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SanlıUrfa’s history can be traced back thousands of years. The first known settlers were the Hurrites who built a fortress on the hill, now occupied by the Citadel, in approximately 3500 BC. They were later followed by the Hittites and the Assyrians. Alexander the Great arrived and renamed the city Edessa, using it as an outpost for the Romans against the Persians, and it remained the capital of a Seleucid province until 132 BC. After that it became an independent kingdom, and then was taken over by the Romans and evolved as a significant centre of Christianity from the 2nd century AD, even having its own patriarch.
During the 6th century, the city was caught in the middle of the power struggle between the Romans and Persians, until a peace treaty was signed. It lasted only seven years, when the Arabs entered and ruled Edessa for the next three centuries, then the First Crusade established the county of Edessa, which lasted until the mid 12th century. It was then ruled by the Seljuk Turks and in the early 17th century was renamed Urfa when the Ottomans finally took over. The addition of San (great) to its name was as recent as the late 20th century.
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