Anatolian peoples were a group of distinct ethnic groups which spoke related languages. They shared cultural traits and traditional religion. The Anatolian languages were one branch of the larger Indo-European language family.

All the Anatolian languages (and the cultures accompanying them) are extinct (unless one believes the theory that Armenians are the last Anatolian people, as opposed to being part of a separate culture^[which?]), although there may be lingering influences on the modern inhabitants of Anatolia. The lands of the Anatolian peoples were invaded by a number of peoples and empires at high frequency: the Medes, the Persians, the Greeks, the Romans, the Galatian Celts, the Phrygians and Bithyni (who were related to the Thracians and other Balkan peoples), and the Oghuz Turks. Many of these invaders settled in Anatolia, in some cases causing the extinction of the Anatolian languages. The Anatolian peoples were absorbed, Islamified, and culturally assimilated by the Turkic invaders from Central Asia. This is apparent by the genetics of the modern Turkish people, some of them have Anatolian descent. The Anatolian peoples may have not been culturally indigenous themselves, unless the Indo-European Urheimat was in Anatolia (however, another theory is that it was in Ukraine).

Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" (Turkish: singular: Türk, plural: Türkler), are a nation and ethnic group primarily living in Turkey, and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities have been established in the Balkans, the island of Cyprus, the Levant, Meskhetia, and North Africa. The Turkish minorities are the second largest ethnic groups in Bulgaria and Cyprus. In addition, due to modern migration, a Turkish diaspora has been established, particularly in Western Europe (see Turks in Europe), where large communities have been formed in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. There are also Turkish communities living in Australia, the former Soviet Union and the United States.

Although Turkic languages may have been spoken as early as 600 BC, the name "Turk" first appeared in Chinese sources and derives from the term "Tujue" (T’u-chue), meaning "strong" or "powerful", which was used in the 6th century C.E. to refer to the Göktürks.