Rūm, also romanized as Roum, is a derivative of Parthian (frwm) terms, ultimately derived from Greek Ῥωμαῖοι. Both terms are endonyms of the pre-Islamic inhabitants of Anatolia, the Middle East and the Balkans and date to when those regions were parts of the Eastern Roman Empire.
A view showing several floors of an underground Rûm city in Turkey.
A Rûm architect from Konya built the Gök Medrese (Celestial Madrasa) of Sivas while it was a capital of the Sultanate of Rûm.
Abandoned Rûm churches carved into a solid stone cliff face, Cappadocia, Nevşehir/Turkey.
Anatolia, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula located in West Asia and a region of Turkey, constituting most of its contemporary territory. Geographically, the Anatolian region is bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean Sea to the west, the Turkish Straits to the north-west, and the Black Sea to the north. The eastern and southeastern boundary is either the southeastern and eastern borders of Turkey, or an imprecise line from the Gulf of Iskenderun to the Black Sea. Topographically, the Sea of Marmara connects the Black Sea with the Aegean Sea through the Bosporus strait and the Dardanelles strait, and separates Anatolia from Thrace in the Balkan peninsula of Southeastern Europe.
The henges in Göbekli Tepe were erected as far back as 9600 BC.
The Sphinx Gate in Hattusa
The Theatre at Halicarnassus (modern Bodrum) was built in the 4th century BC by Mausolus, the Persian satrap (governor) of Caria. The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
The Library of Celsus in Ephesus was built by the Romans in 114–117. The Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, built by king Croesus of Lydia in the 6th century BC, was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
