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The Republic of Turkey was established on October 29, 1923 from the remnants of the Ottoman Empire. The origins of modern Turkey can be traced back to the arrival of Turks in Anatolia in the 11th century under the Seljuks. They would be superseded by the Ottoman dynasty in the late 13th and early 14th centuries -- this empire would last until 1923. The historical richness of people and the land laid the foundations of the current republic. Even though official history of the state began on May 19, 1919, with Mustafa Kemal Atat?onset of the Independence War, the issues and unique answers of the republic's history cannot be understood without the background on the Ottoman Empire, the spirit of people who fought to build the state, or the history of the land (Anatolia) that unites everything on it.
For more details on this topic, see History of ethnic Turks of Turkey.
Kemal Atat?ounder of the modern Turkish RepublicThe war of liberation began in protest to the Mondros Armistice and the Treaty of Sevres, under the command of Mustafa Kemal Pasha. The war mobilised every available part of Turkish society -- this would become the foundation of the Turkish nation. This national movement against the victorious Allies of World War I revoked the terms of the treaty which sought to carve up the Ottoman Empire. By September 18th, 1922 the invading Entente armies were repelled and the country was liberated. This was followed by the abolition of the Sultans office by the Turkish Grand National Assembly on November 1, 1922, thus ending 631 years of Ottoman rule. In 1923 the Treaty of Lausanne recognised the sovereignty of a new Turkish Republic, Kemal was granted the name Atat?eaning father of Turks) by the National Assembly and would become the republic's first President. There are many different ways of classifying the history of Turkey. The least disputed classification is based on three global periods: the war of independence, the single-party period, and the multi-party period. Even if these periods have distinct characteristics, some issues do repeat in every period with subtle differences. During the final years of the Ottoman Empire (1915-1922), a large proportion of Armenians living in Anatolia perished as a result of what is termed the Armenian Genocide, regarded by Armenians and many Western historians to have been state-sponsored mass killings. Turkish authorities, however, maintain that the deaths were a result of a civil war coupled with disease and famine, with casualties incurred by both sides. Most estimates for the number of Armenians killed range from 600,000 to 1,500,000. Armenians and a handful of other countries worldwide have been campaigning for official recognition of the events as genocide for over 30 years. Though Armenians are at a loss to come up with a plausible cause for genocide on the part of the Ottomans, several countries including Canada, France and Switzerland now recognise the events as genocide. While lobbying in the United States has been intense, the govenment has not recognized the events as genocide.
For more details on this topic, see History of ethnic Turks of Turkey.
Kemal Atat?ounder of the modern Turkish RepublicThe war of liberation began in protest to the Mondros Armistice and the Treaty of Sevres, under the command of Mustafa Kemal Pasha. The war mobilised every available part of Turkish society -- this would become the foundation of the Turkish nation. This national movement against the victorious Allies of World War I revoked the terms of the treaty which sought to carve up the Ottoman Empire. By September 18th, 1922 the invading Entente armies were repelled and the country was liberated. This was followed by the abolition of the Sultans office by the Turkish Grand National Assembly on November 1, 1922, thus ending 631 years of Ottoman rule. In 1923 the Treaty of Lausanne recognised the sovereignty of a new Turkish Republic, Kemal was granted the name Atat?eaning father of Turks) by the National Assembly and would become the republic's first President. There are many different ways of classifying the history of Turkey. The least disputed classification is based on three global periods: the war of independence, the single-party period, and the multi-party period. Even if these periods have distinct characteristics, some issues do repeat in every period with subtle differences. During the final years of the Ottoman Empire (1915-1922), a large proportion of Armenians living in Anatolia perished as a result of what is termed the Armenian Genocide, regarded by Armenians and many Western historians to have been state-sponsored mass killings. Turkish authorities, however, maintain that the deaths were a result of a civil war coupled with disease and famine, with casualties incurred by both sides. Most estimates for the number of Armenians killed range from 600,000 to 1,500,000. Armenians and a handful of other countries worldwide have been campaigning for official recognition of the events as genocide for over 30 years. Though Armenians are at a loss to come up with a plausible cause for genocide on the part of the Ottomans, several countries including Canada, France and Switzerland now recognise the events as genocide. While lobbying in the United States has been intense, the govenment has not recognized the events as genocide.