Anatolia

Anatolia, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula and historical region in western Asia. It forms most of the Asian territory of Turkey. The Black Sea borders Anatolia to the north. The Aegean Sea lies to the west, while the Mediterranean Sea forms its southern maritime boundary.

Anatolia forms the main land connection between the Balkans and the interior of western Asia. Routes across the peninsula connect the Black Sea region with the Aegean and eastern Mediterranean coasts. Its position supported settlement and overland movement from prehistory onward.

Name

The name Anatolia derives from the Greek word anatolē, meaning "east" or "sunrise". Greek speakers used the term for territory east of the Aegean Sea. The name Asia Minor distinguished the peninsula from the wider continent of Asia.

In Turkish, Anatolia is called Anadolu. Modern Turkish geographic usage generally applies the name to the Asian territory of Turkey.

Geography

The Anatolian Plateau occupies much of the central interior. Elevated plains and enclosed basins form its main landscape, with the terrain rising toward the eastern highlands. Lake Tuz occupies a closed basin on the plateau. Volcanic activity formed mountains in central Anatolia, including Mount Erciyes near Kayseri.

The Pontic Mountains follow the Black Sea coast. Their steep northern slopes receive moist air from the sea, while the range restricts direct travel between the coast and the plateau. Roads and rivers cross the mountains through a limited number of valleys and passes. The Taurus Mountains form a similar barrier above the Mediterranean coast. Passes through the Taurus connect central Anatolia with Cilicia and the southern lowlands.

Western Anatolia is lower than the central plateau. Fault movement created valleys that extend westward toward the Aegean Sea. Rivers deposited fertile soil across the valley floors before reaching the coast. The partly submerged western coastline contains long peninsulas and deep gulfs, allowing inland routes to reach sheltered ports.

Northwestern Anatolia reaches the Sea of Marmara. The Bosporus separates the peninsula from East Thrace at Istanbul. The Dardanelles lies farther southwest and separates northwestern Anatolia from the Gallipoli Peninsula. Together with the Sea of Marmara, these straits form the maritime passage between the Black Sea and the Aegean.

Eastern Anatolia consists mainly of high plateaus and mountain ranges. The upper courses of the Euphrates and Tigris originate there before flowing southward. Lake Van occupies a large enclosed basin within the eastern highlands. Winters are longer and colder than on the central plateau, and snow remains at higher elevations for much of the year.

Anatolia is tectonically active. Pressure along its southern and eastern margins moves the Anatolian Plate westward relative to Eurasia. The North Anatolian Fault crosses the northern part of the peninsula, while the East Anatolian Fault follows part of its southeastern margin. Movement along both systems has caused repeated destructive earthquakes.

The Kızılırmak crosses central Anatolia before reaching the Black Sea. The Sakarya River drains much of the northwestern interior. In the west, the Gediz and Büyük Menderes rivers flow through agricultural valleys toward the Aegean. Enclosed basins across the plateau prevent some rivers from reaching the sea.

The Aegean and Mediterranean coasts have hot, dry summers followed by mild, wetter winters. The Black Sea coast receives rainfall during much of the year because the Pontic Mountains force moist air upward. Central Anatolia is drier and has colder winters. The eastern highlands experience prolonged snow and lower winter temperatures.

Forests cover much of the wetter northern mountain slopes. Dry grassland dominates large parts of the central plateau. The western and southern coastal regions support Mediterranean woodland, with evergreen shrubs and pine forests common at lower elevations.

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.

Fortified towns and regional states had developed across Anatolia 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. Hittite authority collapsed around 1200 BC. Phrygia later became influential in the central interior, while Lydia controlled much of western Anatolia. Urartu developed around Lake Van and governed parts of the eastern highlands.

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.

After Alexander's 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.

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.

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 became the main Asian territory of the empire and provided routes toward the Caucasus and the eastern provinces.

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. The Republic of Turkey was proclaimed on 29 October 1923, with Ankara as its capital.

The republican government reorganized provincial administration and expanded the transport network across the interior. Industrial growth after the Second World War drew people from rural districts into Ankara and other regional cities. Migration from Anatolia also contributed to the expansion of Istanbul and the formation of Turkish communities abroad.

Population and economy

Most inhabitants of Anatolia speak Turkish. Kurdish-speaking communities form a large part of the population in the eastern and southeastern regions. Population density is highest around the Sea of Marmara and across the western coastal plains. The central plateau is more sparsely settled, while mountainous parts of the east contain extensive rural districts.

Istanbul extends across both sides of the Bosporus, with its Asian districts located in northwestern Anatolia. Ankara lies on the central plateau and serves as the national capital. Izmir is the principal city and port of the Aegean coast. Bursa developed south of the Sea of Marmara as an Ottoman capital and later became an industrial centre.

Agriculture differs according to climate and elevation. Farmers on the central plateau cultivate grain and raise livestock under relatively dry conditions. The Aegean valleys support olive groves and vineyards. Tea and hazelnuts are grown on the wetter Black Sea slopes. Irrigation supports farming in the southern lowlands.

Manufacturing is concentrated around the Marmara region and the larger inland cities. Road and railway corridors cross the central plateau between Istanbul and Ankara. Western routes descend toward the Aegean coast, while southern routes pass through the Taurus Mountains to the Mediterranean. Izmir handles maritime trade on the Aegean. Mersin serves the southern coast, and Samsun provides access to Black Sea shipping.

Tourism is concentrated along the coast and at archaeological sites. Cappadocia attracts visitors to its volcanic formations and rock-cut settlements. Hittite remains survive across central Anatolia, while classical and Byzantine sites are concentrated in the west. Towns that developed under Ottoman rule retain mosques, markets and other imperial-period buildings.

See also

• Turkey
• Asia
• Aegean Sea
• Black Sea
• Mediterranean Sea
• Roman Empire
• Ottoman Empire