Anatolia is the timeless term for the geographical baklava that makes up most of modern Turkey. This fertile peninsula has nourished civilizations for thousands of years. The oldest city in the world—dating from 7500 B.C.—is thought to be Catalhoyuk, near modern-day Konya.
Geographically, the terms "Anatolia" and "Asia Minor" both describe the Asian portion of Turkey—in other words, most of the country east of the Bosphorus Strait. (European Turkey, west of the Bosphorus, is called "Thrace.") Istanbul itself straddles the continents; the oldest, most historic portion of the city (including most of what's covered in this book) is located west of the Bosphorus, on the European side.
Here at the crossroads of continents, Turkish history has played out against a backdrop of the greatest empires of East and West. As Turkey enters the 21st century, the empires of the past have given way to a proud democracy with a secular government and a predominantly Muslim population.

Hittites in Anatolia, 2000-1180 B.C.

Anatolia, which quietly coasted through the Neolithic and Bronze Ages, was easily conquered in 2000 B.C. by the Hittites, an Indo-European people. The Hittites' records indicate an advanced legal system. By uniting all of Anatolia, the Hittites created a superpower that rivaled Egypt. In 1180 B.C., the Hittites abruptly—and mysteriously—fell.

After the Hittites, 1180- 334 B.C.

Anatolian unity passed with the Hittites, and the land became filled with small, unrelated, and relatively unimportant groups. The Lycians lived in city-states fringed along Anatolia's southern coast. The Phrygians (frij-ee-ans) settled in the middle of Anatolia. Their King Midas was endowed with the touch of gold (in legend only). The Phrygians were known for their bravery, artistic talents, and intricately designed tombs. The Lydians (not to be confused with the Lycians), known for their creativity, invented numerous musical instruments (such as the lyre and harp). More significantly, they invented coinage. During this period, Greek city-states such as Symrna (today's Izmir) hugged Anatolia's western coast—an area the Greeks called Ionia. These cities existed as separate entities, united only by their Greek culture.
Among those city-states was one called Byzantium—today's Istanbul. It was founded in 659 B.C. by Greek colonists (led by Byzas), who built a hill city surrounded by ramparts at the tip of a peninsula (today's Old Town). It had a port and a sheltered cove, and prospered due to its key geopolitical position: Byzantium not only had strategic water access, but also was located on the busy trade route to Greek colonies around the Black Sea.
Then, around 600 B.C., the Persians swept in from the east. Cyrus the Great conquered all of Anatolia and began a 300-year period of Persian rule. It was during this time that people first attempted to bridge the Bosphorus Strait, which is only a half-mile wide at its narrowest point. In 490 B.C., the Persian emperor Darius the Great ordered his men to build a bridge for the safe passage of his troops. Boats were tied to one another, allowing thousands of troops to cross the strait.

Hellenistic and Roman Anatolia (334 B.C.-A.D. 330)

After conquering Greece in the late fourth century B.C., Alexander the Great, a Macedonian, turned his eye to the east. Alexander beat back Persia and conquered Anatolia in 334 B.C. Wherever he went, he founded new "Hellenistic" cities (patterned after the Greek city model and based on the Greek culture and language). Trade and prosperity increased.
After Alexander's death in 323 B.C., his generals fought over an empire that stretched from Italy to India. Anatolia got chopped up. The biggest chunk, called the Pergamon Kingdom, struck up an alliance with Rome. Byzantium struggled to preserve its autonomy, cutting deals with the Romans over the centuries to avoid an invasion. But in A.D. 73, Roman armies under Emperor Vespasian marched through the gates of Byzantium, making the city part of the Roman Empire. Eventually Rome took over most of Anatolia, and over the next 300 years, Rome's "Province of Asia" prospered.
When Septimius Severus claimed the throne of Rome in A.D. 193, his rival, Pescennius Niger, had the support of Byzantium. Severus and his armies crushed Niger's forces and reduced Byzantium to ashes in A.D. 196. Soon realizing the city's strategic importance, Severus had Byzantium rebuilt on an even grander scale. But even Severus' walls couldn't protect the city against Goth raids during the third century.
Just a few decades later, fortune would again smile on Byzantium, when Constantine the Great became the emperor of Rome.

Constantinople and the Byzantine Empire (A.D. 300-1453)

Constantine decided to move the capital of his far-flung empire from a declining Rome to a more strategic, powerful position in the east. After considering Troy, he instead chose Byzantium, a city that linked Europe and Asia. In A.D. 330, Constantine declared Byzantium to be the "New Rome" (Nova Roma).
Thus began the Eastern Roman Empire, later known as the Byzantine Empire: a synthesis of Greek culture, Roman politics, and Christian religion that would survive for more than a thousand years. Constantine kicked things off by converting to Christianity, hastening the demise of traditional Roman gods and culture. Even the Roman language, Latin, was eventually abandoned (Greek became the official language when the Byzantine Empire was reorganized in A.D. 620). The word "Byzantine" comes from Byzantium, the original name of the ancient city—another reflection of the area's traditional roots in Greek language and culture.
Theodosius (r. 379-395) was the last Roman emperor to rule a united Roman Empire from Constantinople. After his death, the eastern part of the empire permanently broke away from the western part. Within a hundred years, the last western Roman emperor submitted to a barbarian king; meanwhile, in the east, the Byzantines would continue to thrive for a millennium.
From across the sweep of a thousand years of Byzantine history, one emperor stands out: Emperor Justinian (r. 527-565). Under Justinian, the Byzantine Empire expanded its borders and reconquered some of the empire's lost Roman territories in the west, including most of Italy; his vast holdings also included the Balkans, Egypt, and North Africa. Justinian's code of law, the Codex Justinianus, regulated public and private affairs and business dealings. Also known as Corpus Juris Civilis (Body of Civil Law), it later provided a foundation for the legal system of the West. Justinian's most recognizable contribution was the construction of Hagia Sophia, the Great Church of Constantinople.
Although Justinian's 38-year reign marks the zenith of the empire, he left behind a crippled state. Ambitious building projects drained the treasury. Farms were deserted, as owners lacked the income to pay the taxes. Soon after Justinian died, Italy was lost to Germanic invaders. And so the Byzantines began their slow and steady decline (800-1453)—partly because of their own political mistakes, and partly because of an upstart religion on their doorstep: Islam.

The Selçuks (1037-1243)

In the 11th century, Selçuk Turks from Central Asia rode a wave of Islam into Anatolia, where they established a Selçuk kingdom. After taking over present-day Iran and Iraq, the Selçuks fought Byzantine forces, winning control of nearly all of Anatolia but leaving Constantinople to the Christians. The Selçuks created a wealth of beautiful architecture, ornate tiles, and poetry.
In the 13th century, the Selçuks' greatest philosopher was born. A religious leader and mystic, Rumi (or Mevlana) inspired an Islamic sect in Konya known for its Whirling Dervishes. Rumi's words were simple and profound. He said, "Love lies out of the reach of dogma. In all mosques, temples, churches, I find one shrine alone. The lovers of God have no religion but God alone."
Meanwhile, Constantinople limped along as its rulers fought over succession. From 1202 to 1204, during the Fourth Crusade, crude Crusaders sacked the Christian city and carried off its wealth. They stuck around for 50 years as the "Latin Empire" before the Byzantines regained control. With friends like these, the Byzantines hardly needed enemies. But look out...

Ottoman Empire (1299-1918)

The Mongols trampled through Anatolia in 1243, scattering the Turks and ending Selçuk rule. The Turks formed small principalities, or city-states. Osman was one of the rulers. His subjects took his name and called themselves Osmanlı. The Europeans mangled the pronunciation of "Osmanlı" into "Ottoman." Over the years, Osman's principality grew in size and power, taking over Bursa as its capital and capturing Byzantine territories in Anatolia as early as the 11th century. However, the Byzantine presence—centered in Constantinople and nearby towns—lasted for another 400 years, as the continuing Mongolian raids from the east helped preserve the status quo.
By the mid-1400s, the Ottomans had grown strong enough to challenge Constantinople, the eastern stronghold of Christendom. Leading the charge was a young Ottoman sultan, Mehmet II (r. 1451-1481). Mehmet II became sultan when he was only 12 years old, after his father retired. A military crisis soon broke out, and Mehmet II asked his father to lead the army one last time. When his father refused, the enraged Mehmet II proclaimed, "If I am the sultan, I order thee to command the armies"...and, sure enough, his father returned to the throne. Upon his father's death, Mehmet II resumed the throne at the age of 19.
Two years later, Mehmet II laid siege to Constantinople. The Orthodox Byzantines looked for help in the Catholic West, but their pleas were in vain, due to the longstanding conflicts between these two branches of the divided Church. Giving up, the Byzantine clergy reportedly said, "We would rather be ruled by the Ottoman turban than by the Latin miter" (referring to the tall, skinny hat worn by a Roman Catholic bishop).
The siege lasted for almost two months. Constantinople was the best-fortified city of its time, with the world's strongest city walls. The Byzantines stretched a large chain across the entrance of the Golden Horn to keep enemy fleets from sailing into the heart of the city. Mehmet II knew he must gain control of the Horn if he was to conquer Constantinople. But instead of trying to break through the chain, he went around it. In just one night, his troops pulled their ships out of the Bosphorus Strait on greased logs, slid them up over the hills past the entrance of the Golden Horn, and then deposited them back into the Horn. The next morning, the Ottoman cannons—still relatively new weapons—bombarded the city's western walls. Constantinople—and with it, Byzantine and Christian rule in the region—fell on May 29,1453.
Mehmet the Conqueror made Constantinople the new capital of his Islamic empire, and Turk-ified its name to "Konstantiniye." Although Mehmet was a soldier at heart, he was also a man of intellect. He spoke six languages fluently and appreciated art and science. He assembled both Christian and Muslim scholars in his court, beginning a practice of religious tolerance that was continued by succeeding sultans.
Mehmet II transformed the Ottoman state into a formidable empire. However, it was one of his descendants, Süleyman the Magnificent (r. 1520-1566), who made it into a world power. Süleyman triggered an explosion of architecture (with the help of his master architect, Sinan) and expanded his territory as far west as Hungary and as far south as North Africa. Under Süleyman, one-third of Europe's population lived within the borders of the Ottoman Empire, and Istanbul was the largest and most prosperous city in the world. (For more on Süleyman, see the sidebar on page 208.)
The titles of Süleyman's successors—such as Selim the Sot and Ibrahim the Mad—tell a story of decay. Incompetent sultans, over-taxation, corruption, and technological advances in the West would eventually combine to bring down the mighty Ottomans.
Decline of the Ottomans and Westernization Struggles (1700s-1914) By the 1700s, sultans and state administrators agreed that the Ottoman Empire had to be reorganized in order to function effectively. The empire sought inspiration from the West. The Ottoman Empire's first Westernization attempt was the so-called Tulip Era (1718-1730), but due to the sultan's extravagant lifestyle and increased taxes, it ended in riots (see page 150). A century later, the 1839 Reformation Decree—which promoted social, political, and economic reform—marked the empire's first serious attempt to Westernize. The concept of citizenship entered the political jargon, and while the sultan still had authority, bureaucrats were given more power. In 1876, under pressure from within the empire as well as from Western powers, the sultan established a parliament, with representatives elected by popular vote. But shortly thereafter, the Ottoman-Russian War provided a good excuse for the sultan to abolish the parliament.
The strongest opposition to the sultan's limitless authority came from intellectuals known as the Young Turks (or New Ottomans). Agitating for civil rights, they printed papers and periodicals in Europe and distributed them in Istanbul. Their efforts came to fruition in 1908, when the sultan issued a decree limiting his executive power and reinstating the parliament. But this parliament would last only a decade, and was abolished by the Allies as they invaded Istanbul in 1918. Most of the Young Turks fled Istanbul at the close of World War I. To some Turkish people, they were heroes; to others, they were traitors. Although they didn't succeed in creating a lasting Western-style government, their contribution to democracy in Turkey was significant.
In spite of the various attempts at reform, the Ottoman Empire continued to decline. Rotten from within, and stifled by palace intrigue and infighting, by the late 1800s the Ottoman Empire became known as the "Sick Man of Europe"...and World War I finally took it off"life support.

World War I (1914-1918)

In the early 20th century, the clueless Ottoman Empire stumbled by siding with Germany. The sultan hoped the war would help the empire regain lost territories in the Balkans and the Middle East, and unify the various ethnicities of the empire. Instead, the war only hastened the empire's demise.
The Ottomans fought valiantly despite their limited resources. While the bloody Gallipoli battle on the Dardanelles Strait cost heavy human losses on both sides, it ultimately was the trigger for three nations to realize their national independence: Australia, New Zealand, and the Turkish Republic.
World War I also saw a controversial chapter in Turkish history. In 1915, the Ottoman government decided to relocate its independence-minded Armenian population in the east, some of whom had staged armed uprisings. During the course of this relocation, hundreds of thousands of Armenians died. Some say this was due to inter-ethnic fighting and disease, while others say it was a concerted government campaign of ethnic cleansing. Today, many Armenians (and many other people outside Turkey) consider it genocide. But most Turks—including the government—don't accept that it was state-sponsored, and maintain that such claims lack historical evidence.
From the ashes of that same tragic war rose the greatest hero of the Turkish people: Atatürk.
Atatürk and the Turkish Republic (1923-present)
When Germany surrendered at the end of World War I, so did the Ottomans. The sultan signed a disarmament truce, and Allied troops marched through the streets of Istanbul. The eager vultures of Europe—France, Britain, and Italy—could hardly wait for the feast to begin. The Allies drew up a treaty that would carve up Turkey among the victors.
But even as the sultan was capitulating to Allied demands, Turkish nationalists and ex-army officers were mobilizing to fight back. One of them was Mustafa Kemal (1881-1938), a former army officer who had shown great success and bravery in Gallipoli and on other fronts during the war. Kemal—later bestowed with the last name "Atatürk" ("The Grand Turk") by the Turkish parliament—led a three-year-long liberation movement to repel the invading armies. He eventually prevailed, and established the Turkish Republic in 1923.
Atatürk enacted a series of sweeping reforms to propel Turkey into the 20th century, and orient it towards Europe rather than Asia. State administration, education, lifestyle, dress, language— every aspect of Turkish life was affected. The new parliament abolished all of the old Ottoman institutions—the sultan was history, and the royal family was sent into exile. Constantinople was officially renamed Istanbul, but lost its capital-city status to Ankara, which was then a small town. Atatürk, who saved Turkey from dissolution, remains revered by the Turkish people. For more on Turkey's greatest visionary leader, . After Atatürk's death in 1938, Turkey floundered as it searched for a leader and experimented with democracy, ismet inönü, the second president of the Turkish Republic, managed to keep Turkey neutral during World War II, but immense financial losses due to the war led to friction and new political movements.
Ongoing political clashes resulted in three military interventions, the last one in 1980. Each time, the military returned control of the country to the people. In 1982, a new constitution abolished the Senate and made the National Assembly the sole legislative body. The current political system is based on the concept of a strong administration, rather than fractured coalitions.

Istanbul Today

Today, Turkey is a member of NATO, with aspirations to join the European Union. Although Istanbul is no longer the capital, it remains the financial and cultural center of Turkey. With over 15 million people, Istanbul is also the biggest city in Turkey (one out every five citizens lives here), and one of the largest cosmopolitan areas in the world.
Several issues power Turkey's politics today: the privatization of state enterprises, the country's increasing loans, and ongoing regional conflicts. Visitors to today's Turkey will encounter three hot-button issues in particular.
First, Turkey is making a strong drive to join the European Union. The idea of admitting this Texas-size country (with 70 million people, 98 percent of whom are Muslims) presents Europe with some challenges. Demographic trends are clear: Europe is becoming a geriatric old folks' continent, and if the population is not infused with fresh immigrant blood, it will start to wither away. But the inability of white Europe and its Muslim minorities (10 percent of the Continent's population) to assimilate comfortably is a serious problem that won't just disappear. While Turkey is enthusiastic about joining the European club, the EU is split on whether Turkish membership is in its best interest.
Second is the issue of the hundreds of thousands of Armenians who died in Turkey during World War I. Was it genocide? Most Turks would prefer if this question were studied and debated by historians, rather than politicians. But outside observers see it as a formidable obstacle in Turkey's race to join the EU. Around Europe, parliaments are voting on whether or not to recognize it as genocide. Meanwhile, the newly independent country of Armenia lies just northeast of Turkey, while many of Armenia's historic treasures lie ruined and desolate in eastern Turkey.

Despite these challenges, Turkey and Istanbul are undeniably enjoying a period of unprecedented stability and wealth. There's no better time than now to visit one of Europe's most dynamic cities, Istanbul...and make your own history. (s3)