Anatolia has been inhabited continuously for tens of thousands of years. The country's modern history is layered on top of one of the oldest cultural records in the world.
Last reviewed on 27 September 2026.
The territory of the modern Republic of Türkiye is one of the most layered historical landscapes on earth. The earliest known town, Çatalhöyük, was already a busy settlement when most of Europe was uninhabited. The Hittite, Phrygian, Lydian, Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Seljuk and Ottoman worlds all overlapped here, leaving behind written records, ruins and traditions that the modern republic still draws on.
This section gathers our long-form history pages. The home page already presents a condensed timeline; the dedicated guides below go deeper.
Çatalhöyük, Göbekli Tepe and other early Neolithic sites — among the oldest known human settlements anywhere.
A major Bronze Age power centred on Hattusa, in conflict and treaty with Egypt; pioneers of iron working.
Ionian cities, the Persian Wars, Alexander's campaigns, and the long Roman period that ended with Constantinople.
The eastern Roman world. Constantinople is the political and religious heart of Christendom for over a millennium.
Seljuk arrival after Manzikert, the rise of the Ottoman beylik, the conquest of Constantinople in 1453, and six centuries of empire.
The War of Independence, the founding of the Republic in 1923, the reform programme, and the country's contemporary trajectory.
The eastern Roman Empire centred on Constantinople — from Constantine and Justinian to the fall of the city in 1453, and its legacy in modern Istanbul.
From the frontier beylik of Osman and the conquest of Constantinople to Süleyman's golden age, the long decline, and the end of the empire.
The life, military career and reform programme of the Republic's founder, with timeline, principles and international recognition.
From the occupation after 1918 and the landing at Samsun to Sakarya, the Great Offensive and the Treaty of Lausanne.
A dated timeline of Turkish history, era by era: Göbekli Tepe, Hittites, Byzantium, Seljuks, Ottomans, the Republic of 1923 and events up to 2023.
Ancient Anatolia from Göbekli Tepe and Çatalhöyük to the Hittites, Phrygians, Urartians, Lydians, Ionian Greeks and Alexander, and where to see it today.
The Seljuks in Anatolia: Manzikert 1071, the Sultanate of Rum and its capital Konya, caravanserais and medreses, Kösedağ 1243 and the rise of the beyliks.
The Ottoman conquest of Constantinople in 1453: Mehmed II, the land walls, the great cannon, the ships hauled overland, 29 May, and the myths around it.
Süleyman the Magnificent (1520–1566): Belgrade, Rhodes, Mohács, Vienna, Baghdad, Barbarossa, the law-giver, Hürrem, Ibrahim Pasha, Sinan and Szigetvár.
The Gallipoli (Çanakkale) campaign: the 18 March 1915 naval battle, the Anzac and Helles landings, Mustafa Kemal, Suvla, the evacuation and its legacy.
Türkiye since 1923: single-party reforms, multi-party politics, the 1960 and 1980 coups, Özal, the AKP era, the 2016 coup attempt and 2023 elections.
The proclamation of the Republic, why the date matters, and how Cumhuriyet Bayramı is celebrated today.
The 1982 constitution, the presidential system since 2018, the Grand National Assembly, courts and 81 provinces.