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 lies to the north. The Aegean Sea forms its western maritime boundary, while the Mediterranean Sea borders the south.

Anatolia forms the main land bridge between the Balkans and the interior of western Asia. Routes through the peninsula also connect the Black Sea with the eastern Mediterranean. The region has served as a centre of settlement and overland movement since prehistory.

Name

The name Anatolia derives from the Greek word anatolē, meaning "east" or "sunrise". Greek speakers used the term for lands east of the Aegean. The name Asia Minor developed as a way to distinguish the peninsula from the larger continent of Asia.

In Turkish, Anatolia is called Anadolu. Modern Turkish geographic usage applies the name to the country's Asian territory.

Geography

The central Anatolian Plateau occupies much of the interior. It consists of elevated plains and enclosed basins that generally rise toward the east. Lake Tuz lies in a closed basin near the centre of the plateau. Volcanic mountains rise above parts of central Anatolia, including Mount Erciyes near Kayseri.

The Pontic Mountains run parallel to the Black Sea coast. They restrict direct movement between the coast and the interior, leaving narrow passages along river valleys. The Taurus Mountains form the main southern barrier above the Mediterranean coast. Mountain passes through the Taurus have long carried traffic between central Anatolia and the lowlands of Cilicia.

Western Anatolia is lower and more open than the central plateau. Fault-bounded valleys extend westward toward the Aegean. Rivers deposited broad plains near the coast, while the sinking of coastal land created deep gulfs and peninsulas. The resulting landscape supported ports with direct routes into the interior.

Northwestern Anatolia reaches the Sea of Marmara. The Bosporus separates the peninsula from East Thrace at Istanbul. Farther southwest, the Dardanelles separates the Anatolian mainland from the Gallipoli Peninsula. These waterways form the passage between the Black Sea and the Aegean.

Eastern Anatolia rises into a highland zone near the upper courses of the Euphrates and Tigris. The terrain is colder and more mountainous than the central plateau. Lake Van occupies a large enclosed basin within this eastern highland region.

The peninsula is tectonically active. Convergence along its southern margin pushes the Anatolian Plate westward against Eurasia. The North Anatolian Fault crosses the northern part of the region. The East Anatolian Fault marks part of its southeastern margin. Movement along these fault systems has caused repeated destructive earthquakes.

The Kızılırmak curves across central Anatolia before reaching the Black Sea. The Sakarya River drains the northwestern interior. In western Anatolia, the Gediz and Büyük Menderes rivers flow toward the Aegean through broad agricultural valleys. Much of the interior has limited surface drainage because surrounding mountains enclose the plateau.

The Aegean and Mediterranean coasts have hot, dry summers followed by mild, wetter winters. The Black Sea coast receives rain through most of the year because moist air rises against the Pontic Mountains. Central Anatolia has colder winters and lower rainfall. The eastern highlands experience long winters with persistent snow.

Forest cover is greatest along the wetter northern slopes and on parts of the coastal mountains. Dry grassland is more common across the central plateau. Mediterranean woodland occurs along the southern and western coasts, where lower elevations support evergreen shrubs and pine forests.

History

Human occupation of Anatolia began in the Palaeolithic period. During the early Neolithic, permanent settlements developed as communities adopted agriculture and animal husbandry. Göbekli Tepe in southeastern Anatolia contains monumental ritual structures from the tenth millennium BC. Çatalhöyük became a large settled community on the central plateau during the seventh millennium BC.

By the third millennium BC, fortified towns and regional states had developed across the peninsula. The Hittite Empire established its centre at Hattusa and controlled much of central Anatolia during the second millennium BC. After the Hittite state collapsed around 1200 BC, Phrygia became influential in the central interior. Lydia later dominated the western valleys. Urartu ruled parts of the eastern highlands.

Greek-speaking communities established cities along the Aegean and Black Sea coasts. Miletus became an important maritime centre, while Ephesus developed around routes leading inland. The Achaemenid Persian Empire brought most of Anatolia under imperial rule during the sixth century BC. Alexander the Great crossed into the peninsula in 334 BC and defeated Persian forces during his campaign toward the east.

After Alexander's death, Anatolia was divided between Hellenistic kingdoms. The Seleucid state controlled large inland districts for a time, while Pergamon became the leading power in the northwest. Rome gradually annexed these territories and organized them as provinces. Roman roads connected the Aegean ports with the central plateau and the eastern frontier.

Anatolia became one of the main regions of the eastern Roman world. Greek was 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 central part of the eastern Roman state. Constantinople controlled the Bosporus and the main maritime approach between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean.

The Byzantine Empire retained most of Anatolia for centuries despite warfare on its eastern frontier. The Seljuk victory at the Battle of Manzikert in 1071 weakened Byzantine control of 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. Regional Turkish principalities subsequently divided much of the peninsula.

The Ottoman Empire emerged from one of these principalities in northwestern Anatolia during the late thirteenth century. Ottoman rulers expanded across the peninsula before establishing permanent control over Constantinople in 1453. Anatolia then formed the main Asian core of the empire and supplied 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 Republic of Turkey was proclaimed on 29 October 1923, with Ankara as its capital.

Republican governments reorganized provincial administration and expanded transport across the interior. Industrial growth after the Second World War drew large numbers of people from rural districts into regional cities. Migration from Anatolia also contributed to the rapid expansion of Istanbul and to the development 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 districts. Settlement is densest around the Sea of Marmara and along the western coastal plains. The dry central plateau and the eastern highlands have lower average population density.

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 of the Aegean coast. Bursa developed south of the Sea of Marmara as an industrial centre and former Ottoman capital.

Agriculture follows the region's climatic divisions. Grain cultivation and livestock raising are widespread on the central plateau. The Aegean valleys support olive production and vineyards. Tea and hazelnut cultivation are concentrated on the wetter Black Sea slopes. Irrigated farming is important 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. Other routes descend toward the Aegean coast or pass through the Taurus Mountains to the Mediterranean. Izmir handles much of the western maritime trade. Mersin serves the southern coast. Samsun provides a major outlet on the Black Sea.

Tourism is based on coastal resorts and archaeological sites. The volcanic landscape of Cappadocia is another major destination. Historic centres preserve remains from successive periods. Hittite sites survive in central Anatolia, while classical and Byzantine monuments are common in the west. Ottoman architecture remains prominent in towns that grew under imperial rule.

See also

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