The history of Anatolia, the Turkish homeland is simply incredible. The world's oldest city was discovered, here, at Catal Hoyuk in 7500 BC. The Hittite Empire, little known in the west, rivaled that of ancient Egypt, and left behind captivating works of art.
The heartland of classical Hellenic culture is actually in
Turkey, including cities such as Troy, Pergamum, E
have a Roman past and all have a Byzantine one. The Seljuk Turkish
Empire could boast of people like Omar Khayyam and Celaleddin Rumi, the
poet, mystic and founder of the order of Whirling Dervishes. Turkey's
history is astoundingly long, extending for almost 10,000 years
The Prehistoric Times
Paleolithic Age ( Old Stone Age ) ( 2 Million - 8000
BC )
Paleolithic Age, also known to be the old stone age, begins
somewhere between 2 million years ago and ends 10.000 years before our
time. This time period marks the beginning of the existence of the ancestors
of man.
The early man in the Paleolithic age did not know to farm
and raise crops but lived on picking up vegetables, fruit and on hunting.
In search of the new food sources and to be able to hunt animals, he moved
from place to place , and gathered in small groups. His dwelling was in
rocky areas, under big rocks and in caves. In areas where this condition
could not be met he made easy and primitive shelters out of wood. Around
40.000 BC he started making simple stone tools for hunting and protection
purposes.
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Between 40.000 and
10.000 is the glacial age on earth. Not being able to move much due to
the climate, the primitive man utilized the skin of the animals that he
hunted by successfully carved stones. To make clothes he used pins made
out of bones and saw animal skin covers for himself. During this hard
time of survival , he was able to discover and to control fire and by
doing so he happened to have passed an important step in his development
which helped him be separated from the animals. In this same period the
earliest notion of the need to believe in an other world or in a mightier
power can also be traced. In the graves that were dug for the dead as
simple holes he left food by the side of the deceased and this is interpreted
to be his faith in afterlife. To sum up, the hard conditions of life in
the glacial age led the early man develop better socially and technically.
The passage from the very primitive man, namely Home Neanderthal, to the
ancestor of the modern man, namely Home Sapiens who is dated to between
10.000 and 8.000 may also be considered in this period.
In the last phases of the Paleolithic age the early man could
make tools in order to make different new tools. The first works of art
emerged in this era too: paintings made on cave the walls and various
art objects such as low reliefs and figurines.The intellectual life of
the man was beginning. Moreover, animal bones, teeth and shells the ornate
objects demonstrate the first aesthetic concern in man.
The fact that in Paleolithic Age, the Asia Minor is extremely
rich in fossils and fragments of human beings and animals, of stone, of
bone and of vegetation, as well as of works of art reveals that Anatolian
land was intensely inhabited during this period. The most important place
in Anatolia where all the three phases; Upper, Middle and Lower in the
Paleolithic Age can be seen, is the Karain Cave on the 30 km northwest
of Antalya. In this respectively big cave, there are various living sections
from each of the three phases of the Paleolithic Age. Among the finds
are many carved stone and bone tools, moveable art objects, remains of
the bones and teeth of Homo Neanderthal and Homo Sapiens, burnt and unburned
animal and bread fossils. Karain cave in the Paleolithic Age is not a
crucial excavation site only for Anatolia but also for the Near East.
One can see some of these remains in the Museums of Karain, in Antalya
and in Ankara Museum of Anatolian Civilizations.
Neolithic Age ( 8000 BC - 5000 BC )
This period reveals a new step in the history of mankind with the development of the established and settled societies and production of food. Anatolia once again gives the most comprehensive sites in the world for this age with Cayonu, Hacilar, Catalhoyuk and Koskhoyuk excavation sites.
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The Cayonu settlement
which is not far from the city of Diyarbakir has been unearthed by the
expedition teams under the leadership of Cambel, Braidwood, Mehmet Ozdogan,
Wulf Schirmen and it is dated back to 7250-6750 BC. In the middle of the
settlement is a center and around it are monumental, rectangular structures
and houses. The foundation of the structures is stone and above is sun-dried
brick. The inhabitants of Cayonu are the first farmers of Anatolia. They
raised sheep and goat, and domesticated dog. The woman figurines among
the finds discovered are the earliest traces of the Mother Goddess cult.
The Hacilar Settlement, brought to the daylight by James Mellart,
located on the 25 km southwest of Burdur, is dated back to 5700-5600 BC.
The walls and the floors of Hacilar houses which are made of mud-brick
on stone foundations are lime mortared and red painted. Wooden poles for
supporting flat roofs and ladders to suggest that some structures had
two stories are discovered. In every house, there are goddess figurines
made of clay, in standing and sitting postures. Different from other settlement
areas, the dead are buried outside the cities. The pottery in Hacilar
is well fired and comes in red, brown and yellow colors.
The Catalhoyuk settlement, on the 52 km southeast of Konya
and north of the town of Cumra is, dated back to 6800-5000 BC and it is
the most developed center of the Near East and the Aegean. The excavations
have shown that the city with ten different settlement levels was built
according to a designed plan. This is achieved by arranging the rectangular
planned houses next to one another around the courtyards. There are no
stone foundations in Catalhoyuk and all the houses carry flat roofs. Houses
were made up of mud brick and they all were built according to the same
ground plan. They have no doors. Instead the entrance to them is through
windows on the ceilings by using portable ladders. The windows for air
and light are placed on the topmost part of the walls near the roofs.
The houses are composed of wide living rooms, storage rooms and kitchens.
In the rooms there are seats and furnaces. The dead are buried under the
seats in the houses after having been dried in the sun.The walls of the
houses are decorated with bull heads and paintings. These paintings which
signify the rituality in the community are placed in a corner in the houses
rather than in a special separate location within the settlement area.
Bull heads are formed in high reliefs, like statues, and some of them
are made by the covering of original bullheads with clay. In the formation
of the wall paintings, red, brown, black, white and pink dies on top of
the gray mud brick are used. Among the motifs used are geometrical designs,
flowers, stars, circles and in some parts depictions of life as well as
human hands, deities, human figures, hunting scenes, bulls, birds, vultures,
leopards, wild deer and pigs, lions and bears. A depiction of the eruption
of a volcanic mountain ( very likely, the Mount Hasan, near Cappadocia)
is the oldest known scenery painting.
In Catalhoyuk, we can also trace the early stages of
farming. This is also accompanied with the worship of the Mother Goddess
along with the holy animal, the bull. The Mother Goddess stands for fertility
and multiplication of man. In the excavations carried in Hacilar and Catalhoyuk,
hundreds of Mother Goddess statutes have been found. She, with her sexual
organs in exaggeration is almost always depicted nude and lies down in
the postures of crouching, and specially in the process of birth-giving
. The fact that similarly designed Mother Goddess statues could also be
found in the Near Eastern and Aegean cultures signifies the existence
of matriarchal societies in these regions in the same time periods. The
Goddess Kybele comes into sight around the 7000 BC. ( Most of the finds
from this period are on display in Ankara Museum of Anatolian Civilizations.
As for Koskhoyuk; during the excavations carried by Ugur Silistre
in Koskhoyuk, near Nigde, ornate pottery pieces and statues have been
discovered.
Chalcholithic
Age ( Copper Age) ( 5500-3000 BC)
In this period, in addition to stone tools copper pieces
also come into sight. The need to change valuable goods (ceramics, textile)
for both raw and shaped mines helped the trade develop, and this brought
the exchange between peoples and the preparation of inventory listings
with the beginning of communication. Symbols, hieroglyphs, writing with
pictures, came into use. By the end of the 4000 BC cities emerged and
the first steps of the human civilization were made.
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Burdur-Hacilar level
5 ( 5500 BC) is the oldest site in Anatolia where metal objects are discovered.
Regarding technique and forms; the handmade pottery production reached
to an advanced level here and the single-colored, polished, ceramic pots
were produced as an alternative to the metallic pots which were respectively
more valuable. The surface of the pots is finely polished with a special
technique to create a metallic effect.
One other important settlement area of the Chalcholithic
period in Western Anatolia is the Beycesultan site, going back to 4000-3000
BC, located on the 5 km southeast of town of Civril in Denizli, excavated
by Seton Lloyd. Here, some of the mud-brick structures with a rectangular
plan look like long megaron houses (megaron is a long and narrow room
that has a hearth in the center). Inside the structures are hearths, seats
along the walls and storage. Here, in a pot, is discovered a collection
of silver and copper rings, part of a dagger and metallic pins. The ceramic
of this period has a background of gray, black and brown.
Canhasan site, on the 13 km northeast of Karaman town
in Konya, unearthed by David French was a bridge between west and east
Anatolia and Mesopotamia for trade and cultural exchange. Copper rings
and bracelets are among the most important finds here. Anatolia which
had the most advanced culture on earth during the Paleolithic period has
lost its leadership in the Chalcolithic period to Mesopotamia and Egypt,
after writing was discovered there Due to the fact that writing got to
be used in Anatolia a thousands years later, the level of culture here
could not go beyond that of Neolithic period primitive village, even though
people were using metal in daily life.
Bronze Age ( 3000 - 1200 BC )
The Bronze period begins around 3000 in Anatolia, around
2500 in the Aegean and Crete, around 2000 in Europe. Bronze is obtained
by mixing copper and tin ( % 90 copper, % 10 tin). In this period apart
from bronze tools other kinds such as copper, gold and electron, which
is an alloy of natural gold and silver are also produced for using in
religious ceremonies. The people in this period lived in cities surrounded
with fortification walls. Houses are built in rectangular shapes on stone
foundations with sundried brick walls and. Agriculture, animal husbandry,
merchandise and mine production are the means of life.
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Alacahoyuk, 67 km
to Yozgat city and 3 hours away from Ankara is the most advanced settlement
area in Anatolia from this period. The rich graves discovered here are
in shapes of regular stone rooms. The dead is put in the center of these
rooms with gifts, in a posture that the knees are pulled up to the belly
( hocker position). Sacrificed and presented during the ceremony, bull
heads and feet are left on top of the roofs. Goats and sheep are also
sacrificed. They might have been served to the attendants at the funeral.
The graves are thought to be used for many generations. Most of the gifts
are composed of gold, silver, electron, bronze objects and decorative
items such as diadems, necklaces, hairpins, bracelets, earrings made of
precious stones like amber, rock crystal, etc. Bronze and gold weapons,
sun discs, deer and bull figurines, goddess statues of religious services
are invaluable works of art discovered here. For the first time in this
period do we find bronze spear heads in Anatolia. They resemble very much
to their counterparts in Mesopotamia and Syria which is an interesting
point.
Another important place in the bronze age is Troy, Level
1. dated back to 2900-2500 BC. This first city in Troy, now partly unearthed
is wrapped up with a 90 meter wall. Houses are in megaron type again and
the entrances are from the narrow sides. Walls are stone and set in the
herring bone pattern. Troy, Level 2. is dated back to 2500-2000 BC. It
is built on top of Troy Level 1. The inhabitants of this level come from
the Aegean and Balkans like those of the first level. It is also surrounded
with walls but this time they are 20 meters longer. The expedition team
uncovered a royal residence that belongs to a king on one of the hilltops.
Heinrich Schlieman, the German businessman who dug the Trojan mound in
1870, discovered a treasury at this level of Troy 2. Knowing Homer's Iliad
by heart, he was in search of King Priamos's treasury and for years he
believed the treasury he had discovered at the site was so. In the last
years of his life, however, he was going to learn that the treasury actually
belonged to a different level, the level 2, thus, to a different time
period.
Hatti Culture
The information about the Hatti civilization comes to us through the Accadian
sources (2350-2150 BC). The Hattis are believed to be the one of the indigenous
peoples in Anatolia. They lived around 2500 BC in city kingdoms and small
tribes and by 2000 BC all of them were taken under the rule of the Hittites.
Different from other cultures though,The Hatti art gives us the examples
of a human-shaped pottery type (anthropomorphic) rather than an animal
shape or a hybrid form. They worshipped such statues and figurines, and
each one of them carried his or her name. The Hittites, an Indo-European
tribe that came to Anatolia over the Caucasus around 2000 BC, were influenced
by the Hatti culture in religion, mythology and literature. Not only did
they take the names of mountains, rivers and towns from them; Hittites
preserved even the original Hatti name of the country they lived in as
"the land of Hatti". It would not be an exaggeration to say
that the Hittites formed one of the most interesting and authentic civilizations
of the world history with the help of a rich cultural background they
inherited from the Hattis over 250 years.
The peaceful times in Anatolia that lasted for thousands of years came
to an end with a fierce attack around 2000 BC. There is only the remains
of a thick fire layer dating back to 2000 BC in the settlement areas of
the central Anatolia such as Alacahoyuk.
Assyrian Trade Colonies ( 1900-1700)
The Assyrian merchants established trade colonies in central parts of
Asia Minor in this period. Their aim was to sell and barter the goods
they produced for timber, silver, copper and raw material from Anatolia.
According to thousands of tablets discovered at Kultepe, the Assyrians
had established independent trade colonies here named karum. The gold
and silver were the two basic norms for trade, the former for the wholesale
and the latter for the retail business.The method of trade was bartering.
The donkey was the main transportation animal. This period marks a big
interaction and cultural exchange between Anatolia and Mesopotamia. The
Indo-European tribes that until then lived on the north of Europe, for
an unknown reason, migrated towards south between 2250 and 2000 BC in
to a vast area from the Indian to the Atlantic Ocean. During this migration,
tribes like Germans, Latins ,Iranians, Cimmerians, Indians and Hellens
moved to the areas and the countries around their present day locations.
In the meantime some tribes, likeTrojans, Thracians, Phrigians and Hittites
got in to Anatolia too.
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In the year 395, when
the Roman emperor Theodosum I divided the empire and placed his son Arcadius
at the head of the Eastern side and his other son Honorius on the throne
of the Western side, he could not have known what kinds of effects this
action was to have on the future. The Western Roman Empire, with Honorius
at its head, was to have a short life. The Eastem Roman Empire, however,
was to last almost one thousand years until it was finally put to an end
by the Ottoman Empire Mehmet II when he conquered the city of Istanbul
in 1453.
The city of Byzantium was chosen to be the capitol of
the Eastern Roman Empire.
Sixty five years later, however, the name of the city
was changed to Constantinople in honor of its founder, Constantine. Even
though this radical change was made in the concept of the empire, the
Byzantines always referred to themselves during their one thousand year
long history as the Roman Empire and their nation as the Nation of Rome.
After the collapse of the empire, however, historians began to refer to
this empire as the "Byzantine" Empire and so it is remembered
today. This empire began in 330 and lasted until 1453, for 1123 years.
A struggle between Moslems and Christians began to arise in the Middle
Ages. Those warriors known as the Crusaders were the most concrete example
of the struggle between these two major religious beliefs.
The most important change made when the Roman Empire
evolved into the Byzantine was the change in religion. While Rome was
a polytheistic society, the Byzantines accepted monotheism as the basis
for their religious belief. The second greatest change that occurred in
the empire was the change in language. The Roman Empire used a number
of languages, but Latin was the official language of its government. Latin
was used increasingly less after the founding of Byzantium and Greek began
to take its place as the official language. Naturally, this change also
brought with it major political changes.
The Byzantine Empire began with the Emperor Constantine who
reigned for thirteen years; a total of 88 emperors were to reign during
the course of the empire. These emperors came from various family lines.
The leading groups were from Heraclion, Syria, Phrygia, Macedonia, Commenos,
Angelos, and Palaiologos. Although the Byzantines began their empire with
a vast territory of land inherited from the Roman Empire, they soon lost
the territories around the Northern and Eastem Mediterranean and they
became an empire with generally Aegean territory. By the time of the collapse
of the Empire, Byzantium merely consisted of the city of Istanbul and
its immediate surrounds.
THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE
( A CHRONOLOGICAL OUTLINE )
830-850, Turkish
mercenaries from Central Asia found in service of Abbasid caliphs
850-905, Tulunids (Turkish generals) rule Egypt virtually independently
of the Abbasids
900, Samanids rule in eastern Persia and borderlands of Turkistan; Turks
are exposed to Persianate Islamic culture; preparation far incorporation
of Turks into main body of Middle Eastern Islamic civilization
10thc. , term "sultan" (Arabic abstract noun meaning "sovereign
authority") begins to be used to designate rulers
c.1000 , Ghaznavids establish rule in Afghanistan, break Samanid power,
and expand into Persia below Oxus River; champions of Sunni Islam within
a predominantly Persian cultural context
1040, Seljuks take Khorasan from Ghaznavids; soon control most of Persia
with center at Isfahan; from there advance to defeat Buwayhids (Shi'i
Persians) who had dominated Abbasid caliphs in Baghdad for a century
1055, Seljuk sultans become de facto rulers in Abbasid Baghdad; two centuries
of turmoil is ended and unity restored in eastern Islamic region; Persia
and Mesopotamia are reunited and northern Syria added to the "Great
Seljuk" state
1071 , Battle of Manzikert ( Malazgirt ) a decisive victory for Seljuk
Sultan Alp Arslan over Byzantines; break Byzantine line of defense in
Eastern Anatolia; Turkish-speaking Muslims raid and settle in area now
known as "Turkey"; much of the Greek/ Christian veneer of indigenous
Anatolian population gradually replaced by a Turkish/Muslim veneer
1092 , death of Seljuk Sultan Malik Shah and his great vizier, Nizam al-Mulk;
dynastic strife ensues
1118, Seljuk Empire splits into principalities ruled by princes of the
family, often over- shadowed by their "atabeys" ( tutor guardians
)
12th c. , Seljuks of Rum ( Konya, Anatolia ) rule centra1 Anatolian plateau
with center at Konya (Iconium) .
1204 , Byzantium fatally weakened by 4th. Crusade and Latin occupation
c.1200 , high point of Seljuks of Rum; by absorption of smaller Turkish
principalities (beyliks), Seljuks extend their jurisdiction to south coast
of Anatolia; Turkish nomads ("gazis") active in western border/march
region adjacent to Byzantium
1243, Mongols under Hulagu Khan move west, defeat Selcuk Sultan Kaykhusrav
II, and establish overlordship in Seljuk Anatolia
1258, Mongols conquer Baghdad and bring Abbasid Caliphate to an end Later
13th c., Turkish Anatolia fragmented as Mongol control weakens and is
withdrawn; many small principalities ( beyliks ) emerge, one of them led
by Osman (Turkish form of the Arabic/Muslim name, Uthmm; European corruption
of Osman is Ottoman) in northwest Anatolia (around Iznik and Bursa) adjacent
to Byzantine territories.
1071-1300, Anatolia witnesses swift military penetration, ragged political
conquest, partial and superficial cultural/linguistic conquest by Muslim
Turks who, in their upper ranks were carriers of Persianate Muslim culture.
That group was small in number but powerful . Below them, Turkish-speaking
Muslims mix with indigenous population. Folk culture and folk religion
often at odds with high culture and Islamic orthodoxy represented by the
religious and political elite in the society.
Ataturk and the Modernization of Turkey
Ataturk is the national hero of Turkey. He founded the modern Turkish
Republic out of the ashes of the Ottoman Empire; an empire that was seen
as the sick man of Europe at the turn of the century. His modern perspective
created a new nation and a country, and a secular state understanding
different from most other Islamic countries was introduced by him. Once
you step in Turkey, you will see his statues and the busts all over. One
of the best books written about Ataturk from a foreigner's point of view
is the book titled " The Rebirth of a Nation" by Lord Kinross.
He was born in the year 1881 in Thessaloniki, at that time, within the
Ottoman Empire's borders at that time, in Greece at present . His full
name was Mustafa Kemal and the Ataturk surname, meaning the father of
Turks, was given to him by the Turkish people (1934 November 24th.) in
accordance with the reforms he introduced to create a modern Turkish country.
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His background was
military, and he served in various posts in the Ottoman army. During the
First World War , he was the colonel in charge of Infantry at Gallipoli
in 1915 and it was his genious defense tactics that prevented the allied
forces ( British, French, Anzacs - Australians and New Zealenders and
Senegalese) from capturing the Dardanelles and eventually Bosphorus.
His success and fast growing reputation disturbed the capital and to keep
him under control he was promoted to Pasha ( General ). When the War ended
the armies of the allied forces occupied nearly all corners of the country
including Istanbul. Sultan and many of the people saw a hopeful future
in the acceptance of either the British or American mandate. Ataturk,
however, had a very different vision. He left Istanbul in a small boat,
namely Bandirma ( a nice model of the boat may be seen at the Ataturk
Museum in Ataturk's Mausoleum, Ankara), going ashore at Samsun, a coastal
town in the Black Sea, on the 19th. of May 1919 ( a date later to be presented
by Ataturk to the Turkish Youth as the Turkish Youth Day), the day the
War of Independence began. He wanted Independence.
First with skirmishes , in time with proper army troops, Ataturk and his
army friends' armies started fighting the enemy. Ankara was chosen to
be Ataturk's headquarter for its central location and the seeds of a new
country were planted there. He and his friends wanted to replace the Monarchy
with a Republic. The War of Independence took some three years and by
the end of the year 1922, all of the invaders had left the country. The
Ottoman Sultan fled in a British boat. The birth of a new nation had begun.
Ataturk's Revolutions
Political Revolutions
The Sultanete was abolished in 1922, November 1st.
The Republic was declared in 1923, October 29th.
The Caliphship was abolished in 1924, March 3rd.
Social Reformations
The hat as opposed to fez was introduced. (1925)
The activities of religious sects were banned by law. ( 1925)
Western calender was introduced. ( 1925)
International numeric system was introduced. ( 1928)
The Metric system was introduced. ( 1931)
The nicknames and personal titles were abolished. ( 1934)
Religious attire was prohibited in public ( 1934). According to this law,
religious personalities, irrespective of the religious groups they belong
were not to wear religious attire in public but only in their sanctuaries.
The surname law.( 1934)
The modern secular system of jurisprudence is instead of religious law
is integrated.( 1926)
The liberation of the women of Turkey by giving them political and social
rights.
a) Rights brought with medeni kanun ( 1926)
b) Rights for women to be elected for the parliment
Educational and Cultural Reformations
Unity in Education ( 1924 )
Introduction and the acceptance of the Roman alphabeth. ( 1928 )
The foundation of Turkish History Institution
The foundation of Turkish Language Institution
The Principles of Ataturk ( Kemalism)
The doctrines of Ataturk or Kemalism is a system of thought based on the
facts of Turkey. It is shaped with the will of the Turkish nation through
a long historical background. Above all, Kemalism is the introduction
and the rendering of the rights to the nation. It is the expression of
the national sovereignity.It is an attempt to reach the level of the modern
civilizations, it is westernization, modernization. It requires to experience
a modern social life, to establish a secular state, and to govern with
a positive science mentality.
The principles of Kemalism can be viewed in two groups: "The Basic
Principles" and "The Complementary Principles".
The definition of the principles as Ataturk has expressed them:
The Basic Principles
Republicanism
Nationalism
Popularism
Etatism
Secularism
Revolutionism
The Complementary Principles
National Sovereignity
National Independance
National Unitiy and Togetherness
Peace at home Peace abroad
Modernization
Scientificism and Rationalism
Humanitarianism
Ataturk's Address to the Turkish Youth
Turkish youth!
Your first duty is to project and preserve the Turkish independence and
the Turkish Republic forever . This is the very foundation of your existence
and your future. This foundation is your most precious treasure. In the
future, too, there may be malovelent people at home and abroad, who wish
to deprive you of this treasure. If some day you are compelled to defend
your independence and your republic, you must not tarry to weigh the possibilities
and circumstances of the situation before taking up your duty. These possibilities
and circumstances may turn out to be extremely unfavorable. The enemies
conspiring against your independence and your Republic may have behind
them a victory unprecedented in the annals of the world. By violence and
ruse, all the fortresses of your beloved fatherland may be captured, all
its shipyards occupied, all its armies dispersed and every part of the
country invaved. And sadder and graver than all these circumstances, those
who hold power within the country may be in error, misguided and may even
be traitors. Furthermore, they may identify their personal interests with
the political designs of the invaders. The country may be impoverished,
ruined and exhausted.
You, the youth of Turkey's future, even in such circumstances, it is your
duty to save the Turkish independence and Republic. The strength you need
is in your noble blood within your veins