Pre-Turkic History of Anatolia

Asia Minor, or the Anatolian peninsula, the area which mostly comprises present day Turkey, is one of the oldest inhabited parts of the world. Its importance, sitting at the intersection between Asia and Europe, as been felt not just in Turkey’s history but throughout the whole of the world. The first major empire in the region was the Hittites Empire which ruled from the 18th through the 13th century BC, although this was subsequently destroyed. Later the west coat of the peninsular was settled by the Ionians, some of the people who made up Ancient Greece. Later the Persians fought for and took the whole region and held in until it fell to Alexander the Great in 334 BC, when it was then divided into a number of smaller kingdoms. The Romans took their turn in ruling the region, and Istanbul, then known as Constantinople, was proclaimed the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire - Byzantine Empire – after the westernpart of the empire fell.

The Ottoman Empire

The Kinik Oguz Turks, spawned the branch the House of Seljuk who in the 9th century lived a nomadic life on the edge of the Muslim world. In the Tenth Century they migrated into Anatolia and attacked and defeated the Byzantine Empire. Desiring to cement themselves in the area they discarded their nomadic ways and settled on the peninsular permanently, heralding the rise of the Seljuk Empire. In 1243, the Seljuk armies were crushed by the Mongols and their Empire fell away. Into the power vacuum stepped Osman I who took his Turkish principality and slowly expanded and consolidated what was to become the Ottoman Empire which was to last 623 years. During this time the empire spread throughout the region, as far west as Vienna and brought much death and destruction in its path as well as political ideas which were to play an important role in the establishment of a future Turkish state, such as secular rule. The last act of the Ottoman Empire was its choice to join the Germans in World War One. The subsequent defeat led to the Allies deciding to break up the Empire.

Republican Times and Modern Day Turkey

Istanbul remained occupied after World War One, and the resentment this fostered helped with the establishment of the Turkish national movement, under the military commander Mustafa Kemal Pasha, who had distinguished himself at the Battle of Gallipoli during the war. It took until 1922 to drive the Allies out, but the resistance was successful and the foundation of modern day Turkey took place. The Sultanate was abolished, marking the official end of the Ottoman Empire, the capital was named as Ankara and commander Mustafa Kemal Pasha became President and was awarded with the honorific name "Atatürk" (Father of the Turks) – which is how he is refereed to today.

Fears that Communism would spread to the Mediterranean meant that the Turks received massive amounts of economic and military aid from the Americans, and also that they were swiftly admitted into NATO. The years which have followed have seen the military seize power from democratically elected governments on a number of occasions when they have not been happy with the way the country is run, but Turkey has remained largely democratic and has long term aims to be part of the European Union, although it seems unlikely whilst its forces remain in occupied northern Cyprus and continues to commit abuses against the Kurds. Currently the country is once again facing tough questions and trying to find a balance between secularism and respecting the Islamic religion of the majority of the population.