The history of Turkey encompasses the history of Republic of Turkey and the history of the region now known as Turkey , including the areas known as Anatolia and Eastern Thrace. Anatolia comprises most of modern Turkey and is known by the Latin name of Asia Minor. Turkey has been inhabited since the Paleolithic, including various Ancient Anatolian civilizations and ancient Thracians. The remnants of Bronze Age civilizations such as the Hattians, provide examples of the lives of its citizens and their trade. After the fall of the Hittites, new states such as Phrygia and Lydia appeared on the western coast as Greek civilization began to flourish. The growing Persian kingdom eventually absorbed them. Following the Persian invasion, its expansionism brought it into conflict with the Greek monarch Alexander the Great who successfully expelled the Persians. Although he brought an end to the Persian Empire, his reign was short and his empire broke up on his death. Most of Anatolia eventually fell under the Seleucid Empire, the largest of Alexander's territories, but they were driven back by the Romans by 191 BC, most of their lands returning to local kingdoms such as the Kingdom of Pergamum. Roman control gradually strengthened carving out provinces from the Anatolian lands, but the Roman Empire was weakened by successive civil wars and barbarian invasions. These resulted in periodic divisions of the empire. In the 4th century, during the reign of Constantine the Great, at the east part of the Roman empire (referred to by historians much later as the Byzantine Empire) was established a new capital at Constantinople. Parting from the West empire the Byzantine Empire it succeeded to flourish for almost a thousand years. Oghuz Turks began migrating into Anatolia in the context of the larger Turkic expansion, forming the Seljuq Empire in the 11th century AD. After the Seljuq victory over forces of the Byzantine Empire in 1071 at the Battle of Manzikert, the process was accelerated. The Seljuq dynasty controlled Turkey until the country was invaded by the Mongols following the Battle of Kosedag. During the years when the country was under Mongol rule, some small Turkish states were born. One of these states was the Ottoman beylik which quickly controlled Western Anatolia and conquered much of Rumelia. After finally conquering Istanbul, the Ottoman state would become a large empire, called the Turkish Empire in Europe. Next, the Empire expanded to Eastern Anatolia, the Caucasus, the Middle East, Central Europe and North Africa. Although the Ottoman Empire's power and prestige peaked in the 16th century; it did not fully reach the technological advance in military capabilities of the Western powers in the 19th century. Nevertheless, Turkey managed to maintain independence though some of its territories were ceded to its neighbours and some small countries gained independence from it. Following World War I in which Turkey was defeated, most of Anatolia and Eastern Thrace was occupied by the Allied powers including the capital city Istanbul. In order to resist the occupation, a cadre of young military officers formed a government in Ankara. The elected leader of the Ankara Government, Mustafa Kemal organized a successful war of independence against the Allied powers. After the liberation of Anatolia and East Thrace, the Republic of Turkey was established in 1923 with its capital at Ankara. Prehistory Prehistory of Anatolia and Ancient Anatolians Paleolithic The 27,000 years old homo sapiens footprints of Kula and Karain Cave are samples for human existence in Anatolia, in this period. Neolithic Because of its strategic location at the intersection of Asia and Europe, Anatolia has been the center of several civilizations since prehistoric times. Neolithic settlements include Çatalhöyük, Çayönü, Nevali Cori, Hacilar, Göbekli Tepe, and Mersin. Bronze Age Early Bronze Age By this time, bronze metallurgy spread to Anatolia from the Transcaucasian Kura-Araxes culture in the late 4th millennium BCE. Anatolia remained fully in the prehistoric period until it entered the sphere of influence of the Akkadian Empire in the 24th century BC under Sargon I. The interest of Akkad in the region as far as it is known was for exporting various materials for manufacturing. While Anatolia was well endowed with copper ores, there is no trace as yet of substantial workings of the tin required to make bronze in Bronze-Age Anatolia. Akkad suffered problematic climate changes in Mesopotamia, as well as a reduction in available manpower that affected trade. This led to the fall of the Akkadians around 2150 BCE at the hands of the Gutians. Middle Bronze Age Attribution: Article text available under CC-BY-SA sourced from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_TurkeyPublic domain image sourced from http://wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Crystal_Clear_app_kedit.svg

• published: 18 Sep 2013
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