Ankara is the capital of the modern Turkish Republic. In the course of ten millennia of habitation, the denizens of the area have reflected in their art - from the vigorous paintings of Catalhoyuk to the confident lines of Seljuk architecture, to more recently, the impressive modern form of Ataturk's Mausoleum - the dramatic contours of the surrounding landscape. The seat of Turkey's government in the strategic heart of central Anatolia, Ankara is the city selected by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the republic's founder, to house the capital of the newly politically defined country. Though thoroughly modern in appearance Ankara's history and that of the surrounding area dates back to the Bronze Age and the Hatti civilisation. In the second millennium B.C. the Hittites followed as lords of the land and were succeeded in turn by the Phrygians, Lydians and Persians. In the third century B.C., the Galatians, a Celtic race, made Ankara their capital. It was then known as Ancyra, meaning anchor.