On Oct. 29, Türkiye will be celebrating quite a momentous occasion: the centennial of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk establishing the Republic of Türkiye. We all know 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 War I. For 623 years, the Ottoman Empire had ruled these lands and the vast regions they extended into, which at its height spanned three continents: Europe, Asia and Africa.
While the extent of the Ottoman Empire varied over time, at its zenith in the 16th and 17th centuries, the territories under its rule included the Balkans, such as modern-day Greece, Bulgaria, Albania, Serbia, Bosnia and parts of Hungary and Romania. The Ottoman Empire encompassed large parts of the Middle East, including Syria, Iraq, Palestine and parts of Saudi Arabia and Jordan. Ottoman territories also extended into North Africa, including parts of Algeria, Tunisia and Libya, and in the southern Caucasus, parts of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia were also part of the empire at different times, as were the southeastern European countries Ukraine, Moldova and southern Russia.
While the Ottoman Empire was one of the most powerful and expansive empires in history, the actual land of Türkiye today, of which we will soon be celebrating simply the past 100 years of its existence, has hosted multiple civilizations from the ancient civilizations, the Greek and Roman periods, the Byzantine Empire, the Seljuk Turks to the Ottoman Empire and now as the Turkish republic we celebrate. And so, where and when did it all begin? Let’s take a look at the history of the land we know and love as Türkiye from a general perspective, starting from when the time we can track here began.
The prehistoric period in Türkiye dates back to 10,000 B.C. and was the time of early human settlements in Anatolia (which is modern-day Türkiye). We know this because the neolithic site of Göbeklitepe, which dates back to 11,000 to 12,000 years ago (9600 B.C.), is often considered the world’s oldest temple complex. Located in southeastern Türkiye, near the city of Şanlıurfa, Göbeklitepe predates Stonehenge by several thousand years The site consists of several large stone pillars arranged in circular patterns. It is considered a significant archaeological discovery because it challenges previous assumptions about the development of complex societies. The purpose of the site is believed to be religious or ceremonial, and it provides insights into the social and architectural practices of early human societies. The site was deliberately buried, contributing to its preservation over the millennia, and it was rediscovered by archaeologist Klaus Schmidt in the 1990s.
However, a new site in the region called Karahantepe may have existed even earlier. Excavations have been ongoing for four years now and have uncovered a 2.3-meter (7.5-foot) statue and 250 obelisks featuring animal figures. These findings and other newer excavations, such as what could be the first-ever painted statue in history, which was found in Gobeklitepe and is of a life-sized wild boar, will hopefully wield meaningful insight into the beginnings of the world as we know it.
Çatalhöyük (7500-5700 B.C.) is its predecessor and, up until Göbeklitepe, had been believed to be the oldest neolithic settlement. It unveiled a large, advanced community with intricately designed houses and a complex social structure. After that, we know that at around 3000 B.C., there was the rise of the Hittite and several ancient civilizations, including the Phrygians, Urartians and Lydians in central Anatolia.
At around 2000 B.C., Troy, a major city-state, began to flourish and the most memorable incident of this era was the 1200 B.C. supposedly decadelong Trojan War, as depicted in Homer’s epics. In the eighth century B.C., ancient Greek colonies such as Ephesus, Troy and Assos were established along the western coast, an area known as Ionia, which features predominantly in Greek mythology. Alas, in 500 B.C., the Persian Empire conquered Anatolia.
In 333 B.C., Alexander the Great defeated the Persian Empire, and Anatolia became part of the Hellenistic Empire, which was one of the largest empires of the ancient world achieved through conquests extending from Greece to Egypt, Persia and India by one of the most successful commanders in history. After Alexander the Great’s death, the Roman Republic annexed Anatolia, making it a province of the Roman Empire.
After the Roman Empire’s division, the eastern part, including Anatolia, became the Byzantine Empire. In 330 A.D., Emperor Constantine the Great established Constantinople (modern Istanbul) as the new capital and the Byzantine civilization flourished from the fourth to 15th centuries while facing invasions. The Byzantines preserved and further developed the Greco-Roman heritage while embracing Christianity.
Also referred to as the Dark Ages, the medieval period is when the Seljuk Turks in the 11th century migrated into Anatolia and established the Sultanate of Rum. They played a crucial role in shaping the Islamic identity of the region and coexisting with the existing Christian communities. That is until 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.
The Ottoman Empire, founded in the late 13th century, became one of the most powerful and enduring empires in history. It conquered Constantinople in 1453, marking the end of the Byzantine Empire. The Ottomans ruled over a diverse array of cultures, languages and religions for several centuries. In the 16th century, the Ottoman Empire reached its zenith under Suleiman the Magnificent, but then, in the 17th to 18th centuries, the Ottoman Empire started declining.
In the 19th century, the Ottoman Empire faced internal strife, known as the Tanzimat reforms, while also joining World War I on the side of the Central Powers, leading to its dissolution. Following World War I and the Turkish War of Independence (1919–1922), Mustafa Kemal Atatürk founded the Republic of Türkiye on Oct. 29, 1923. Under Atatürk’s leadership, Türkiye underwent a process of modernization, secularization and Westernization.
