A Brief History

7000 Foundation of the first town in history near Çatalhöyük.
1900 The Hittites established their capital in Asia Minor.
1050 The Ionians, Aeolians and Dorians settled down in west coast of Asie Minor.
334 Alexander the Great conquered Asia Minor.
330-10 The enlargement ond development of Ephesus and Pergamum.
133 Pergamum joined the Roman Empire.
27 Conquest of whole Asia Minor by Romans.
196 Conquest of Byzantion by Septimus Severus.
293 The division of the Roman Empire.
324-30 Constantine the Great chose Byzantion as the capital of the Roman Empire and renamed it Constantinople.
476 The fall of Rome.
1071 The Seljuk Turks got some of the lands in Asia Minor.
1204 Latin crusaders invaded Constantinople.
1299 Foundation of the Ottoman Empire in the north-west Anatolia.
1453 Conquest of Istanbul by Sultan Mehmet II. End of the Byzantine Empire.
1520-66 The reign of Suleyman the Magnificent, golden age of the Ottoman Empire.
1808-39 The reign of the reformist Sultan Mahmut II.
1914-18 World War I, the Ottoman Empire in alliance with Germany.
1919-22 The Turkish War of Independence.
1920 Mustafa Kemal established a temporary government.
1923 Foundation of the Turkish Republic. Mustafa Kemal became its first president and Ankara the new capital.
1923-38 Modern reforms of the Turkish Republic.
1939-45 World War II, Turkey remained neutral.
1946 Multi-party system started.
1952 Turkey joined NATO.
1987 Turkey applied to join European Union.
1999 Turkey became candidate for EU membership.