History of Europe

History of the Turks

The History of the Turks permeates the development of empires in the Middle East region, from the Middle Ages to the beginning of the 20th century.

By Me. Cláudio Fernandes

The history of the Turks , or Turkish civilization , it had its origin in Asia, but it was established in the Middle East region through migratory waves that carried them to these regions. Like the Arab peoples, the Turks were converted to Islam around the 10th century AD. and, from then on, they began to trace their own form of political organization, which overlapped with other forms of political organization in the Middle East.

In the 11th century, a first Turkish imperial organization was developed from the Seljuk dynasty, thus constituting the first Turkish empire. The regions dominated by the Seljuk dynasty included Mesopotamia, Syria and Palestine. However, this dynasty was fragmented due to internal differences, having lasted little, compared to the one that succeeded it, the Ottoman.

In the second half of the 13th century, the Turkish leader Othman, or Osman, founded his empire, which became known as the Turkish-Ottoman Empire . This empire, like that of the Seljuk dynasty, was Muslim and also developed in the Middle East region. However, his domains became much wider, encompassing the Anatolian highlands, where present-day Turkey is, after defeating the Byzantine Empire in 1453 with the conquest of Constantinople – which would change its name to Istanbul. The Ottoman dynasty also conquered most of the territories dominated by the ancient Arab caliphs, such as the Arabian Peninsula, Mesopotamia, Syria and the North African region, as well as part of the territories of Eastern Europe.

The Turkish-Ottoman Empire had a very long duration, coming to an end only at the beginning of the 20th century during the First World War (1914-1918). From its fragmentation, there was the formation of modern Arab states in the Middle East region and others in the Balkan region, in Europe.