History of Turkey

Anatolia is one of the cradles of human civilization. Göbekli Tepe (near Şanlıurfa) — erected around 9,500 BC — is the oldest known monumental structure in the world, 6,000 years older than Stonehenge. Çatalhöyük (near Konya) was one of the first city foundations (7,500 BC).

The Hittites (1600–1178 BC) established a great empire from Hattuşa (near Çorum) that rivaled Egypt. The Treaty of Kadesh (1259 BC) between the Hittites and Egyptians is the oldest known peace treaty in the world — a copy hangs in the UN headquarters in New York.

On the Aegean coast, Greek city-states emerged that contributed to the flowering of ancient culture: Miletus (birthplace of philosophy — Thales, Anaximander), Ephesus (Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the World), Halikarnassos (Mausoleum, another wonder), and Troy (setting of Homer's Iliad). Alexander the Great conquered Anatolia in 334 BC and spread Hellenistic culture.

The Romans made Anatolia their richest provinces: Pergamon, Ephesus, Antioch, and Side flourished. Christianity spread from here — Paul traveled through Anatolia, the Seven Churches of Revelation were all located in present-day Turkey, and the Council of Nicaea (325 AD, in today's İznik) formulated the Christian creed.

In 324 AD, Emperor Constantine the Great moved the capital of the Roman Empire to Byzantium and named it Constantinople — the city that would be the most powerful center of the Christian world for 1,100 years.

Emperor Justinian I (527–565) commissioned the construction of the Hagia Sophia — the architectural marvel that dominated the world for 1,000 years. Under the Byzantines, Anatolia developed into the cultural heart of Orthodox Christianity: The rock churches of Cappadocia with their frescoes, the monasteries on the Black Sea (Sumela), and the theological schools testify to this golden age.

The Byzantine Empire survived countless sieges, crusades, and internal crises. The Fourth Crusade (1204) — during which the crusaders looted not the Holy Land but Constantinople itself — fatally weakened the empire. The last 250 years were a slow decline until Sultan Mehmed II conquered the city in 1453.

The Ottoman Empire — from a small principality in northwestern Anatolia to a world empire that stretched from Vienna to Yemen, from Algeria to the Caspian Sea — was one of the most powerful dynasties in history for over 600 years.

Osman I (1299) founded the principality that would bear his name. Mehmed II "Fatih" (the Conqueror) took Constantinople in 1453 — the event that ended the Middle Ages and ushered in a new era. The city was renamed İstanbul and became the capital of the expanding empire.

The Golden Age under Süleyman the Magnificent (1520–1566) saw the greatest expansion of the empire: the siege of Vienna (1529), control over the holy sites of Islam, groundbreaking legal reforms, and a cultural flourishing with architect Mimar Sinan (Süleymaniye Mosque, Selimiye Mosque — masterpieces of Islamic architecture).

The slow decline from the 17th century — military defeats, economic decay, nationalist movements in the Balkans — led to the empire being referred to as the "Sick Man of the Bosporus." In the First World War, the Ottoman Empire fought alongside the Central Powers and lost. The Gallipoli Campaign (1915) — a bloody, ultimately failed Allied attack on the Dardanelles — became the founding legend of modern Turkey. There, the young officer Mustafa Kemal distinguished himself.

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (1881–1938) — military commander, visionary, revolutionary — is the most important figure in modern Turkish history. After the lost First World War and the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922), he founded the Republic of Turkey on October 29, 1923, and implemented a radical reform program:

• Abolition of the Caliphate and the Sultanate — separation of state and religion (secularism)
• Latin alphabet instead of Arabic script (1928) — overnight
• Equality of women: Women's suffrage in 1934 — before France and Italy
• Western dress codes: Fez ban, hat requirement for men
• New capital Ankara instead of Istanbul — as a symbol of a new beginning
• Surnames: Only since 1934 have Turks had surnames — Mustafa Kemal received the honorary name "Atatürk" (Father of the Turks)

Atatürk is still revered in Turkey today: His portrait hangs in every public building, his bust stands in every village square, and insulting his person is punishable. On November 10, his death anniversary, the country stands still for a minute of silence at 9:05 AM (his time of death).

Turkey after Atatürk underwent military coups (1960, 1971, 1980, failed 2016), economic crises, and political tensions between secularism and Islam. Since 2003, the AKP under Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has fundamentally changed the political landscape. For travelers, political discussion is a sensitive topic — respect and restraint are advisable.