history of Turkey
Quick Summary
Turkey, or Türkiye, is a country uniquely situated in both Asia and Europe, acting as a bridge between the two continents. Its history is marked by powerful empires, most notably the Ottoman Empire, which at its height controlled vast territories across southeastern Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa. The modern Turkish republic was established in 1923 after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, with a focus on nationalism, secularism, and a parliamentary democracy. This transformation, led by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, involved significant social and political reforms, including the adoption of a Latin alphabet and a secular legal system. Despite its secular constitution, Islam remains a significant cultural influence. The country has navigated complex political developments, including military interventions and the rise of conservative parties like the AKP, while grappling with issues of national identity and regional relations.1234567
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ArmeniaThe republic of Armenia…of Sèvres, by which the Ottomans recognized Armenia as a free and independent state. On November 22 Wilson, as instructed, announced projected boundaries that ceded to Armenia most of the provinces of Erzurum, Trabzon, Van, and Bitlis. Already in the summer of 1919, however, the new Ottoman Turkish government of…
Read More…of Sèvres, by which the Ottomans recognized Armenia as a free and independent state. On November 22 Wilson, as instructed, announced projected boundaries that ceded to Armenia most of the provinces of Erzurum, Trabzon, Van, and Bitlis. Already in the summer of 1919, however, the new Ottoman Turkish government of…
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CyprusEffects of partitionThe Turkish occupation of nearly two-fifths of the country in 1974, involving the displacement of about one-third of the total population, dealt a serious blow to the island’s economic development. Greek Cypriot losses of land and personal property in the occupied areas were substantial, and they…
Read MoreThe Turkish occupation of nearly two-fifths of the country in 1974, involving the displacement of about one-third of the total population, dealt a serious blow to the island’s economic development. Greek Cypriot losses of land and personal property in the occupied areas were substantial, and they…
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CyprusEstablishment of an independent Turkish state…independence was recognized only by Turkey. The UN Security Council condemned the move and repeated its demand, first made in 1974, that all foreign troops be withdrawn from the Republic of Cyprus. Renewed UN peace-proposal efforts in 1984 and 1985 were unsuccessful, and in May 1985 a constitution for the…
Read More…independence was recognized only by Turkey. The UN Security Council condemned the move and repeated its demand, first made in 1974, that all foreign troops be withdrawn from the Republic of Cyprus. Renewed UN peace-proposal efforts in 1984 and 1985 were unsuccessful, and in May 1985 a constitution for the…
Read More- aggression
…the ending of hostilities between Turkey and Iraq in 1925, between Greece and Bulgaria in 1925, between Peru and Colombia in 1933, between Greece and its neighbours in 1947, between the Netherlands and Indonesia in 1947, between India and
Read More…the ending of hostilities between Turkey and Iraq in 1925, between Greece and Bulgaria in 1925, between Peru and Colombia in 1933, between Greece and its neighbours in 1947, between the Netherlands and Indonesia in 1947, between India and
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IsraelEarly challenges…extract an apology from Israel, Turkey, which had been an ally of Israel, expelled Israel’s ambassador and suspended its military agreements with Israel.
Read More…extract an apology from Israel, Turkey, which had been an ally of Israel, expelled Israel’s ambassador and suspended its military agreements with Israel.
Read More- Italo-Turkish War
…North Africa by conquering the Turkish provinces of Tripolitana and Cyrenaica (modern Libya). The conflict upset the precarious international balance of power just prior to World War I by revealing the weakness of Turkey and, within Italy, unleashed the nationalist-expansionist sentiment that guided government policy in the following decades.
Read More…North Africa by conquering the Turkish provinces of Tripolitana and Cyrenaica (modern Libya). The conflict upset the precarious international balance of power just prior to World War I by revealing the weakness of Turkey and, within Italy, unleashed the nationalist-expansionist sentiment that guided government policy in the following decades.
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Macedonia…Muslims left Greek Macedonia for Turkey and were replaced by 640,000 Christian refugees from Turkey. When the Balkan Peninsula was overrun and partitioned by the Axis powers during World War II, Bulgaria occupied all of Macedonia except for Thessaloníki, which was occupied by the Germans, who sent four-fifths of the…
Read More…Muslims left Greek Macedonia for Turkey and were replaced by 640,000 Christian refugees from Turkey. When the Balkan Peninsula was overrun and partitioned by the Axis powers during World War II, Bulgaria occupied all of Macedonia except for Thessaloníki, which was occupied by the Germans, who sent four-fifths of the…
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North MacedoniaThe Ottoman Empire…a millennium of contact with Turkey had a profound impact on language, food, and many other aspects of daily life in Macedonia. Within the empire, administrators, soldiers, merchants, and artisans moved in pursuit of their professions. Where war, famine, or disease left regions underpopulated, settlers were moved in from elsewhere…
Read More…a millennium of contact with Turkey had a profound impact on language, food, and many other aspects of daily life in Macedonia. Within the empire, administrators, soldiers, merchants, and artisans moved in pursuit of their professions. Where war, famine, or disease left regions underpopulated, settlers were moved in from elsewhere…
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North MacedoniaWar and partition…forcible ejection of Greeks from Turkey during the 1920s, thousands of Greek settlers were given land in southern, or “Aegean,” Macedonia. Both Serbia and Greece took advantage of the displacement by war or expulsion of many former Turkish landowners.
Read More…forcible ejection of Greeks from Turkey during the 1920s, thousands of Greek settlers were given land in southern, or “Aegean,” Macedonia. Both Serbia and Greece took advantage of the displacement by war or expulsion of many former Turkish landowners.
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SyriaUprising and civil war…relations with regional allies, particularly Turkey, which strenuously objected to the government’s use of violence against civilians. In June 2011 Turkey received thousands of refugees following an assault by government forces on the northern Syrian city of Jisr al-Shugūr. The worsening humanitarian situation brought calls for international military intervention, but…
Read More…relations with regional allies, particularly Turkey, which strenuously objected to the government’s use of violence against civilians. In June 2011 Turkey received thousands of refugees following an assault by government forces on the northern Syrian city of Jisr al-Shugūr. The worsening humanitarian situation brought calls for international military intervention, but…
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Syrian Civil WarCivil warEfforts by Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar to fund and arm rebels became increasingly public in late 2012 and 2013. The United States, which had been reluctant to send weapons for fear of inadvertently arming radical jihadists who would someday turn against the West, eventually started a…
Read MoreEfforts by Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar to fund and arm rebels became increasingly public in late 2012 and 2013. The United States, which had been reluctant to send weapons for fear of inadvertently arming radical jihadists who would someday turn against the West, eventually started a…
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T.E. Lawrence on guerrilla warfareGUERRILLA WARFARE…the Arab Revolt against the Turks 1916–1918. But the historical example in turn gains value from the fact that its course was guided by the practical application of the theories here set forth.
Read More…the Arab Revolt against the Turks 1916–1918. But the historical example in turn gains value from the fact that its course was guided by the practical application of the theories here set forth.
Read More- Treaty of Bucharest
…who had been rebelling against Turkish rule, but Turkish garrisons were given control of the Serbian fortresses. Implementation of the treaty was forestalled by a number of disputes, and Turkish troops invaded Serbia again the following year.
Read More…who had been rebelling against Turkish rule, but Turkish garrisons were given control of the Serbian fortresses. Implementation of the treaty was forestalled by a number of disputes, and Turkish troops invaded Serbia again the following year.
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economic sanctionsCriticisms of economic sanctions…Turkish government in response to Turkey’s failure to free an American pastor who had been imprisoned in Turkey on charges of participating in a failed coup attempt against Turkish Pres. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in 2016. (U.S. sanctions against individuals are authorized by the U.S. Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act…
Read More…Turkish government in response to Turkey’s failure to free an American pastor who had been imprisoned in Turkey on charges of participating in a failed coup attempt against Turkish Pres. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in 2016. (U.S. sanctions against individuals are authorized by the U.S. Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act…
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GreeceEthnic groups…1919 and between Greece and Turkey in 1923, along with long-standing government policies of assimilation, or Hellenization. According to the dominant ideology of the Greek state, all the people of Greece are, or should be, Greek. As a result, the existence of ethnic and national diversity in the country has…
Read More…1919 and between Greece and Turkey in 1923, along with long-standing government policies of assimilation, or Hellenization. According to the dominant ideology of the Greek state, all the people of Greece are, or should be, Greek. As a result, the existence of ethnic and national diversity in the country has…
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GreeceRectification of frontiers…the Thirty Days’ War with Turkey. Greece was forced to pay compensation and to accept the adjustments made to its frontier. Another humiliation sovereign Greece faced was the installation of an international financial commission to oversee the repayment of its substantial external debts.
Read More…the Thirty Days’ War with Turkey. Greece was forced to pay compensation and to accept the adjustments made to its frontier. Another humiliation sovereign Greece faced was the installation of an international financial commission to oversee the repayment of its substantial external debts.
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GreeceCivil war and its legacy…bitter dispute between Greece and Turkey over oil rights in the Aegean Sea, Ioannidis, seeking a nationalist triumph, launched a coup to depose Makarios III, the archbishop and president of Cyprus since 1960. Makarios survived, but the coup triggered the invasion of the northern part of the island by Turkey,…
Read More…bitter dispute between Greece and Turkey over oil rights in the Aegean Sea, Ioannidis, seeking a nationalist triumph, launched a coup to depose Makarios III, the archbishop and president of Cyprus since 1960. Makarios survived, but the coup triggered the invasion of the northern part of the island by Turkey,…
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GreeceRestoration of democracy…threat of outright war with Turkey and ensured that the Greek army returned to the barracks. He acknowledged the way in which opposition to the junta had brought together politicians of all political backgrounds by legalizing the Communist Party, which had been outlawed in 1947. He moved rapidly to legitimize…
Read More…threat of outright war with Turkey and ensured that the Greek army returned to the barracks. He acknowledged the way in which opposition to the junta had brought together politicians of all political backgrounds by legalizing the Communist Party, which had been outlawed in 1947. He moved rapidly to legitimize…
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GreeceRestoration of democracyEarthquakes that devastated Turkey and Greece in the summer of 1999 led each country to provide rescue teams to aid the other, helping to thaw somewhat the centuries-old “cold war” between the two countries. And relations between them remained relatively stable, with solutions sought for problems related to…
Read MoreEarthquakes that devastated Turkey and Greece in the summer of 1999 led each country to provide rescue teams to aid the other, helping to thaw somewhat the centuries-old “cold war” between the two countries. And relations between them remained relatively stable, with solutions sought for problems related to…
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Dodecanese…during their long period of Turkish administration, which began in the 16th century. The Turks recognized 12 of the islands, “the 12 Sporades,” as being entitled to special treatment since they had voluntarily submitted to Turkish rule. But the larger and richer islands of Rhodes and Cos had submitted involuntarily…
Read More…during their long period of Turkish administration, which began in the 16th century. The Turks recognized 12 of the islands, “the 12 Sporades,” as being entitled to special treatment since they had voluntarily submitted to Turkish rule. But the larger and richer islands of Rhodes and Cos had submitted involuntarily…
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- Treaty of Ankara
…the Grand National Assembly of Turkey at Ankara, signed by the French diplomat Henri Franklin-Bouillon and Yusuf Kemal Bey, the Turkish nationalist foreign minister. It formalized the de facto recognition by France of the Grand National Assembly, rather than the government of the Ottoman sultan Mehmed VI, as the sovereign…
Read More…the Grand National Assembly of Turkey at Ankara, signed by the French diplomat Henri Franklin-Bouillon and Yusuf Kemal Bey, the Turkish nationalist foreign minister. It formalized the de facto recognition by France of the Grand National Assembly, rather than the government of the Ottoman sultan Mehmed VI, as the sovereign…
Read More - Balkan Entente
…1934), mutual-defense agreement between Greece, Turkey, Romania, and Yugoslavia, intended to guarantee the signatories’ territorial integrity and political independence against attack by another Balkan state (i.e., Bulgaria or Albania). The agreement provided for a Permanent Council, composed of the members’ foreign ministers, that would coordinate legislation and foster economic cooperation.
Read More…1934), mutual-defense agreement between Greece, Turkey, Romania, and Yugoslavia, intended to guarantee the signatories’ territorial integrity and political independence against attack by another Balkan state (i.e., Bulgaria or Albania). The agreement provided for a Permanent Council, composed of the members’ foreign ministers, that would coordinate legislation and foster economic cooperation.
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BalkansEconomic collapse and nationalist resurgence…Black Sea zone sponsored by Turkey. Such an association would align the Balkan states with a less-developed area; it would divide them from the rest of Europe; and, most uncomfortable of all, it would turn the peninsula back toward Istanbul. Ever since the Slavs settled in the Balkans, they had…
Read More…Black Sea zone sponsored by Turkey. Such an association would align the Balkan states with a less-developed area; it would divide them from the rest of Europe; and, most uncomfortable of all, it would turn the peninsula back toward Istanbul. Ever since the Slavs settled in the Balkans, they had…
Read More- Cairo Conference
…persuade President İsmet İnönü of Turkey to bring his country into the war on the side of the Allied powers. At this meeting Roosevelt also informed Churchill of his choice of General Dwight D. Eisenhower as supreme commander of the Normandy Invasion.
Read More…persuade President İsmet İnönü of Turkey to bring his country into the war on the side of the Allied powers. At this meeting Roosevelt also informed Churchill of his choice of General Dwight D. Eisenhower as supreme commander of the Normandy Invasion.
Read More - Central Treaty Organization
…to 1979 and composed of Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, and the United Kingdom. Until March 1959 the organization was known as the Middle East Treaty Organization, included Iraq, and had its headquarters in Baghdad.
Read More…to 1979 and composed of Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, and the United Kingdom. Until March 1959 the organization was known as the Middle East Treaty Organization, included Iraq, and had its headquarters in Baghdad.
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European UnionEnlargement and post-Maastricht reformsTurkey, at the periphery of Europe, also applied for membership, though its application was controversial because it was a predominantly Islamic country, because it was widely accused of human rights violations, and because it had historically tense relations with Greece (especially over Cyprus). Despite opposition…
Read MoreTurkey, at the periphery of Europe, also applied for membership, though its application was controversial because it was a predominantly Islamic country, because it was widely accused of human rights violations, and because it had historically tense relations with Greece (especially over Cyprus). Despite opposition…
Read More- Treaty of Lausanne
…of the modern state of Turkey. Turkey made no claim to its former Arab provinces and recognized British possession of Cyprus and Italian possession of the Dodecanese. The Allies dropped their demands of autonomy for Turkish Kurdistan and Turkish cession of territory to Armenia, abandoned claims to spheres of influence…
Read More…of the modern state of Turkey. Turkey made no claim to its former Arab provinces and recognized British possession of Cyprus and Italian possession of the Dodecanese. The Allies dropped their demands of autonomy for Turkish Kurdistan and Turkish cession of territory to Armenia, abandoned claims to spheres of influence…
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North Atlantic Treaty Organizationare Greece and Turkey (1952); West Germany (1955; from 1990 as Germany); Spain (1982); the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland (1999); Bulgaria
Read Moreare Greece and Turkey (1952); West Germany (1955; from 1990 as Germany); Spain (1982); the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland (1999); Bulgaria
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TransylvaniaWhen the Turks decisively defeated Hungary at the Battle of Mohács (1526), Transylvania effectively became independent. Its vaivode John (János Zápolya), who was elected king of Hungary (November 1526), engaged Transylvania in a 12-year war against Ferdinand I, the Habsburg claimant to the Hungarian throne. Afterward Hungary…
Read MoreWhen the Turks decisively defeated Hungary at the Battle of Mohács (1526), Transylvania effectively became independent. Its vaivode John (János Zápolya), who was elected king of Hungary (November 1526), engaged Transylvania in a 12-year war against Ferdinand I, the Habsburg claimant to the Hungarian throne. Afterward Hungary…
Read More- Truman Doctrine
threatened by communist insurrection, and Turkey, under pressure from Soviet expansion in the Mediterranean area. As the United States and the Soviet Union struggled to reach a balance of power during the Cold War that followed World War II, Great Britain announced that it could no longer afford to aid…
Read Morethreatened by communist insurrection, and Turkey, under pressure from Soviet expansion in the Mediterranean area. As the United States and the Soviet Union struggled to reach a balance of power during the Cold War that followed World War II, Great Britain announced that it could no longer afford to aid…
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United StatesThe Truman Doctrine and containment…civil war was raging, and Turkey to the mercies of the Soviet Union. Truman now came into his own as a national leader, asking Congress to appropriate aid to Greece and Turkey and asserting, in effect, that henceforth the United States must help free peoples in general to resist communist…
Read More…civil war was raging, and Turkey to the mercies of the Soviet Union. Truman now came into his own as a national leader, asking Congress to appropriate aid to Greece and Turkey and asserting, in effect, that henceforth the United States must help free peoples in general to resist communist…
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Kemal Atatürk…(1923–38) of the Republic of Turkey. He modernized the country’s legal and educational systems and encouraged the adoption of a European way of life, with Turkish written in the Latin alphabet and with citizens adopting European-style names.
Read More…(1923–38) of the Republic of Turkey. He modernized the country’s legal and educational systems and encouraged the adoption of a European way of life, with Turkish written in the Latin alphabet and with citizens adopting European-style names.
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St. John XXIIIService as a Vatican diplomat…the Vatican diplomatic mission to Turkey. Again he was called upon to represent powerless Catholic minorities in an Eastern Orthodox nation, Greece, and a Muslim nation, Turkey. He made his home in Istanbul, where he was generally ignored by both the Turkish government and the Vatican but was warmly appreciated…
Read More…the Vatican diplomatic mission to Turkey. Again he was called upon to represent powerless Catholic minorities in an Eastern Orthodox nation, Greece, and a Muslim nation, Turkey. He made his home in Istanbul, where he was generally ignored by both the Turkish government and the Vatican but was warmly appreciated…
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Makarios III…Commonwealth status, as well as Turkish pressures for partition in order to safeguard the island’s sizable Turkish population, Makarios met with the Greek prime minister, Alexandros Papagos, in February 1954 and gained Greek support for enosis. The British soon suspected him of being a leading figure in the EOKA, an…
Read More…Commonwealth status, as well as Turkish pressures for partition in order to safeguard the island’s sizable Turkish population, Makarios met with the Greek prime minister, Alexandros Papagos, in February 1954 and gained Greek support for enosis. The British soon suspected him of being a leading figure in the EOKA, an…
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history of EuropeThe United States to the rescueGreece and Turkey, in the Cold War conditions of 1947, were strategically vital and highly vulnerable Western outposts on the southern flank of the U.S.S.R. and its satellite states. Turkey was especially exposed. In Greece, the mainly communist National Liberation Front (EAM) had failed in its violent…
Read MoreGreece and Turkey, in the Cold War conditions of 1947, were strategically vital and highly vulnerable Western outposts on the southern flank of the U.S.S.R. and its satellite states. Turkey was especially exposed. In Greece, the mainly communist National Liberation Front (EAM) had failed in its violent…
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