Ankara is a central Anatolian town captured by the Ottomans around 1360 and made the capital of a sandjak (Turk. district) in the eyalet (Turk. province) of Anadolu (Anatolia). During the Ottoman period, the town was a trading center and was also known for its textile manufactures, particularly of angora wool (mohair) obtained from long-haired white goats.

The small Jewish community of Ankara was joined in the late fifteenth century by an influx of Sephardim from Spain and Portugal. Even then, however, the Jewish community was fairly small. Between 15…