Anatolia (Turkey) was a central part of the Roman Empire
Emperor Constantine founded Constantinople in 330

Byzantine Empire was also known as The Eastern Roman Empire
Justinian I expanded the empire from 527 – 565
Conflicts with the Persians
Conflicts with the Umayyad and Abbasid Muslim Caliphates
The Selijuk Turks invaded and the Battle of Manzikert (1071) marked the beginning of Turkish control over the region

The Seljuk Turks spread Islam over the region
The Mongols invaded in the 13th century, weakening the Seljuks
Local Turkish warlords (Beys) began to fill the power vacuum

Osman I the leader of a small Turkish clan founded the Ottoman Empire
The Ottomans increased their rule as the Byzantines fell
Constantinople was captured in 1453 marking the end of the Byzantine Empire
The Ottomans expanded into south east Europe, the Middle East and North Africa
The empire fought the Habsburgs, Safavids and Mamluks
The empire began to decline due to military defeats as other European powers rose (17th – 19th centuries)
As the Empire’s strength declined it lost territories in Europe and the Middle East
The Crimean war (1853 – 1856) and the Russo-Turkish War (1877 – 1878) weakened the empire further
The Ottoman Empire was allied with Germany during WWI and after its defeat was split into many territories
The Armenian Genocide (1915) meant hundreds of thousands of Armenians were killed by the Ottomans
Nationalists fought against the Allied forces and the Ottomans to establish the republic of Turkey in the Turkish War of Independence (1919 – 1923)

Turkey remained neutral during WWII, but joined the West during the Cold War
It has experienced military Coups and political instability since gaining independence