white red BULGA.RiA o 15 150 km GEORGIA " ..•. -•.. _ •."-_.­ j o 15 l;,Oml AZ£.R. '" "._, .. " ." Samsun'··· "._" .._--._---_.. -­ ...... -"'.-" Trabzon " Erzurum ·Ballkesir .Sivas .Manisa -.".. .~. ," "'... Turkey • Kayseri •Konya ,_Antalya Aege-a n fR,AQ {vf.editer"'ranean ~Sea CYPRLJS..<"c r" '-:.,." ~ ciaworldbook.com SECTION 41 Vol. II r? TVRK1SH AlPHA13£T AA Aa Bb Cc <;9 Dd Ee Ff Gg Gg Hh Ii 1i Jj Kk LI Mm Nn 00 05 Pp Rr Ss ~§ Tt Uu 00 Vv Yy Zz OSMANll (OTTOMAN) SCR1PT . .J oJ ~ .f.j ~ L L ~ t '"A". '-'• I .~ c b t 9 c l t P tJ ­ '. h .. {. (. 10 b~,.,r,j'~ J J J , ;, Z r j ~ I. ~ stl s j •• ... ~. •• ~c) ~ ~ ~ ~ 0~ c) U ~ J y h "of n m I Ii g k ~ f , Y r f.. 0 '\ V 1\ ~ 0 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 {.>,. .. "(l~ omniglot.com II TURKISH 7ilrkre HISTORICAL BACKGROUND The land which we now know as Turkey is a land of dichotomies that has had an illustrious, as well as an infamous past, filled with great tolerance and even greater intolerance. It is the land of Troy, birthplace of Homer, Santa Claus and tulips, tryst place of Marc Anthony and Cleopatra, kingdoms of Croesus and Midas, the rescuer of the Jews, the perpetrator of the world's first genocide, and the refuge of the Virgin Mary. The words of Julius Caesar's veni, vidi, vici resounded across Amasya, east of Ankara in 47 BCE. Thus, it is a land of antiquity and iniquity, although Anatolia, the western area of Asian Turkey, is one of the oldest inhabited (as early as 7500 BCE) lands, Turkey, as a national state, is one of the youngest (1918). The Turks arrived in Anatolia from Central Asia by way of continuous migrations and incursion. The passage of nine centuries has resulted in present-day TUrkey. Since its early history, Anatolia has been the birthplace of great civilizations and empires that have battled for control. Anatolia's first known human inhabitants appeared in the region as early as 7500 BCE. The first great civilization was that of the Hittites, who worshipped a sun goddess and a storm god. As the Mesopotamians called Anatolia (the Land of the Hatti), the newcomers were mistakenly called Hittite. Indo-European in origin, the Hittites recognized equality between men and women and even had rights for slaves. Although the monarchy was patrilineal, it was a kingship based on the idea of primus inter pares, first among equals, as the ruler was required to bring matters before a senate, consisting of aristocrats known as the Pankus class. The Hittites dominated Anatolia from the Middle Bronze Age (1900-1600 BCE), and were the counter superpower to the Egyptians, causing clashes with Egypt, under the great Ramses II, and were able to capture Syria. The first recorded international treaty in the world was the Treaty of Kadesh between the Hittite and Egyptian Empires, Hattusilis III and Ramses II, in 1284 BCE. The Ilium of King Priam, in Homer's epic, corresponds to layer VI of Troy (1325-1275 BCE), which was destroyed in an earthquake in 1275 BCE, followed by the pillaging of Troy VII in 1240 to 1200 by the Achaeans. The city captured by the Achaeans was Troy VII (1275-1240/1200 BCE). A massive invasion of "sea people" from Greek islands put unbearable pressure on the Hittites and its smaller kingdoms. In the eighth century BCE, the Greek civilization developed, through their association with Mesopotamia, through the intermediary of late Hittite princedoms living in south-eastern Anatolia. The Greeks acquired the Phoenician alphabet from AI Mina and the mythology and figurative art from late Hittite cities such as Kargamish and Malatya. The Phrygians were Balkan people Who came into Anatolia around the year 1200 BCE, and became a political entity after 750 BCE. The Hellenic world knew the Phrygian King as Midas, the legendary figure with long ears whose touch was golden. The Assyrians record that he was king from 717 to 709 BCE. This powerful kingdom of Midas was swept aside by the Cimmeriansin 8th century, alphabetic Turkish (Aft, Turkish, South) Turkey, Bulgaria, Iran, Cyprus Pg. 1 the first quarter of the seventh century. Scattered groups of Phrygians continued to evolve in Central Anatolia through the sixth century BCE. In the ninth century BCE, the first literary treasure of Western civilization, the Iliad of Homer, was born. Izmer was the birthplace of Homer. During the era of the natural philosophers (600-545 BCE), Anatolian culture superseded Egyptian and Mesopotamian. They rejected the idea of genies, fairies and mythological causes for natural phenomena, and instead, sought and investigated natural phenomena as the true cause. Thales, using the same methods used today, predicted an eclipse of the sun for May 28,585 BCE. It was the first prediction of a natural event in history. In Sardis, the reign of Croesus, fabled for his wealth (575-545 BCE), saw the invention of money. For the first time in history, coins made of electrum (a natural mixture of gold and silver) were used to facilitate and regulate commerce. The Lydian capital of Sardis was one of the most advanced cities of the ancient world. From 550 to 530 BCE, Cyrus, emperor of Persia, conquered Anatolia. The Persians, in turn, were removed by Alexander the Great, who conquered the entire Middle East from Greece to India around 330 BCE. The Macedonians, too, were ousted by the Galatians (Celts) who established a capital at Ankara in 279 BCE, who intermingled with the Seleucid, Pontic, Pergamum and Armenian kingdoms. Roman rule brought relative peace and prosperity for almost 300 years, and a safe haven for Christianity. In fact, Jesus's followers were first named Christian there. Paul began his ministry there, too. The Roman Empire began to weaken around 250 CE, until Constantine reunited it in 324. He oversaw the building of a new capital, which he called Constantinople. Justinian (527-65) brought the eastern Roman, or Byzantine, Empire to its greatest strength, reconquering Italy, the Balkans, Anatolia and North Africa, Byzantine art was born in Anatolia at the end of the Roman era. The armies of Islam, having conquered all other areas including Persia and Egypt, threatened the walls of Constantinople (669-78). Thus, the first Anatolian Turkish dynasty was the Great Seljuk Turkish Empire of the 11th century, and was the 'first to rule what is now Turkey, Iran and Iraq. They originally ruled Persia, and absorbed both the Islamic religion and Persian culture. The Seljuks were shaken by the Crusades and overrun by Mongol hordes, but clung to power until the arrival of the Ottomans who inherited the legacy of the Seljuks. And what of the future inhabitants, the Turks themselves and their Ottoman Empire? Chinese records report that the first appearance of the Turks in history was in the Komen Mountains. The Tagar culture, however, originated from the Karasuk culture which flourished in the same area in 2000 BCE. Turkish political history in Asia starts with the Huns. The Hun state (200 BCE) became a significant and powerfUl state during the reign of its founder, Mete Khan. Mete defeated the Mongolians and then the Yuechis, thus taking control of the western gates and trade routes of China. He then seized Eastern Turkestan. 8th century, alphabetic Turkish (AIt, Turkish, South) Turkey, Bulgaria, Iran, Cyprus Pg.2 Later, with the collapse of the Asian Hun State, a new state called G6ktOrk was founded by the Turkish tribes who adopted the traditions and administrative experience of the Huns. Aside from AtatOrk, Bilge Khan and KUltegin are the best known of Turkish statesmen. They asserted that the state could not solely be ruled by fighting and bravery, and the Khanate required wisdom. It was because of this that both the Khans and Tonyukuk, another G6ktOrk Khan, immortalized their accomplishments with inscriptions. These inscriptions became the first written texts of the Turkish language. The G6ktOrk State gave way to the Uigur Turks, who were the native tribes of the Orhun and Selenge valleys (741-840). Meanwhile, another group of Huns migrated towards the West, and they settled in a region to the north of the Black Sea extending to the Danube River. They made raids on Iran and Anatolia via the Caucasia, and then they attacked the territories of the Eastern and Western Roman Empires. They fought with the Franks in 428, and two years later, reached the areas which are presently the Netherlands and Denmark. The Western Huns were known as the first Turkish state founded in Europe. Its territories extended from the banks of the Rhine to the Volga River under the leadership of Attila the Hun. The Western Hun State collapsed a short time after the passing of Attila (470). During the collapse of the Hun Empire in Europe, a new wave of tribal migrations started in Central Asia. North of the Black Sea saw yet another wave of Turkish migration. The first tribes to arrive were the Sabirs, Sarogurs and Onogurs. These Ogur tribes raided the Byzantine territories 'from Macedonia to Thessaly. BUlgarian Turks also came to this region alongside the Ogur Turks (482). The Avars, along with the Bulgarian Turks, besieged the Byzantine capital at the beginning of the seventh century. The Ottoman Empire began as the banding together of late 13th century Turkish warriors fleeing the Mongols. By 1453, the Ottomans, under Mehmet the Conqueror, took Constantinople. Sultan SOleyman the Magnificent (1494-66) oversaw the apex of the empire; he beautified Constantinople, rebuilt Jerusalem, and expanded the Ottoman Empire to the gates of Vienna.