Western Asia · TUR

Türkiye

The story · 13 chapters

How it was drawn

Anatolia was Hittite, Persian, Greek, Roman and Byzantine before the Turks arrived. Their Ottoman empire reached three continents, and the republic kept the land they would not give up.

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Through the ages

Rivals in history

The kingdoms, empires and states Türkiye fought or stood against, from the first to today.

Egypt1300 BC to 1259 BC
The Hittites and New Kingdom Egypt fight for Syria. Muwatalli II meets Ramesses II at Kadesh in 1274 BC, and around 1259 BC Hattusili III signs a peace treaty with Ramesses, later sealed by a royal marriage.
Neo-Assyrian Empire850 BC to 714 BC
Urartu, around Lake Van, is Assyria's great northern rival. Assyrian kings raid it repeatedly, and in 714 BC Sargon II's campaign sacks the Urartian holy city of Musasir and devastates the kingdom.
Achaemenid Persia547 BC to 334 BC
Cyrus defeats Croesus of Lydia and takes Sardis around 547 BC. Persia rules Anatolia for two centuries, crushing the Ionian revolt in 494 BC, until Alexander crosses the Hellespont in 334 BC and wins at the Granicus.
Roman Republic89 BC to 63 BC
Mithridates VI of Pontus, on the Black Sea coast, drives the Romans from Asia Minor in 88 BC and has Roman and Italian residents massacred. Three wars follow, Pompey finally defeats him, and Mithridates dies in 63 BC.
Sasanian Empire230 to 628
Persia's Sasanian kings fight Rome and Byzantium over eastern Anatolia and Armenia for four centuries. In the last war their armies reach the Bosphorus and help besiege Constantinople in 626, but Heraclius defeats them and Persia makes peace in 628.
Arab caliphates674 to 863
Arab armies besiege Constantinople in the 670s and in 717 to 718, and raid Anatolia almost every year. The Byzantine victory at Lalakaon in 863 marks the turning of the tide.
Mongol Empire1243 to 1335
The Mongols crush the Seljuk sultanate of Rum at Köse Dağ in 1243 and rule Anatolia through puppets and governors. When the Ilkhanate breaks up in 1335, the Turkish beyliks, including the Ottomans, are free.
Byzantine Empire1302 to 1453
Osman's warriors beat a Byzantine force at Bapheus in 1302. The Ottomans take Bursa in 1326 and cross into Europe in the 1350s, and Mehmed II takes Constantinople on 29 May 1453, ending the empire.
Timurid Empire1400 to 1402
Timur sacks Sivas in 1400 and crushes Sultan Bayezid I at Ankara in 1402, taking him prisoner. The Ottoman state nearly falls apart in a civil war among his sons before reuniting in 1413.
Safavid Persia1514 to 1639
Sunni Ottomans and Shia Safavids fight over eastern Anatolia, the Caucasus and Iraq. Selim I wins at Chaldiran in 1514, and after more than a century of wars the Treaty of Zuhab in 1639 fixes a frontier close to today's eastern border.
Habsburg Monarchy1526 to 1699
Suleiman crushes Hungary at Mohács in 1526 and besieges Vienna in 1529. The struggle with the Habsburgs lasts 170 years, until the defeat at Vienna in 1683 and the Treaty of Karlowitz in 1699 cost the Ottomans Hungary.
Russian Empire1568 to 1918
Russia and the Ottomans fight about a dozen wars over the Black Sea, Crimea, the Caucasus and the Balkans. The 1774 Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca, the Crimean War and the war of 1877 to 1878 mark a long rivalry that ends only with both empires' collapse.
Greece1821 to 1923
Greeks revolt in 1821 and win independence by 1830. Greece then expands at Ottoman expense, above all in the Balkan Wars of 1912 to 1913. Its invasion of Anatolia in 1919 ends in defeat in 1922, followed by a population exchange in 1923.
Cyprus and GreeceSince 1974Still open
After a coup in Cyprus backed by the Greek junta, Türkiye sends troops in 1974 and still holds the north of the island, which declared itself a separate republic in 1983. Disputes with Greece over Aegean waters and airspace also remain open.

Today

Türkiye now

" One-party rule ended in 1950, and periods of instability and military coups have since fractured the multiparty democracy, in 1960, 1971, 1980, 1997, and 2016. Turkey joined the UN in 1945 and NATO in 1952. In 1963, Turkey became an associate member of the European Community; it began accession talks with the EU in 2005.

Capital: Ankara
Government: presidential republic
Head of government: Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
Languages: Turkish
Area: 785,350 km²

Through time

Then and now

Population87.3 million2023 · 21.0 million in 1950
Life expectancy77.2 years2023 · 47.3 years in 1950
GDP per person$27,3612022 · $2,079 in 1950
Living in cities89%2025 · 16% in 1950
Literacy97%2021 · 33% in 1950
Political regimeElectoral autocracy2025 · Electoral autocracy in 1950
Military alliancesNATO2024 · None of these in 1950
Military spending1.9% of GDP2025
War deathsNone2025

Population: HYDE 3.3, Gapminder and UN WPP. GDP per capita: Maddison Project Database 2023. Urban share: UN WPP. Life expectancy: Riley, HMD, UN WPP. Literacy: OWID historical estimates, World Bank, UNESCO. Military spending: SIPRI. War deaths: UCDP. Political regime: V-Dem, Regimes of the World. All via Our World in Data (CC BY 4.0). Alliances and organization memberships: compiled by Atlas. Satellites in orbit: CelesTrak SATCAT. Modern borders, backcast.

Relations

Close partners and tensions

Close partners

United States
France

Tensions

Russian Federation

Summarised from World Bank and Wikipedia data, updated 24 October 2026.

Rivals in history

The kingdoms, empires and states Türkiye fought or stood against, from the first to today.

Egypt1300 BC to 1259 BC

The Hittites and New Kingdom Egypt fight for Syria. Muwatalli II meets Ramesses II at Kadesh in 1274 BC, and around 1259 BC Hattusili III signs a peace treaty with Ramesses, later sealed by a royal marriage.

Neo-Assyrian Empire850 BC to 714 BC

Urartu, around Lake Van, is Assyria's great northern rival. Assyrian kings raid it repeatedly, and in 714 BC Sargon II's campaign sacks the Urartian holy city of Musasir and devastates the kingdom.

Achaemenid Persia547 BC to 334 BC

Cyrus defeats Croesus of Lydia and takes Sardis around 547 BC. Persia rules Anatolia for two centuries, crushing the Ionian revolt in 494 BC, until Alexander crosses the Hellespont in 334 BC and wins at the Granicus.

Roman Republic89 BC to 63 BC

Mithridates VI of Pontus, on the Black Sea coast, drives the Romans from Asia Minor in 88 BC and has Roman and Italian residents massacred. Three wars follow, Pompey finally defeats him, and Mithridates dies in 63 BC.

Sasanian Empire230 to 628

Persia's Sasanian kings fight Rome and Byzantium over eastern Anatolia and Armenia for four centuries. In the last war their armies reach the Bosphorus and help besiege Constantinople in 626, but Heraclius defeats them and Persia makes peace in 628.

Arab caliphates674 to 863

Arab armies besiege Constantinople in the 670s and in 717 to 718, and raid Anatolia almost every year. The Byzantine victory at Lalakaon in 863 marks the turning of the tide.

Mongol Empire1243 to 1335

The Mongols crush the Seljuk sultanate of Rum at Köse Dağ in 1243 and rule Anatolia through puppets and governors. When the Ilkhanate breaks up in 1335, the Turkish beyliks, including the Ottomans, are free.

Byzantine Empire1302 to 1453

Osman's warriors beat a Byzantine force at Bapheus in 1302. The Ottomans take Bursa in 1326 and cross into Europe in the 1350s, and Mehmed II takes Constantinople on 29 May 1453, ending the empire.

Timurid Empire1400 to 1402

Timur sacks Sivas in 1400 and crushes Sultan Bayezid I at Ankara in 1402, taking him prisoner. The Ottoman state nearly falls apart in a civil war among his sons before reuniting in 1413.

Safavid Persia1514 to 1639

Sunni Ottomans and Shia Safavids fight over eastern Anatolia, the Caucasus and Iraq. Selim I wins at Chaldiran in 1514, and after more than a century of wars the Treaty of Zuhab in 1639 fixes a frontier close to today's eastern border.

Habsburg Monarchy1526 to 1699

Suleiman crushes Hungary at Mohács in 1526 and besieges Vienna in 1529. The struggle with the Habsburgs lasts 170 years, until the defeat at Vienna in 1683 and the Treaty of Karlowitz in 1699 cost the Ottomans Hungary.

Russian Empire1568 to 1918

Russia and the Ottomans fight about a dozen wars over the Black Sea, Crimea, the Caucasus and the Balkans. The 1774 Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca, the Crimean War and the war of 1877 to 1878 mark a long rivalry that ends only with both empires' collapse.

Greece1821 to 1923

Greeks revolt in 1821 and win independence by 1830. Greece then expands at Ottoman expense, above all in the Balkan Wars of 1912 to 1913. Its invasion of Anatolia in 1919 ends in defeat in 1922, followed by a population exchange in 1923.

Cyprus and GreeceSince 1974Still open

After a coup in Cyprus backed by the Greek junta, Türkiye sends troops in 1974 and still holds the north of the island, which declared itself a separate republic in 1983. Disputes with Greece over Aegean waters and airspace also remain open.

Türkiye now

Capital

Ankara

Government

presidential republic

Head of government

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan

Languages

Turkish

Area

785,350 km²

Then and now

Population87.3 million2023 · 21.0 million in 1950

Life expectancy77.2 years2023 · 47.3 years in 1950

GDP per person$27,3612022 · $2,079 in 1950

Living in cities89%2025 · 16% in 1950

Literacy97%2021 · 33% in 1950

Political regimeElectoral autocracy2025 · Electoral autocracy in 1950

Military alliancesNATO2024 · None of these in 1950

Military spending1.9% of GDP2025

War deathsNone2025