Balikesir is a city in Turkey and the capital of Balikesir Province in the Marmara region of western Anatolia. The Romans founded the town as Hadrianutherae in 124 AD, naming it for the Roman emperor Hadrian, who engaged in bear hunting in the area. The Romans built a castle which lent its name to the Byzantine Greek name for the town, Palaeokastron, meaning "old castle". The Turkmen named the town Balukiser, meaning "ruined castle", and it served as capital of the Ottoman Sanjak of Karasi from 1341 to 1922. In 1898, an earthquake destroyed much of the city, and, in 1916, the local Greek Christian population was refused bread on payment during World War I, and the Greek women were forced to convert to Islam in order to eat. On 30 June 1920, the Greek Army captured Balikesir during the Turkish War of Independence, but the Turks recaptured Balikesir on 6 September 1922. On 3 August 1950, the city center was once again destroyed by fire, but it was later rebuilt. By 2019, Balikesir had a population of 1,228,620 people and an AKP mayor.