brief history


7500 BC	First Stone Age settlements.
1900 -1300 BC	Hittite Empire.
1250 BC	The Trojan War and the fall of Troy.
1200 - 700 BC	Migration of Greeks to Aegean coastal regions. Establishment of the Phyrgian, Ionian, Lycian, Lydian, Carian and Pamphylian Kingdoms.
700BC	Homer is born in Izmir. Aegean Hellenism begins.
546BC	Cyrus the Great leads the Persians into Anatolia.
334BC	Alexander the Great drives out the Persians.
130BC	The Romans incorporate Anatolia as the province of Asia, controlled from Ephesus.
40BC	The marriage of Antony & Cleopatra.
47-57AD	St Paul spreads Christianity.
313AD	Roman Empire adopts Christianity.
527-65AD	Glory of Byzantium under Justianian.
638-718	Muslim Arabs besiege Constantinople.
1054	Greek and Roman churches split over theology.
1071-1243	Rise and rule of the Selcuk Turks in Anatolia.
1094-1204	The Crusades. The beginning of the end for Byzantium.
1288	The beginning of the Ottoman Empire.
1453	The fall of Constantinople – the birth of Istanbul.
1854	Crimean war.
1914	Turkey allies with Germany in the First World War.
1915	Gallipolli.
1918	Defeat of the Ottoman Empire in WW1, Turkey partly occupied by Allied Powers.
1919	Atatürk leads resistance to the allied plan to carve up Turkey.
1923	Republic proclaimed by Mustafa Atatürk; Treaty of Lausanne.
1928	Introduction of Latin alphabet; Islam abolished as state religion.
1938	Atatürk dies. Turkey declares war on Germany.
1946	Founding member of the UN.
1952	Turkey joins NATO. Takes part in the Korean war.
1960	Military coup, successive governments ineffective.
1974	Cyprus crisis.
1980	Military coup. 3 years of military government.
2001	Constitutional reform passed to bring constitution in line with EU standards.
2002	Abolishment of the death penalty.
2003	59th Government of the Turkish Republic is formed by Erdogan. The EU presents the new Accession Partnership with Turkey.

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