History of Turkey

7500 BC
First Stone age settlements at Çatalhüyük

1900-1300 BC
Hittite Empire with Hattusas as capital, contemporary with ancient Egypt and Babylon

1250 BC
The Trojan war and the fall of Troy

1200-700 BC
Migration of Greeks to Aegean coastal regions. Establishment of the Phrygian, Ionian, Lycian, Lydian, Carian and Pamphylian Kingdoms. The East of Turkey is the home of the Urartians

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
The Romans incorporate Anatolia as the province of Asia, controlled from Ephesus (Efes)

40 BC
Antioch sees the marriage of Antony and Cleopatra

47-57 AD
St. Paul spreads Christianity and a community at Antioch is established

313
Roman Empire adopts Christianity

330
Constantine lays out the boundaries of his new capital, Constantinople

527-65
Glory of Byzantium under Justinian

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, Konya is their capital

1096-1204
The Crusades, marking the beginning of the end for Byzantium, a fascinating period in Byzantine history

1288
Ottoman Empire appears in Bursa

1453
The fall of Constantinople - the birth of Istanbul

1520-66
Suleyman the Magnificent sits on the Ottoman throne controlling a huge and powerful empire

1682-1725
Peter the Great initiates Russo-Turkish rivalry

1854
Crimean war

1909
Abdul Hamid, the last of an unbroken line of Ottoman sultans is deposed

1914
Turkey allies with Germany in the first world war

1915
Gallipoli

1919
Ataturk leads resistance to the allied plan to carve up Turkey

1923
Foundation of the modern Republic of Turkey by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. Many things happen all at once

1938
Ataturk dies in Istanbul's Dolmabahce palace

1939-45
Turkey manages to remain neutral during the second world war

1946
Charter membership of the UN

1952
Turkey joins NATO

1960
Military coup, successive governments ineffective

1964
Associate member status of EU

1974
Cyprus crisis

1980
Kanan Evren leads military coup. 3 years of military government

1983
Turgut Ozal elected prime Minister

1985-90
Full EU membership for Turkey impeded by Cypriot issue and questions over human rights record

1991-93
Suleyman Demirel elected Prime Minister, inflation at 70%

1993-96
Demirel President, Tansu Ciller Prime Minister, Turkey joins EU Customs Union

1997-98
5 attempts at forming coalition governments, Islamic Welfare party disbanded, reforms as Virtue and is the largest single party in parliament. Military intervenes to prevent Islamicists forming governments. 75th Anniversary of the Turkish Republic (and 15th of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus) celebrated.