Editing Anatolia (section)

== History ==
Human occupation of Anatolia began during the Palaeolithic period. Permanent settlements expanded during the Neolithic as communities adopted agriculture and animal husbandry. Göbekli Tepe in southeastern Anatolia contains monumental structures dating from the tenth millennium BC. Çatalhöyük developed into a large settled community on the central plateau during the seventh millennium BC.<ref name="turkey-history"/> Fortified towns and regional states had developed across the peninsula by the third millennium BC. The Hittite Empire established its political centre at Hattusa and controlled much of the central plateau during the second millennium BC. After Hittite authority collapsed around 1200 BC, Phrygia became influential in the central interior. Lydia controlled much of western Anatolia, while Urartu governed territory around Lake Van.<ref name="turkey-history"/>

Greek-speaking communities established cities along the Aegean and Black Sea coasts. Miletus became a maritime centre with routes across the Aegean, while Ephesus developed near roads leading into the western interior. The Achaemenid Persian Empire brought most of Anatolia under its authority during the sixth century BC. Alexander the Great entered the peninsula in 334 BC and defeated Persian forces during his campaign toward the east.<ref name="aegean-history"/> After his death, competing Hellenistic kingdoms divided Anatolia. The Seleucid state governed extensive inland territory, while Pergamon became a major power in the northwest. Rome gradually annexed these kingdoms and organized their territory into provinces. Roman roads connected the Aegean ports with the central plateau and the eastern frontier.<ref name="roman-history"/>

Anatolia became a central region of the eastern Roman world. Greek remained widely used in its cities, and Christianity spread through urban communities during the first centuries AD. After the permanent administrative division of the [[Roman Empire]] in AD 395, the peninsula formed a major part of the eastern Roman state. Constantinople controlled the Bosporus and the maritime passage between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean. The [[Byzantine Empire]] retained most of Anatolia for centuries, despite repeated warfare along its eastern frontier.

The Seljuk victory at the Battle of Manzikert in 1071 weakened Byzantine control over the interior and accelerated Turkic settlement. The Sultanate of Rum later governed much of central Anatolia from Konya. Mongol pressure weakened the sultanate during the thirteenth century, after which Turkish principalities divided much of the peninsula.<ref name="turkey-history"/> The [[Ottoman Empire]] developed from one of these principalities in northwestern Anatolia during the late thirteenth century. Ottoman rulers expanded across the peninsula before capturing Constantinople in 1453. Anatolia then formed the main Asian territory of the empire and provided overland routes toward the Caucasus and the eastern provinces.<ref name="ottoman-history"/>

War and migration changed the population of Anatolia during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The Ottoman defeat in the [[First World War]] was followed by Allied occupation of parts of the peninsula. The Turkish War of Independence was fought from 1919 to 1922 under [[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk]] and the nationalist government based in [[Ankara]]. The sultanate was abolished on 1 November 1922, and the [[Turkey|Republic of Turkey]] was proclaimed on 29 October 1923 with Ankara as its capital.<ref name="turkey-history"/> The republican government reorganized provincial administration and expanded transport across the interior. Industrial growth after the [[Second World War]] drew people from rural districts into Ankara and other cities. Migration from Anatolia also contributed to the expansion of Istanbul and the formation of Turkish communities abroad.