to Murat III in the 16th century. Suleiman the Magnificent often stayed in the city, and even received the Habsburg ambassador Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq there. Already distinguished a cultural centre under the Seljuks, Amasya now "became one of the main seats of learning in Anatolia". Between 1530 and 1545, several travelers documented a blood libel against some of the town's Jews. After the disappearance of a local Christian, several Jews living in town were blamed for killing him for ritual reasons. The Jews confessed under torture and were hanged. When the supposed victim was discovered to still be alive, Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent ordered that all accusations regarding religious rituals should be judged under "royal" and not local court. In 1555, Amasya was also the location for the signing of the Peace of Amasya with the Safavid dynasty of Persia. The population of Amasya at this time was very different from that of most other cities in the Ottoman Empire, as it was part of their training for the future sultans to learn about every nation of the Empire. Every millet of the Empire was represented in Amasya in a particular village—such as a Greek village, an Armenian village, a Bosnian village, a Tatar village, a Turkish village etc. (see: 1927 Population count data by DİE) In the late 19th century, the city had 25,000–30,000 inhabitants, mostly Turks, but also some Armenians and Greeks. World War I and the Turkish War of Independence In 1919 Amasya was the location of the final planning meetings held by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk for the building of a Turkish army to establish the Turkish republic following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire at the end of the First World War. It was here that Mustafa Kemal made the announcement of the Turkish War of Independence in the Amasya Circular. This circular is considered as the first written document putting the Turkish War of Independence in motion. The circular, distributed across Anatolia, declared Turkey's independence and integrity to be in danger and called for a national conference to be held in Sivas (Sivas Congress) and before that, for a preparatory congress comprising representatives from the eastern provinces of Anatolia to be held in Erzurum in July (Erzurum Congress). During the years of World War I and the Turkish War of Independence, the Christian inhabitants of Amasya (Armenian and Greek) suffered from atrocities. Many Armenian