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Palaeolithic era. By
7000 BC some cave-dwellers had formed settlements in
Anatolia. By
3000 BC advances in metallurgy and weapons led to the
creation of various Anatolian kingdoms.
Bronze Age Around 1800 BC the warlike
Hittites appeared in Anatolia. But the Hittites didn’t
keep up technologically, unlike their iron-smelting Greek
neighbours. While a new dynasty at Troy was establishing
itself they were harried by the Greeks in the Trojan War
(1250 BC).
Hellenic Era The Lycians established a
confederation of independent city states on the south-west
coast. They were the only Anatolian people whom the
sophisticated Greeks didn’t deride as ‘barbarians’.
The Lycians clearly were influenced by the Greeks and traded
with them. However,
worried by Greek expansion, the emperor of Persia invaded in
547 BC. Persian
control continued until 334 BC when Alexander the Great’s
men thundered all the way across Anatolia and Persia. But
Alexander died in 323 BC with no successor so his empire was
short-lived.
Roman Era Meanwhile, the increasingly
powerful Romans were casting covetous eyes on the riches and
trade networks of Anatolia and invaded in 133 BC. Ephesus
was named capital of the Roman province of Asia and within
60 years the Romans had overcome resistance and extended
their reach to the Persian border. At this time the
fledgling religion of Christianity began to spread.
Byzantine era In the
late 3rd century Emperor Diocletian split the Roman Empire
into two administrative units. He ruled the Roman west while
the eastern region called Byzantium was ruled by
Constantine. A
convert to Christianity, Constantine built a “New Rome”
on the ancient town
of Byzantium (eventually Constantinople). The empire based
in Rome succumbed to decadence while the Greek-speaking
eastern half – Byzantium – prospered. But
eventually struggles with Persia weakened the Byzantines
leaving Anatolia easy prey for Arab armies.
Muslim invasion The Arabs took Ankara in 654 AD and in 669 AD besieged
Constantinople. They
were joined by a nomadic people, the Turks, who had been
moving westward out of Central Asia and en route converted
to Islam. Vigorous and martial, the Turks built an empire
centred in Persia and from there began raiding Byzantine
territory.
Ottoman Empire By 1300 a muslim Turk, Osman, established the Ottoman dynasty
and quickly established an efficient administration
converting youths and training them for the military. With
Mehmet I at the helm, they expanded through Anatolia. The
Ottoman golden age came during the reign of Sultan Süleyman
(1520–66) who codified Ottoman law. However, a decline
began under later sultans with intrigues, assassinations and
fratricide. In the meantime Western Europe was rich from
exploiting the ‘New World’ and had innovations such as electricity, postal service and
railways. The Ottomans did not allow the printing press
until the 18th century.
Modern Turkey As the Ottoman empire shrunk, a revolutionary group the CUP
was formed and known as the ‘Young Turks’. In WW 1 the
Ottomans chose the wrong side and had to fight a
multinational force at Gallipoli. Here, the Ottoman army won
due to ineptitude of British commanders and to the
brilliance of Turkish commander Mustafa Kemal. He emerged as
a hero and assumed the newly created presidency of a new secular
republic. Taking the name Atatürk (‘Father Turk’), he
reformed everything from headgear to language. In WWII
Turkey avoided involvement. During the cold war they sided
with America against Russia and joined NATO.
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