Anatolian History dates back to more than 7500 BC. This makes Turkish history one of the oldest on earth. Anatolia has been the cradle of many civilizations. A country connecting wet and east, old and new, all living side by side, making a most interesting, colourful country.

Stone Age 7500 - 2600 BC

There have been signs of human beings living in the Mediterranean area dating back before 7500 BC. In Çatal Höyük (south of Konya) the remains of a Stone Age settlement have been found. In Yümüktepe (Mersin) gold and silver jewels and ironwork decoration have been found. Most of these remains from the Stone Age and Stone & Copper age are displayed in the museum of Anatolian Civilizations in Ankara.

Bronze Age - The Hittites 2600 - 1200 BC

The most important civilization of this era has been the Hittites. Beautiful pottery, ironwork and golden jewels and figures of Hittite origin have been found. They are also the first civilization in Asia Minor to use cuneiform and "image" writing. Beautiful palaces and castles have been made during the Hittite Empire and last, but not least, their temples. The Hittites worshipped a sun goddess and a storm god (so much for emancipation in those days).

The Greeks coming up 1200 BC - 550 BC

Because of power changes in Greece, a lot of people fled to the Anatolian Highland. Ionians settled in the west around Izmir, Phrygians at the Mediterranean around Antalya, Lydians in the middle and in the east the Empire of Urartu, to name a few. Lots of smaller kingdoms and empires spread out over the Anatolian peninsula. It was the start of a blooming mainly Hellenistic period. The Greeks started using marble and the typical Greek scrolled capitals of pillars are seen. The Lydians invented the coin and their King Croesus became a famous collector.

The Persians 546 - 334 BC

As the Greek kingdoms came under pressure from Cimmerians and Persians, the flourishing days of the Hellenistic time in Anatolia were passé. Ironically it was about the start of the Hellenistic days in what is now Greece. And so from those days on, a Persian wind blew over the Highlands. The Persians kept a tight regime, using lots of tyrants to rule cities for them. People not feeling very content with the situ- ation started revolting. In the meantime Hellenistic Greek became strong enough and dared to declare war on the Persians. In a bloody war lasting from 492 till 479 BC, Greece at the end won the sea battle at Salamis.

Alexander the Great & Hellenism 334 - 323 BC

Seleucid, Galatia, Armenia & Pergamum 323 - 100 BC

And as so often in history, when one Empire comes down another is waiting to take over. From Antioch (Antakya) in the east the Seleucids conquered a big part of Asia Minor and ruled the Middle East for the century to come. From the west the Celts (or Gaul's) enter the Anatolian Highland from Macedonia. The Aegean up to Ancyra (Ankara), their capital, became Galtian ground. In the total east the Armenians, a Phrygian tribe, settled on the remains of the Urartian Empire. But one of the most impressive ruling of that time was done by Pergamum. By choosing the Roman side, they were able to withstand the Seleucids. They expanded their border slowly on and had a flourishing culture, shown for example, by a huge library able to rival with the one in Alexandria.

Roman times 100 BC - 395 AD

The Romans started entering the peninsula from now on. They conquered Seleucia. Pergamum, being their allies, and the Romans lived peacefully next to each other. To the reign of Pergamum came a sudden end in 133. The King, who didn't have an heir to the throne, died and left the country in his will to the Romans. For almost three centuries the Romans would rule in Anatolia. They must have been successful to be able to rule that long. They brought a more quiet and stable period to Asia Minor. Culture flourished and the Romans reshaped remains of the Greek period and started putting their stamp on the architecture and art they constructed on the peninsula. Instead of building theaters on hills like the Greeks did, with a view on the natural surroundings, the Romans started building them also in free space and closed up the "skene", the acting area of a theater with a wall, thus creating "decor". Many castles and temples rose under their hand too. During Roman times also a new religion started flourishing, Christianity. St. Paul came to Tarsus in Cilicia. The excellent roads offered him fast transportation so he visited a vast amount of cities spread through whole Asia Minor. Visiting Iconium (Konya), a city from the Kingdom of Galatia, he wrote the people a letter, which you are still able to read as a part of the Bible. In Antioch the followers of this new religion are coming together in a cave. Here these people are for the first time called Christians. Later on a church has been built here, the St Peter Church and is considered the first Christian church. St. John is said to have spent the last part of his life in the area of Ephesus, accompanied by mother Mary. Christianity gained strength and made rulers scared, resulting in persecutions and executions of this upcoming religion's followers.

Byzantium 395 - 1453 AD

After a period of some weakness, with Goths in the west and Persians in the east ready to take over, Constantine came to rule and stabilized the Empire again. He declared equal rights for all religions and the first ecumenical council took place. Constantine, his name already tells us, made great building efforts in a Hellenistic city in the Byzantium part of the Empire and named it Constantinople. This city is declared the capital of the eastern part of the Roman Empire. In 395 the west part of a weakened Roman Empire is lost, but the east part grows in strength and lives on in history as Byzantium. Emperor Justinian ruled it very successfully. Not only in the political and strategical view, but also in the cultural, architectural and artistic way. For centuries the most splendid church, constructed under Justinian, has been Aya Sofia, only to give up this possession because it was turned into a mosque, then immediately able to rule as the most splendid one again. After Justinian, slowly the Byzantium Empire goes into decline. In Arabia again a new religion is about to be born. Mohammed was born in Mecca in 570 AD. In 612 he heard the voice of god, commanding him to "recitations". After his death, these recitements are written down in a book called the Koran. But also the road of Islam was not an easy one. Mohammed was forced to leave Mecca in 622. This is the starting point of the Muslim lunar calendar. Mohammed settled in Medina and became very powerful in just 10 years time. Islam is a theocratic institution that doesn't acknowledge any difference between religion and state. So when Mohammed conquered Mecca (624 - 630), the road for the Muslim commonwealth was open, quickly conquering one city after another and becoming a serious threat for a Byzantium in decline.

Seljuk Empire 1037 - 1281 AD

Coming from Central Asia, the Seljuks are the first Turks to rule Anatolia starting in 1037. They gave a severe blow to the already weak Byzantium Empire in 1071 by capturing their Emperor. Byzantium, fearing its end, grasped for a last straw and called to Rome for assistance. They argued that this would protect the road to the Holy Land and the pilgrimages to Jerusalem. This announces the start of the infamous crusades (1000 - 1200). But as fast as the Seljuk star rose, so quick it came down too. Just a small part continued to exist on in Iconium (Konya). They kept their culture alive, producing beautiful buildings and art. Mosques and Medressi (Koran schools), minarets, caravansaries, castles, mausoleum and city walls are built up under Seljuk hands. Not do we only find remnants of skillful hands, but also of great thinkers. The most famous one is without doubt Delaleddin Rumi, or better known as "Mevlana", founder of the whirling Dervishes.

Ottoman Empire 1288 - 1923 AD

With the Seljuk Empire coming down and a weak Byzantium, there was a vacuum growing in the Anatolian highlands. Now as you know well, this will never exist long. Hordes of Turks fled away from the Mongols towards the west and entered Asia Minor. These Turks were followers of a man named Ertugrul. His son Osman followed him in leadership and started what was to become the Osmanli (Ottoman) Empire. Bursa became their first capital. But already in 1453 they stood before the gates of Constantinople and under the leadership of Sultan Mehmet Fatih (the Conqueror) the city fell into Ottoman hands. A great power was on the rise now. It had its peak from 1520 - 1566 under Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent. He manages to make great buildings of architectural value. He starts building the first dome shaped mosques that give them their characteristic appearance. Besides expanding cities and buildings, he also expands the borders of his empire to all sides. In 1529 he even knocked on the gate of Vienna. After Süleyman's death there were no great Sultans, but good generals kept the empire going. Still slowly on the Empire started its decline. By 1866 the power and fear the empire used to express was no longer alive. Europe in fact was passing in a fast pace by the Ottomans in social, scientific and military facets, outgrowing them fast. Until the 19th century people from all kinds of ethnic or religious background had been able to live peacefully next to each other. But a strong ethnic nationalistic wind blowing strong from Europe induced a time of changes. These ethnic nationalistic seeds found fertile earth in a country on decline with discontented people and misruling. Different ethnic groups started revolting, supported in many cases by Europe. This resulted in the independence of the kingdom of Greece in 1832 after heavy fighting. Soon others took this example and the empire rapidly fell apart. European powers were quickly to jump in to take the leftovers, claiming to protect holy places. The Russians, still religious at that time, wouldn't mind doing some protection too. France and Britain, all of a sudden not that religious anymore, supported the Ottomans to prevent the Russian obtaining straight access to the Mediterranean. In 1908 in a still further and further declining state, a group of young people, calling themselves the young Turks, demanded more rights for the people granted in a constitution. Temporarily it was granted but quickly totality rule overthrew it again. WW I was coming up and the Ottoman Empire was on the losers' side, resulting in the occupation of the remnants of the Empire. England and France took care of Constantinople and the Dardanelles. Italy and Greece occupied the West Coast around Izmir. A dying Empire hardly able to breathe felt its last days coming. People were fed up with a sultan unable to do anything constructive. But in all this desperation there was a spark of hope. The Young Turks and Mustafa Kemal organized themselves, resulting in the independence war (1920 - 1922) Mustafa Kemal became a national hero and people started calling him Atatürk (father of the Turks). The rest of the history you can find under the Republic.