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Anatolia

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Coordinates: 39°N 32°E / 39°N 32°E / 39; 32

Composite satellite image of Anatolia.

Anatolia (Turkish: Anadolu, Greek: Μικρά Ασία, mikrá asía 'Asia Minor') or Asia Minor is a geographic region of Western Asia, comprising most of the modern Republic of Turkey. The region is bounded by the Black Sea to the north, the Caucasus to the northeast, the Iranian plateau to the southeast, the Mediterranean Sea to the south and the Aegean Sea to the west. Anatolia is known as a cradle to many civilizations throughout human history. The Akkadian, Assyrian, Hittit, Roman, Seljuk and Ottoman Empires are the most important states established on Anatolia.

Geographically, three sides of the peninsula are bordered by Black Sea to the north, Aegean Sea to the west, and Mediterranean Sea to the south. The north east sides of Anatolia is more mountainous. Sea of Marmara form a connection between Black and Aegean seas through the Bosporus and Canakkale straits. The north side of Marmara is considered in Europe and the Bosporus connects Europe to Asia.

Contents

[edit] Name

For more details on this topic, see Names of Anatolia.

The name Anatolia comes from the Greek Aνατολή (anatolí) meaning the "East" or more literal 'sunrise'.[1] The precise reference of this term has varied over time, perhaps originally referring only to the Ionian colonies on the Asia Minor coast. In the later Roman (Byzantine) Empire, Anatolicon was a theme covering the central Anatolian plateau.[2]

[edit] Physical geography

Relief map of Turkey

The Anatolian peninsula is bounded by the Black Sea to the north, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean Sea (itself an arm of the Mediterranean) to the west and the bulk of the Asian mainland to the east.

Anatolia's terrain is structurally complex. A central massif composed of uplifted blocks and downfolded troughs, covered by recent deposits and giving the appearance of a plateau with rough terrain, is wedged between two folded mountain ranges that converge in the east. True lowland is confined to a few narrow coastal strips along the Black Sea and Mediterranean Sea coasts. Flat or gently sloping land is rare and largely confined to the deltas of the Kızıl River, the coastal plains of Çukurova and the valley floors of the Gediz River and the Büyük Menderes River as well as some interior high plains in Anatolia, mainly around Tuz Gölü (Salt Lake) and Konya Ovası (Konya Basin).

[edit] Black Sea region

A village in the mountains of Giresun province, northern Anatolia

The Black Sea region has a steep, rocky coast with rivers that cascade through the gorges of the coastal ranges. The North Anatolian mountains are an interrupted chain of folded highlands that generally parallel the Black Sea coast. A few larger rivers, those cutting back through the Pontic Mountains (Turkish: Kaçkar Dağları), have tributaries that flow in broad, elevated basins. Rivers flow from the mountains toward the Black Sea trough in lengthy valleys.

Access inland from the coast is limited to a few narrow valleys because mountain ridges form an almost unbroken wall separating the coast from the interior. They are between 1,525 to 1,800 meters (5,000 to 5,900 ft) in the west and 3,000 to 4,000 meters (10,000 to 13,000 ft) in the Kaçkar Mountains in the east high. The higher slopes facing southwest tend to be densely wet. Because of these natural conditions, the Black Sea coast historically has been isolated from Anatolia. The southern slopes—facing the Anatolian Plateau—are mostly unwooded, but the northern slopes contain dense growths of both deciduous and evergreen trees.

[edit] Eastern Anatolia

Aras river in the vicinity of Julfa-Iran, eastern Anatolia

Eastern Anatolia, where the Pontus and Taurus mountain ranges converge, is rugged country with higher elevations, a more severe climate and greater precipitation than are found on the Anatolian Plateau. The region is known as the Anti-Taurus with the average elevation of its peaks exceeding 3,000 m. Mount Ararat, at 5,137 meters (16,854 ft) the highest point in Turkey, is located in the Anti-Taurus. Lake Van is situated in the mountains at an elevation of 1,546 meters (5,072 ft). The headwaters of three major rivers arise in the Anti-Taurus: the east-flowing Aras River, which empties into the Caspian Sea; the south-flowing Euphrates and Tigris join in Iraq before emptying into the Persian Gulf. Several small streams that empty into the Black Sea or landlocked Lake Van also originate in these mountains.

Southeast Anatolia lies south of the Anti-Taurus Mountains. It is a region of rolling hills and a broad plateau surface that extends into Syria. Elevations decrease gradually, from about 800 meters (2,600 ft) in the north to about 500 meters (1,600 ft) in the south. Traditionally, wheat and barley were the main crops of the region, but the inauguration of major new irrigation projects in the 1980s has led to greater agricultural diversity and development.

[edit] Mediterranean region

Scene from southern Anatolia

The narrow coastal plains of the Mediterranean region, separated from the Anatolian plateau by the Taurus Mountains, reach elevations of 2,000 to 2,750 meters (6,600 to 9,000 ft). They are cultivated intensively. Fertile soils and a warm climate make the Mediterranean coast ideal for growing citrus fruits, grapes, figs, bananas, various vegetables, barley, wheat and, in irrigated areas, rice and cotton. The Çukurova in the east is a plain that is the most developed agricultural area of the Mediterranean region.

[edit] Anatolian plateau

Scene from Central Anatolia near Ankara

Stretching inland from the Aegean coastal plain, Central Anatolia occupies the area between the two zones of the folded mountains, extending east to the point where the two ranges converge. The plateau-like, semiarid highlands of Anatolia are considered the heartland of the country. The region varies in elevation from 600 to 1,200 meters (2,000 to 4,000 ft) from west to east. The two largest basins on the plateau are the Konya Ovası and the basin occupied by the large salt lake, Tuz Gölü. Both basins are characterized by inland drainage. Wooded areas are confined to the northwest and northeast of the plateau.

The Taurus Mountains close to the coast prevent Mediterranean influences from extending inland, giving the interior of Turkey a continental climate with distinct seasons. The Anatolian Plateau is much more subject to extremes than are the coastal areas. Winters on the plateau are especially severe. Temperatures of -30 °C to -40 °C (-22 °F to -40 °F) can occur in the mountainous areas in the east and snow may lie on the ground 120 days of the year. In the west, winter temperatures average below 1 °C (34 °F). Summers are hot and dry with temperatures above 30 °C (86 °F). Annual precipitation averages about 400 mm (15.7 inches), with actual amounts determined by elevation. The driest regions are the Konya Ovası and the Malatya Ovası, where annual rainfall frequently is less than 300 mm (11.8 inches). May is generally the driest month and July and August are the wettest.

[edit] Climate

Temperatures of Anatolia

Ankara (central Anatolia)

Antalya (southern Anatolia)

Van (eastern Anatolia)

Anatolia has a varied range of climates. This is partly due to the reason that Anatolia covers such a vast expanse of land. In fact, it goes all the way into southwestern Russia, where it is covered by temperate forests.

[edit] Ecoregions

Anatolia's diverse topography and climate has fostered a similar diversity of plant and animal communities.

The mountains and coastal plain of northern Anatolia, with its humid and mild climate, is home to temperate broadleaf, mixed and coniferous forests. The central and eastern plateau, with its drier continental climate, is home to deciduous forests and forest steppes. Western and southern Anatolia, which have a Mediterranean climate, are home to Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub ecoregions.

[edit] History

Main article: History of Anatolia

Eastern Anatolia contains the oldest monumental structures in the world. For example, the monumental structures at Göbekli Tepe were built by hunters and gatherers a thousand years before the development of agriculture. Eastern Anatolia is also a heart region for the Neolithic revolution, one of the earliest areas in which humans domesticated plants and animals. Neolithic sites such as Çatalhöyük, Çayönü, Nevali Cori and Hacilar represent the world's oldest known agricultural villages.

The earliest historical records of Anatolia are from the Akkadian Empire under Sargon in the 24th century BC. The region was famous for exporting various raw materials.[12] The Assyrian Empire claimed the resources, notably silver. One of the numerous Assyrian cuneiform records found in Anatolia at Kanesh uses an advanced system of trading computations and credit lines.[12]

Unlike the Akkadians and the Assyrians, whose Anatolian possessions were peripheral to their core lands in Mesopotamia, the Hittites were centered at Hattusa in north-central Anatolia. They were speakers of an Indo-European language known as the "language of Nesa". Originating from Nesa, they conquered Hattusa in the 18th century BC, imposing themselves over a Hurrian speaking population. During the Late Bronze Age they created an empire, the Hittite New Kingdom, which reached its height in the 14th century BC. The empire included a large part of Anatolia, north-western Syria and upper Mesopotamia. After 1180 BC, the empire disintegrated into several independent "Neo-Hittite" city-states, some surviving until as late as the 8th century BC.

Over several centuries numerous Ancient Greek city states were established in Anatolia, mainly on or close to the coast. In the 6th century BC most of Anatolia was conquered by the Achaemenid Empire. In the 4th century BC Alexander the Great conquered the peninsula. Two hundred years later western and central Anatolia came under Roman control, but it continued to be strongly influenced by Hellenistic culture. In the first century BC the Armenians established the Armenian kingdom under Tigran who reigned throughout much of the region situated between the Caspian, Black and Mediterranean seas. Asia Minor is known as the birthplace of coinage as a medium of exchange (some time in the 7th century BC), which flourished during the Greek and Roman eras.[13][14]

After the division of the Roman Empire much of western and central Anatolia remained under the control of the Christian Byzantine Empire. Byzantine control was challenged by the Arabs in the seventh century, marking the beginning of Anatolia's slow transition to a Muslim majority population. The Turkish language was introduced gradually with the conquest of Anatolia by Turkic peoples from the 11th century AD. By the 15th century almost the whole peninsula was controlled by the Ottoman Empire, which was challenged by various dynasties based in Persia in the eastern part of Anatolia. Anatolia remained multi-ethnic until the early 20th century (see Rise of Nationalism under the Ottoman Empire). During World War I, the Armenian, Greek (especially in Pontus) and the Assyrian forced migration almost eliminated the Armenian and Assyrian population as well as a large part of the ethnic Greek population in Anatolia. The entire Greek population was also eliminated in the post-WW1 period: some fled with the defeated royal Greek army (see Turkish War of Independence), but most were forced out during the 1922 population exchange between Greece and Turkey. As the Ottoman Empire fragmented during the Balkan Wars much of the non-Christian populations of its former possessions, mainly Balkan Muslims, flocked to Anatolia and were resettled in various locations, mostly in formerly Greek villages and cities in the western parts of Anatolia (or in Constantinople-Istanbul).[15]

Since the foundation of the Republic of Turkey in 1923, most of Anatolia has been part of Turkey, its inhabitants being mainly Turks (including Kurds among other minorities) (see demographics of Turkey and history of Turkey).

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon". http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3D%237638. 
  2. ^ "On the First Thema, Called Anatolikon. This theme is called Anatolikon, not because it is above and in the direction of the east where the sun rises, but because it lies East of Byzantium and Europe." Constantine VII Porphyogenitus, De Thematibus, ed. A. Pertusi. Vatican: Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, 1952, pp. 59–61.[clarification needed]
  3. ^ "Euxine-Colchic deciduous forests" WWF scientific report. Accessed May 25 2008. [1]
  4. ^ "Northern Anatolian conifer and deciduous forests" WWF scientific report. Accessed May 25 2008. [2]
  5. ^ "Central Anatolian deciduous forests" National Geographic ecoregion profile. Accessed May 25, 2008 [3]
  6. ^ "Central Anatolian steppe" WWF scientific Report. Accessed May 25 2008 [4]
  7. ^ "Eastern Anatolian deciduous forests" WWF scientific report. Accessed May 25 2008. [5]
  8. ^ "Anatolian conifer and deciduous mixed forests" WWF scientific report. Accessed May 25 2008 [6]
  9. ^ Aegean and Western Turkey sclerophyllous and mixed forests" WWF scientific report. Accessed May 25 2008 [7]
  10. ^ "Southern Anatolian montane conifer and deciduous forests" WWF scientific report. Accessed May 25 2008 [8]
  11. ^ "SEastern Mediterranean conifer-sclerophyllous-broadleaf forests" WWF scientific report. Accessed May 25, 2008
  12. ^ a b Freeman, Charles (1999). Egypt, Greece and Rome: Civilizations of the Ancient Mediterranean. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0198721943. 
  13. ^ Howgego, C. J. (1995). Ancient History from Coins. ISBN 0415089921. 
  14. ^ Asia Minor Coins - an index of Greek and Roman coins from Asia Minor (ancient Anatolia)
  15. ^ Justin McCarthy,"Death and Exile: The Ethnic Cleansing of Ottoman Muslims, 1821-1922",1996,ISBN 0878500944
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