History History

First traces of settlement in Southwest Anatolia. In the region bordering Syria, in the south-east of Turkey, you can admire the oldest temple in the world: Göbekli Tepe (the navel hill).

The Greeks settled on the west coast of Asia Minor and founded colonies along the Black Sea and the Marmara Sea. At the same time, the Phrygians arrived in Anatolia and founded a kingdom ruled at its height by the legendary King Midas.

The Lydians settled on the Mediterranean coast and extended their influence after the fall of the Phrygians. It was during this period that the first traces of civilization were recorded in the Istanbul region. Thirty years later, the Byzantine sailor, following predictions from the oracle of Delphi, settled on the rocky promontory of the seraglio, which he named Byzantium.

While Rome was sacked by invasions and civil war, Emperor Constantine I reunited the Empire and decided to transfer his capital to Byzantium, which became New Rome and took the name of its founder. Christianity is the official religion.

Emperor Theodosius fortified the city of Constantinople with walls, still visible today.

Fall of Rome and the end of the Western Roman Empire

Emperor Justinian inaugurates the Basilica of Saint Sophia, which becomes the centre of the Christian world. This period is considered to be the Golden Age of Constantinople. Trade develops (the western end of the Silk Road), and the Empire expands. The influence of the Byzantine Empire lasted for five centuries.

The first three crusades were guided by the faith of the Christian rulers, but the fourth was aimed only at looting the Empire's wealth.

Turkish nomadic peoples enter Andrinople (Edirne) and impose themselves in the Balkans.

Anatolia, which corresponds to present-day Turkey, is divided into several beylicats, small principalities governed by vassal families of the sovereign. One of them, located in the north, is particularly ambitious and shows a desire for expansion. It is the principality of the Ottomans led by the bey (lord) Osman who will found the dynasty and give it his name. The beylicate spread widely throughout Anatolia and made Brousse (Bursa) its first capital, the starting point for the conquest of the West. The Byzantine capital was then isolated, because Constantinople remained a strategic place that would allow the Ottoman Empire to expand and unify its territory.

Mehmet II, direct descendant of Osman, managed to gather more than 100 000 men led by the janissaries (elite corps). Constantinople was led by its emperor Constantine XI who, for his part, had 8,000 men: a drop in the bucket compared to the army of Mehmet II! But the city is very well protected, both by the Sea of Marmara and by the Golden Horn. Moreover, under the threat, the emperor made tighten a chain thus preventing the boats from crossing the Bosphorus. It is thus impossible to reach the city neither by the sea nor by the ground with the wall which defends it. But the audacity will prevail. Mehmet II makes cross the hill to his boats by making them slide on logs of wood and, in this way, it reaches the Golden Horn and opens a new front. Constantinople did not resist and fell on May 29, after a siege of 52 days. This event marked the end of the Eastern Roman Empire and was a real turning point in world history. Every May 29, the Turks celebrate the anniversary of the capture of Constantinople.

Mehmed II transferred the capital of the Ottoman Empire from Brousse (Bursa) to Constantinople, which took the name of Istanbul. Mehmed II introduced major administrative reforms and established the office of Grand Vizier (Prime Minister). The reconstruction of Istanbul is undertaken on the remains of the Roman ruins and the first major works are the imperial mosque of Fatih (1470) and the Topkapı Palace (1475). The city and the Ottoman Empire reached their peak during the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent (1522-1566). The capital is enriched with real architectural jewels, including the numerous mosques of the famous architect Mimar Sinan, the Grand Bazaar, the new rooms of the Topkapı Palace. The Ottoman Empire was particularly tolerant of the religious minorities living within it and important administrative functions were entrusted to Christians. The Turks having conquered North Africa, the Middle East and the Balkans, all the communities of Europe and the East are represented there, all the languages are spoken.

The failure of the siege of Vienna marked the beginning of the decline of the Ottoman Empire

Birth of a clandestine and nationalist movement: the Young Turks. They advocate the abolition of the Sultanate.

The Young Turks succeeded in gaining power through a military coup, leaving the Sultans (Abdülhamid II, then Mehmet V) on their throne, but without real power.

Beginning of a decade of almost permanent war that reached its peak during the First World War when the Empire, led by Enver Pasha, signed an alliance treaty with Germany against Russia.

Genocide of the Armenians, which resulted in 1,200,000 victims. It is still not recognised by the Turkish authorities at present.

The Treaty of Sèvres removes from Turkey its Arab provinces, the Aegean region, the East and the Southeast.

Opposition parties are allowed for the first time. The economy is becoming more liberal and the principles of kemalism are becoming more flexible.

Coup d'état, establishment of military power. A liberal constitution, which recognized in particular the right to strike, was promulgated, and Süleyman Demirel became Prime Minister.

Second military coup, the army intervened again in political life to obtain Demirel's resignation and the establishment of an exceptional regime.

Third military coup d'état. The army took over power and established a military dictatorship regime that broke with democratic freedoms.

Turgut Özal becomes Prime Minister and will be the leading figure in Turkish political life for ten consecutive years. A convinced and practising Muslim, he was also a supporter of economic liberalism and began to open up the economy to the private sector and the outside world. On the other hand, there are many people who are left out and the social gaps are widening. The general context favours the rise of religious radicalism, in the underprivileged classes but also in the highest strata of the State.

Reform of the Constitution in order to be eligible for entry into the European Union.

The death penalty is abolished and the state of emergency is lifted for the first time, fifteen years after its establishment to fight the Kurdish rebellion in south-eastern Anatolia. This measure is part of the European Union's conditions for the opening of negotiations on Turkey's accession. The AKP (Justice and Development Party) won the parliamentary elections

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan becomes Prime Minister. At the same time, Istanbul's economic growth is exploding and its cultural aura is booming.

Despite economic and cultural advances, Istanbul's youth are taking to the streets to denounce the wild urbanization and totalitarian drift of the government with the Gezi movement.

The era Erdoğan. The latter is elected President of the Republic.

Failed coup attempt. On the night of 15-16 July 2016, a group of soldiers supporting the ideology of Imam Fethullah Gülen and acting on behalf of the Turkish army general staff tried in vain to seize power. Since then, support for Erdoğan has been unravelled, especially since the incarceration of more than 50,000 people (including opposition MPs), the dismissal of more than 100,000 public sector employees, the implementation of security reforms and the elimination of about 100 media outlets. Turkey is now more divided than ever.

Another victory for the AKP, which won the referendum on a reform of the presidential system giving Erdoğan even more power.

Erdoğan was re-elected in the first round of the presidential elections for a five-year term.

Municipal elections, the AKP obtained the majority of votes, but lost the country's largest cities. Claiming cheating, the government cancelled the Istanbul elections. But in the new elections, it was again the candidate of the opposition party (CHP), Ekrem Imamoğlu, who won the election. This is a double defeat for Erdoğan's party, which used to claim, "To win Istanbul is to win Turkey."

Turkey is experiencing record inflation, which is hitting the population hard. The Turkish lira has never been so devalued in 20 years. Between 2019 and 2020, more than one and a half million Turks will fall below the poverty line.

2023

The country was hit by violent earthquakes in early February 2023, causing tens of thousands of deaths. The government is criticized for its late response and failure to comply with anti-seismic standards in the construction of buildings in the disaster area. Despite this criticism, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan won the presidential elections in May 2023, focusing his campaign on major industrial, energy and military projects.

A year later, in the municipal elections, the AKP, Turkey's ruling party, loses to the CHP, the main opposition party, which takes over the country's largest cities. Faced with a severe economic crisis, with inflation exceeding 124% in one year, Turks expressed their dissatisfaction with the government.