128-478: The Kea Channel, is a passage of water in the Aegean Sea . lying between the islands of Kea and Makronisos , just off Cape Sounion , Attica on the mainland of Greece . The channel is the location of the wreck of HMHS Britannic , sunk on 21 November 1916. 37°40′58″N 24°13′02″E / 37.6829°N 24.2173°E / 37.6829; 24.2173 This South Aegean location article
256-696: A charter member of the United Nations. In 1950 Turkey became a member of the Council of Europe . After fighting as part of the UN forces in the Korean War , Turkey joined NATO in 1952, becoming a bulwark against Soviet expansion into the Mediterranean . Military coups or memorandums, which happened in 1960 , 1971 , 1980 , and 1997 , complicated Turkey's transition to a democratic multiparty system . Between 1960 and
384-698: A Code with principles similar to the German Penal Code and German law generally. Administrative law is based on the French equivalent and procedural law generally shows the influence of the Swiss, German and French legal systems. Islamic principles do not play a part in the legal system. Law enforcement in Turkey is carried out by several agencies under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Internal Affairs . These agencies are
512-729: A guide for developing "orthodox expressions of basic Christian teachings". The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centered in Constantinople during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages . The eastern half of the Empire survived the conditions that caused the fall of the West in the 5th century AD, and continued to exist until
640-634: A huge campaign against the Emirate of Crete in 960 to 961. Meanwhile, the Bulgarian Empire threatened Byzantine control of Northern Greece and the Aegean coast to the south. Under Presian and his successor Boris I , the Bulgarian Empire managed to obtain a small portion of the northern Aegean coast. Simeon I of Bulgaria led Bulgaria to its greatest territorial expansion, and managed to conqueror much of
768-643: A large body of water. This is most predominant in the west and east coasts of the Aegean, and within the Aegean islands. In the north of the Aegean Sea, the climate is instead classified as Cold semi-arid (BSk) , which feature cooler summers than Hot-summer Mediterranean climates. The Etesian winds are a dominant weather influence in the Aegean Basin. The below table lists climate conditions of some major Aegean cities: Numerous Greek and Turkish settlements are located along their mainland coast, as well as on towns on
896-742: A mixture of " Turkish, Persian and Islamic influences ". In the latter half of the 11th century, the Seljuk Turks began penetrating into medieval Armenia and Anatolia. At the time, Anatolia was a diverse and largely Greek-speaking region after previously being Hellenized . The Seljuk Turks defeated the Byzantines at the Battle of Manzikert in 1071, and later established the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum . During this period, there were also Turkish principalities such as Danishmendids . Seljuk arrival started
1024-644: A person. As an ethnonym , the etymology is still unknown. In addition to usage in languages such as Chinese in the 6th century, the earliest mention of Turk ( 𐱅𐰇𐰺𐰜 , türü̲k̲ ; or 𐱅𐰇𐰼𐰚 , türk/tẄrk ) in Turkic languages comes from the Second Turkic Khaganate . In Byzantine sources in the 10th century, the name Tourkia was used for defining two medieval states: Hungary ( Western Tourkia ); and Khazaria ( Eastern Tourkia ). The Mamluk Sultanate , with its ruling elite of Turkic origin,
1152-511: A point west of Karpathos . The Aegean Islands are found within its waters, with the following islands delimiting the sea on the south, generally from west to east: Kythera , Antikythera , Crete , Kasos , Karpathos and Rhodes . The Anatolian peninsula marks the eastern boundary of the sea, while the Greek mainland marks the west. Several seas are contained within the Aegean Sea; the Thracian Sea
1280-633: A reassertion of the ancient, indigenous culture of the Hattian cities of Anatolia". Before 1200 BC, there were four Greek-speaking settlements in Anatolia, including Miletus . Around 1000 BC, Greeks started migrating to the west coast of Anatolia. These eastern Greek settlements played a vital role in shaping the Archaic Greek civilization; important cities included Miletus , Ephesus , Halicarnassus , Smyrna (now İzmir ) and Byzantium (now Istanbul ),
1408-570: A rich and diverse cuisine , Turkey is the fifth most visited country in the world. Turchia , meaning "the land of the Turks", had begun to be used in European texts for Anatolia by the end of the 12th century. As a word in Turkic languages , Turk may mean "strong, strength, ripe" or "flourishing, in full strength". It may also mean ripe as in for a fruit or "in the prime of life, young, and vigorous" for
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#17328516673011536-719: Is Syria, with which Turkey had cut its relations after the start of the Syrian civil war . There are disputes with Greece over maritime boundaries and with Cyprus . In 2018, the Turkish military and the Turkish-backed forces began an operation in Syria aimed at ousting US-backed YPG (which Turkey considers to be an offshoot of the outlawed PKK ) from the enclave of Afrin . Turkey has also conducted airstrikes in Iraqi Kurdistan , which
1664-617: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia . It is located between the Balkans and Anatolia , and covers an area of some 215,000 km (83,000 sq mi). In the north, the Aegean is connected to the Marmara Sea , which in turn connects to the Black Sea , by
1792-522: Is a unitary presidential republic . Turkey is a founding member of the OECD , G20 , and Organization of Turkic States . With a geopolitically significant location, Turkey is a regional power and an early member of NATO . An EU candidate , Turkey is part of the EU Customs Union , CoE , OIC , and TURKSOY . Turkey has coastal plains, a high central plateau , and various mountain ranges; its climate
1920-479: Is a considerable difference between fish catches between the pelagic and demersal zones; with respect to pelagic fisheries, the catches from the northern, central and southern Aegean area groupings are dominated, respectively, by anchovy , horse mackerels , and boops . For demersal fisheries, the catches from the northern and southern Aegean area groupings are dominated by grey mullets and pickerel ( Spicara smaris ) respectively. The industry has been impacted by
2048-587: Is a section of the Aegean located to the north, the Icarian Sea to the east, the Myrtoan Sea to the west, while the Sea of Crete is the southern section. The Greek regions that border the sea, in alphabetical order, are Attica , Central Greece , Central Macedonia , Crete, Eastern Macedonia and Thrace , North Aegean , Peloponnese , South Aegean , and Thessaly . The traditional Greek region of Macedonia also borders
2176-620: Is divided into districts ( ilçe ), for a total of 973 districts. Turkey is also subdivided into 7 regions ( bölge ) and 21 subregions for geographic, demographic and economic measurements, surveys and classifications; this does not refer to an administrative division. Turkey is a presidential republic within a multi-party system . The current constitution was adopted in 1982 . In the Turkish unitary system, citizens are subject to three levels of government : national, provincial, and local. The local government 's duties are commonly split between municipal governments and districts, in which
2304-614: Is located in the Aegean, despite being administered as part of Central Greece . Nine out of twelve of the Administrative regions of Greece border the sea, along with the Turkish provinces of Edirne , Çanakkale , Balıkesir , İzmir , Aydın and Muğla to the east of the sea. Various Turkish islands in the sea are Imbros , Tenedos , Cunda Island , and the Foça Islands . The Aegean Sea has been historically important, especially regarding
2432-442: Is temperate with harsher conditions in the interior. Home to three biodiversity hotspots , Turkey is prone to frequent earthquakes and is highly vulnerable to climate change . Turkey has a universal healthcare system , growing access to education , and increasing levels of innovativeness . It is a leading TV content exporter. With 21 UNESCO World Heritage sites, 30 UNESCO intangible cultural heritage inscriptions, and
2560-466: Is the Main Opposition Leader . The last parliamentary and presidential elections were in 2023. The Constitutional Court can strip the public financing of political parties that it deems anti-secular or having ties to terrorism , or ban their existence altogether. The electoral threshold for political parties at national level is seven percent of the votes. Smaller parties can avoid
2688-578: Is the chief port in Greece, the largest passenger port in Europe and the third largest in the world, servicing about 20 million passengers annually. With a throughput of 1.4 million TEUs , Piraeus is placed among the top ten ports in container traffic in Europe and the top container port in the Eastern Mediterranean . Piraeus is also the commercial hub of Greek shipping . Piraeus bi-annually acts as
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#17328516673012816-573: The Kayı tribe of the Oghuz Turks . Ottomans started annexing the nearby Turkish beyliks (principalities) in Anatolia and expanded into the Balkans . Mehmed II completed Ottoman conquest of the Byzantine Empire by capturing its capital, Constantinople , on 29 May 1453. Selim I united Anatolia under Ottoman rule. Turkification continued as Ottomans mixed with various indigenous people in Anatolia and
2944-667: The 1913 coup d'état , the Three Pashas took control of the Ottoman government. The Ottoman Empire entered World War I on the side of the Central Powers and was ultimately defeated. During the war, the empire's Armenian subjects were deported to Syria as part of the Armenian genocide . As a result, an estimated 600,000 to more than 1 million, or up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed. The Turkish government has refused to acknowledge
3072-687: The Allies in the aftermath of World War I initiated the Turkish National Movement . Under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Pasha , a military commander who had distinguished himself during the Battle of Gallipoli , the Turkish War of Independence (1919–1923) was waged with the aim of revoking the terms of the Treaty of Sèvres (1920). The Turkish Provisional Government in Ankara , which had declared itself
3200-736: The Armistice of Mudanya on 11 October 1922. On 1 November 1922, the Turkish Parliament in Ankara formally abolished the Sultanate, thus ending 623 years of monarchical Ottoman rule. The Treaty of Lausanne of 24 July 1923, which superseded the Treaty of Sèvres, led to the international recognition of the sovereignty of the new Turkish state as the successor state of the Ottoman Empire. On 4 October 1923,
3328-414: The Balkans , Caucasus , and Crimea . Under the control of the Three Pashas , the Ottoman Empire entered World War I in 1914, during which the Ottoman government committed genocides against its Armenian , Greek , and Assyrian subjects. Following Ottoman defeat, the Turkish War of Independence resulted in the abolition of the sultanate and the signing of the Treaty of Lausanne . The Republic
3456-832: The Chalkidiki Peninsula including the Cassandra and the Singitic Gulfs , northward the Strymonian Gulf and the Gulf of Kavala and the rest are in Turkey ; Saros Gulf , Edremit Gulf, Dikili Gulf , Gulf of Çandarlı , Gulf of İzmir , Gulf of Kuşadası , Gulf of Gökova , Güllük Gulf. The Aegean Sea is connected to the Sea of Marmara by the Dardanelles , also known from Classical Antiquity as
3584-717: The Cold War 's start. Following threats from the Soviet Union , Turkey sought to ally with the United States and joined NATO in 1952. Overall, Turkey aims for good relations with Central Asia , the Caucasus , Russia, the Middle East , and Iran. With the West, Turkey also aims to keep its arrangements. By trading with the east and joining the EU, Turkey pursues economic growth. Turkey joined
3712-798: The Dodecanese , the Cyclades , the Sporades , the Saronic islands and the North Aegean Islands , as well as Crete and its surrounding islands. The Dodecanese, located to the southeast, includes the islands of Rhodes, Kos , and Patmos ; the islands of Delos and Naxos are within the Cyclades to the south of the sea. Lesbos is part of the North Aegean Islands. Euboea , the second-largest island in Greece,
3840-581: The EEC in 1987, joined the European Union Customs Union in 1995 and started accession negotiations with the European Union in 2005. Customs Union had an important impact on the Turkish manufacturing sector. In 2014, prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan won Turkey's first direct presidential election . On 15 July 2016, an unsuccessful coup attempt tried to oust the government. According to
3968-408: The European Union Customs Union in 1995, but its EU accession talks are frozen as of 2024. Turkey has been called an emerging power, a middle power , and a regional power . Turkey has sought closer relations with the Central Asian Turkic states after the breakup of the Soviet Union. Closer relations with Azerbaijan , a culturally close country, was achieved. Turkey is a founding member of
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4096-449: The First Bulgarian Empire . The Fourth Crusade weakened Byzantine control of the area, and it was eventually conquered by the Ottoman Empire , with the exception of Crete, which was a Venetian colony until 1669. The Greek War of Independence allowed a Greek state on the coast of the Aegean from 1829 onwards. The Ottoman Empire held a presence over the sea for over 500 years until it was replaced by modern Turkey . The rocks making up
4224-402: The Galatians . When Pergamon requested assistance in its conflict with the Seleucids, Rome intervened in Anatolia in the second century BC. Without an heir, Pergamum's king left the kingdom to Rome, which was annexed as province of Asia . Roman influence grew in Anatolia afterwards. Following Asiatic Vespers massacre, and Mithridatic Wars with Pontus , Rome emerged victorious. Around
4352-426: The General Directorate of Security , the Gendarmerie General Command and the Coast Guard Command . In the years of government by the Justice and Development Party and Erdoğan, particularly since 2013, the independence and integrity of the Turkish judiciary has increasingly been said to be in doubt by institutions, parliamentarians and journalists both within and outside of Turkey, because of political interference in
4480-563: The Great Recession . Overfishing and habitat destruction is also a concern, threatening grouper, and seabream populations, resulting in perhaps a 50% decline of fish catch. To address these concerns, Greek fishermen have been offered a compensation by the government. Although some species are defined as protected or threatened under EU legislation, several illegal species such as the molluscs Pinna nobilis , Charonia tritonis and Lithophaga lithophaga , can be bought in restaurants and fish markets around Greece. The Aegean islands within
4608-428: The International Organization of Turkic Culture and Organization of Turkic States . It is also a member of Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe , Council of Europe , and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation . Following the Arab Spring , Turkey had problems with countries such as United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt. Relations with these countries have improved since then. The exception
4736-422: The Ionian School of philosophy , thereby laying the foundations of rationalism and Western philosophy . Cyrus attacked eastern Anatolia in 547 BC, and Achaemenid Empire eventually expanded into western Anatolia . In the east, the Armenian province was part of the Achaemenid Empire. Following the Greco-Persian Wars , the Greek city-states of the Anatolian Aegean coast regained independence, but most of
4864-794: The Nea Moni of Chios , the island of Delos , and the Medieval City of Rhodes. Greece is one of the most visited countries in Europe and the world with over 33 million visitors in 2018, and the tourism industry around a quarter of Greece's Gross Domestic Product. The islands of Santorini, Crete, Lesbos, Delos, and Mykonos are common tourist destinations. An estimated 2 million tourists visit Santorini annually. However, concerns relating to overtourism have arisen in recent years, such as issues of inadequate infrastructure and overcrowding. Alongside Greece, Turkey has also been successful in developing resort areas and attracting large number of tourists, contributing to tourism in Turkey . The phrase " Blue Cruise " refers to recreational voyages along
4992-403: The Ottoman Empire's name . In December 2021, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan called for expanded official usage of Türkiye , saying that Türkiye "represents and expresses the culture, civilization, and values of the Turkish nation in the best way". In May 2022, the Turkish government requested the United Nations and other international organizations to use Türkiye officially in English;
5120-475: The Proto-Turkic language originated in Central-East Asia. Initially, Proto- Turkic speakers were potentially both hunter-gatherers and farmers; they later became nomadic pastoralists . Early and medieval Turkic groups exhibited a wide range of both East Asian and West-Eurasian physical appearances and genetic origins, in part through long-term contact with neighboring peoples such as Iranic , Mongolic , Tocharian , Uralic , and Yeniseian peoples. During
5248-430: The Punic Wars . During Roman rule, the land around the Aegean Sea fell under the provinces of Achaea , Macedonia , Thracia , Asia and Creta et Cyrenaica (island of Crete) The fall of the Western Roman Empire allowed its successor state, the Byzantine Empire , to continue Roman control over the Aegean Sea. However, their territory would later be threatened by the early Muslim conquests initiated by Muhammad in
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5376-481: The Recapture of Constantinople from the Latins in 1261 and defeat Epirus. Byzantine successes were not to last; the Ottomans would conquer the area around the Aegean coast, but before their expansion the Byzantine Empire had already been weakened from internal conflict. By the late 14th century, the Byzantine Empire had lost all control of the coast of the Aegean Sea and could exercise power around their capital, Constantinople. The Ottoman Empire then gained control of all
5504-431: The Second Balkan War (1913). In the 19th and early 20th centuries, persecution of Muslims during the Ottoman contraction and in the Russian Empire resulted in estimated 5 million deaths, with more than 3 million in Balkans; the casualties included Turks. Five to seven or seven to nine million refugees migrated into modern-day Turkey from the Balkans , Caucasus , Crimea , and Mediterranean islands, shifting
5632-414: The Sheikh Said rebellion in 1925 and the Dersim rebellion in 1937. İsmet İnönü became the country's second president following Atatürk's death in 1938. In 1939, the Republic of Hatay voted in favor of joining Turkey with a referendum. Turkey remained neutral during almost all of World War II , but entered the war on the side of the Allies on 23 February 1945 . Later that year, Turkey became
5760-407: The Supreme Electoral Council lifted a rule that required each ballot to have an official stamp. The opposition parties claimed that as many as 2.5 million ballots without a stamp were accepted as valid. Turkey has a unitary structure in terms of public administration, and the provinces are subordinate to the central government in Ankara . In province centers the government is represented by
5888-406: The Turkification process in Anatolia; there were Turkic/Turkish migrations, intermarriages, and conversions into Islam. The shift took several centuries and happened gradually. Members of Islamic mysticism orders, such as Mevlevi Order , played a role in the Islamization of the diverse people of Anatolia. Seljuk expansion was one of the reasons for the Crusades . In 13th century, there
6016-424: The Turkish Riviera , including across the Aegean. The ancient city of Troy , a World Heritage Site, is on the Turkish coast of the Aegean. Turkey Turkey , officially the Republic of Türkiye , is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia , with a smaller part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe . It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia , Armenia , Azerbaijan , and Iran to
6144-407: The Yabgu Khaganate . In 1040, the Seljuks defeated the Ghaznavids at the Battle of Dandanaqan and established the Seljuk Empire in Greater Khorasan . Baghdad , the Abbasid Caliphate 's capital and center of the Islamic world , was taken by Seljuks in 1055. Given the role Khurasani traditions played in art, culture, and political traditions in the empire, the Seljuk period is described as
6272-598: The adoption of Christianity as the state religion , and the predominance of Greek instead of Latin , modern historians continue to make a distinction between the earlier Roman Empire and the later Byzantine Empire . In the early Byzantine Empire period, the Anatolian coastal areas were Greek speaking. In addition to natives, interior Anatolia had diverse groups such as Goths , Celts , Persians and Jews . Interior Anatolia had been "heavily Hellenized". Anatolian languages eventually became extinct after Hellenization of Anatolia. According to historians and linguists,
6400-420: The fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire in 1453. During most of its existence, the empire remained the most powerful economic, cultural, and military force in the Mediterranean world . The term Byzantine Empire was only coined following the empire's demise; its citizens referred to the polity as the "Roman Empire" and to themselves as Romans . Due to the imperial seat's move from Rome to Byzantium ,
6528-405: The right to vote and stand as a candidate at elections. Universal suffrage for both sexes has been applied throughout Turkey since 1934. In Turkey, turnout rates of both local and general elections are high compared to many other countries, which usually stands higher than 80%. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is currently serving as the head of state and head of government . Özgür Özel
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#17328516673016656-516: The 1st century BC, Rome expanded into parts of Pontus and Bithynia , while turning rest of Anatolian states into Roman satellites. Several conflicts with Parthians ensued , with peace and wars alternating. According to Acts of the Apostles , early Christian Church had significant growth in Anatolia because of St Paul's efforts. Letters from St. Paul in Anatolia comprise the oldest Christian literature . Under Roman authority, ecumenical councils such as Council of Nicaea (Iznik) in 325 served as
6784-443: The 7th century. Although the Rashidun Caliphate did not manage to obtain land along the coast of the Aegean Sea, its conquest of the Eastern Anatolian peninsula as well as Egypt, the Levant, and North Africa left the Byzantine Empire weakened. The Umayyad Caliphate expanded the territorial gains of the Rashidun Caliphate, conquering much of North Africa, and threatened the Byzantine Empire's control of Western Anatolia, where it meets
6912-415: The 9th and 10th centuries CE, the Oghuz were a Turkic group that lived in the Caspian and Aral steppes. Partly due to pressure from the Kipchaks , the Oghuz migrated into Iran and Transoxiana . They mixed with Iranic-speaking groups in the area and converted to Islam . Oghuz Turks were also known as Turkoman . The Seljuks originated from the Kınık branch of the Oghuz Turks who resided in
7040-450: The Aegean Sea are disputed between Greece and Turkey. The Aegean dispute has had a large effect on Greece-Turkey relations since the 1970s. Issues include the delimitation of territorial waters , national airspace , exclusive economic zones , and flight information regions . The name Aegaeus , used by Late Latin authors, referred to Aegeus , who was said to have jumped into that sea to drown himself (rather than throw himself from
7168-433: The Aegean Sea are significant tourist destinations. Tourism to the Aegean islands contributes a significant portion of tourism in Greece , especially since the second half of the 20th century. A total of five UNESCO World Heritage sites are located the Aegean Islands; these include the Monastery of Saint John the Theologian and the Cave of the Apocalypse on Patmos , the Pythagoreion and Heraion of Samos in Samos ,
7296-405: The Aegean Sea. During the 820s, Crete was conquered by a group of Berbers Andalusians exiles led by Abu Hafs Umar al-Iqritishi , and it became an independent Islamic state. The Byzantine Empire launched a campaign that took most of the island back in 842 and 843 under Theoktistos , but the re-conquest was not completed and was soon reversed. Later attempts by the Byzantine Empire to recover
7424-405: The Aegean beginning at the South and moving clockwise include on Crete, the Mirabello , Almyros , Souda and Chania bays or gulfs, on the mainland the Myrtoan Sea to the west with the Argolic Gulf , the Saronic Gulf northwestward, the Petalies Gulf which connects with the South Euboic Sea , the Pagasetic Gulf which connects with the North Euboic Sea , the Thermian Gulf northwestward,
7552-400: The Aegean coast with the exception of Crete, which was a Venetian colony until 1669. The Greek War of Independence allowed a Greek state on the coast of the Aegean from 1829 onward. The Ottoman Empire held a presence over the sea for over 500 years until its dissolution following World War I , when it was replaced by modern Turkey. During the war, Greece gained control over the area around
7680-402: The Aegean islands. The largest cities are Athens and Thessaloniki in Greece and İzmir in Turkey. The most populated of the Aegean islands is Crete, followed by Euboea and Rhodes. Athens [REDACTED] İzmir Thessaloniki [REDACTED] Bodrum Greece has established several marine protected areas along its coasts. According to the Network of Managers of Marine Protected Areas in
7808-443: The Aegean, was essential for the Mycenaean economy. Their syllabic script , the Linear B , offers the first written records of the Greek language and their religion already included several deities that can also be found in the Olympic Pantheon . Mycenaean Greece was dominated by a warrior elite society and consisted of a network of palace -centered states that developed rigid hierarchical, political, social and economic systems. At
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#17328516673017936-412: The Allied occupation of Turkey ended with the withdrawal of the last Allied troops from Istanbul . The Turkish Republic was officially proclaimed on 29 October 1923 in Ankara, the country's new capital. The Lausanne Convention stipulated a population exchange between Greece and Turkey . Mustafa Kemal became the republic's first president and introduced many reforms . The reforms aimed to transform
8064-415: The Anatolian interior, which met resistance in some places. Following Alexander's death, the Seleucids ruled large parts of Anatolia, while native Anatolian states emerged in the Marmara and Black Sea areas. In eastern Anatolia, the kingdom of Armenia appeared. In third century BC, Celts invaded central Anatolia and continued as a major ethnic group in the area for around 200 years. They were known as
8192-430: The Athenian acropolis, as told by some Greek authors). He was the father of Theseus , the mythical king and founder-hero of Athens . Aegeus had told Theseus to put up white sails when returning if he was successful in killing the Minotaur . When Theseus returned, he forgot these instructions, and Aegeus thought his son had died, so he drowned himself in the sea. The sea was known in Latin as Mare Aegaeum while under
8320-405: The Athenian fleet gained a decisive victory over the Persian fleet of the Xerxes II of Persia at the Battle of Salamis . Thus ending any further attempt of western expansion by the Achaemenid Empire . The Aegean Sea would later come to be under the control, albeit briefly, of the Kingdom of Macedonia . Philip II and his son Alexander the Great led a series of conquests that led not only to
8448-400: The Balkans. The Ottoman Empire was a global power during the reigns of Selim I and Suleiman the Magnificent . In the 16th and 17th centuries, Sephardic Jews moved into Ottoman Empire following their expulsion from Spain. From the second half of the 18th century onwards, the Ottoman Empire began to decline . The Tanzimat reforms, initiated by Mahmud II in 1839, aimed to modernize
8576-447: The Great ; Hellenization continued during the Roman and Byzantine eras. The Seljuk Turks began migrating into Anatolia in the 11th century, starting the Turkification process. The Seljuk Sultanate of Rum ruled Anatolia until the Mongol invasion in 1243, when it disintegrated into Turkish principalities . Beginning in 1299, the Ottomans united the principalities and expanded ; Mehmed II conquered Istanbul in 1453 . During
8704-401: The Greek Dark Ages in the 8th century BC. Greece became divided into small self-governing communities, and adopted the Phoenician alphabet , modifying it to create the Greek alphabet . By the 6th century BC several cities had emerged as dominant in Greek affairs: Athens, Sparta, Corinth , and Thebes , of which Athens, Sparta, and Corinth were closest to the Aegean Sea. Each of them had brought
8832-486: The Hellespont. The Dardanelles are located to the northeast of the sea. It ultimately connects with the Black Sea through the Bosporus strait, upon which lies the city of Istanbul . The Dardanelles and the Bosporus are known as the Turkish Straits . According to the International Hydrographic Organization , the limits of the Aegean Sea as follows: Aegean surface water circulates in a counterclockwise gyre , with hypersaline Mediterranean water moving northward along
8960-509: The Hittite kingdom was disintegrating, further waves of Indo-European peoples migrated from southeastern Europe, which was followed by warfare. The Thracians were also present in modern-day Turkish Thrace . It is not known if the Trojan war is based on historical events. Troy's Late Bronze Age layers matches most with Iliad 's story. Around 750 BC, Phrygia had been established, with its two centers in Gordium and modern-day Kayseri . Phrygians spoke an Indo-European language, which
9088-475: The Mediterranean ( MedPAN ), four Greek MPAs are participating in the Network. These include Alonnisos Marine Park , while the Missolonghi–Aitoliko Lagoons and the island of Zakynthos are not on the Aegean. The current coastline dates back to about 4000 BC. Before that time, at the peak of the last ice age (about 18,000 years ago) sea levels everywhere were 130 metres (430 ft) lower, and there were large well-watered coastal plains instead of much of
9216-532: The Ottoman Empire led to a rise in nationalist sentiment among its various subject peoples , leading to increased ethnic tensions which occasionally burst into violence, such as the Hamidian massacres of Armenians , which claimed up to 300,000 lives. Ottoman territories in Europe ( Rumelia ) were lost in the First Balkan War (1912–1913). Ottomans managed to recover some territory in Europe, such as Edirne , in
9344-645: The Ottoman state in line with the progress that had been made in Western Europe. The Ottoman constitution of 1876 was the first among Muslim states, but was short-lived . As the empire gradually shrank in size, military power and wealth; especially after the Ottoman economic crisis and default in 1875 which led to uprisings in the Balkan provinces that culminated in the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) . The decline of
9472-650: The President, General Staff , Air Force , Naval Force , and Land Force usually report to the Minister of National Defence. The Gendarmerie General Command and the Coast Guard Command are under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Interior . Military service is required for 6–12 months for men, which is reduced to one month after paying a fee. Turkey does not recognize conscientious objection and does not offer
9600-642: The Republic, Turkey adopted a civil law legal system, replacing Sharia -derived Ottoman law . The Civil Code , adopted in 1926, was based on the Swiss Civil Code of 1907 and the Swiss Code of Obligations of 1911. Although it underwent a number of changes in 2002, it retains much of the basis of the original Code. The Criminal Code , originally based on the Italian Criminal Code , was replaced in 2005 by
9728-402: The Turkish government, there are 13,251 arrested or convicted people in jail as of 2024, related to the 2016 coup attempt. With a referendum in 2017 , the parliamentary republic was replaced by an executive presidential system . The office of the prime minister was abolished, and its powers and duties were transferred to the president. On the referendum day, while the voting was still underway,
9856-1075: The UN agreed. Present-day Turkey has been inhabited by modern humans since the late Paleolithic period and contains some of the world's oldest Neolithic sites. Göbekli Tepe is close to 12,000 years old. Parts of Anatolia include the Fertile Crescent , an origin of agriculture . Other important Anatolian Neolithic sites include Çatalhöyük and Alaca Höyük . Neolithic Anatolian farmers differed genetically from farmers in Iran and Jordan Valley . These early Anatolian farmers also migrated into Europe , starting around 9,000 years ago. Troy's earliest layers go back to around 4500 BC. Anatolia's historical records start with clay tablets from approximately around 2000 BC that were found in modern-day Kültepe . These tablets belonged to an Assyrian trade colony . The languages in Anatolia at that time included Hattian, Hurrian, Hittite , Luwian , and Palaic . Hattian
9984-491: The age of 65. Turkish politics have become increasingly associated with democratic backsliding , being described as a competitive authoritarian system. Elections in Turkey are held for six functions of government: presidential (national), parliamentary (national), municipality mayors (local), district mayors (local), provincial or municipal council members (local), and muhtars (local). Referendums are also held occasionally. Every Turkish citizen who has turned 18 has
10112-719: The area around the Aegean Sea was fragmented into multiple entities, including the Latin Empire , the Kingdom of Thessalonica , the Empire of Nicaea , the Principality of Achaea , and the Duchy of Athens . The Venetians created the maritime state of the Duchy of the Archipelago , which included all the Cyclades except Mykonos and Tinos . The Empire of Nicaea, a Byzantine rump state, managed to affect
10240-538: The center of the Ottoman Empire to Anatolia. In addition to a small number of Jews, the refugees were overwhelmingly Muslim; they were both Turkish and non-Turkish people, such as Circassians and Crimean Tatars . Paul Mojzes has called the Balkan Wars an "unrecognized genocide", where multiple sides were both victims and perpetrators. Circassian refugees included the survivors of the Circassian genocide . Following
10368-563: The civilization of Ancient Greece , which inhabited the area around the coast of the Aegean and the Aegean islands. The Aegean islands facilitated contact between the people of the area and between Europe and Asia. Along with the Greeks, Thracians lived along the northern coasts. The Romans conquered the area under the Roman Empire, and later the Byzantine Empire held it against advances by
10496-460: The climate of Greece and Western Turkey, which is to say, predominantly Mediterranean . According to the Köppen climate classification , most of the Aegean is classified as Hot-summer Mediterranean ( Csa ), with hotter and drier summers along with milder and wetter winters. However, high temperatures during summers are generally not quite as high as those in arid or semiarid climates due to the presence of
10624-606: The control of the Roman Empire . The Venetians , who ruled many Greek islands in the High and Late Middle Ages , popularized the name Archipelago ( Greek : αρχιπέλαγος , meaning "main sea" or "chief sea"), a name that held on in many European countries until the early modern period . In South Slavic languages , the Aegean is called White Sea ( Bulgarian : Бяло море , romanized : Byalo more ; Macedonian : Бело море , romanized : Belo more ; Serbo-Croatian : Belo more / Бело море ). The Turkish name for
10752-539: The east coast of Greece. The physical oceanography of the Aegean Sea is controlled mainly by the regional climate, the fresh water discharge from major rivers draining southeastern Europe, and the seasonal variations in the Black Sea surface water outflow through the Dardanelles Strait . Analysis of the Aegean during 1991 and 1992 revealed three distinct water masses: The climate of the Aegean Sea largely reflects
10880-522: The east; Iraq , Syria , and the Mediterranean Sea to the south; and the Aegean Sea , Greece , and Bulgaria to the west. Turkey is home to over 85 million people; most are ethnic Turks , while ethnic Kurds are the largest ethnic minority . Officially a secular state , Turkey has a Muslim-majority population. Ankara is Turkey's capital and second-largest city , while Istanbul is its largest city and economic and financial center. Other major cities include İzmir , Bursa , and Antalya . Turkey
11008-492: The electoral threshold by forming an alliance with other parties. Independent candidates are not subject to an electoral threshold. On the right side of the Turkish political spectrum , parties like the Democrat Party , Justice Party , Motherland Party , and Justice and Development Party became the most popular political parties in Turkey, winning numerous elections. Turkish right-wing parties are more likely to embrace
11136-538: The end of the 20th century, the prominent leaders in Turkish politics who achieved multiple election victories were Süleyman Demirel , Bülent Ecevit and Turgut Özal . PKK started a "campaign of terrorist attacks on civilian and military targets" in the 1980s. It is designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States, and the European Union. Tansu Çiller became the first female prime minister of Turkey in 1993. Turkey applied for full membership of
11264-496: The events as genocide and states that Armenians were only "relocated " from the eastern war zone. Genocidal campaigns were also committed against the empire's other minority groups such as the Assyrians and Greeks . Following the Armistice of Mudros in 1918, the victorious Allied Powers sought the partition of the Ottoman Empire through the 1920 Treaty of Sèvres . The occupation of Istanbul (1918) and İzmir (1919) by
11392-650: The executive and legislative officials are elected by a plurality vote of citizens by district. The government comprises three branches: first is the legislative branch, which is Grand National Assembly of Turkey ; second is the executive branch, which is the President of Turkey ; and third is the judicial branch, which includes the Constitutional Court , the Court of Cassation and Court of Jurisdictional Disputes . The Parliament has 600 seats, distributed among
11520-470: The first advanced civilization in Europe, leaving behind massive building complexes, tools, stunning artwork, writing systems, and a massive network of trade. The Minoan period saw extensive trade between Crete, Aegean, and Mediterranean settlements, particularly the Near East. The most notable Minoan palace is that of Knossos , followed by that of Phaistos . The Mycenaean Greeks arose on the mainland, becoming
11648-457: The first advanced civilization in mainland Greece, which lasted from approximately 1600 to 1100 BC. It is believed that the site of Mycenae , which sits close to the Aegean coast, was the center of Mycenaean civilization. The Mycenaeans introduced several innovations in the fields of engineering, architecture and military infrastructure, while trade over vast areas of the Mediterranean, including
11776-499: The floor of the Aegean are mainly limestone, though often greatly altered by volcanic activity that has convulsed the region in relatively recent geologic times. Of particular interest are the richly colored sediments in the region of the islands of Santorini and Milos , in the south Aegean. Notable cities on the Aegean coastline include Athens , Thessaloniki , Volos , Kavala , and Heraklion in Greece, and İzmir and Bodrum in Turkey. Several issues concerning sovereignty within
11904-479: The focus for a major shipping convention, known as Posidonia, which attracts maritime industry professionals from all over the world. Piraeus is currently Greece's third-busiest port in terms of tons of goods transported, behind Agioi Theodoroi and Thessaloniki . The central port serves ferry routes to almost every island in the eastern portion of Greece, the island of Crete, the Cyclades, the Dodecanese, and much of
12032-565: The general term Aegean civilization . In ancient times, the sea was the birthplace of two ancient civilizations – the Minoans of Crete and the Mycenaeans of the Peloponnese . The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age civilization on the island of Crete and other Aegean islands, flourishing from around 3000 to 1450 BC before a period of decline, finally ending at around 1100 BC. It represented
12160-618: The head of this society was the king, known as wanax . The civilization of Mycenaean Greeks perished with the collapse of Bronze Age culture in the eastern Mediterranean, to be followed by the so-called Greek Dark Ages . It is undetermined what cause the collapse of the Mycenaeans. During the Greek Dark Ages, writing in the Linear B script ceased, vital trade links were lost, and towns and villages were abandoned. The Archaic period followed
12288-798: The interior stayed part of the Achaemenid Empire. Two of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World , the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, and the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus , were located in Anatolia. Following the victories of Alexander in 334 BC and 333 BC , the Achaemenid Empire collapsed and Anatolia became part of the Macedonian Empire . This led to increasing cultural homogeneity and Hellenization of
12416-538: The island were without success. For the approximately 135 years of its existence, the emirate of Crete was one of the major foes of Byzantium. Crete commanded the sea lanes of the Eastern Mediterranean and functioned as a forward base and haven for Muslim corsair fleets that ravaged the Byzantine-controlled shores of the Aegean Sea. Crete returned to Byzantine rule under Nikephoros II Phokas , who launched
12544-481: The islands in the Aegean have safe harbours and bays. In ancient times, navigation through the sea was easier than travelling across the rough terrain of the Greek mainland, and to some extent, the coastal areas of Anatolia. Many of the islands are volcanic , and marble and iron are mined on other islands. The larger islands have some fertile valleys and plains. Of the main islands in the Aegean Sea, two belong to Turkey – Bozcaada (Tenedos) and Gökçeada (Imbros);
12672-446: The latter founded by colonists from Megara in the seventh century BCE. These settlements were grouped as Aeolis , Ionia , and Doris , after the specific Greek groups that settled them. Further Greek colonization in Anatolia was led by Miletus and Megara in 750–480 BC. The Greek cities along the Aegean prospered with trade, and saw remarkable scientific and scholarly accomplishments. Thales and Anaximander from Miletus founded
12800-521: The legitimate government of the country on 23 April 1920 , started to formalize the legal transition from the old Ottoman into the new Republican political system. The Ankara Government engaged in armed and diplomatic struggle. In 1921–1923, the Armenian, Greek, French, and British armies had been expelled. The military advance and diplomatic success of the Ankara Government resulted in the signing of
12928-423: The northern Aegean. When they were first occupied, the present-day islands including Milos with its important obsidian production were probably still connected to the mainland. The present coastal arrangement appeared around 9,000 years ago, with post-ice age sea levels continuing to rise for another 3,000 years after that. The subsequent Bronze Age civilizations of Greece and the Aegean Sea have given rise to
13056-676: The northern and the eastern Aegean Sea, while the western part of the port is used for cargo services. As of 2007, the Port of Thessaloniki was the second-largest container port in Greece after the port of Piraeus, making it one of the busiest ports in Greece. In 2007, the Port of Thessaloniki handled 14,373,245 tonnes of cargo and 222,824 TEU's . Paloukia, on the island of Salamis , is a major passenger port. Fish are Greece's second-largest agricultural export, and Greece has Europe's largest fishing fleet. Fish captured include sardines , mackerel , grouper , grey mullets , sea bass , and seabream . There
13184-476: The northern and western coasts of the Aegean. The Byzantines later regained control. The Second Bulgarian Empire achieved similar success along, again, the northern and western coasts, under Ivan Asen II of Bulgaria . The Seljuk Turks , under the Seljuk Empire , invaded the Byzantine Empire in 1068, from which they annexed almost all the territories of Anatolia, including the east coast of the Aegean Sea, during
13312-548: The northern coast of the Aegean. By the 1930s, Greece and Turkey had about resumed their present-day borders. In the Italo-Turkish War of 1912, Italy captured the Dodecanese islands, and had occupied them since, reneging on the 1919 Venizelos – Tittoni agreement to cede them to Greece. The Greco-Italian War took place from October 1940 to April 1941 as part of the Balkans Campaign of World War II . The Italian war aim
13440-543: The old religion-based and multi-communal Ottoman monarchy into a Turkish nation state that would be governed as a parliamentary republic under a secular constitution . Women gained the right to vote nationally in 1934. With the Surname Law , the Turkish Parliament bestowed upon Kemal the honorific surname "Atatürk" ( Father Turk ). Atatürk's reforms caused discontent in some Kurdish and Zaza tribes leading to
13568-468: The principles of political ideologies such as conservatism , nationalism or Islamism . On the left side of the spectrum, parties like the Republican People's Party , Social Democratic Populist Party and Democratic Left Party once enjoyed the largest electoral success. Left-wing parties are more likely to embrace the principles of socialism , Kemalism or secularism . With the founding of
13696-408: The promotion of judges and prosecutors and in their pursuit of public duty. Turkey's constant foreign policy goal is to pursue its national interests. These interests are mainly growing the economy, and maintaining security from internal terrorist and external threats. After the establishment of the Republic, Atatürk and İnönü followed the " peace at home, peace in the world " principle until
13824-453: The province governors ( vali ) and in towns by the governors ( kaymakam ). Other senior public officials are also appointed by the central government, except for the mayors ( belediye başkanı ) who are elected by the constituents. Turkish municipalities have local legislative bodies ( belediye meclisi ) for decision-making on municipal issues. Turkey is subdivided into 81 provinces ( il or vilayet ) for administrative purposes. Each province
13952-445: The provinces proportionally to the population . The Parliament and the president serve a five-year terms, with elections on the same day. The president is elected by direct vote and cannot run for re-election after two terms, unless the parliament calls early presidential elections during the second term. The Constitutional Court is composed of 15 members, elected for single 12-year terms. They are obliged to retire when they are over
14080-579: The reign of Alp Arslan , the second Sultan of the Seljuk Empire. After the death of his successor, Malik Shah I , the empire was divided, and Malik Shah was succeeded in Anatolia by Kilij Arslan I , who founded the Sultanate of Rum . The Byzantines yet again recaptured the eastern coast of the Aegean. After Constantinople was occupied by Western European and Venetian forces during the Fourth Crusade ,
14208-545: The reigns of Selim I and Suleiman the Magnificent , the Ottoman Empire became a global power . From 1789 onwards, the empire saw a major transformation , reforms , and centralization while its territory declined . In the 19th and early 20th centuries, persecution of Muslims during the Ottoman contraction and in the Russian Empire resulted in large-scale loss of life and mass migration into modern-day Turkey from
14336-533: The rest belong to Greece. Between the two countries, there are political disputes over several aspects of political control over the Aegean space, including the size of territorial waters, air control and the delimitation of economic rights to the continental shelf . These issues are known as the Aegean dispute . Multiple ports are located along the Greek and Turkish coasts of the Aegean Sea. The port of Piraeus in Athens
14464-435: The sea is Ege Denizi , which is derived from the Greek name, and Adalar Denizi meaning "the sea of islands". The Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea and covers about 214,000 square kilometres (83,000 sq mi) in area, measuring about 670 kilometres (420 mi) longitudinally and 390 kilometres (240 mi) latitudinal. The sea's maximum depth is 2,639 metres (8,658 ft), located at
14592-573: The sea's eastern coast. Greece had entered the Hellenistic period . The Macedonian Wars were a series of conflicts fought by the Roman Republic and its Greek allies in the eastern Mediterranean against several different major Greek kingdoms. They resulted in Roman control or influence over the eastern Mediterranean basin, including the Aegean, in addition to their hegemony in the western Mediterranean after
14720-493: The sea, to the north. The Aegean Islands, which almost all belong to Greece , can be divided into seven groups: Many of the Aegean islands or island chains, are geographical extensions of the mountains on the mainland. One chain extends across the sea to Chios, another extends across Euboea to Samos, and a third extends across the Peloponnese and Crete to Rhodes, dividing the Aegean from the Mediterranean. The bays and gulfs of
14848-491: The straits of the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus , respectively. The Aegean Islands are located within the sea and some bound it on its southern periphery, including Crete and Rhodes . The sea reaches a maximum depth of 3,544 m (11,627 ft) to the east of Crete . The Thracian Sea and the Sea of Crete are main subdivisions of the Aegean Sea. The Aegean Islands can be divided into several island groups, including
14976-477: The surrounding rural areas and smaller towns under their control, and Athens and Corinth had become major maritime and mercantile powers as well. In the 8th and 7th centuries BC many Greeks migrated to form colonies in Magna Graecia ( Southern Italy and Sicily ), Asia Minor and further afield. The Aegean Sea was the setting for one of the most pivotal naval engagements in history, when, on 20 September 480 B.C.,
15104-591: The unification of the Greek mainland and the control of the Aegean Sea under his rule, but also the destruction of the Achaemenid Empire . After Alexander the Great's death, his empire was divided among his generals. Cassander became king of the Hellenistic kingdom of Macedon, which held territory along the western coast of the Aegean, roughly corresponding to modern-day Greece. The Kingdom of Lysimachus had control over
15232-409: The west coast of Turkey, before being displaced by less dense Black Sea outflow. The dense Mediterranean water sinks below the Black Sea inflow to a depth of 23–30 metres (75–98 ft), then flows through the Dardanelles Strait and into the Sea of Marmara at velocities of 5–15 cm/s (2–6 in/s). The Black Sea outflow moves westward along the northern Aegean Sea, then flows southwards along
15360-626: Was a language indigenous to Anatolia, with no known modern-day connections. Hurrian language was used in northern Syria . Hittite, Palaic, and Luwian languages were "the oldest written Indo-European languages ", forming the Anatolian sub-group . Hattian rulers were gradually replaced by Hittite rulers. The Hittite kingdom was a large kingdom in Central Anatolia, with its capital of Hattusa . It co-existed in Anatolia with Palaians and Luwians , approximately between 1700 and 1200 BC. As
15488-474: Was a second significant wave of Turkic migration, as people fled Mongol expansion. Seljuk sultanate was defeated by the Mongols at the Battle of Köse Dağ in 1243 and disappeared by the beginning of the 14th century. It was replaced by various Turkish principalities. Based around Söğüt , Ottoman Beylik was founded by Osman I in the early 14th century. According to Ottoman chroniclers, Osman descended from
15616-670: Was called the "State of the Turks" ( Dawlat at-Turk , or Dawlat al-Atrāk , or Dawlat-at-Turkiyya ). Turkestan, also meaning the "land of the Turks", was used for a historic region in Central Asia . Middle English usage of Turkye or Turkeye is found in The Book of the Duchess (written in 1369–1372) to refer to Anatolia or the Ottoman Empire . The modern spelling Turkey dates back to at least 1719. The bird called turkey
15744-429: Was closer to Greek than Anatolian languages. Phrygians shared Anatolia with Neo-Hittites and Urartu . Luwian-speakers were probably the majority in various Anatolian Neo-Hittite states. Urartians spoke a non-Indo-European language and their capital was around Lake Van . Urartu and Phrygia fell in seventh century BC. They were replaced by Carians , Lycians and Lydians . These three cultures "can be considered
15872-609: Was criticized by Iraq for violating its sovereignty and killing civilians. Diplomatic relations with Israel were damaged after the Gaza flotilla raid , normalized in 2016, and cut again following the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip . In 2024, Turkey stopped trading with Israel. Turkish Armed Forces is responsible for defense against foreign threats. While the Commander-in-Chief is
16000-525: Was first inhabited by modern humans during the Late Paleolithic . Home to important Neolithic sites like Göbekli Tepe and some of the earliest farming areas , present-day Turkey was inhabited by various ancient peoples . The Hattians were assimilated by the Anatolian peoples , such as the Hittites . Classical Anatolia transitioned into cultural Hellenization following the conquests of Alexander
16128-412: Was named as such due to trade of guineafowl from Turkey to England. The name Turkey has been used in international treaties referring to the Ottoman Empire. With the Treaty of Alexandropol , the name Türkiye entered international documents for the first time. In the treaty signed with Afghanistan in 1921, the expression Devlet-i Âliyye-i Türkiyye ("Sublime Turkish State") was used, likened to
16256-469: Was proclaimed on 29 October 1923, modelled on the reforms initiated by the country's first president, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk . Turkey remained neutral during most of World War II , but was involved in the Korean War . Several military interventions interfered with the transition to a multi-party system. Turkey is an upper-middle-income and emerging country ; its economy is the world's 17th-largest by nominal and 12th-largest by PPP-adjusted GDP . It
16384-655: Was to establish a Greek puppet state , which would permit the Italian annexation of the Sporades and Cyclades islands in the Aegean Sea, to be administered as a part of the Italian Aegean Islands . The German invasion resulted in the Axis occupation of Greece . The German troops evacuated Athens on 12 October 1944, and by the end of the month, they had withdrawn from mainland Greece. Greece was then liberated by Allied troops. Many of
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