The settlement was founded in 1830 as '''Akmola''' or '''Akmolinsky prikaz''' ( "prikaz office of Akmoly"). This name was possibly given after a local landmark—''Akmola'' literally means "white grave" or "holy city" in Kazakh—although this theory is not universally accepted. In 1832, it was granted town status and renamed '''Akmolinsk'''. On 10 December 1997, the city replaced Almaty as the capital of Kazakhstan. On 6 May 1998, it was renamed to '''Astana''', which means "capital city" in Kazakh. On 20 March 2019, the capital was renamed from Astana to its current name Nur-Sultan in honor of the long-ruling Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, shortly after his resignation. ''Nur-Sultan'' (-) can be read literally as "radiant sultan" in the Kazakh language.