Turkish History

Last week, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Australian counterpart, Julia Gillard met in Ankara, Turkey and agreed to work closely together to commemorate the centenary of the Gallipoli campaign. The two leaders announced that 2015 would be proclaimed the Year of Turkey in Australia and the Year of Australia in Turkey. Both countries have an established practice of paying national tributes to each other to honor the memory of the 1915 campaign, which claimed tens of thousands of lives. read more

On April 23, 1920 the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA) was inaugurated in Ankara. It was the first step toward the creation of the Republic of Turkey, the roots of which were laid during the Turkish National War of Liberation led by Mustafa Kemal- later to be given the name Atatürk (father of Turks). read more

March 25 is celebrated by Greeks as their national day, and marks the beginning of the Greek rebellion against the Ottoman Empire in 1821. The day also marks the beginning of the murder of over 25,000 Ottoman Muslims of Greece, which would set a pattern for other nationalist revolts in the Balkans, and the subsequent ethnic and religious motivated slaughter and forced mass migration of over ten million Ottoman citizens that would last for 100 years. read more

Greece, after gaining her independence in 1829, expanded her territory three times against the Ottoman Empire during the nineteenth century and the first thirteen years of the twentieth century. This expansion was not limited to the Balkans but extended into Anatolia in the pursuit of the traditional Megali Idea (Great Idea), a policy committed to creating a larger Greece by including practically all of the regions in which ‘the influence of Hellenism has been paramount throughout the ages.’ The recreation of ‘ancient Greek heritage’ and the claiming of its “territories” came at a great suffering to the people of the Balkans and of Anatolia. read more

Each year, the Memphis in May International Festival develops this Curriculum Guide for use by elementary, middle and high school teachers as a teaching tool to explore the history, culture, geography, politics and lifestyle of the festival’s annual honored country. Developing a comprehensive guide with practical and useful lesson plans, activities and worksheets that also addresses critical SPI teaching standards takes many hours of research and the involvement of many people. Memphis in May thanks those who have helped to make the 2007 - 2008 travels throughout the exciting country of Turkey a reality through the development of this guide. read more

May 19, 1919 marks the beginning of the Turkish War of National Liberation, a turning point in Turkey's history. On this day, a young Ottoman general, Mustafa Kemal, arrived in Samsun. The man, who would later be known to the world as Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, stepped ashore on this small Black Sea Coast town to embark on a journey, which would ultimately create the Republic of Turkey and a new nation.  read more

The foundation of the Republic of Turkey was laid on April 23, 1920 with the inauguration of the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA) in Ankara. It was the first step toward a new state in Anatolia whose roots were laid by the Turkish National War of Liberation led by Mustafa Kemal, later to be given the name Atatürk – father of Turks. The Turkish national liberation struggle began on May 19, 1919 and culminated in the liberation of Anatolia from foreign occupation, the international recognition of modern Turkey’s borders by the Treaty of Lausanne, and the founding of the Republic of Turkey on October 29, 1923. read more

The Treaty of Lausanne was signed on July 24, 1923. This international treaty recognized the boundaries of the newly established modern state of Turkey. read more

Turkish Mortality and Migration
Original texts on the expulsion and deaths of the Turks and other Muslims of the Middle East, the Balkans, and the Caucasus. read more