Turkish History Since 1900 B.C.

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Introduction

Turkey is located between Europe, Asia and it is in the north eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea. Its neighborhood includes Greece, Bulgaria, Russia, Romania, Syria and Iraq. The Turkish terrain is divided into two with one portion being in Europe and the other one in Asia. The central part of the country comprises of a treeless plateau rimmed by mountains. The country’s land comprises of 770, 761 square kilometers. This paper seeks to analyze the Turkish history.

Turkish government

The Turkish territory has been dominated by many empires since 1900 B.C. The Turkey in Asia which is also commonly known as the Anatolia was first occupied by the Indo-European Hittites, an empire which lasted until 1200B.C. The Persians later occupied the region in the 6^th B.C and the Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire followed respectively (Lamartine, 1857, p. 213). It is believed that the Ottoman Turks emerged in the early 13^th Century and they gradually gained power over the area including the region earlier occupied by the Byzantium Empire. The Ottoman Empire is believed to be the most powerful empire to reign in the Turkish history as it dominated for over 600 years (Howard, 2001, p. 55). The empire is also said to have outpoured the Islamic art, literature and architecture in the region. The empire therefore firmly made the country is dominated by the Islamic faithful. It was not until the 18^th century that the Russian government intervened in order to rescue the Christians faithful who were greatly discriminated by the empire regime. Until 1909, the Turkey remained under the Russian protection, but during this period, the young Turks revolted against this reign and forced Sultan Abdul Hamid to grant a constitution to the government. There were continued wars between Italy and Turkey which took place between 1911 and 1912. The government also fought to gain the control of Balkans, this war also saw the Turkish government siding with the Germans during the First World War. It was after this international war that the country lost its control over the Balkans territory.

The new republic

The continued boarder dispute in the Turkish territory led to the re-drawing of the boundaries which was done in 1923 at the Lausanne conference. It was during the same period that Turkey became a republic headed by Kemal Ataturk as the first president. With the foundation of a new republic both Ottoman and caliphate empires were abolished in order to ensure territorial integration. There was also some significant reforms meant to modernize and industrialize the nation all guided and coordinated by the then president. The Ataturk’s regime also established a secular society a move which reduced the Islamic domination. The introduction of the Latin alphabets and writings in schools were some of the initiatives which the president used in order to secularize the Turkish society. The Ataturk’s death in 1938 saw the establishment of multiparty and parliamentary system of government in Turkey.

International associations

The Turkish strong stand of not actively participating in the World War II enabled them to receive a positive image among the international communities. It was during this period of time that the Turkey became a full member of NATO in 1952. In Addition, the country also became a signatory of the Balkan Entente in 1953. The nation also joined the Baghdad Pact in 1955 and in 1963 it became an associate member of the European Common Market (Alaxander & Brenner, 2008, p. 200).

Military invasions

The 1950s to early 1970s Turkey avoided its direct involvement and engagement in wars, but this was not the case in 1974 when it officially invaded Cyprus by both sea and on air after trying to solve their issues diplomatically. The two nations were fighting for the control of the Greek Cypriots Island. It was not until a one moth serious battle that Turkey unilaterally announced a cease-fire notice after having controlled 40% of the island. The international communities particularly the US influenced the Turkish control over the Turkish Cypriots and in 1975 an own state was established in the north for them. This move created unwanted rivalry between the US and Turkey and as a result the government took control over all the US military installations in their country except the one which was reserved for NATO tasks.

Military government

There was an establishment of military government in September 1980 in Turkey and which was meant to halt the anarchy regime which had previously dominated. Some tremendous changes were done within the government and due to it there was a significant improvement of the economy. The same military government also unified the Turkish people and ensures their political participation. Their accountability in the governing process led to a successful drafting and passing of a country’s constitution which was supported by the majority Turkish residents (Bruno, 2009, p. 1508).

Cultural clashes

The persistent discrimination and oppression of the Kurds society together with their cultural values led to the formation of the guerrilla movement which was headed by the Kurdish terrorist leader by the name Abdullah Ocalan. This clash was one of the most severe in the history of Turkey as it led to the loss of approximately 35,000 lives as the Kurdish Worker’s Party (PKK) fought against the Turkish military. The civil war however ended in 1999 after the arrest, conviction and death sentencing of the PKK leader Ocalan (Lutz & Lutz, 2008, p. 191).

Turkish move towards terrorism

The Turkish government has closely examined some of the great negative repercussions that terrorist pose to their nation. In order to regain the proper image internationally, Turkey ahs come up with a more repressive and revamping policies which are all aimed at reducing terrorist activities in its peripheries. Some of the ways which the government used was some partial amnesty to the PKK members a move which was aimed at re-uniting it communities (Kaya & Erdemir, 2008, p. 98).

Political advancements

The Turkish military government which was established in 1980 has been in the reign since although there was a political hitch in 2007 when the then prime minister Erdogan nominated an Islamic Abdullah Gul as the party’s presidential candidate. This move was greatly objected by the military regime as the candidate was viewed as a threat to the secular public previously established. Gul therefore failed to secure a two third majority in parliament and almost withdrew from the race in July 2007. He however emerged victorious in the August third round elections.

Conclusion

The Turkish government has greatly developed throughout its life. All this developments have positively translated the nation from empire regimes to a republican headed by a president. Its efforts towards establishing a secular state was successful since until today Turkey is known for its religious and cultural diversities. The military government which replaced the anarchy reign in the country has enabled the country to economically, socially and politically advance to a higher level.

Reference

Alaxander, Y. & Brenner, E.H., 2008. Turkey: terrorism, civil rights and the European Union. New York, Routledge. Web.

Bruno, S., 2009. World and its peoples. London, Paul Bernabeo.Web.

Howard, D.A., 2001. The history of Turkey. Westport, Greenwood Press. Web.

Kaya, N.C. & Erdemir, A., 2008. Social Dynamics of Global Terrorism and Prevention Policies. Ankara, IOS Press. Web.

Lamartine, A., 1857. History of Turkey. New York, I.B. Tauris & Co Ltd. Web.

Lutz, M.J. & Lutz, B.J., 2008. Global Terrorism. New York, Routledge. Web.

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