There's a lot of history here. The easiest way to deal with it in a digestible format seems to be to give a chronology of the major events to begin with. We're going to use that as a framework to hang bits & pieces on later.
| 7500 BC |
|
First Stone age settlements at Catalhoyuk |
| 1900-1300 BC |
|
Hittite Empire with Hattusas as capital, contemporary with ancient Egypt & Babylon |
| 1250 BC |
|
The Trojan war & the fall of Troy |
| 1200-700 BC |
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Migration of Greeks to Aegean coastal regions. Establishment of the Phrygian, Ionian, Lycian, Lydian, Carian & Pamphylian Kingdoms. The East of Turkey is the home of the Urartians |
| 725 BC |
King Midas rules the Phrygians from his capital of Gordion |
| 700 BC |
|
Homer is born in Izmir (Smyrna). Aegean Hellenism begins |
| 546 BC |
|
Cyrus the Great leads the Persians into Anatolia |
| 334 BC |
|
Alexander the Great drives out the Persians |
| 130 BC |
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The Romans incorporate Anatolia as the province of Asia, controlled from Ephesus |
| 40 BC |
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Antioch sees the marriage of Antony & Cleopatra |
| 47-57 AD |
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St. Paul spreads Christianity & a community at Antioch is established |
| 313 AD |
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Roman Empire adopts Christianity |
| 330 AD |
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Constantine lays out the boundaries of his new capital, Constantinople |
| 527-65 AD |
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Glory of Byzantium under Justinian |
| 638-718 AD |
|
Muslim Arabs besiege Constantinople |
| 1054 AD |
|
Greek & Roman Churches split over theology |
| 1071-1243 AD |
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Rise & rule of the Selcuk Turks in Anatolia, Konya is their capital |
| 1096-1204 AD |
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The Crusades, marking the beginning of the end for Byzantium, a fascinating period in Byzantine history |
| 1288 AD |
|
Ottoman Empire appears in Bursa |
| 1520-66 AD |
|
Suleyman the Magnificent sits on the Ottoman throne controlling a huge & powerful empire |
| 1682-1725 AD |
|
Peter the Great initiates Russo-Turkish rivalry |
| 1854 AD |
|
Crimean war |
| 1909 AD |
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Abdul Hamid, the last of an unbroken line of Ottoman sultans is deposed |
| 1914 AD |
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Turkey allies with Germany in the first world war |
| 1915 AD |
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Gallipoli Campaign |
| 1919 AD |
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Ataturk leads resistance to the allied plan to carve up Turkey |
| 1923 AD |
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Foundation of the modern Republic of Turkey by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. Many things happen all at once |
| 1938 AD |
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Ataturk dies in Istanbul's Dolmabahce palace |
| 1939-45 AD |
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Turkey manages to remain neutral during the second world war |
| 1946 AD |
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Charter membership of the UN |
| 1952 AD |
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Turkey joins NATO |
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