History of Ankara been a major urban center, though not a capital, for far longer than cities like London, Paris or Madrid; even Istanbul. When present Istanbul, then the Roman provincial town of Byzantium, was being groomed as a new capital for the Roman Empire in 324, Ankara was already an important administrative center from which most of the northern half of Turkey was run. History of Ankara The history of Ankara can be traced back to the Bronze Age Hatti civilization, which was succeeded in the 2nd millennium BC by the Hittites, in the 10th century BC by the Phrygians, and later
Ankara Turkish as "Engürü". The form "Angora" is preserved in the names of breeds of many different kinds of animals, and in the names of several locations in the US (see Angora). Ankara has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen "Csa") which closely borders a hot summer Mediterranean continental climate (Köppen "Dsa"). Under the Trewartha climate classification, Ankara has a middle latitude steppe climate ("BSk"). Due to its elevation and inland location, Ankara has cold, somewhat snowy winters and hot, dry summers. Rainfall occurs mostly during the spring and autumn. Ankara lies in USDA Hardiness zone 7b, and its annual average precipitation