On Oct. 29, Türkiye shall be celebrating fairly a momentous event: the centennial of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk establishing the Republic of Türkiye. Everyone knows that he did so by conquering the Allied forces, which included Greek, British, French and Italian forces aiming to dismember the Ottoman Empire after World Struggle I. For 623 years, the Ottoman Empire had dominated these lands and the huge areas they prolonged into, which at its peak spanned three continents: Europe, Asia and Africa.
Whereas the extent of the Ottoman Empire different over time, at its zenith within the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the territories underneath its rule included the Balkans, equivalent to modern-day Greece, Bulgaria, Albania, Serbia, Bosnia and components of Hungary and Romania. The Ottoman Empire encompassed massive components of the Center East, together with Syria, Iraq, Palestine and components of Saudi Arabia and Jordan. Ottoman territories additionally prolonged into North Africa, together with components of Algeria, Tunisia and Libya, and within the southern Caucasus, components of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia have been additionally a part of the empire at totally different instances, as have been the southeastern European nations Ukraine, Moldova and southern Russia.
Whereas the Ottoman Empire was one of the crucial highly effective and expansive empires in historical past, the precise land of Türkiye right this moment, of which we’ll quickly be celebrating merely the previous 100 years of its existence, has hosted a number of civilizations from the traditional civilizations, the Greek and Roman intervals, the Byzantine Empire, the Seljuk Turks to the Ottoman Empire and now because the Turkish republic we have fun. And so, the place and when did all of it start? Let’s check out the historical past of the land we all know and love as Türkiye from a common perspective, ranging from when the time we will observe right here started.
Prehistoric interval
The prehistoric interval in Türkiye dates again to 10,000 B.C. and was the time of early human settlements in Anatolia (which is modern-day Türkiye). We all know this as a result of the neolithic website of Göbeklitepe, which dates again to 11,000 to 12,000 years in the past (9600 B.C.), is commonly thought of the world’s oldest temple advanced. Situated in southeastern Türkiye, close to town of Şanlıurfa, Göbeklitepe predates Stonehenge by a number of thousand years The positioning consists of a number of massive stone pillars organized in round patterns. It’s thought of a big archaeological discovery as a result of it challenges earlier assumptions in regards to the improvement of advanced societies. The aim of the positioning is believed to be spiritual or ceremonial, and it gives insights into the social and architectural practices of early human societies. The positioning was intentionally buried, contributing to its preservation over the millennia, and it was rediscovered by archaeologist Klaus Schmidt within the Nineteen Nineties.
Nevertheless, a brand new website within the area known as Karahantepe might have existed even earlier. Excavations have been ongoing for 4 years now and have uncovered a 2.3-meter (7.5-foot) statue and 250 obelisks that includes animal figures. These findings and different newer excavations, equivalent to what may very well be the first-ever painted statue in historical past, which was present in Gobeklitepe and is of a life-sized wild boar, will hopefully wield significant perception into the beginnings of the world as we all know it.
Çatalhöyük (7500-5700 B.C.) is its predecessor and, up till Göbeklitepe, had been believed to be the oldest neolithic settlement. It unveiled a big, superior group with intricately designed homes and a fancy social construction. After that, we all know that at round 3000 B.C., there was the rise of the Hittite and a number of other historic civilizations, together with the Phrygians, Urartians and Lydians in central Anatolia.
Historic interval
At round 2000 B.C., Troy, a significant city-state, started to flourish and essentially the most memorable incident of this period was the 1200 B.C. supposedly decadelong Trojan Struggle, as depicted in Homer’s epics. Within the eighth century B.C., historic Greek colonies equivalent to Ephesus, Troy and Assos have been established alongside the western coast, an space referred to as Ionia, which options predominantly in Greek mythology. Alas, in 500 B.C., the Persian Empire conquered Anatolia.
Hellenistic, Roman interval
In 333 B.C., Alexander the Nice defeated the Persian Empire, and Anatolia turned a part of the Hellenistic Empire, which was one of many largest empires of the traditional world achieved by way of conquests extending from Greece to Egypt, Persia and India by one of the crucial profitable commanders in historical past. After Alexander the Nice’s demise, the Roman Republic annexed Anatolia, making it a province of the Roman Empire.
Byzantine interval
After the Roman Empire’s division, the japanese half, together with Anatolia, turned the Byzantine Empire. In 330 A.D., Emperor Constantine the Nice established Constantinople (trendy Istanbul) as the brand new capital and the Byzantine civilization flourished from the fourth to fifteenth centuries whereas dealing with invasions. The Byzantines preserved and additional developed the Greco-Roman heritage whereas embracing Christianity.
Medieval interval
Additionally known as the Darkish Ages, the medieval interval is when the Seljuk Turks within the eleventh century migrated into Anatolia and established the Sultanate of Rum. They performed a vital function in shaping the Islamic id of the area and coexisting with the present Christian communities. That’s till the 1071 A.D. Battle of Manzikert (Malazgirt) when the Seljuk Turks defeated the Byzantine Empire. In 1299 A.D., Osman I established the Ottoman Beylik and in 1453, the Ottoman Empire, led by Mehmed II, conquered Constantinople.
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, based within the late thirteenth century, turned one of the crucial highly effective and enduring empires in historical past. It conquered Constantinople in 1453, marking the top of the Byzantine Empire. The Ottomans dominated over a various array of cultures, languages and religions for a number of centuries. Within the sixteenth century, the Ottoman Empire reached its zenith underneath Suleiman the Magnificent, however then, within the seventeenth to 18th centuries, the Ottoman Empire began declining.
The Turkish republic
Within the nineteenth century, the Ottoman Empire confronted inner strife, referred to as the Tanzimat reforms, whereas additionally becoming a member of World Struggle I on the facet of the Central Powers, resulting in its dissolution. Following World Struggle I and the Turkish Struggle of Independence (1919–1922), Mustafa Kemal Atatürk based the Republic of Türkiye on Oct. 29, 1923. Beneath Atatürk’s management, Türkiye underwent a means of modernization, secularization and Westernization.