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History of Turkey |
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Anatolia has given rise to many civilizations in the course of
history. The objects on display at the Ankara Museum of Anatolian
Civilizations constitute the finest Bronze Age collection in the
world next to the Ur Treasure in the British Museum. The
Ankara collection, dated at 2000-1900B.C., comes from tumuli at
Alacahoyuk, Horoztepe and Mahmatlar, and includes artifacts in
gold silver, electrum bronze and ceramic. |
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An Outpost Against Invasion From The Balkans : Troy
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During the time of the Hatti,
Troy I (3000-2500) and Troy II
(2500-2200) represented the Bronze Age in northwestern Anatolia,
that is to say at Canakkale.Both fell within the sphere of
Aegean culture, and Troy II had a particularly brilliant age.
The gold vessels unearthed by Heinrich Schliemann, and kept in
the Berlin Völkerkunde Museum, unfortunately vanished during
World War II. The riches of Troy are now represented by the gold
jewellery on display in the Istanbul museum of Archaelogy. Troy
III-V (2200-1800B.C.) is a continuation of Troy II. |
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The Ilium of Homer's Iliad Troy VI
As
the Hittites were settling in Central Anatolia,
another Indo-European people were flourishing in
the Canakkale region at Troy VI, which today is
one of Turkey's finest ruins, with a city wall
preserved to a height of four meters, and a
number of well preserved megaron type houses.
The Ilium of King Priam, in Homer's epic,
corresponds to layer VIh(1325-1275 B.C.), and
was destroyed in an earthquake, |
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while the city captured by the Achaeans was Troy
VIIe (1275-1240/1200 B.C.). When Troy VIh was
destroyed in an earthquake in 1275 B.C.,
followed by the pillaging of Troy VIIa in
1240/1200 at the hands of The Achaeans, a
staunch outpost against incursions from the
nortwest- an outpost which had stood for two
thousand years was gone. |
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And
indeed, the crude hand-made pottery discovered
in Troy VIIb2 / 1240-1190 B.C.),like the
Buckelceramic pots found in Troy VIIb2
(1190-110), are of Balkan Origin. Having
captured Troy in 1200, the Balkan peoples
proceeded to occupy Anatolia in waves; around
1190 they destroyed the Hittite capital of
Hattusas and penetrated as far south as the
Assyrian border. |
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The Indo-European migrations, which took place over a vast
territory extending from Western Europe to India, brought some
peoples over the Caucasus into Anatolia. The Nesi people settled
in Central Anatolia, the Pala in Paphlygonia, and the Luwians in
Southern Anatolia. In the course of these migrations the new
arrivals gradually captured the Hatti princedoms to form first
the Old Hittite Kingdom (1660-1460 B.C.), and than the Great
Hittite Kingdom(1460-1190 B.C.).
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The Hittite Empire (1660-1190 B.C.) |
The Hittites founded a federative feudal state, and during their
final two centuries constituted one of the two superpowers of
the age, the other being Egypt. Indo-European in origin, the
Hittites recognized equality between men and women,and indeed their law incoporated rights even for slaves. No other legal
system in the world at that time was so advanced. Although the
monarchy passed from father to son, this was a kingship based on
the idea of "primus inter pares",first among equals, for the
ruler was required to bring many matters before the senate,
which was made up of aristocrats known as the Pankus class.
At a time in the Near East when the flaying and impaling of
enemies was the rule, when heads and hands would be lopped off
and pyramids made of them, the Hittites were astonishingly
humane, almost like civilized of nations today.
The Hittites adopted the Hatti religion, mythology, language and
customs, as well as their names for places, mountains, rivers
and persons. |
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Because the Mesopotamians called Anatolia "the Land
of the Hatti", the newcomers were mistakenly given the name "Hittite".
Hittite architecture was highly original, and included the
strongest city walls of the Near East in the second millenium
B.C. They also built the most magnificent temples, and developed
a figurative art that was to be widespread in Anatolia.
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Civilizations Which Influenced The Hellens
The Urartu Kingdom(860-580 B.C.) and The Phrygians(750-300 B.C.) |
In southeastern and eastern Anatolia, which seem not to have
been much affected by the migrations of the Balkan peoples, the
Late Hittite Princedoms(1200-700 B.C.) and the Urartu Kingdom
(860-580 B.C.)produced a high level of culture.
In the 8th century B.C. the Hellenes came in contact with the
rich two-thousand-year-old heritage of Mesopotamia through the
intermediary of the Late Hittite Princedoms living in
southeastern Anatolia. The Hellenes acquired the Phoenician
alphabet from Al Mina, and the mythology and figurative art
which we see in Homer and Hesiod, from such Late Hittite cities
as Kargamish and Malatya. The helmet of a Hellene in the 8th
century, along with his shield, various belts and different hair
styles, were just like Those of the Hittites. Hellenic
figurative and decorative art in the 8th and 7th centuries
followed Hittite styles and iconography.
Although the Urartus were strongly influenced in their art by
Assyrian and Late Hittite example, they produced fine artifacts
which they were able to export to Hellas and Etruscan cities.
The Phrygians were among the Balkan peoples who came into
Anatolia around the year 1200 B.C., but they first appear on the
scene as a political entitiyafter the year 750 B.C. The Hellenic
world knew of the Phrygian King Midas as a legendary figure with
long ears who turned to gold everything that the touched. The
Assyrians, on the other hand , record that he qas king in 717,
715, 712 and 709 B.C. Although the powerful kingdom which Midas
founded was swept away by the Cimmerians in the First quarter of
the 7th century, scattered groupings of the Phrygians continued
to evolve their civilization in Central Anatolia though the 6th
century B.C. The Phrygian rock temples and treasures in the
vicinity of Eskisehir and Afyon are quite well preserved, and
among the finest works produced by their age. |
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Three Intriguing Anatolian Peoples:
Lydia, Caria and Lycia |
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The Lydians and Lycians spoke languages that were fundamentally
Indo-European, but both languages had acquired non-Indo-European
elements prior to the Hittite and Hellenic periods. Both
alphabets closely resembled that of the Hellenes. During the
reign of Creosus, fabled for his wealth (575-545 B.C.) the
Lydian capital of Sardes was one of the most brilliant cities of
the ancient world.
Although the Carian alphabet resembles the Lycian, the Carian
language has not been deciphered to date. Herodotus says that
according to a cretan legend the Carians were called
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Leleges and
lived on the islands during the time of the Minoan Kingdom, that
is, in the mid-2nd millenium B.C.
The Carians themselves,
however, claimed to be native Anatolians, related to the Lydians
and Mysians.
The archaelogical finds pertaining to all three cultures show
strong Hellenic influence. Of the three, the Lycians best kept
their own character. Their monuments hollowed out of the rock
are among the most interesting works of art in ancient Anatolia.
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The Ionian Civilization (1050-1030 B.C.) |
Following the destruction of Troy, the Hellenes established
cities all along the Western Anatolian shore. In the 9th century
B.C. they produced the first masterpiece of Western
Civilization, the Iliad of Homer.
During the era of the natural philosophers, i.e. 600-545 B.C.,
Anatolian culture was of a brilliance unmatched in the world of
its time, superceding Egypt and Mesopotamia Rejecting the idea
of djinns, fairies and mythological causes, the natural
philosophers investigated natural phenomena in a free spirit;
Thales, son of the Carian Hexamyes, using the same methods we
would today, predicted an eclipse of the sun for May 28, 585
B.C. This was the first prediction of a natural event in
history.
During the occupation of the Persians (545-333 B.C.), Anatolia
relinguished its leadership, but regained it in the Hellenistic
Age (333-30 B.C.).
Throughout these centuries, Milletus, Priene, Ephesus and Teos
were among the finest cities in the world, and the Anatolian
architecture of this era greatly influenced Rome.
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The Roman Age (30 B.C. - 595 A.D.) |
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The Romans developed the technique of mortaring bricks together,
thereby producing arches, vaults and domes of large volume.
These were the first major feats of enineering in history, and
although the very first were at Rome, it soon became the turn of
Anatolia Fine cities sprang up not only in the south and west of
the peninsula, but also in its heartland. In all of these cities
there were such monumental works as an agora, gymnasium,
stadium, theater, baths and foundations, and many of them were
of marble.
The roads, too, were paved with marble and lined with
colonnades, thus protecting the citizens from sun and dust in
the summer, and from cold and mud in the winter. Water
channeledinto the cities via aquedects sprang from the
fountains, and a fine, well maintained network of roads and
stone bridges connected the cities on the peninsula. Dozens of
ancient cities in Western and Southern Anatolia, portions of
them almost as they were in Roman times, fill visitors with awe.
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The First Christian State in the World
The Byzantine Empire (330-1453 A.D.) |
Byzantine art was born in Anatolia at the end of the Roman era.
As the Roman art of sculpture and architectural decoration
entered a period of decline toward the end of the 3rd century,
new life was breathed into them by early Christian practitioners
of both arts. One might say that early Christian and Byzantine
art were an expressionistics rendering of Roman themes; where
architectural space was concerned, they represented a whole new
approach.
For two and a half centuries, from 300 to 565 A.D.,
Constantinople (Istanbul) was the leading city of the world in
art and culture. The most brilliant time for the early Christian
era was the reign of Justinian (527-565). Hagia Sophia, a
centrally domed basilica, was built perior to this (532-539),
and is the masterpiece of Byzantine art, one of the most famous
works in the entire world.
The best preserved Byzantine religious buildings are Hagia Irini
Church (6th and 8th centuries), the Basilica of St. John
(Justinian's reign) and the Church of Mary (4th and 6th
centuries), both in Ephesus, and the Alahan Church (5th and 6th
centuries) in Southeastern Anatolia. From the Late Byzantine era
the best preserved and finest works are St. Mary Pammakaristos
(1310) next to Fethiye Mosque, and Kariye Mosque, that is to say
the Chora Church, both in Istanbul. In the latter two buildings,
the multidomed ceiling harmonizes beautifully with the walls and
their three-staged arches.
The first people to dwell in all of Anatolia were the Turks. The
Hittites, Phrygians and Greeks lived in only part of the
peninsula. |
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The Turks arrived in Anatolia from Central Asia by way of
continual migrations and incursions, and through their policy of
tolerance in government earned the love of the Indo-European
peoples living on the peninsula.It was the Turks who adopted
Islam, and on this basis mingled with the local peoples starting
in 1071. The passage of nine centuries has resulted in
present-day Turkey.
Until recently it was thought that contemporary Western
civilization was based on the Greeks, but archaelogy and history
now show that it goes back rather to beginnings in western and
south-western. |
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History of Turks &Turkey |
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The Republic of Turkey, founded in 1923, has its roots in two
historical sources deep in the depths of the past. One of these
resources inherited by modern Turkey is the successful and
shining history of the Turks over a time frame of more than
4,000 years. The other is the fact that Turks have been settled
in Anatolia since the 11th century. |
The Huns
The first Turkish tribe that is mentioned in history is the
Huns. Clear records about the Huns made their appearance in the
8th century B.C. Chinese sources refer to the Huns as Hiung-nu
and in time, some of the Huns migrated to the West. |
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The Gokturks
Founded in 552 AD by Bumin Khan, the Gokturks engaged in
widespread diplomatic activity. The famed Orhun epitaphs from
this period are made up of the tombstone inscriptions of
Tonyukuk (d.720), Kültigin (d.731) and Bilge Kagan (d.734) |
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The Uygurs
The rule of the Göktürks was brought to an end in the year 745
by the Uygurs, who were of the same ethnic stock as themselves.
In this manner all the Turks who had converged under the banner
of the Göktürks were dispersed to that of the Uygurs that the
agricultural basin where they lived became known as Turkistan.
In the year 1229, the Mongols put an end to Uygur sovereignty;
the Uygurs however, became their cultural and political mentors.
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The Turks |
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Contacts between the Turks and Moslems commenced at the
beginning of the 8th century and some of the Turks began to
favour Islam. However the pro-Arab policies of the Omayads
(661-750 A.D) restricted these relations somewhat. Later, many
Moslem Turks took office in the Abbside government and because
of this, great interest in the Islamic world spread among the
Turks beyond the River Ceyhun. Commercial caravans also played a
major role in the spread of Islam into the steppes of Central
Asia. The Turks became fully Moslem by the 10th century, and
this resulted in the achievement to political unity. Following
these developments, the first Moslem Turkish state was formed by
the Karahans. |
The Karahans
The Karahans ruled between 990-1212 in Turkistan and
Maveraünnehir. The reign of the Karahans is especially
significant from the point of view of Turkish culture and art
history. It is during this period that mosques, schools, bridges
and caravansarays were constructed in the cities. Buhara and
Samarkand became centres of learning. In the period, the Turkish
language found the means to develop. Among the most important
works of the period is Kutadgu Bilik (translated as "The
Knowledge That Gives Happiness") written by Yusuf Has Hacib,
between the years 1069-1070.
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The Ghaznavids
The Ghaznavi state was formed in the year 963 by the Turkish
ruler Sevuktekin and is one of the first Moslem Turkish states
and worked relentlessly for the expansion of Islam in India. The
Ghaznavids finally collapsed in 1186 and were assimilated by the
Oguz.
The Turkish scholar Ebu Reyhan el-Beyruni makes this period an
important one within Islamic cultural history and wrote the
famed work by the poet Firdevsi, the Şehname, was also written
in this period (A.D. 1009)
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The Seljuks |
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The Oğuz, who destroyed the Ghaznavid state, succeeded in
bringing Anatolia, Iraq, the southern part of the Caucasus,
Azerbaijan and the north of Iran under Turkish rule. The Oğuz
had first formed the Gökütrk Empire in the 6th century; after
the expansion of Islam among the Turks, but among the Turks the
Oguz came to be called the Turkmens.
Tuğrul Bey and Çağrı (Çakır) Bey were the grandsons of Seljuks
whose name the Seljuks Dynasty adopted. In their time they, and
the Oğuz, known as the Seljuks in history, subdued Horasan,
defeated the Ghaznavid ruler Mesud in Dandanakan Battle and
established the Great Seljuk empire in 1040.
In 1071, Alp Arslan (1063-1072) fought the battle of Malazgirt
and having defeated the Byzantine Emperor's forces in this
battle opened the doors of Anatolia to the Moslem Turk. |
The year 1071 is considered to be the beginning of the Turks and
that of Islam Anatolia. It is following this date that the Turks
fully conquered the whole of Anatolia and established the
Anatolian Seljuk state there as a part of the great Seljuk
Empire.
The first schooling institutions, the Moslem theological
medreses, were formed in Anatolia during the time of Kılıç
Arslan (1153-1192), one in Konya and the other in Aksaray.
Following the establishment of these two medreses the medreses
of Syrcaly in Konya (1242-1243), Karatay (1251), |
İnce Minareli
(1251-1253), Atabekkiye (after 1251-1268), Gökmedrese in Sivas
(1271), Buruciye (1271-1272), Çifte Minareli (1271), and the
Cacoglu in Kirsehir (1272) were established.
The Seljuks also attributed much importance to the medical
sciences and in almost all their cities medical institutions
called Darush-Shifa, Darul-Afiye and Darus-Sihna and hospitals
were set up. The main medical treatment centres are the Gevher
Nesibe in Kayseri (1205), the Izzettin I Keykavus in Sivas
(1217), the Torumtay in Amasya (1266), the Muinuddin Pervane in
Tokat (1275) and the Pervaneoglu Ali in Kastamonu (1272).
Because of the Persian influence coming from Iran among the
intellectuals, the administrators, the men of arts and the
traders, the Anatolian Seljuk state became increasingly affected
by Iranian culture and language. |
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The Beyliks - The Period Principalities |
Political unity in Anatolia was disrupted from the time of the
collapse of the Anatolia Seljuk State at the beginning of the
14th century (1308), when until the beginning of the 16th
century each of the regions in the country fell under the
domination of Beyliks (Principalities). Eventually, the Ottoman
Principality which destroyed all the other Principalities and
restored political unity in Anatolia, was established in the
Eskişehir, Bilecik and Bursa areas.
On the other hand, the area in central Anatolia east of the
Ankara-Aksaray line as far as the area of Erzurum remained under
the administration of the Ilhani General Governor until 1336.
The infighting in Ilhan gave the principalities in Anatolia
their complete independence. In addition to this, new Turkish
principalities were formed in the localities previously under
Ilhan occupation. |
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During the 14th century, the Turkomans, who made up the western
Turks, started to re-establish their previous political
sovereignty in the Islamic world.
Rapid developments in the Turkish language and culture toot
place during the time of the Anatolia Principalities. In this
period, the Turkish language began to be used in the sciences
and in literature, and became the official language of the
Principalities. New medreses were established and progress was
made in the medical sciences during this period.
Gülşehri, Nesimi (d.1404) and ahmedi (1325-1412) are the
prominent Turkish language poets of the 15th century. |
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The Ottoman Empire |
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The Ottoman
Principality was founded by a Turkoman tribe living on
the Turkish-Byzantine border. The geographic location of
the principality and the weak state of the Byzantines
combined to make the Ottoman principality the strongest
state within the Islamic world by the 14th century.
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When
Fatih Sultah Mehmet II. conguered the Byzantine
capital in 1453, the Ottoman state became the
strongest of the time. The tolerant approach
taken by Fatih Sultan Mehmet II toward other
religions and to the adherents thereof became a
tradition accepted by his successors. Following
the capture of Istanbul, the Orthodox Church was
freed from obedience to the Catholic Church and
granted its independence.
On the other hand, the technical superiority of
the Ottoman army began to be evident during the
reign of Selim I. The Ottomans has added, in
addition to the major part of east Anatolia, the
lands considered holy in the Islamic world-Mecca
and Medine and their territories.
The brightest period of the Ottoman State was
during the reign of Sultan Suleyman (1520-1555)
when the boundaries of the Empire spread from
the outskirts of Vienna to the Persian Gulf and
from the Crimea to an expanded north Africa as
far as Ethiopia.
The Ottoman empire continued to acquire
territory until the middle of the 17th century.
In 1683, it suffered its first major defeat in
the siege of Vienna.
As the losses of land and sought continued, the
Ottoman Empire sought salvation in a series of
reform movements and established education
institutions taking after the western
institutions which had shown great developments
after the Renaissance.
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The declaration of the "Tanzimat" Reform
movement in 1839 is considered a major link in
the chain of modernization events which had
continued unabated since the beginning of the
17th century.
The Tanzimat Decree is considered to be a kind
of constitution which gave Turkey the means to
enter road to contemporary civilization.
The principles inherent in the Tanzimat Reform
Decree thereby laid the basis for the
constitutional regime of modern Turkey and the
realization of secularism.
Despite many internal problems and disturbances
during the reign of Abdülaziz (1861-1876) the
effects of westernization in society became even
more evident. Namık Kemal, Ziya Pasha, Mustafa
Fazıl Pasha and his friends published the
newspaper "Hürriyet" (Freedom) in London in the
year 1864. The literary themes of the newspaper
later gave way to political issues. Although it
is because of these trends that the first
constitution was promulgated under the
leadership of Mithat Pasha in 1876, Sultan
Abdülhamid II (1876-1909) used the
Ottoman-Russian war (1877-78) as an excuse to
dissolve Parliament and effectively put an end
to this constitutional period. The Ottoman
empire entered the First World War in 1914 on
the side of the allied powers.
The Ottoman State emerged defeated from the war,
together with its allies, and was compelled to
sign the Mudrow Armistice on October 30, 1918.
Also among the terms of the armistice was a
provision that the cocupying powers might occupy
areas deemed to be of strategic importance; the
powers started therefore to occupy Anatolia on
November 1, 1918 according to these terms.
On May 15, 1919, the Greeks occupied Yzmir. A
national resistance movement commenced. In many
areas of the country the Society For Defence of
Rights (Müdafaa-i Hukuk) started to spring up,
and the military arm of the society, called the
Kuvayi Milliye. Started to take action.
The resistance movement was, until Mustafa Kemal
landed at Samsun, sporadic and disorganized;
under his leadership the resistance became
cohesive, its forces progressively turned into
an organized army and the movement became a full
scale war of independence. |
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