2011 estimate).
The region of Kütahya has large areas of gentle slopes with agricultural land culminating in high mountain ridges to the north and west.
The city's Greek name was Kotyaion, Latinized in Roman times as Cotyaeum.http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04422a.htm Catholic Encyclopaedia: Cotiaeum.
History
Byzantine period
The ancient world knew present-day Kütahya as Cotyaeum (Κοτύαιον).
It became part of the Roman province of Phrygia Salutaris,Heinrich Gelzer, Ungedruckte und ungenügend veröffentlichte Texte der Notitiae episcopatuum, in: Abhandlungen der philosophisch-historische classe der bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften, 1901, p. 540, nº 338.
but in about 820 became the capital of the new province of Phrygia Salutaris III.
Its bishopric thus changed from being a suffragan of  Synnada to a metropolitan see, although with only three suffragan sees according to the Notitia Episcopatuum of Byzantine Emperor Leo VI the Wise (886-912), which is dated to around 901–902.Gelzer, op.
cit., p. 559, nnº 650-653.
According to the 6th-century historian John Malalas, Cyrus of Panopolis, who had been prefect of the city of Constantinople, was sent there as bishop by Emperor Theodosius II (408-50), after four bishops of the city had been killed.
(Two other sources make Cyrus bishop of Smyrna instead.)
The bishopric of Cotyaeum was headed in 431 by Domnius, who attended the Council of Ephesus, and in 451 by Marcianus, who was at the Council of Chalcedon.
A source cited by Le Quien says that a bishop of Cotyaeum named Eusebius was at the Second Council of Constantinople in 553.
Cosmas was at the Third Council of Constantinople in 680–681.
Ioannes, a deacon, represented an unnamed bishop of Cotyaeum at the Trullan Council in 692.
Bishop Constantinus was at the Second Council of Nicaea in 692, and Bishop Anthimus at the  Photian Council of Constantinople (879),Raymond Janin, v. Cotyaeum, in Dictionnaire d'Histoire et de Géographie ecclésiastiques, vol. 13, Paris 1956, coll.
938-940Pius Bonifacius Gams, Series episcoporum Ecclesiae Catholicae, Leipzig 1931, p. 447 No longer a residential bishopric, Cotyaeum is today listed by the Catholic Church as a titular see.Annuario Pontificio 2013 (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2013 ), p. 875.
Turkic and Ottoman rule
Under the reign of Byzantine Emperor Justinian I the town was fortified with a double-line of walls and citadel.
In 1071 Cotyaeum (or Kotyaion) fell to the Seljuk Turks and later switched hands, falling successively to the Crusaders, Germiyanids, and Timur-Leng (Tamerlane), until finally being incorporated into the Ottoman Empire in 1428.
It was initially the center of Anatolia Eyalet till 1827, when the Hüdavendigâr Eyalet was formed.
It was later center of the sancak within the borders of the Hüdavendigâr Vilayet in 1867.
Troops of Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt briefly occupied it in 1833.
During this time a large number of Christian Armenians settled in Kotyaion/Kütahya, where they came to dominate the tile-making and ceramic-ware production.Hovannisian, Richard G. and Armen Manuk-Khaloyan, "The Armenian Communities of Asia Minor," in Armenian Communities of Asia Minor, ed. Richard G. Hovannisian.
UCLA Armenian History and Culture Series: Historic Armenian Cities and Provinces, 13.
Costa Mesa, CA: Mazda Publishers, 2014, pp.
32-34.
Kütahya emerged as a renowned center for the Ottoman ceramic industry, producing tiles and faience for mosques, churches, and official buildings in places all over the Middle East.See Dickran Kouymjian, "The Role of Armenian Potters of Kutahia in the Ottoman Ceramic Industry," in Armenian Communities of Asia Minor, pp.
107-30.
The craft industry of Armenian ceramics in Jerusalem was started by Armenian ceramicist , master of a Kütahya workshop between 1907 and 1915, who was deported from Kütahya in early 1916, during the Armenian genocide, and rediscovered, living as a refugee in Aleppo in 1918, by Sir Mark Sykes, a former patron.
Sykes connected him to the new military governor of Jerusalem, Sir Ronald Storrs, and arranged for Ohannessian to travel to Jerusalem to participate in a planned British restoration of the Dome of the Rock.Moughalian, Sato.
Feast of Ashes: The Life and Art of David Ohannessian.
Stanford, CA: Redwood Press, 2019.
The fortifications of the city and its environs, which were vital to the security and economic prosperity of the region, were built and rebuilt from antiquity through the Ottoman Period.
However, the dates assigned to the many periods of construction and the assessment of the military architecture are open to various interpretations.Edwards, Robert W., “Medieval Castles of Anatolia: Kütahya,” Speculum 62 (1987): pp.
675-680.
At the end of the nineteenth century the population of the kaza of Kütahya numbered 120,333, of which 4,050 were Greeks, 2,533 Armenians, 754 Catholics, and the remainder Turks and other Muslims.Hovannisian and Manuk-Khaloyan, "The Armenian Communities of Asia Minor," p.
34. Kütahya and the district itself were spared the ravages of the Armenian genocide of 1915, when the Ottoman governor, Faik Ali Bey, went to extreme lengths to protect the Armenian population from being uprooted and sent away on death marches.
However, Faik Ali Bey was removed from office in March 1916, and the city's Armenian community suffered in the aftermath under the rule of his successor, Ahmet Mufit Bey.
Kütahya was occupied by Greek troops on 17 July 1921 after Battle of Kütahya–Eskişehir during the Turkish War of Independence and captured in ruins after the Battle of Dumlupınar during the Great Offensive on 30 August 1922.
Economy
thumb|left|200px|Kütahya ceramics, covered bowl, second half of the 18th century
The industries of Kütahya have long traditions, going back to ancient times.
Kütahya is famous for its kiln products, such as tiles and pottery, which are glazed and multicoloured.Henry Glassie, Turkish Traditional Art Today Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1993, pp.
435 ff.
Modern industries are sugar refining, tanning, nitrate processing and different products of meerschaum, which is extracted nearby.
The local agricultural industry produces cereals, fruits and sugar beet.
In addition stock raising is of much importance.
Not far from Kütahya there are important mines extracting lignite.
Kütahya is linked by rail and road with Balıkesir  to the west, Konya  to the southeast, Eskişehir  northeast and Ankara  east.
Traditional ceramics
A small ewer, now in the British Museum, gave its name to a category of similar blue and white fritware pottery known as 'Abraham of Kütahya ware'.
It has an inscription in Armenian script under the glaze on its base stating that it commemorated Abraham of Kütahya with a date of 1510.'
Abraham of Kütahya' ewer, British Museum Accession Code: G.1 In 1957 Arthur Lane published an influential article in which he reviewed the history of pottery production in the region and proposed that 'Abraham of Kütahya' ware was produced from 1490 until around 1525, 'Damascus' and 'Golden Horn' ware were produced from 1525 until 1555 and 'Rhodian' ware from around 1555 until the demise of the İznik pottery industry at the beginning of the 18th century.
This chronology has been generally accepted.
Climate
Kütahya has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification: Csb), or a temperate continental climate (Trewartha climate classification: Dc), with chilly, wet, often snowy winters and warm, dry summers.
Precipitation occurs mostly during the winter and spring, but can be observed throughout the year.
Kütahya is forecast to be the city most affected by global warming in Turkey.
Culture
Kütahya's old neighbourhoods are dominated by traditional Ottoman houses made of wood and stucco, some of the best examples being found along Germiyan Caddesi.
It has many historical mosques such as Ulu Camii, Cinili Camii, Balikli Camii and Donenler Camii.
The Şengül Hamamı is a famous Turkish bath located in the city
The town preserves some ancient ruins, a Byzantine castle and church.
During late centuries Kütahya has been renowned for its Turkish earthenware, of which fine specimens may be seen at the national capital.
The Kütahya Museum has a fine collection of arts and cultural artifacts from the area, the house where Hungarian statesman Lajos Kossuth lived in exile between 1850 and 1851 is preserved as a museum.
File:Kutahya Old Town 088.jpg|Kütahya Old town File:Kutahya Sultanbagi Region 8789.jpg|Kütahya Old houses in Sultanbağı region File:Kutahya Sultanbagi Region 8791.jpg|Kütahya Old houses in Sultanbağı region File:Kutahya Sultanbagi Region 8933.jpg|Kütahya Old houses in Sultanbağı region File:Kutahya City Museum 9080.jpg|Kütahya City Museum File:Kutahya City Museum 9089.jpg|Kütahya City Museum Felt maker File:Kutahya City Museum 9093.jpg|Kütahya City Museum Saddle maker File:Kutahya City Museum october 2018 9119.jpg|Kütahya City Museum Biscuit maker File:Kutahya archaeological museum 1002.jpg|Kütahya archaeological museum Stele File:Kutahya Ceramics museum 1002.jpg|Kutahya Ceramics museum File:Kutahya Ceramics museum 1781.jpg|Kutahya Ceramics museum Figurines File:Kutahya Kossuth Museum 8747.jpg|Kütahya Lajos Kossuth house File:Kutahya Kossuth Museum 8767.jpg|Kütahya Lajos Kossuth house
File:Kutahya Ulu Cami 9050.jpg|Kütahya Ulu Cami File:Kutahya Dönenler Cami 1835.jpg|Kutahya Dönenler Mosque File:Kutahya Dönenler Cami 1840.jpg|Kütahya Dönenler Mosque File:Kutahya Castle Hill 8800 Panorama.jpg|Kütahya Castle Hill Education
The Main Campus and the Germiyan Campus of the Kütahya Dumlupınar University are located in the city.
Transport
The main bus station has bus links to most major Turkish cities.
Zafer Airport is active.
Kastamonu is also the main railroad endpoint for the Aegean region.
International relations
Twin towns — Sister cities
Kütahya is twinned with:
Bavly, Tatarstan, Russia
Bikaner, India
Pécs, Hungary
Anqing, China
Danniyeh, Lebanon
Notable people
Abdullah Aymaz, writer and journalist
Ahmet İhsan Gürsoy, politician
Alexander of Cotiaeum, ancient Greek grammarian
Ali Mesut Erez, politician
Aydilge Sarp, singer.
Âsım Gündüz, military officer in the Ottoman and Turkish armies
Ayla Dikmen, singer
Cüneyt Canatan, ceramist
Danla Bilic , Youtuber
David Ohannessian, Armenian ceramist
Evliya Çelebi, Turkish globe traveler and author.
Halil Akkaş, middle-distance runner
Hande Baladın, volleyball player
Kadri Paşa, Ottoman Grand Vizier (1880)
Komitas Vardapet, Armenian composer, musicologist
Mustafa Kalemli, politician
Nafi Güral, businessman
Osman Albayrak, politician who was state minister
Ömer Rüştü Paşa, military commander
Özge Kırdar, volleyball player
Pelin Baynazoğlu, video game streamer known as pqueen
Rauf Onursal, politician and governor
Refik Tulga, politician and governor
Veli Kızılkaya, football player
See also
Anatolian Tigers
Evliya Çelebi Way
Kumari (Kutahya)
Ancient city Aizanoi
Gallery
File:Rüstem paşa medresesi.jpg|Rüstem Pasha Madrasa File:Kütahya çinili cami şadırvanı.JPG|Tiled Mosque File:Evliya çelebi'nin evi müzesi.JPG|Evliya Çelebi Museum File:Anasultan türbesi2.jpg|Mother Sultan File:Kütahya,kale - panoramio.jpg|Kütahya Castle File:Kütahya hükûmet konağı.jpg|Government House File:Kütahya ulu cami doğu.JPG|Grand Mosque References
Source and external links
The Government of Kütahya
Province Culture And Tourism Directorate
City of Tiles
Pictures from Kütahya
Kütahya weather forecast information
Photos of ancient Roman city of Aizanoi in Kütahya
Photos from another source of ancient Roman city of Aizanoi in Kütahya province
A website about a nitrate processing factory in Kütahya
A website about the sugar refinery facility in Kütahya
Official website of Kütahya Ceramic Company
Kütahya Photo Forum
