Brief History of Turkey

The Republic of Turkey is a new, contemporary and technological country which exists in an old land
with a rich history. The modern Turkish state—beginning with the creation of the Republic of Turkey
in the years immediately after World War I—drew on a national
consciousness that had developed only in the late nineteenth century. But the history
of nomadic Turkish tribes can be traced with certainty to the sixth century A.D.,
when they wandered the steppes of central Asia. Asia Minor, which the Turks invaded
in the eleventh century, has a recorded history that dates back to the Hittites, who
flourished there in the second millennium B.C. However, archaeological evidence of
far older cultures has been found in the region.
The term Turkey , although sometimes used to signify the
Ottoman Empire, was not assigned to a specific political
entity or geographic area until the republic was founded in
1923. The large peninsular territory had been wrested from
the Byzantine Empire. The term Anatolia is also used when
events described affected both that region and Turkish
Thrace (“Turkey-in-Europe”) because of the two areas’
closely linked political, social, and cultural development.
The Republic of Turkey is a bridge connecting the Middle
East and Europe, and it shares in the history of both those
parts of the world. Despite the diversity of its peoples and
their cultures, and the constantly shifting borders of its ethnic
map, Anatolia has a history characterized by remarkable
continuity. Wave after wave of conquerors and settlers have imposed their language and other unique features of
their culture on it, but they also have invariably assimilated the customs of the peoples who preceded them.
The history of Turkey encompasses, first, the history of Anatolia before the coming of the Turks and of the
civilizations—Hittite, Thracian, Hellenistic, and Byzantine. Secondly,
it includes the history of the Turkish peoples, including the Seljuks,
who brought Islam and the Turkish language to Anatolia. Thirdly, it is
the history of the Ottoman Empire, a cosmopolitan state that for many
centuries was a world power.
Finally, the Republic of Turkey’s history is that of the republic
established in 1923 under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal (1881-
1938), called Atatürk. The creation of the new republic in the heartland
of the old empire was achieved in the face of internal traditionalist
opposition and foreign intervention. Atatürk’s goal was to build upon
the ruins of Ottoman Turkey a new country and a vibrant and
progressive society patterned directly on Western Europe. He equated
Westernization with the introduction of technology, the modernization
of administration, and the evolution of democratic institutions.
Today, amidst vast history and culture, the cities of the Republic of
Turkey present a proud democracy, social diversity, strength in business
and technology, and modern progress into the future. Turkey not only
serves as a bridge between Europe and Asia, but a bridge between a
rich past and a progressive future.
Brief History of Turkey
Temple of Apollo at Side,
settled in the 7th century BC.
Ankara, the modern capital of Turkey