Uşak () is a city in the interior part of the

Aegean Region The Aegean region () is one of the 7 Geographical regions of Turkey, geographical regions of Turkey. The largest city in the region is İzmir. Other big cities are Manisa, Aydın, Denizli, Muğla, Afyonkarahisar and Kütahya. Located in w ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. It is the seat of

Uşak Province Uşak () is a Provinces of Turkey, province in western Turkey. Its adjacent provinces are Manisa Province, Manisa to the west, Denizli Province, Denizli to the south, Afyon Province, Afyon to the east, and Kütahya Province, Kütahya to the north. ...

and

Uşak District Uşak District (also: ''Merkez'', meaning "central" in Turkish) is a district of the Uşak Province of Turkey. Its seat is the city of Uşak.

.İl Belediyesi
Turkey Civil Administration Departments Inventory. Retrieved 22 May 2023. Its population is 236,366 (2022). Uşak city is situated at a distance of from

İzmir İzmir is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara. It is on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, and is the capital of İzmir Province. In 2024, the city of İzmir had ...

, the region's principal metropolitan center and port city. Benefiting from its location at the crossroads of the Central Anatolian plateau and the coastal

, and from a climate and agricultural production incorporating elements of both of these zones, Uşak has also traditionally had a strong industrial base. Uşak was the first city in Turkey to have an urban electricity network, and the first city where a collective

labor relations Labour relations in practice is a subarea within human resource management, and the main components of it include collective bargaining, application and oversight of collective agreement obligations, and dispute resolution. Academically, employe ...

agreement was signed, during the Ottoman era, between

leather Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning (leather), tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffal ...

industry employees and workers. It was here that the first factory of Republican Turkey, a

sugar refinery A sugar refinery is a refinery which processes raw sugar from cane or sugar extracted from beets into white refined sugar. Cane sugar mills traditionally produce raw sugar, which is sugar that still contains molasses, giving it color ...

, was set up through a private sector initiative among local businessmen. The tradition of industriousness continues today around two industrial zones.

History

The first known organized states to have ruled over the region of present-day Uşak were the

Phrygians The Phrygians (Greek: Φρύγες, ''Phruges'' or ''Phryges'') were an ancient Indo-European speaking people who inhabited central-western Anatolia (modern-day Turkey) in antiquity. Ancient Greek authors used "Phrygian" as an umbrella term t ...

in the eastern portion and the

Lydians The Lydians (Greek language, Greek: Λυδοί; known as ''Sparda'' to the Achaemenids, Old Persian cuneiform Wikt:𐎿𐎱𐎼𐎭, 𐎿𐎱𐎼𐎭) were an Anatolians, Anatolian people living in Lydia, a region in western Anatolia, who spo ...

in the west during the seventh century BC. The

Karun Treasure Kârun Treasure is the name given to a collection of 363 valuable Lydian artifacts dating from the 7th century BC and originating from Uşak Province in western Turkey, which were the subject of a legal battle between Turkey and New York Metro ...

, discovered by clandestine

treasure hunter Treasure hunting is the physical search for treasure. One of the most popular types of modern day treasure hunters are historic shipwreck salvors. These underwater treasure salvors try to find sunken shipwrecks and retrieve artifacts with both ...

s in Uşak in 1965, and whose smuggling outside Turkey and subsequent retrieval decades later from New York City's

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...

made international headlines, gives an indication of the high degree of civilization attained by these

Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

n states. The region of

Lydia Lydia (; ) was an Iron Age Monarchy, kingdom situated in western Anatolia, in modern-day Turkey. Later, it became an important province of the Achaemenid Empire and then the Roman Empire. Its capital was Sardis. At some point before 800 BC, ...

was later taken over by the

Persian Empire The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire, also known as the Persian Empire or First Persian Empire (; , , ), was an Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty in 550 BC. Based in modern-day Iran, it was the larg ...

in the 6th century BC and by

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon (; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), most commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip ...

and his successors as of the 4th century. Thereafter, Uşak was ruled successively by the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

, the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

, the

Seljuks The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; , ''Saljuqian'',) alternatively spelled as Saljuqids or Seljuk Turks, was an Oghuz Turkic, Sunni Muslim dynasty that gradually became Persianate and contributed to Turco-Persian culture. The founder of th ...

, the

Germiyanids Germiyan, or the Germiyanids (Old Anatolian Turkish: ; or ), were a dynasty that controlled parts of western Anatolia from to 1429. Germiyan first appeared in 1239 near Malatya tasked with suppressing the Babai revolt. The tribe relocated to ...

and finally the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

(as of 1429). Later, following Turkish conquest and domination over the area, the city became known by its Turkish name of ''Uşak''; which means "servant." From 1867 until 1922, Uşak was part of

Hüdavendigâr vilayet The Hüdavendigâr Vilayet () or Bursa Vilayet after its administrative centre, was a first-level administrative division (vilayet) of the Ottoman Empire. At the beginning of the 20th century it reportedly had an area of .Greek Army The Hellenic Army (, sometimes abbreviated as ΕΣ), formed in 1828, is the land force of Greece. The term '' Hellenic'' is the endogenous synonym for ''Greek''. The Hellenic Army is the largest of the three branches of the Hellenic Armed F ...

between 28 August 1920 and 1 September 1922. During the Greek retreat, Greek general

Nikolaos Trikoupis Nikolaos Trikoupis (; 1868–1956) was a Greek military officer and politician, most notable for his service in the Greco-Turkish War of 1919–1922, where he was taken as a prisoner of war. He also participated in the 1896 Summer Olympics, whe ...

was captured near Uşak at the village of Göğem, today buried under a

dam reservoir A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation. Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of water, interrupt ...

. Uşak was a district center within

Kütahya Province Kütahya Province () is a Provinces of Turkey, province in the Aegean Region, Aegean region of Turkey. Its area is 11,634 km2, and its population is 580,701 (2022). In 1990, Kütahya had a population of 578,000. The neighboring provinces a ...

until 1953, when Uşak Province was constituted and Uşak became its provincial capital.

Economic history

At least since the 17th century there was trade between Uşak and the Dutch republic as reflected in the rug shown thrown over the bannister in Vermeer's painting "The Procuress." The rug was probably produced in Uşak, covers a third of the painting and shows

medallion A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be in ...

s and

leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...

In the early 20th century, mercury was discovered in Uşak. The town also manufactured

carpet A carpet is a textile floor covering typically consisting of an upper layer of Pile (textile), pile attached to a backing. The pile was traditionally made from wool, but since the 20th century synthetic fiber, synthetic fibres such as polyprop ...

. Among other district centers in Uşak Province,

Banaz Banaz is a town in Uşak Province in the inner Aegean region of Turkey. It is the seat of Banaz District.Ulubey's

canyon A canyon (; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), gorge or chasm, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tendency t ...

is a natural site attracting many visitors.

Geography

The city of Uşak consists of 29 neighbourhoods, including

Kurşunluk Kurşunluk (formerly: ''Bölme'') is a neighbourhood of the city Uşak, Uşak Province, Turkey. Its population is 2,455 (2022). It is just south west of Uşak Uşak () is a city in the interior part of the Aegean Region of Turkey. It is the se ...

and Muharremşah.

Climate

Uşak has a

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

: ''Csa'') or an

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...

( Trewartha: ''Doak''), with cool, wet, regularly snowy winters and hot, dry summers. Highest recorded temperature: on 18 August 2023
Lowest recorded temperature: on 5 January 1942

Uşak carpets

In pre-industrial times, Uşak was already a major center of production and export, particularly of Ushak carpets. Ushak carpets are also called Holbein carpets in reference to the 16th century painter

Hans Holbein the Younger Hans Holbein the Younger ( , ; ; – between 7 October and 29 November 1543) was a German-Swiss painter and printmaker who worked in a Northern Renaissance style, and is considered one of the greatest portraitists of the 16th century. He ...

who depicted them in minute detail in his paintings, reflecting their popularity in European markets. The level of international popularity attained by Uşak's carpets became such that the word "Ushak" is considered an English word of Turkic origin.Merriam-Webster Unabridged - Ushak
A heavy woolen oriental rug tied in Ghiordes knots and characterized by bright primary colors and an elaborate medallion pattern. Although Uşak's carpet patterns have evolved since then, large-scale weaving still continues and the name of the city still has an important presence in the market for carpets, both hand-woven and industrial. On the other hand, the district of

Eşme Eşme is a town in Uşak Province in the inner Aegean Region of Turkey. It is the seat of Eşme District.Uşak Province Uşak () is a Provinces of Turkey, province in western Turkey. Its adjacent provinces are Manisa Province, Manisa to the west, Denizli Province, Denizli to the south, Afyon Province, Afyon to the east, and Kütahya Province, Kütahya to the north. ...

, is famous for its ''

kilim A kilim ( ; ; ) is a flat tapestry-weaving, woven carpet or rug traditionally produced in countries of the former Persian Empire, including Iran and Turkey, but also in the Balkans and the Turkic countries. Kilims can be purely decorative ...

s''.

Twin cities

* Offenbach - Germany *

Astana Astana is the capital city of Kazakhstan. With a population of 1,423,726 within the city limits, it is the second-largest in the country after Almaty, which had been the capital until 1997. The city lies on the banks of the Ishim (river), Ishim ...

- Kazakhstan * Besni - Turkey *

Charleroi Charleroi (, , ; ) is a city and a municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It is the largest city in both Hainaut and Wallonia. The city is situated in the valley of the Sambre, in the south-west of Belgium, not ...

- Belgium

References

Uşak's Population Is Increasing: A Look at TÜİK's March 2023 Report
There is a population increase in Uşak, a district in Turkey. Turkish Statistical Institute reports were shared
The population of servants is increasing
{{DEFAULTSORT:Usak Populated places in Uşak Province Provincial municipalities in Turkey Uşak District

History

Economic history

Geography

Climate

Uşak carpets

Twin cities

See also

References