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Istanbul History
| Originally inhabited by a variety of different peoples - Hittites, Urartians, Phyrgians and Lydians - Turkey, or Asia Minor as it was called during much of the pre-modern period, was for over 1000 years the heartland of the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire, with Constantinople as its capital. Founded by Constantine the Great in AD330, it survived the collapse of the Western Empire in the 5th century. It was the capital from which the brilliant and enigmatic Emperor Justinian (527-565) launched his ambitious projects to reunite the old Roman Empire, the western provinces of which had been occupied by Germanic people from northern Europe. The Byzantine Empire, from the death of Justinian until its eventual fall in 1453, was engaged in a long retreat in the face of numerous enemies, mainly the forces of Islam. However, the Byzantines took advantage of the success of the First Crusade (1096-1100) whose armies re-took many Byzantine possessions in Asia Minor, Syria and Palestine although, as later events were to prove, the interests of the Byzantines and of the Christian Crusader states in Palestine were not always identical. The Byzantine state never fully recovered, and on many occasions during the next three centuries a final defeat was only prevented by the disunity of its enemies and, particularly, by the massive fortifications of the city of Constantinople. The conquest of Constantinople in 1204 - the only time the fortifications were breached - was followed by one of the most savage and rapacious sacks of any city in the history of the world: the treasures of Byzantium were beyond count or value, and many priceless works of art were removed to Europe (mainly to Venice) during this time. The Byzantines set up a rival capital at Nicea until Constantinople was retaken in 1261, but by this time the empire had effectively lost control of most of its territories, and by the 14th century, Byzantine control of Asia Minor was little more than an empty theory.
From the 11th century onwards, the Asiatic area of Turkey known as Anatolia had also been affected by upheavals and conquests from the east. Successive invasions from Central Asia led to the Islamic Turkification of the region, the real power fast becoming the Ottomans', a name derived from their 14th-century leader Osman Gazi, who scored a decisive victory against the Byzantines at the Battle of Baphaeon in 1301. They steadily expanded their territorial control from Turkey itself, constructing the Ottoman Empire, which at its zenith in the mid-16th century (a period associated with the reign of Suleyman the Magnificent) covered south-east Europe, including the Balkans and Hungary; North Africa as far as Morocco; the Crimea and Georgia; the Levant; Syria; Iraq; and most of the Arabian peninsula. The most famous conquest, from a symbolic and strategic point of view, was that of Constantinople itself in 1453; with its fall, the Roman Empire, in a strictly legalistic sense, finally came to an end. The territorial ambitions of the Ottomans regarding control of the Mediterranean and Central Europe brought the empire into conflict with the major European powers of the day, particularly the Habsburgs. The Venetians, and later the Russians, were almost constant enemies of the Ottomans during the late-17th and 18th centuries, during which time the empire sank into decline. Attempts were made by some rulers in the late 18th century to reform the empire, but to little effect.
The diplomatic history of Central Europe in the early modern period is highly complex, and the Ottoman Empire became increasingly a pawn and victim of the various power struggles. Its disintegration, and the forces of nationalism unleashed as a consequence, caused schisms and conflicts that linger to this day throughout southern Europe and the Middle East. The term 'the sick man of Europe' was applied to Turkey during this period. Turkish history can thereafter be characterised by a constant struggle between the forces of absolutism and reform. In 1914, the country became embroiled in World War I on the side of Germany. The following year saw one of the most ignominious episodes in Turkish history when over one million Armenians were driven into the desert and murdered by Turkish troops. Although it is fiercely denied by the Turkish authorities there is compelling evidence that this was an officially-sponsored and systematic policy of genocide. After the war, most of the Ottoman possessions came under British or French control with the support of the newly-formed League of Nations.
In Turkey itself, the Ottoman Dynasty was overthrown in 1923 by a revolutionary movement led by Mustafa Kemal - better known as Atatürk ('the father of the Turks') - who established a single-party republic with himself at the head. The period after the War of Independence saw sweeping social reforms and economic modernisation, including the abolition of the Islamic social infrastructure and the development of manufacturing industry. Atatürk's successor, Ismet Inönü, kept Turkey out of World War II (bar the last four months) and introduced multi-party politics.
The first elections were held in 1950. There have since been two prolonged periods of military rule, the second ending with elections in 1983, won by Turgut Özal and the Motherland Party. Martial law, however, remained in force in many provinces until 1987. Turkey had joined NATO in 1952 and, since the lifting of suspensions with the end of military rule, is once more a full and active member of the OECD and the Council of Europe, as well as being an associate member of the EU. Turkey has been pursuing full EU membership since the early 1980s with varying degrees of enthusiasm. Although it has its supporters, (Britain and Germany), it faces strong opposition from Greece, with whom relations have been historically poor. The majority of the EU continues to harbour significant doubts about Turkey's suitability because of its poor human rights record, especially regarding its treatment of the Kurdish minority. (Kurdish policy is firmly in the hands of the military who take an unyieldingly hard line against any criticism. Kurdish MPs have been repeatedly jailed, as has one of the country's most famous writers, Yashar Kemal). For these reasons, implementation of the customs union agreed between Turkey and the EU in 1973 was blocked, although negotiations have since resumed and Turkey appears to have passed over at least the initial hurdles en route to membership. A substantial improvement in human rights and a settlement of the Cyprus problem are essential precursors (see Cyprus section for further details)
Important as relations with Europe are, Turkish foreign policy has major interests elsewhere. Firstly, the collapse of the Soviet Union has given the country a key political and economic role in central Asia, where Turkey has historic cultural and linguistic links with several countries. Secondly, Turkey also has a key strategic position on the northern edge of the ever-turbulent Middle East; in particular, it has a shared border with Iraq, and has provided essential bases for the UN's enforcement of economic sanctions and the 'no fly' zone (see Iraq). Membership of NATO ensures that Turkey can be relied upon to adopt a pro-Western position on strategic issues. At the beginning of 1990, political tension in the region was heightened by the onset of the Armenian/Azeri conflict. Turkey was the first country to recognise the independence of Azerbaijan and has provided consistent diplomatic support for the Azeris against Armenia. Turkey has also sought closer political and economic links with the Turkic republics of the former Soviet Union: several of these Central Asian states view Turkey, with its largely secular polity and mixed economy, as a suitable model to pursue in the course of their own development. In the latter part of 1990, Turkey became deeply involved in the Gulf crisis triggered by the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. The Government accrued benefits in the form of financial assistance and a free hand in dealing with the PKK insurgency, however, its relative weakness at the time meant that it was politically impossible for it to send troops to join the multi-national force in Saudi Arabia. Six months after the end of the war, in October 1991, national elections were held in Turkey. Suleyman Demirel, leading the conservative True Path Party (DYP), formed a Government with several small parties, butt he election was notable for the emergence of the Islamic party, Refah (Welfare), as a major electoral force. In June 1993, Demirel then took over the presidency after the death of Turgut Özal. He was replaced by the former economy minister, Tansu Ciller, who became Turkey's first woman premier. Ciller led a minority government for the next two years. During this period the Islamic Welfare Party, known as Refah, made rapid and unprecedented political progress, winning several district and city mayoral elections and proving more administratively competent than its longer-established rivals.
The election of December 1995 which followed the collapse of the Ciller Government, assumed major international importance when Western Governments began to worry about an Islamic-inspired government taking power. Although Refah still secured the largest number of votes at 21%, it was far short of an overall majority. The shared conservative ideology of Ciller's True Path and Mesut Yilmaz's Motherland parties should have allowed the formation of a coalition, was undermined by the intense personal animosity between Ciller and Yilmaz who repeatedly opined that Ciller should 'go back to the kitchen'. Refah was politically ostracised and deeply distrusted by the generals and intelligence officers of the shadowy National Security Council who wield great influence behind the scenes and are committed to a secular policy. Over the next four years, Turkey had six different Governments, with all the major parties, including Refah, at the helm at one time or another. 1999 opened with the collapse of the last of the half-dozen governments and a debate among the generals as to whether to allow the scheduled April general election to go ahead. Under some international pressure, they did so, and saw the Democratic Left Party led by the veteran Bulent Ecevit returned to power. With the support of several small parties, he has been able to form a stable Government. The mood in most of Turkey at the time of the poll had been boosted by the capture, trial and sentencing of the leader of the PKK, Abdullah Ocalan, following his expulsion from long-term exile in Syria. Ocalan's removal from Syria was the culmination of protracted negotiations between Ankara and Damascus which also covered the use of Syrian bases by the PKK and a number of economic issues, particularly water resources. The Syrians had been put under pressure by a military and security agreement (still largely secret) between Turkey and Israel. After the success against the PKK, who declared a ceasefire shortly afterwards, the Government soon had more important things on its mind, after a series of earthquakes in the populous north-west of the country killed tens of thousands and wrought massive destruction. The Kurdish issue has re-emerged prominently in 2000 with international concern over the proposed construction of the Ilusu Dam on the Euphrates river in the Kurdish heartland of south-eastern Turkey. If built as planned, the dam will destroy countless antiquities and flood the historically valuable settlement of Hasankeyf. The political scene has been dominated by the presidential succession, as Suleyman Demirel's term of office came to an end. The victor was a former constitutional court judge, Ahmet Necdet Sezer, who took office in May 2000.
Government: Under the constitution of 1987, legislative power is vested in a single chamber, the 550-member National Assembly, which is directly elected by proportional representation for a five-year term. The National Assembly elects both a prime minister (normally head of the largest party in the assembly) and a president, who is head of state and serves a seven-year term, between whom executive powers are shared.
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General
