Timeline of Turkish history

This is a timeline of Turkish history, comprising important legal and territorial changes and political events in Turkey and its predecessor states. To read about the background to these events, see History of Turkey. See also the Sultanate of Rum, Ottoman Empire and Republic of Turkey.

This is an incomplete list that may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by expanding it with reliably sourced entries.

11th century

Year Date Event
1071 Alp Arslan of the Great Seljuq Empire defeats Romanos IV Diogenes of the Byzantine Empire at Malazgirt, near Muş, Historical Armenia Eastern Anatolia.
1077 Suleyman I of Rum is appointed as a governor in Seljuq possessions in Anatolia. But he acts independently and founds a state. Capital İznik (Nicea), Bursa Province, Northwest Anatolia.
1081 Tzachas, an independent Turkish sea captain, founds a principality in Izmir, giving the Seljuks access to Aegean Sea.
1084 Conquest of Antakya (Antioch), South Anatolia.
1086 Süleyman I of Rum tries to add Syria to his realm. But he commits suicide after being defeated by his cousin Tutush I in the battle of Aynu Seylem, Syria.
1092 Kılıç Arslan I (1092–1207)
1096 Kılıç Arslan I defeats Walter Sans Avoir and Peter the Hermit of People's Crusade at the battles of Xerigordon and Civetot both in Northwest Anatolia.
1097 Bohemond of Taranto, Godfrey of Bouillon and Adhemar of Le Puy of First Crusade defeat Kılıç Arslan I in the battle of Dorylaeum (near modern Eskişehir, Central Anatolia). The capital İznik is lost to Crusades. A few years later Konya, becomes the new capital.
1100 Danishmend Gazi, an independent bey, defeats Bohemond I of Antioch in the battle of Melitene (Malatya)

12th century

Year Date Event
1101 Kılıç Arslan I defeats Stephen of Blois and Hugh of Vermandois of the second wave of First Crusades at the Battle of Mersivan (near modern Merzifon, Amasya Province, Central Anatolia.)
1107 Kılıç Arslan conquers Musul, Iraq, but is defeated in the battle.
1110 Şahinşah (1107–1116) (also called Melikşah, not to be confused with the sultan of Great Seljuk Empire with the same name) Continuous struggle with the Crusades weakens the state.
1116 Mesut I (1116–1156) During the early years of his reign he has to accept the dominance of Danishmends a rival Turkish state in Anatolia.
1142 Mehmed of Danishmends dies and the Sultanate of Rum become the leading power of Anatolia for the second time.
1147 Mesut I defeats Holy Roman Emperor Conrad III of Second Crusade in the Second battle of Dorylaeum (near modern Eskişehir)
Mesud I defeats French king Louis VII of Second Crusade at Laodicea (near modern Denizli, West Anatolia).
1156 Kılıç Arslan II (1156–1192)
1176 Kılıç Arslan defeats Manuel I Komnenos of Byzantine Empire in the battle of Myriokephalon (probably near Çivril, Denizli Province, West Anatolia).
1178 Kılıç Arslan II annexes Danishmend realm. (Sivas, and the surrounding territory, Central Anatolia.)
1186 Kılıç Arslan II partitions the country into 11 provinces, each governed by one of his sons
1190 Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa of Third Crusade crosses West Anatolia. While main Turkish army avoids conflict, several irregular troops try to fight, but are repelled. Temporary German occupation of capital Konya.
1190 Frederick Barbarossa of Third Crusade dies near Silifke, Mersin Province in South Anatolia.
1192 Keyhüsrev I (1192–1196)
1194 After the collapse of Great Seljuk Empire, the Sultanate of Rum become the sole surviving branch of Seljuks.
1196 Suleyman II of Rum (1196–1204)

13th century

Year Date Event
1202 Süleyman II of Rum annexes Saltukid realm (Erzurum, and the surrounding territory, Eastern Anatolia.)
Georgian army defeats Süleyman II at the Battle of Micingerd
1204 Kılıç Arslan III (1204–1205)
1205 Keyhüsrev I (1205–1211) (second time)
1207 Conquest of Antalya, access to Mediterranean Sea
1211 Keykavus I (1211–1220)
1214 Conquest of Sinop, Black Sea coast
1220 Alaaddin Kayqubad I (1220–1237)
1221 Conquest of Alanya, Antalya Province, Mediterranean coast
1223 Construction of an arsenal in Alanya, a sign of Alaaddin Keykubat's interest in maritime trade
1224 Alladdin Keykubat annexes a part of Artuqid realm (Harput and surrounding territory, .)
1227 Sudak in Crimea is annexed. This is the most notable overseas campaign of Seljuqs.
1228 Mongol conquests in Iran result in a flux of refuges to Anatolia, one of the refuges is Mevlana
Alaaddin Keykubat I annexes Mengucek realm (Erzincan and the surrounding territory), Eastern Anatolia .
1230 Alaaddin Keykubat defeats Celaleddin Harzemşah of Harzemşah Empire in the Battle of Yassıçemen, near Erzincan
1237 Keyhüsrev II (1237–1246)
1238 Sadettin Köpek the vizier of the inexperienced sultan who has executed some members of Seljuk house and becomes the de facto ruler of the sultanate is killed.
1239 Revolt of Baba Ishak. A revolt of Turkmen (Oguz) and Harzem refuges who have recently arrived in Anatolia. The revolt is suppressed. But the sultanate loses power.
1240 Conquest of Diyarbakır in Southeast Anatolia.
1243 Bayju of Mongols defeats Keyhüsrev II in the battle of Kösedağ, Eastern Anatolia. From now on, the sultanate is a vassal of Ilkhanids.
1246 Keykavus II (1246–1262) Governs together with his two brothers. But the real ruler is vizier Pervâne who has married to late sultan's widow Gürcü Hatun.
1256 Mongols defeat Seljuk Turks at the Battle of Sultanhan, Aksaray Province, Central Anatolia.
1258 Mongols partition the country. Double sultanate
1262 Kılıç Arslan IV 1260–1266
1266 Keyhüsrev III 1266–1284
1277 Karamanoğlu Mehmet Bey, a semi independent bey, allies himself with the Mameluk sultan Baybars who invades a part of Anatolia.
Karamanoğlu Mehmed Bey conquers Konya and enthrones his puppet Jimri. But Ilkhanids intervene and reestablish Keyhüsrev's reign. (During his short stay in Konya Mehmed Bey declares Turkish as the official language in his realm).
1284 Mesut II 1284–1297
1289 Seljuk-Ilkhanid coalition defeats the tribes of Germiyanids
1297 Alaaddin Kekubat III 1297–1302
1299 Osman I, founder of the Ottoman Empire, begin the Ottoman history. (According to Halil İnalcık, expert on Ottoman history, Ottoman Empire was founded in 1302 not 1299.)[1]

14th century

Year Date Event
1302 Mesut II 1302–1307 (last sultan of Rum)
1389 15 June Battle of Kosovo. Most of Serbia is conquered.
1396 25 September Battle of Nicopolis. Bulgaria is conquered.

15th century

Year Date Event
1444 10 November Battle of Varna. Ottoman victory, end of Crusade of Varna.
1453 Mehmed II (the Conqueror) captures Constantinople, Christian emperor Constantine XI dies in the fighting, and the Byzantine Empire of the Romans yields once and for all to the Ottoman Empire as Mehmed II claims the title of Caesar of Rome.
1460 Mehmed II conquers Morea.
1461 Mehmed II conquers Trabzon thus ends Empire of Trebizond.
1462 Mehmed II begins to build his palace, Topkapi Palace (Topkapı Sarayi).
1463 Bosnia is conquered.
1473 Battle of Otlukbeli; Mehmed II defeats Uzun Hasan of Akkoyunlu Turkmens.
1475 Gedik Ahmet Pasha captures Caffa. Crimea becomes vassal of the Ottoman Empire.
1478 Albania is conquered.
1480 Gedik Ahmet Pasha captures Otranto, the southeast corner of Italy, as a base for further attacks on Italy (only to evacuate after the death of Mehmet II).
1481 3 May Mehmed II dies. Bayezid II ascended to the throne.
1482 Herzegovina is conquered.
1498 Montenegro is conquered.

16th century

Year Date Event
1514 Battle of Chaldiran; Selim I defeats Ismail I of Safavid Persia; Kurdistan under control of Ottoman Empire.
1516 Battle of Marj Dabiq; Selim I defeats Al-Ashraf Qansuh al-Ghawri of Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt. Syria and Palestine under Ottoman rule.
1517 Battle of Ridaniya; Selim I defeats Tuman bay II of Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt. Egypt under Ottoman rule; Selim I takes the title caliph.
1519 Algeria is conquered.
1520 The reign of Suleiman the Magnificent (Suleiman I) begins.
1521 Suleiman I captures Belgrade.
1522 Suleiman I captures Rhodes.
1526 Battle of Mohács. Suleiman I defeats Louis II of Hungary and Bohemia
1529 Siege of Vienna.
1533 Iraq under Turkish control.
1538 Sea Batte of Preveza. Turkish navy controls most of Mediterranean Sea.
1550 Sultanate of Women
1551 Libya is taken over.
1541 Suleiman I captures Budapest (known as Buda), which eventually leads to conquest of most of Hungary.
1547 Most of Hungary under Turkish control. Hungary is divided, by agreement between the Ottoman sultan Suleiman I and Ferdinand I of Austria.
1566 The reign of Suleiman the Magnificent (Suleiman I) ends.
1569 The great fire of Istanbul broke out.
1570 Conquest of Cyprus by Piyale Pasha
1571 The Spanish and the Venetians defeat the Turks at the Battle of Lepanto.
1574 Tunisia is conquered.
1578 Tbilisi and most of Georgia conquered.
1590 Treaty of İstanbul between Ottoman Empire and Safavid Persia; Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia as well as west Iran under Ottoman rule.

17th century

Year Date Event
1610 Kuyucu Murat Pasha suppresses Jelali revolts. Turkmens suffer heavily.
1612 Treaty of Nasuh Pasha between Ottoman Empire and Safavid Persia. Ottoman Empire gives up some gains of Treaty of Istanbul of 1590.
1615 Treaty of Serav ratifies Treaty of Nasuh Pasha
1683 11 September Battle of Vienna. Ottoman defeat.
1686 Hungary evacuated.
1687 Mehmed IV dies.
1699 Ottomans cede Hungary to Austria in the Treaty of Karlowitz.

18th century

Year Date Event
1718 Treaty of Passarowitz signed.
Beginning of Tulip era (up to 1730)
1729 First printing press in Turkish by Ibrahim Muteferrika
1730 Revolt of Patrona Halil. End of Tulip era. Ahmet III is dethroned.
1739 Treaty of Belgrade signed.
1774 Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca signed.
1795 First newspaper in Ottoman Empire (Bulletin de Nouvelles.)

19th century

Year Date Event
1807 May Kabakçı Mustafa rebellion: Reformist sultan Selim III dethroned.
1808 21 July Alemdar Mustafa Pasha suppresses the rebellion. But Selim III is dead and Mahmut II becomes the new sultan.
1813 23 April Second Serbian Uprising: The Serbs revolt.
1821 Greek War of Independence: The Greek War of Independence begins.
1826 15 June Auspicious Incident. Massacre of the Janessary corps by Sultan Mahmud II: Foundation of a modern western style army.
1830 Algeria is gradually ceded to French rule.
1832 21 July Greek War of Independence: Greek sovereignty is formalized.
1831 Egyptian–Ottoman War. (to 1833)
1853 4 October Crimean War: The Crimean War with Russia began which, though won with British, French and Sardinian aid, would further demonstrate how backward the Ottoman military had become.
1860 21 October First newspaper in Turkish published by Agah Efendi.(Tercümen'ı Ahval).
1862 5 February A united Romanian autonomous state is established.
1876 23 December Opened the 1876–1877 Constantinople Conference.
1877 24 April Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878): Another war with Russia begins.
1878 3 March Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878): The Treaty of San Stefano recognizes Romanian and Serbian independence, as well as the establishment of an autonomous Bulgarian principality under nominal Ottoman protection. Austria-Hungary occupies Bosnia by default.
4 June Cyprus is occupied by Britain.
1881 Tunisia becomes a French colony.
1882 Egypt goes under British protection.
1885 6 September The province of Eastern Rumelia is transferred to Bulgarian jurisdiction.

20th century

Year Date Event
1908 3 July Second Constitutional Era (Young Turk revolution)
5 October Bulgaria obtains full independence.
7 October Austria-Hungary annexes Bosnia by mere declaration.
1912 The Ottomans are easily defeated by Italy in a short war, with the Italians gaining Libya and ending the 340-year Ottoman presence in North Africa.
28 November First Balkan War: Albania declares independence
1913 17 May First Balkan War: The Ottoman Empire is nearly wiped out from Europe, save for Istanbul and just enough land around to defend it.
1914 2 August The Empire enters into World War I on the side of the Central Powers. Cyprus is annexed outright by Britain.
1915 18 March The Gallipoli Campaign was considered one of the greatest victories of the Turks and was reflected on as a major failure by the Allies.
24 April The Ottoman Empire initiates Genocide of Christian Armenians forced deportation of Armenians.
1923 29 October The Republic of Turkey was proclaimed.
Mustafa Kemal (Atatürk) was unanimously elected the first President of the Republic of Turkey by secret vote.
30 October The first cabinet of the Republic of Turkey was formed by İsmet İnönü.
1924 A new policy was instituted that imams be appointed by the government.
3 March The Ottoman caliphate was abolished by the Turkish Grand National Assembly.
The Union of Education (Tevhid-i Tedrisat) Law was passed.
The Ministry of Religious Affairs and all religious schools were abolished.
6 March Second cabinet, again by İsmet İnönü
8 April Religious courts were abolished and replaced with civil courts.
20 April A new Turkish constitution was accepted.
26 August Türkiye Is Bankasi was established.
30 October The generals who were also in parliament were asked to choose either military profession or politics but not both. (This event is known as the crisies of generals.) Only Prime Minister Ismet Inönü retains his title as General and remains in politics as Prime Minister.
17 November The second political party in Turkey, the Progressive Republican Party, was formed.
22 November Third cabinet by Fethi Okyar.
1925 11 February The Sheikh Said rebellion started in the eastern provinces.
25 February A law separating religion from politics was accepted and passed in the TBMM.
4 March Fourth cabinet by İsmet İnönü
5 May An Armenian named Manok Manukyan was executed in Ankara for planning an assassination attempt on Mustafa Kemal.
3 June The Progressive Republican Party was closed and abolished for supposedly exploiting religion for political purposes. Republican Peoples Party of the governing elites remains as the only political organization in the country. According to "Takrir-i Sukun" law, all opposition newspapers are also banned and closed indefinitely and Turkish "Republic" becomes one of the first dictatorships in Europe.
29 June Sheikh Said and his 46 followers were sentenced to death in Diyarbakır.
27 August Mustafa Kemal (Atatürk) came to Kastamonu to initiate the Hat Revolution.
1 September The first Turkish Medical Congress was assembled.
4 September Turkish women entered a beauty contest for the first time.
1 October Atatürk opened the Bursa textile factory.
5 November Ankara Law School (then the Ankara University Faculty of Law) was opened.
25 November "Hat Law" was issued, abolishing religious dress.
26 December A law was passed which abolished the lunar calendar in favor of the international calendar.
1926 17 February A Turkish civil code based on the Swiss Civil Code was accepted. The code granted expanded civil rights to women and prohibited polygamy.
1 March A Turkish criminal code was established based on the Italian Criminal Code.
17 March A law was passed to nationalize the iron industry.
24 March A law was passed to nationalize the petroleum industry.
1927 7 March The extraordinary Independence Tribunals were abolished.
15 October Mustafa Kemal Atatürk started his "Nutuk" speech.
The second nationwide congress of the Republican People's Party took place.
20 October The "Nutuk" speech ended.
28 October The first population census counted the population at approximately thirteen and a half million.
27 November Fifth cabinet by İsmet İnönü
25 December The first female Turkish lawyer, Süreyya Ağaoğlu, began her duty.
1928 10 April The article "The official religion of Turkey is Islam" was removed from the constitution.
19 May A law establishing an engineering school was accepted.
1 November A new Turkish alphabet based on the Latin alphabet was accepted.
1929 3 April A new municipal law enabled women to enter municipal elections both as voters and as candidates.
29 April The first female Turkish judges were appointed.
13 May A trade law was accepted by the TBMM.
1 September Arabic and Persian courses were abolished replaced by Turkish-only language courses.
1930 11 June A law was accepted which established the Turkish Republic Central Bank.
12 August The Free Republican Party, the third party in the republic, was established.
27 September Sixth cabinet by İsmet İnönü
27 October Greek prime minister Venizelos visited Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in Ankara.
17 November After the Free Republican Party's cooption by radical religious groups, its leader Fethi Okyar decided to close.
30 December Mustafa Fehmi Kubilay, a second lieutenant in the Turkish army, was killed in a reactionary uprising.
1931 16 March The first female Turkish surgeon, Dr. Suat, received her specialty.
26 March The Measurements Law was accepted, abolishing the former Arabic length and weight measurement units and replacing them with the metric system (kilogram instead of okka, meter instead of endaze, etc.)
20 April Mustafa Kemal Atatürk historically declared the slogan "Peace at home, peace in the world!"
4 May Seventh cabinet by İsmet İnönü
25 July A new press law was accepted.
1932 18 July Turkey became a member of the League of Nations.
31 July Turkish woman Keriman Halis Ece was declared the World Beauty Queen at a contest in Belgium.
13 November Dr. Müfide Kazim became the first female Turkish government physician.
12 December Adile Ayda became the first female Turkish civil servant in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
1933 7 February The first Turkish-language mosque prayers began in Istanbul.
31 May The 480-year-old Darülfünun was abolished, to be converted into Istanbul University.
June Sümerbank and Halkbank were established.
26 October Turkish women were granted the right to vote and be elected to Village Councils.
18 November Istanbul University was opened.
1 December The first five-year development plan was accepted.
1934 21 June The Surname Law was accepted, abolishing the former titles of Bey, Effendi, Pasha, Sultan, and Hanım as of 26 November.
24 November Mustafa Kemal Pasha took the surname Atatürk.
The Hagia Sofia mosque was converted to the Ayasofya (Hagia Sofia) Museum.
5 December Turkish women were granted the right to vote and be elected in Turkish parliamentary elections. (Afterwards, in the first elections, 18 women were elected to the Turkish Grand National Assembly).
1935 1 March Eight cabinet by İsmet İnönü.
1936 29 May A law determining the size and ratios of the star and crescent in the Turkish flag was accepted.
8 June A labor law was accepted which represented the first step towards the Turkish Social Security System.
1937 27 January Hatay's independence was accepted by the League of Nations in its Geneva meeting.
9 June A law establishing a medical faculty in Ankara was accepted.
20 September Atatürk opened the first art gallery in his residence, the Dolmabahce Palace.
9 October Atatürk opened the Nazilli Printed Cloth Fabric Factory.
25 October Ninth cabinet by Celâl Bayar, former minister of Economy
Dersim Rebellion in 1937–1938 : The revolt had quashed by government.
1938 10 November The founder Mustafa Kemal Atatürk died. He was succeeded by İsmet İnönü, former prime minister and general. He declares himself "National Chief" (Milli Şef), similar to the titles of some other dictators in Europe at the time.
1939 World War II: World War II began. Turkey was to remain neutral for most of the war, until a declaration of war against Germany at its end.
7 July The Province of Hatay joined Turkey.
1950 14 May First Democratic Elections in Turkish Republic. General İsmet İnönü and his Republican People's Party, which had ruled the country since 1923, loses election to newly formed Democratic Party of Celâl Bayar and Adnan Menderes.
25 June Korean War: The Korean War began. Turkey was a part of the joint UN operation.
Müfide İlhan mayor of Mersin. First ever woman mayor in Turkey.
1952 Turkey became a NATO member country strategically important in countering Soviet influence.
1953 27 July Korean War: The war ended.
1954 Turkey began to host the United States Air Force at the Incirlik Air Base as a deterrent to the Soviet Union.
1955 6 September Istanbul Pogrom: The Istanbul Pogrom started the process of driving many Greeks and Christians from Turkey.
7 September Istanbul Pogrom: The pogrom drew to a close.
1960 27 May 38 officers of Army form a junta and organize the 1960 Turkish coup d'état. They claim the Islamists had gained influence in the government. After this clash over the "separation of religion and state/government" between İnönü's Republican People's Party and his opponents, democratically elected President Celâl Bayar and Prime Minister Adnan Menderes of Democratic Party, Prime Minister Adnan Menderes was held responsible by a kangaroo court selected by the junta and was executed with two of his ministers.
1965 14 October Military rule bowed out to civilian rule, and former Milli Şef (National Chief) İsmet İnönü again loses a democratic election, this time to the Justice Party of Mr. Süleyman Demirel.
1971 12 March Military officials forced an advisory committee on the government due to the increasing anarchical situation caused by the Right (fascist/capitalist) – Left (communist) clash and ineffective policies in maintaining order. Although the military were not in charge they had significant influence.
1974 Turkey invaded Cyprus in response to a Greek-backed coup on the island.
1980 12 September The 1980 coup d'état took place. Martial law was almost immediately established and a quarter of the military (about 475,000) were mobilised to settle the resistance to the coup.
1983 6 November After the establishment of a new 1982 Constitution, the military regime dissolved itself.
1991 After the ending of the 1991 Persian Gulf War, the Incirlik Air Base enforced the northern no-fly zones in Iraq.
1999 24 March Kosovo War: NATO interceded in the Balkans to end a civil war in the region. Turkey was part of the mission.
10 June Kosovo War: The war ended.

21st century

Year Date Event
2002 June Turkey assumed command of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan.
2003 February Turkey relinquished command of the ISAF.
2004 17 December The European Union (EU) agreed to begin negotiations on the eventual accession of Turkey.
2005 14 February Turkey assumed command of the ISAF in Afghanistan for a second time.
3 October The European Union (EU) started accession talks with Turkey. The talks did not start at the desired time due to disagreements.
2011 24 March Turkey gave NATO the green light and allowed Izmir to become the command center of the operation to oust Moammar Gadhafi's regime in Libya.[2][3]
2012
2013 17 December A corruption scandal to topple the ruling party failed.[4]
2014 Turkey starts designing and manufacturing its own national tank Altay, helicopter Atak and drone Anka for the first time.
30 March Local elections held with the ruling AK Party displaying an overwhelming victory, especially in the motherland of Anatolia.
28 August Then Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan chosen as the first freely elected president of the nation.
2015

See also

References

  1. ↑ Foundation of Ottoman State, Halil İnalcık http://www.inalcik.com/images/pdfs/39409006FOUNDATiONOFOTTOMANSTATE.pdf
  2. ↑ Turkey’s war in Libya
  3. ↑ "NATO to police Libya no-fly zone". Al Jazeera. 24 March 2011.
  4. ↑ Özgür Altuncu (23 December 2013). "Başbakan Erdoğan Pakistan'da havai fişeklerle karşılandı" [Prime Minister Erdogan was greeted in Pakistan with fireworks]. Hürriyet Daily News (in Turkish). Retrieved 7 November 2014.

Further reading

External links

"Turkey Profile: Timeline". BBC News.