Turkeys history dates back to ancient times with many different civilisations owning, ruling and living on the land. The variety of cultures and the power of the rulers all have added to the rich and interesting history that makes up Turkey.
7500 BC: Earliest know human community settlement at Catalhoyuk.
1900 - 1300 BC: Hittitie Empire, one of the worlds most ancient know civilisations, established Hattusas as its Capital.
1250 BC: The Trojan War.
1200 - 700 BC: Hellenic civilisations are established. Kingdoms of Ioanian (Izmir), Lycian (Fethiye), Lydian (Sardis), Carian (Marmaris) and others are all established.
546 BC: Persians arrive into Turkey lead by Cyrus the Great.
334 BC: Alexander the Great drive the Persians out as he storms through the country.
250 BC: Rise of the Anatolian powers in Bergama - Kingdom of Pergamum.
130 BC: Romans establish Ephesus as their Capital in the province of Asia.
47 - 57 AD: St Paul is spreading the word of Christianity through Anatolia.
313: Emperor Constantine the Great, establishes Constantinople (Istanbul) as the Empires new centre of government.
527: Justinie, greatest Emperor of the Byzantines builds Hagia Sophia - the largest and most beautiful church in the world.
638 - 718: Muslim Arabs attack Constantinople.
1071 - 1243: Seluck Empire in power, establishing their Capital in Konya.
1096 - 1204: Crusades against the Seljuks marks the end of the Byzantine period.
1288: Ottoman Empire appears in Bursa under warrior chief Osman.
1453: Sultan Mehmet II conquers Constantinople - Istanbul is born. Hagia Sophia is converted into a mosque. Ottoman Empire begins its rule, which will last for over 600 years.
1520 - 1566: Suleyman the Magnificent rules the Ottoman Empire. The sultan rules most of North Africa, Eastern Europe and all of the Middle East. He is responsible for building many mosques and monuments.
1699: Ottomans loose a battle with the Russians. They sign the Treaty of Karlowitz and it is the start of s slow decline.
1876 - 1909: Sultan Abdulhamid II is the last of the powerful Sultans. The Ottoman Empire has declined in power even further.
1914 - 1918: World War I and Turkey shows its alliance with Germany. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk wins the battle of Gallipoli for Turkey and saves the country from invasion. He is declared a war and National hero.
1922: Greece has invaded Turkey via Izmir and is slowly professing Eastwards with success.
1919 - 1923: Ataturk abolishes the Ottoman Empire, the ruling Sultan and establishes a government with military support.
1923: Ataturk pushes out the Greek Invasion and establishes Turkeys borders. The Greek population all migrate back to their country and the Turkish Republic is born with Ataturk as its rightful leader.
1923 - 1938: Ataturk reforms Turkey to a modern day society. He bans the Fez and head scarf, introduces more western style clothing, gives equal rights to women, substitutes the alphabet from Arabic to Latin, gives Turks surnames plus establishes many more changes.
1938: Ataturk dies at Dolmabahce Palace in Istanbul. The new government of one part rule continues.
1939 - 1945: Turkey remains out of World War II declaring themselves neutral.
1946 - 1950: Institution of multi-party democracy. Turkey becomes a member of the UN.
1952: Turkey joins NATO.
1964: Turkey becomes a associate member of EU.
1974: Turkey invades in Cyprus. Both the Greeks and the Turks fight for the land and it is divided between the two.
1982: Military take over the government and a new constitution is adopted.
1984 - 1999: There are tensions between Turkish and Kurdish (PKK) parties. Battles ensue seeing people loose their lives.
1993: Turkeys first female Prime Minister is elected. A ceasefire with the PKK breaks down.
1995: Military offensive launched against the Kurds in Northern Iraq.
1999: Kurdish PKK leader is arrested in Kenya and sentenced to life in jail.
2002: Current Prime Minister of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan comes into power.
2003: Laws passed within government giving Kurdish their language rights, easing freedom of speech and reducing the military role within the government.
2004: The EU agrees to have negotiations over the inclusion of Turkey into the union.
2005: New currency introduced into Turkey, eliminating all the zeroes.
