آق سرای

Ottoman Turkish

Aksaray province

Etymology

Morphologically from آق (ak, “white”) + سرای (saray, “palace”), but this is probably a mutated form of Byzantine Greek Τακσαρά (Taksará), itself from Ancient Greek Γαρσάουρα (Garsáoura), the ancient name of the city. This place was also known in antiquity as Ἀρχελαΐς (Arkhelaḯs), after Archelaus of Cappadocia, the last king of Cappadocia.

Proper noun

آق سرای • (ak saray)

1. Aksaray (a city and province in Central Anatolia, Turkey)

Descendants

• Turkish: Aksaray
• → Armenian: Ագսարայ (Agsaray)

Further reading

• Nişanyan, Sevan (2010–) “Aksaray”, in Nişanyan Yeradları: Türkiye ve Çevre Ülkeler Yerleşim Birimleri Envanteri [Index Anatolicus: An inventory of place names of Turkey and surrounding countries] (in Turkish)
• Sezen, Tahir (2017) “Aksaray”, in Osmanlı Yer Adları [Ottoman Place Names]‎^[1], 2nd edition, Ankara: T.C. Başbakanlık Devlet Arşivleri Genel Müdürlüğü, page 24