Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after I.stanbul. As with many ancient cities, Ankara has gone by several names over the ages: The Hittites gave it the name Ankuwash before 1200 BC. The Galatians and Romans called it Ancyra. In the classical, Hellenistic, and Byzantine periods it was known as Ánkyra. It was also known as Angora.