Turkey

Urartian or Vannic is an extinct Hurro-Urartian language which was spoken by the inhabitants of the ancient kingdom of Urartu (Biaini or Biainili in Urartian), which was centered on the region around Lake Van and had its capital, Tushpa, near the site of the modern town of Van in the Armenian highlands, now in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey. Its past prevalence is unknown. While some believe it was probably dominant around Lake Van and in the areas along the upper Zab valley, others believe it was spoken by a relatively small population who comprised a ruling class.

First attested in the 9th century BCE, Urartian ceased to be written after the fall of the Urartian state in 585 BCE and presumably became extinct due to the fall of Urartu. It must have had long contact with, and been gradually totally replaced by, an early form of Armenian.

Old Persian cuneiform is a semi-alphabetic cuneiform script that was the primary script for Old Persian. Texts written in this cuneiform have been found in Iran (Persepolis, Susa, Hamadan, Kharg Island), Armenia, Romania (Gherla), Turkey (Van Fortress), and along the Suez Canal. They are mostly inscriptions from the time period of Darius I, such as the DNa inscription, as well as his son, Xerxes I. Later kings down to Artaxerxes III used more recent forms of the language classified as "pre-Middle Persian".

Khagan or Qaghan (Middle Mongol:ᠬᠠᠭᠠᠨ; Khaan or Khagan; Old Turkic: 𐰴𐰍𐰣 Kaɣan) is a title of imperial rank in Turkic, Mongolic, and some other languages, equal to the status of emperor and someone who rules a khaganate (empire). The female equivalent is Khatun.

It may also be translated as "Khan of Khans", equivalent to King of Kings. In Bulgarian, the title became known as Khan, while in modern Turkic, the title became Khaan with the g sound becoming almost silent or non-existent; the ğ in modern Turkish Kağan is also silent. After the division of the Mongol Empire, monarchs of the Yuan dynasty and the Northern Yuan held the title of Khagan. Kağan, Hakan and Kaan, Turkish equivalents of the title are common Turkish names in Turkey.

The Ottoman Caliphate, the world's last widely recognized caliphate, was abolished on 3 March 1924 (R.C. 1340, A.H. 1342) by decree of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. The process was one of Atatürk's reforms following the replacement of the Ottoman Empire with the Republic of Turkey. Abdülmecid II was deposed as the last Ottoman caliph.

The caliph was nominally the supreme religious and political leader of all Sunni Muslims across the world. In the years prior to the abolition, during the ongoing Turkish War of Independence, the uncertain future of the caliphate provoked strong reactions among the worldwide community of Sunni Muslims. The potential abolition of the caliphate had been actively opposed by the Indian-based Khilafat Movement, and generated heated debate throughout the Muslim world. The 1924 abolition came about less than 18 months after the abolition of the Ottoman sultanate, prior to which the Ottoman sultan was ex officio caliph.

Atatürk's reforms (Turkish: Atatürk İnkılapları or Atatürk Devrimleri), also referred to as the Turkish Revolution (Turkish: Türk Devrimi), were a series of political, legal, religious, cultural, social, and economic policy changes, designed to transform the new Republic of Turkey into a secular, modern nation-state, implemented under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in accordance with the Kemalist framework. The principal political entity, the Republican People's Party (CHP), ruled Turkey as a one-party state from 1923 to 1945, with several exceptions of attempts for a multi-party democracy.

Following Atatürk's death in 1938, his successor İsmet İnönü took over the leadership and integrated further Kemalist reforms. İnönü's work was, however, stranded by World War II. The CHP eventually lost the elections to the Democratic Party in 1950, putting an end to the Turkish Revolution.

The Mongol invasions and conquests took place during the 13th and 14th centuries, creating the largest contiguous empire in history, the Mongol Empire (1206–1368), which by 1260 covered a significant portion of Eurasia. Historians regard the Mongol devastation as one of the deadliest episodes in history.

At its height, the Mongol Empire included modern-day Mongolia, China, North Korea, South Korea, Myanmar, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Kashmir, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Siberia, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Romania, and most of European Russia.

Ophryneion or Ophrynium (Ancient Greek: Ὀφρύνειον, romanized: Ophryneion) was an ancient Greek city in the northern Troad region of Anatolia. Its territory was bounded to the west by Rhoiteion and to the east by Dardanus. It was located about 1.5 km north-east of the village of Erenköy in Çanakkale Province, Turkey. The city was situated on the steep brow of a hill overlooking the Dardanelles, hence the origin of its Ancient Greek name ὀφρῦς (ophrus), meaning 'brow of a hill', 'crag'.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Sites are places of importance to cultural or natural heritage as described in the UNESCO World Heritage Convention, established in 1972. Cultural heritage consists of monuments (such as architectural works, monumental sculptures, or inscriptions), groups of buildings, and sites (including archaeological sites). Natural features (consisting of physical and biological formations), geological and physiographical formations (including habitats of threatened species of animals and plants), and natural sites which are important from the point of view of science, conservation or natural beauty, are defined as natural heritage. Turkey accepted the convention on March 16, 1983.

There are 22 World Heritage Sites in Turkey, of which 20 are cultural and 2 are mixed, listed for both cultural and natural values. The first sites to be inscribed were Göreme National Park and the Rock Sites of Cappadocia; the Great Mosque and Hospital of Divriği; and the Historic Areas of Istanbul, all at the 9th Session of the World Heritage Committee in 1985. The latest inscription, Sardis and the Lydian Tumuli of Bin Tepe, was added to the list in 2025. In addition, Turkey has 79 sites on its tentative list.

Ephesus (/ˈɛfɪsəs/; Ancient Greek: Ἔφεσος, romanized: Éphesos; Turkish: Efes; may ultimately derive from Hittite: 𒀀𒉺𒀀𒊭, romanized: Apāša) was an ancient Greek city on the coast of Ionia, in present-day Selçuk in İzmir Province, Turkey. It was built in the 10th century BC on the site of Apasa, the former Arzawan capital, by Attic and Ionian Greek colonists. During the Classical Greek era, it was one of twelve cities that were members of the Ionian League. The city came under the control of the Roman Republic in 129 BC.

The city was famous in its day for the nearby Temple of Artemis (completed around 550 BC), which has been designated one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Its many monumental buildings included the Library of Celsus and a theatre capable of holding 24,000 spectators.

Cyme (Greek: Κύμη) or Cumae was an Aeolian city in Aeolis (Asia Minor) close to the kingdom of Lydia. It was called Phriconian, perhaps from the mountain Phricion in Aeolis, near which the Aeolians had been settled before their migration to Asia.

The Aeolians regarded Cyme as the largest and most important of their twelve cities, which were located on the coastline of Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey). As a result of their direct access to the sea, unlike most non-landlocked settlements of the ancient world, trade is believed to have prospered.