Throughout history, the middle east has often been the focus of news reporters. A middle eastern country that has not been exempt from this, is Turkey. Turkey has not only been a focus, but it also has had a very long, complicated history.
The history of turkey is a very long and detailed one. Turkey was originally settled by groups of farmers probably thousands of years ago. Today, historians call these people the Hittites. During their time, the Hittites were ruled by kings, and had their high officials buried in shaft tombs. Shortly after the Hittites moved in, Indo-Europeans moved into the area, and formed the kingdom of the Hittites, with the capital being Hattusa. The kingdom survived for hundreds of years. However
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This allowed the Turks to continue their influence. During the 1300’s, the Ottomans began to build an empire. By 1453, they captured Constantinople. The Ottomans changed the capital's name from Constantinople to Istanbul. During the 1500's, the Ottoman Empire expanded and reached the height of its power. After this time the empire began to fall apart. During the 1800's, the Ottoman Empire had fallen into such a state of depravity that it became known as "The Sick Man of Europe". In 1829, after losing a war against France, Britain, Russia, and Greece, the Ottomans were forced to give up control of the Danube River. During the mid to late 1800’s, Turkey lost many pieces of land by losing the war in 1829, and the Russo-Turkish Wars. Turkey lost Algeria and Tunisia to France, and Cyprus and Egypt to the United Kingdom. However, Cyprus and Egypt remained part of the Ottoman Empire until 1914. During the 1890’s a group of students and military officers secretly banded together and opposed Sultan Abdülhamit’s strict policies. The most influential group of these people was the Committee of Union and Progress. In 1908, members of this group revolted against Abdülhamit in order to force him to reinstate a constitutional government. This group made Abdülhamit surrender his throne in 1909. In 1914, the newly reinstated Ottoman Empire joined World War I on the side of the Central Powers. In 1915, the Allies tried to gain control of the
Ataturk and Reza Shah had a large influence on the governments of Turkey and Iran by secularizing and westernizing each. This secularization has had a distinct role in shaping the language, education, religion and government of both Turkey and Iran. Their end goals were to create a powerful and prevalent world powers that is distinct. Comparing the two countries, there were many similarities between each reformation, but each is distinct in certain aspects.
The Ottoman Empire, founded by Osman, had started in the northwestern corner of the Anatolian Peninsula. The empire expanded rapidly, only to weaken again. The first visible decline
In April 1915 the Ottoman government decided to diminish the civilian Armenian Population. The persecutions were varying, as it was on a curve with high intensity until 1923. In 1923, the Ottoman Empire was gone from existence, and was replaced by the Republic of Turkey. The Armenian population in 1915 was about two million, and by 1918, about 1 million people have died, while hundreds of thousands had become homeless and stateless refugees. By the year 1923, the Armenian population of Anatolian Turkey was gone. The Ottoman Empire was controlled and led by the Turks. The Turks had conquered and seized lands from across West Asian, North Africa, and Southeast Europe. While the overall Ottoman government was controlled in Istanbul (Constantinople), and was headed by a sultan who wanted absolute power.
Starting in the 16th century the ottoman empire after long struggles and achievements of taking over and ruling Greece, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Albania, And Romania in the balkans, over all the islands in the eastern mediterranean, and lastly over what is today the middle east.latter on during the first world war Ataturk took a quest, making a sacrifice which almost coast him to lose his own life in the most symbolic war in Gallipoli where he was shot in the heart but saved by his pocket watch who took the shot. His goals and determination was to have Turkey gain self determination and national independence. Finally after world war 1 the Sultan wanted to make ataturk a puppet ruler and share the land of the empire and distribute it among the
At the crossroads between Europe and Asia, Turkey is a fascinating country. Dominated by Greeks, Persians and Romans in turn throughout the classical area, what is now Turkey was once the seat of the Byzantine Empire. In the 11th century, however, Turkish nomads from Central Asia moved into the region, gradually conquering all of Asia Minor. First the Seljuk and then the Ottoman Turkish Empires came to power, exerting influence over much of the eastern Mediterranean world, and bringing Islam to southeast Europe. After the Ottoman Empire fell in 1918, modern Turkey was founded in 1923 from the Anatolian remnants of the defeated Ottoman Empire by national hero Mustafa KEMAL, who was later honored with the title Ataturk, or "Father of the Turks."
The Kurdish question has long been covered up and denied by the state of Turkey,
Turkey is one of the strongest nations in the Middle East. The official name of Turkey is the Republic of Turkey. The history of Turkey goes back 40,000 years ago. It was one of the first places on Earth to develop agriculture. It was the cradle for many human civilizations. As a result of it’s strategic location between the continents of Asia and Europe, this land was conquered by many empires, including the Assyrians, the Persians, the Greeks, the Romans, the Crusaders and finally the Ottomans. The Ottoman empire was the one of the strongest and largest empires in history. When the empire collapsed after World War I, Mustafa Kamal Ataturk formed the Republic of Turkey in 1922. The word “Ataturk” in Turkish means “The Father of Turks”.
After the fall of the Ottoman empire, Turkey received a new identity as Modern Turkey. With Turkey being home to over 45 different ethnic and religious groups, this makes it a diverse and unique nation. This goes to show how unity is important in a diverse country like Turkey for its future success. All of these contribute to the cultural makeup of this country. Turkey’s current population is 78 million. According to a report, 70% of Turkey’s youth population will reach working age by the year 2023. (United Nations 87). This goes to show that right now there is a very large young population in Turkey that is on the verge of joining the workforce. This will dramatically affect the economy in Turkey. As it relates to society, this has great cultural implications, because the next generation will make up the moral fabric of society.
Summary: Although the numbers can be deceiving, Turkey is a very diverse country with a population of 75 million. Turkey’s population of 75 million is very well educated, in this country it is customary to go to 4 years of elementary school, 4 years of middle school, and 4 years of high school. Although 98% of that 75 million (73,500,000) practices the Islamic religion, they all come from different backgrounds. You can tell that because of the very diverse range of languages spoken throughout the country. 75% of the population speaks Turkish, The second most spoken language is Kurdish and third most is Arabic. The most popular foreign languages are 17% English, German 5% and French 3%. They may have a lot of English Speakers because Turkey and U.S. are allies and are on good terms with each other. Remember that all of these factors will lead to cultural differences. In Turkey you greet someone by shaking their hand or if they are a friend you give them a light hug and place a kiss on their cheek. These are some ways that Turkish people show respect for one another. These are all factors of why people would want to live here and why this country has a total population of about 75
Turkey is a Middle Eastern country located next to Syria, Armenia, Iraq, and Georgia. It is also an ethnically diverse country because of it’s being located near Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. Another fact is that almost everyone in Turkey is Muslim. Therefore, Islam is the base of most of the customs that people follow in Turkey. Two of the most prevalent social problems in Turkey are racism and sexism. A further, one of the social problems in Turkey is their relationship with one of their neighboring countries, Armenia. Learning about the relationships between the people of Turkey amongst themselves and their neighboring countries is a proficient way of learning about their culture.
After the Treaty of Sevres, the Allies took control of vital forts near the waterways; this would endanger the security of the country. In 1919, Mustafa Kemal organized resistance against those forces, especially the Greek. In 1923, The Treaty of Lausanne was signed, and the Republic of Turkey was established, with Mustafa Kemal as its first president. During his presidency, he strived to keep Turkey neutral in global affairs, and modernize the country, socially and industrially. When last names were introduced to Turkey, he adopted the last name, “Ataturk,” meaning “Father of the Turks,” soon after.
From an ancient civilization, to a modern day nation-state Turkey has been defined by several important and influential periods that mold its modern day politics. The area occupies a crucial commercial strategic area linking Asia and Europe. Istanbul is the only city in the world to span two continents. The area is known as the world’s oldest human civilization with extensive agricultural use. Following a series of successive empires proceeds to the present identity of Turkey. Complex issues arise with fragmented and militaristic rulers. A nation with historical origination of indentured military personnel, restricted freedoms, an extensive expansionistic policy, lead to the formation of a republic. This republic founded on the principle of for the people, whom consent to sovereignty and governance from the top. Presenting evidence of the historical past, formation of a democratic governance system, leads to an analytical understanding of the degradation of the democratic system in Turkey. While controlled by a democratically elected head of state, is slowing diminishing personal freedoms and leading to what some draw a parallel to the country’s troubled formation in the Middle East. This country presents an interesting case study as many claim the country to be the model of the Middle East. The model of to be a functioning democracy with ninety-nine percent of its population being religiously identified as Islamic. Turkey’s ability to maintain “a secular democratic state in
Byzantium, Constantinople and Istanbul, these names are addressed to the same place which now we call it as Istanbul. According to the latest excavation during the construction of the Marmaray Tunnel in 2008, the history of Istanbul has begun from 6700 BC, that’s where they found the remains of sinking ships belong to the earliest human settlement of the city. In 700 BC, when the Greek Colonists which was led by King Byzas arrived in the area, they settled there because of the strategic location along the Bosphorus Strait, and late King Byzas named the city as Byzantium.
Turkey is a very interesting country to study. Turkey dates back to the beginnings of civilization and has been imprinted on by many historical conflicts. In its long existence, it has been occupied by numerous empires, like the Byzantine Empire and the Ottoman Empire, which helped shape the regions values and structure to what it is today. The crucial changing point for the country was when it received its independence, or sovereignty, from Russian, Italian, and French occupation. In 1923, lead by Mustafa Kemal, the turkish people, through the nationalist movement, gained independence by not allowing the remnants of the Ottoman Empire after their defat in World War I to let the Allies split up the
President Erdogan traveled to Iran last week to find ways to expand cooperation, and he is negotiating a highly controversial military purchase from Russia, the country that worries NATO most. Historically Turkey and Iran have been at odds however, they have found a common goal in preventing Kurdish Independence. This relationship will continue to grow stronger as PKK and YPG seek to create an independent state in the border area.