Asia Minor is a territory of 506 thousand square kilometers, connecting the two parts of the world into a single continent called Eurasia. This peninsula is washed by four seas: the Aegean, Black, Marmara and Mediterranean. The second name of Asia Minor - Anatolia - takes its roots from the province of the Ottoman Empire, belonging to the Asian possessions of the peninsula. The European part of the empire at that time was concentrated in the province of Rumelia. Today, the peninsula of Asia Minor is represented by a part of Turkey from west to east from the Bosporus and Dardanelles to the borders of Syria, Iraq, Iran, Georgia, Armenia.

History of peoples

The first settlers in the territory of modern Turkey were the peoples of the Khats, who settled on the peninsula in the 15th century BC. e. Their language was similar to the Abkhaz-Adyghe. Northeast of the cape from the 15th to the 8th centuries BC. e. inhabited by the Casca tribes. The Hurrians lived in the southeast. From 1650 BC, the Hittites began to occupy the territory - the peoples of Asia Minor belonging to the Indo-European language group. From the middle of the same century, the advancement of peoples who spoke the Indo-European language continued: Phrygians and Achaean Greeks appeared in the west of the peninsula.

The Hittites became the first historical community of people who created a state. The capital of the Hittite kingdom was the city of Hattusa. Then came the Lydian, Trojan and Phrygian kingdoms.

Persian kings ruled, A. Macedonian. The peninsula was a province of the Roman Empire, after the split of which Byzantium was formed. In the 13th century, the peninsula became the center of the Ottoman Empire.

The Russian-Turkish wars marked the 16th and 17th centuries in the history of Anatolia. In 1914, the Young Turk rulers involved the state in the First World War on the side of Germany. Ten years later, the Republic of Turkey was proclaimed, with Ankara as its capital. Modern Asia Minor is represented on the map by most of Turkey.

In ancient sources, there is no mention of the existence of the power of the Hittites. In the Bible, there is information about the Hittites allegedly from the Eastern Mediterranean. Hieroglyphic inscriptions found on the territory of Northern Syria and Asia Minor, until a certain point, could not be identified and associated with known cultures. But in 1887, research advanced with the discovery of the Tell Amarna archive. According to the discovery, the Hittite king in correspondence with the Egyptian pharaoh has an equal status with him and the prefix "brother" to his name. This was a breakthrough and led to the assignment to the Hittite kingdom of the position of the great power of antiquity.

The history of Asia Minor is reflected in the works of modern researchers B. Grozny and A. Goetze. B. Terrible's discovery that the Hittite language belonged to the Indo-European group was very important. Prior to this, the known ancient Indo-European cultural values ​​- the Vedas, the poems of Homer - dated several centuries later than the Hittite texts of the second century BC. e.

States of Asia Minor: Phrygian Kingdom

The next historical regions of the peninsula of Anatolia after the fall of the country of the Hittites were the Phrygian and Lydian kingdoms. Their existence is confirmed by excavations of the capital of Gordion, Sardis and the discovery of temples, palaces, necropolises, and fortifications in their place.

Southwest Asia in the 2nd century BC. e. was inhabited by the Phrygians. The ancient people were engaged in agriculture, cattle breeding, grape growing, stone and wood processing, carpet production. The ancient Phrygian law imposed the highest penalty - death - for damage to agricultural implements and the killing of an ox.

Phrygia, being influenced by Persian, Hellenic, Macedonian and Roman cultures, retained its language and banknotes until the 6th century. Cities of Asia Minor in the Phrygian kingdom: Kelen, Perapolis, Colossae, Dorilei, Laodokia, Sinnada.

Lydia

Until the beginning of the 1st century BC. e. the state with a female name was part of the Phrygian kingdom, after the collapse of which Lydia stood out as an independent country. Southwest Asia became a springboard for the location of an ancient feudal power with access to the Aegean Sea. Such an advantageous position, connecting the Greek and ancient Eastern worlds, the Lydians owe to King Gyges from the Mermnad dynasty. Thanks to him, Phrygia, Troad, Caria and Mysia partly went to Lydia.

Active trade in fabrics, ceramics, paints (Sardian ocher), bricks was the impetus for the introduction of coins as a means of circulation and payment for goods. In the 7th century BC e. an alloy of gold and silver became the material for the manufacture of the first banknotes. Persian invasion in 547 BC e. defeated the Lydian army and put an end to the existence of the ancient state.

Kingdom of Asia Minor: Kari

In the second century BC. e. the territory of Caria was inhabited by the Hittites, who by that time had formed family ties with the Carians. Greek colonization, the Persian Empire contributed to the spread of Greek culture, cities and language in the historical region. The campaigns of A. Macedonian finally destroyed the Carian state.

The Mediterranean coast from the mouth of the river Maendrus to the Indus with the cities of Miletus, Cnidus, Kavn and Halicarnassus was the territory of such a country of Asia Minor as Caria. It bordered on Phrygia, Lydia and Lycia. From the 4th to the 11th century the state was part of Byzantium, from the 14th century it was already part of the Ottoman Empire. The ancient state in modern Turkey is concentrated in the administrative district of Muğla. It is known for its city of Halicarnassus, which became the guardian of one of the seven wonders of the world.

Sheep breeding and winemaking flourished in the ancient kingdom. Excavated coins depicting a bunch of grapes testify to the spread of the last branch.

Kingdom of Asia Minor: Lycia

Asia Minor in the south in ancient times served as a springboard for the development of Lycia. On the modern map of the world, the mentioned power is located in the provinces of Antalya and Mugla. The western neighbor of Lycia was Carius, the eastern neighbor was Pamphylia, and the northeastern neighbor was Pisidia. The cultural heritage of the ancient state was the city of Xanth (the capital) and the sanctuary of the goddess Leto. These historical sites are now included in the UNESCO list.

Like all the largest states on the peninsula of Asia Minor, Lycia in different periods of its existence was under the hegemony of the Persians, Greeks, Romans, and Turks. However, the primitive ethnography of the people has been preserved: writing, language, architecture. There are references to the people in Homer's Iliad.

• Istanbul, the former Constantinople, is located simultaneously on two continents.
• The first man-made church is located in Antioch, the modern name is Antakya.
• Writing appeared in Anatolia.
• The rivers Euphrates and Tigris, which flowed through the Gardens of Eden mentioned in the Bible, originate in Turkey.
• The Temple of Artemis and the House of the Virgin Mary are located in Ephesus.
• Mount Ararat, known according to biblical tradition as the stopping place of Noah's ark, is located in the east of Anatolia.
• Sirkeci Station in Istanbul is a harbor for trains connecting Europe with Asia and a historic station for the Orient Express train.
• The largest diamond in the world is kept in Topkapı Palace, the famous residence of the Ottoman sultans.
• In the southeastern part of Asia Minor, in the city of Harran, there is the world's first spiritual university.
• Apollo and Artemis have Asia Minor roots.

Peninsula Asia Minor and wonders of the world

In world culture, presumably by the ancient Greek engineer Philo of Byzantium, 7 creations of mankind were identified, called the wonders of the world:

• Pyramids of Egypt.
• Hanging Gardens of Babylon.
• Alexandrian lighthouse.
• Statue of Zeus.
• Mausoleum of Halicarnassus.
• The Colossus of Rhodes.
• Temple of Artemis.

Ancient Anatolia had two wonders of the world on its territory: the Temple of Artemis and the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus. The island of Rhodes, famous for its giant statue of the sun god and one of the seven wonders of the world - the Colossus of Rhodes, is also located off the coast of Asia Minor.

Temple of Artemis

Western Asia Minor on the map is known for its ancient city of Ephesus. He received fame thanks to the existing cult of the goddess of fertility and hunting Artemis. In the IV century BC. e. the inhabitants of the city erected a temple in her honor. The architectural structure impresses with its complex execution and includes 127 marble columns. It took 120 years to build a temple with an area of ​​6,000 square meters.

The temple was attacked about seven times, which led to the destruction of a unique structure. In 356 BC. e. building arson Herostratus, an ordinary resident of Ephesus, who decided in such a blasphemous way to perpetuate his name. The temple was subsequently rebuilt by the Ephesians. In the 2nd century A.D. e. the ancient building was plundered by the Goths, who captured the city. During the period of the Byzantine Empire, the marble facing of the temple was dismantled. After tens of millennia, in the 19th century, the ruins of a great building appeared before English archaeologists.

The legend of the construction of the temple

There is a belief that a facing material, marble, was found in Ephesus, which was later used in the construction of the shrine. The shepherd Pixodorus, while walking the rams, witnessed a stubborn clash between two animals that could not disperse on the same path. As a result, one of the rams, having decided to show its advantage over the opponent, fled and crashed into a rock instead of the intended victim. The broken piece of rock was marble. This discovery was the impetus for the construction of one of the wonders of the world. And the shepherd in the Gospel was glorified by the man who brought the good news.

Another legend is connected with the engineering solution for the transportation of columns. Work on the preparation of structural elements of the temple was carried out at a distance of 12 km from the main site. Therefore, huge columns had a problem with delivery. The architect Harsephron made a wise decision: it was necessary to make holes in the columns, insert fittings with wheels into them and transport the pillar-like elements of the future temple without any problems.

Mausoleum of Halicarnassus

In the IV century BC. e. Asia Minor was famous for Halicarnassus, a city in the state of Cariy, and present-day Turkey attracts tourists with Bodrum, a modern resort known in the past as the guardian of the mausoleum erected by King Mausolus.

The tough ruler Mausolus, who profited from ordinary people through taxes, decided to build a temple in honor of himself, where he would be honored. He could not see the completed object because of his death, so the mausoleum was completed by his wife, Artemisia.

In architectural design, the mausoleum combined three styles: Ionic, Carian and Doric. The building area turned out to be more than 5000 m 2. On the pedestal stood the tomb, surrounded by 36 columns, which served as a support for the roof in the form of a 24-step pyramid. The creation stood for 1800 years. In the 15th century, the crusaders destroyed the ancient mausoleum.

The Colossus of Rhodes

The well-known bronze statue was erected by the Rhodians in honor of the patron Helios, the god of the sun, who, according to legend, was the creator of the island located near the southwestern coast of Asia Minor.

The metal for the sculpture was obtained by melting down the shells and siege engines left after the unsuccessful conquest of the island by the commander Demetrius. Work on the Colossus began in 300 BC. e. and ended twelve years later. The statue stood for 50 years, after the earthquake the monument lay on the ground for a long time, surprising with its size: not everyone could grab the thumb on the Colossus's hand with both hands.

It turns out that Asia Minor is not only a treasury of historical facts and legends, but also a territory that has kept three of the seven recognized wonders of the world.

The peninsula of Asia Minor is located at the point of contact of the three parts of the Old World - Asia, Africa and Europe. This region, especially its central and eastern parts, called Anatolia, played an exceptional role in the history of the Ancient World. There is hardly any other geographical area on Earth that has seen so many tribes and peoples on its territory as Asia Minor.

Even at the beginning of the tenth millennium BC. e. the effects of the ice age were felt here. Then warming came, the country was covered with forests and meadows, abundant wild-growing barley and wheat. Such abundance contributed to the growth of the number of animals, including large and small cattle. Thus, nature itself favored the transition from gathering cereals and hunting to farming and cattle breeding.

The first farmers appeared in Asia Minor no later than the 8th millennium BC. e. In the 7th millennium BC. e. there were already large settled settlements, the largest of which was Chatal-Gyuyuk.

The region was especially famous for its mineral resources. There was a lot of gold, silver, iron, copper, lead. Obsidian, or volcanic glass, has long been in great demand, even in distant countries. During its processing, sharp cutting edges were obtained, which made it possible to make products with high working qualities.

From the 5th millennium BC e., with the advent of craft, the natural wealth of Anatolia began to attract the attention of the inhabitants of Mesopotamia, the Eastern Mediterranean and other countries .

1. Asia Minor inIV - IIIthousand BC e. Earlier than others, the ancient Caucasian tribes of the Hutts came here. They developed metallurgy in Asia Minor, including, for the first time in the world, the processing of meteoric iron. From the end of the IV millennium BC. e. Indo-European tribes began to settle in the region from the steppes north of the Black Sea and the Balkan Mountains, the most famous of which were the Hittites. Like all Indo-Europeans, the Hittites were horse breeders. The horse gave them a military advantage over non-Indo-European peoples. As a result, the Hittites quite quickly occupied a dominant position in Asia Minor. Already in the III millennium BC. e. they founded more than ten city-states, which were reported by Akkadian, and somewhat later Assyrian merchants.

Each city-state was headed by a king. He was the supreme commander, played a significant role in managing the economy, religious and legal spheres. During this period, their power was limited by the popular assembly and the council of the nobility. It is known that the ancient Hittites had their own set of laws based on customary law and principles borrowed from the Hattites.

2. Hittite kingdom. The combination of horse breeding with the manufacture of metal weapons opened up even greater opportunities for the Hittites. In the middle of the seventeenth century BC e. King Labarna created a vast state from the shores of the Black to the Mediterranean Seas with the capital in the city of Hattusas. One of his successors, Mursilis, made an outstanding military campaign. Having fought most of Asia Minor, around 1595 BC. e. he stormed and burned Babylon, and with rich booty returned to Hattusas.

The military and political successes of the Hittites had significant consequences. First, the number of slaves, recruited from both prisoners of war and captured civilians, grew. As a result, the Hittites had the highest proportion of slave labor in Western Asia. Secondly, the royal power has significantly increased. The kings no longer heeded either the advice of the nobility or the popular assembly.

At the very beginning of the fourteenth century. BC e. the Hittites annexed the Armenian Highlands and Northern Syria, invaded the Eastern Mediterranean. Here began their confrontation with the Egyptians, which lasted about 100 years and ended with the battle of the Syrian city of Kadesh. This battle, from which all known modern history of military art begins, apparently ended in a draw. According to its results, around 1296 BC. e. A peace treaty was signed, which became the first in the history of world diplomacy. According to its terms, the Hittites concluded with the Egyptians "peace and friendship for all time." This was followed by a friendly visit of the Hittite king to Egypt and the marriage of his sister to the pharaoh.

After the conclusion of peace with the Egyptians, the Achaeans became the most dangerous enemy of the Hittites. These were Indo-European Greeks, and their country, known from Homer's poems as Troy and Ilion, was called in Hittite "Ahkhiyava".

The end of the Hittite empire came suddenly. At the end of the XII century. BC e. from the Balkans and the islands of the Mediterranean and Aegean seas, hordes of the so-called “peoples of the sea” poured into Asia Minor and Asia Minor. After the destruction of the Hittite capital Hattusa by them, the last king fled to about. Cyprus. The powerful Hittite state ceased to exist.

As a result of the invasion of the “peoples of the sea”, the ethnic composition of the population of the region has changed significantly. The remnants of the Hittite population retreated to the southeast, to northern Syria and Transcaucasia. At the turn of II - I millennium BC. e., with the beginning of the Iron Age, the Indo-European tribes of the Phrygians who came from the Balkans became the new dominant people of Asia Minor.

3. Phrygian and Lydian kingdoms. By the X century. BC e. in the northwestern part of Asia Minor, the Phrygian kingdom was formed from the newly founded cities. Its capital was the largest of the cities - Gordion, founded, according to legend, by King Gordius. Phrygia of that time was known as the country of sciences and arts. In times of greatest power, the territory of the Phrygian kingdom united the entire western part of Asia Minor. In the 8th century BC e. Under King Midas, Phrygia was conquered by Sargon II of Assyria. Part of the population was taken prisoner, and a heavy tribute was imposed on the rest. Around 680 BC e. Gordion was destroyed as a result of the invasion of the Indo-European nomadic tribes of the Cimmerians and Scythians, and the Phrygian kingdom ceased to exist independently.

After the fall of the Phrygian kingdom, Lydia gradually came to the fore, the territory of which occupied the central part of the west of Asia Minor. There were fertile soils and many small rivers. The bowels of the country were rich in metals - gold, silver, iron, copper, zinc. Horse breeding, metallurgy, weaving, clothing manufacturing, and the production of high-quality mineral paints were especially developed. Lydia's location was exceptionally convenient for international trade.

Lydia is known as a monarchy, where the power of the kings was based mainly on the army, which was based on cavalry and chariots. The dominant position in society was occupied by large slave owners, wealthy landowners, the priesthood, as well as wealthy merchants. The bulk of the population were free small landowners, shepherds, and artisans. The social lower classes were represented by temple and privately owned slaves.

During the invasion of the region by the Cimmerians and Scythians, Lydia entered into allied relations with Egypt, Assyria and Babylon. The heyday of the Lydian kingdom falls on the 7th - beginning of the 6th century. BC e., when it included almost the entire western part of Asia Minor. In the 7th century BC e. The Lydians were the first in the world to mint coins from an alloy of gold and silver.

The end of the Lydian kingdom in the middle of the VI century. BC e. put the Indo-European tribes of the Persians who conquered it.

Phrygia and Lydia borrowed much from the ancient culture of Asia Minor and contributed to its transfer to ancient civilizations.

Asia Minor is a peninsula washed by four seas at once - Marmara, Mediterranean, Black, Aegean, as well as two famous straits - the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus, which separate Europe and Asia. It is quite far, in comparison with other parts of Asia, pushed towards the west, and off its coast are Rhodes, Cyprus and other islands.

In length, Asia Minor reaches a thousand kilometers, and in width - up to six hundred. Its territory is more than 500 thousand square meters of mainly mountainous relief, the main part of which is occupied by the Armenian and Asia Minor highlands, bordered from the north by the Pontic Mountains, and in the south by the Taurus.

Along its coasts, the peninsula of Asia Minor is covered with Mediterranean vegetation. Forests on it occupy only small areas, which, in addition to natural conditions, is also a consequence of their long-term extermination.

In the western regions of the peninsula of Asia Minor, there are many mountain ranges, leading perpendicular to which is why this part of the coastline is intricately dissected and forms deep and convenient bays. Here (on the western side) is the most important Turkish port - Izmir.

If you look at the map, then this peninsula on it will look like a rectangle.

In antiquity - until the 4th century BC. - it was called Anatolia.

In general, at different periods of its history, Asia Minor was partially or completely part of such states as the Hittite, Lydian, Great and Lesser Armenia, Cilicia, ancient Rome, the Power of Macedonian, Byzantium and others.

However, the most influential peoples inhabiting Asia Minor were the Hittites, and in the east - the Armenians, who lived here until the 1905 genocide.

An important role in the economic and, therefore, in the cultural development of Anatolia was played by the natural resources of this peninsula, the need for which gradually increased with the development of civilization. Huge deposits of metals, including copper, were hidden in the depths of ancient Anatolia. All these riches brought merchants from different countries, including the Middle East, to the peninsula.

In exchange for copper raw materials and other materials, foreign merchants imported to Anatolia magnificent woolen and linen Mesopotamian fabrics, as well as a huge amount of tin, so necessary for making bronze.

There were many famous ancient cities on the territory of Anatolia, but perhaps the most famous of them was the capital of a powerful state - Lydia - an ancient city in Asia Minor on the banks of the gold-bearing river Paktol, known as the place where the first silver and gold coins in the history of mankind began to be minted. . Sardis also became famous in history as the place where the adios and richest king Croesus reigned.

No less famous is another ancient city in Asia Minor - Ankara. It is first mentioned in chronicles in the 7th century BC. It is located at the junction of two major trade routes connecting Asia with Europe.

Asia Minor is also well known to the citizens of our country, and all thanks to the fact that it is on its territory that such popular resorts as Alanya, Antalya, Kemer, Belek, Side and so on are located, and in the south - picturesque Cyprus.

Asia Minor is a peninsula in the west of Asia (the territory of modern Turkey). It is washed by the Black, Marmara, Aegean and Mediterranean seas.

Hittite kingdom

The Hittite kingdom is a state in Asia Minor (region of Eastern Anatolia). Rival of Egypt in the struggle for dominance in Asia Minor. It arose at the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC. e.

1680-1650 Reign of King Labarna. Completion of the unification of the Hittite kingdom.

1620-1590 Reign of King Mursuli I. Increased centralization in the Hittite kingdom. Hittite conquest of Babylonia (1595 BC).

1380-1340 Reign of the great king Suppiluliuma I, a sophisticated diplomat, capable commander and far-sighted politician. He expelled the Egyptians from Syria (the battle of Kadet), turned the Hittite kingdom into a powerful military power, stretching from the Chorokh and Araks basins to southern Palestine and from the Black Sea coast to the borders of Assyria and Babylonia.

1340-1305 Reign of king Mursuli I. The apogee of the military power of the Hittite kingdom. The Hittites reached the shores of the Aegean Sea.

1190 BC e. Under pressure from a coalition of Mediterranean tribes (“peoples of the sea”), the Hittite kingdom collapsed and ceased to exist.

Troy. Lydia. Miletus. Pont. Pergamon

1900-1300 BC e. The highest flourishing of the city of Troy ("Trojan kingdom"). This period ended with a devastating earthquake.

Troy (Ilion) is an ancient city-state. It was located on the coast of the Aegean Sea (north-west of modern Turkey, at the entrance to the Dardanelles). Founded in the III millennium BC. e. It existed until the end of the Hellenistic era (I century BC). Troy was discovered in the 1870s during G. Schliemann's excavations of the Hisarlyk hill.

692-546 BC e. The period of existence of the independent state of Lydia in the west of modern Turkey between the rivers Germ (now Gediz) and Meander (now Big Menderes). The capital is the city of Sardis (on the river Germ). The royal dynasty of the Mermnads (Gyges, Aliattes, Croesus) approved the power of Lydia from the Aegean coast to the Galis River (Central Anatolia). The last king - Croesus, whose wealth was proverbial, was deposed by the troops of the Persian king Cyrus II, and Lydia became a region of Persia.

600 BC e. The pinnacle of economic and cultural development of the city of Miletus. Miletus - an ancient Greek policy on the coast of the Aegean Sea opposite the island of Samos (southwest of modern Turkey). Known since the 7th century. BC e. The inhabitants were engaged in trade and crafts. Burnt in 494 BC. e. after the failure of the uprising of the Greek cities of Asia Minor against Persian rule.

302-64 BC e. The period of existence of the state of Pontus (Pontic kingdom) on the southern coast of the Black Sea. Founded by Lysimachus, commander of Alexander the Great, after the collapse of the empire. The highest flowering - under King Mithridates VI Eupator (132-63 BC); conquered the entire coast of the Black Sea, finally conquered the Scythians. Mithridates fought three wars with Rome. The defeat of Pontus led to the inclusion of its territory into the Roman state. The period of existence of the independent city of Pergamon ("Pergamon Kingdom"). Pergamum is an ancient city-state in the northwest of Asia Minor (modern Bergama, Turkey). Founded in the 12th century. BC e. He owned a significant territory (to the coast of the Aegean Sea in the west and to the Ida mountain range south of Troy in the north). Trade and cultural center of the Hellenistic world. According to the will of King Attalus III, he passed to the Romans.

Asia Minor, Asia Minor on the map

Asia Minor(Greek Μικρά Ασία), Anatolia(Greek ἀνατολή; Tur. Anadolu) - a peninsula in western Asia, the middle part of the territory of modern Turkey. The length from west to east is more than 1000 km, the width is from 400 km to 600 km. The territory is approximately 506 thousand km².

The name "Anatolia" in Greek means sunrise (of the sun), east. Anatolia is often referred to as the Asian possessions of Turkey (in contrast to Rumelia, the European part of Turkey).

• 1 Geographical characteristic
• 2 Climate and rivers
  • 2.1 Climate
• 3 History
• 4 Links
• 5 Notes

Geographical characteristic

It is washed by the Black, Marmara, Aegean and Mediterranean seas and the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits, separating Asia from Europe. The peninsula is far, compared to all other parts of Asia, pushed to the west. The eastern border of Asia Minor as a physical-geographical zone is usually considered a line from the Mediterranean coast to the south of Iskenderun Bay, then between the 40th meridian and Lake Van, and in the north the border approximately coincides with the lower course of the Chorokha River. Off the coast of Asia Minor there are islands (Cyprus, Rhodes, etc.).

The peninsula is dominated by mountainous terrain. Most of it is occupied by the semi-desert Asia Minor Highlands, in the east - by the Armenian Highlands. The inner part of the Asia Minor Highlands is occupied by the Anatolian Plateau, which is bordered by the outlying Pontic Mountains (in the north) and Taurus (in the south). Along the coast - narrow lowlands with Mediterranean vegetation.

The Cenozoic folded structures of the region continue the structures of the Balkan Peninsula. The formation of the modern relief took place in the Neogene and the first half of the Tertiary period, when the region, together with the neighboring territories of Europe and the adjacent parts of the modern Mediterranean, was subjected to uplifts, subsidence and fragmentation. At this time, Asia Minor separated from the Balkan Peninsula, the Marmara and Aegean Seas, the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus were formed, and the coastal strip was dissected. The manifestation of volcanic processes is associated with fault lines (especially in the east of the Asia Minor Highlands). strong seismicity is observed in the western part of the region.

Regions of Turkey

The Pontic Mountains almost everywhere abruptly break off to the Black Sea coast, leaving only in some places small areas of coastal lowlands. The few bays that exist there shallowly cut into the land and are bordered by steep slopes of longitudinal mountain ranges. The largest bays of the northern coast are Sinop and Samsun.

The Taurus Ridge also forms a poorly dissected coast, but retreats from the coast in several places, leaving room for vast lowlands bordering the wide bays of Mersin and Iskenderon, which separate the Lycian and Cilician peninsulas on the southern coast.

Climate and rivers

Climatic conditions do not favor the development of a dense river network. A few rivers are shallow and have an uneven regime. Many rivers dry up due to the establishment of a strong anticyclone in summer. The largest rivers heading for the Black and Mediterranean Seas, as well as the rivers of the Tigris and Euphrates basins, flow from the eastern ranges of the region. The longest river - Kyzyl-Irmak - reaches 950 km and flows into the Black Sea, forming a swampy delta. Having no navigable value, rivers play an important role as sources of irrigation and water supply. Some have dams and reservoirs.

Lake basins are of tectonic and karst origin. Almost all of them are devoid of runoff and are highly saline. The largest lake, Tuz, is located in the middle part of the Anatolian plateau and is surrounded by a swampy lowland.

In many areas, composed of limestone from the surface, there is practically no surface water, and the population suffers from a lack of water. The southern peninsulas and some areas of the Anatolian plateau are almost completely waterless.

Forests occupy small areas. On the one hand, this is a consequence of natural conditions, and on the other hand, it is the result of a long-term destruction of forests.

In the east, the Asia Minor Highlands without sharp boundaries passes into the Armenian Highlands, in the west - into the mountain ranges of the western part of the peninsula of Asia Minor, leading to the Aegean Sea. The ridges approach the coast perpendicularly, as a result of which the coastline is strongly dissected. There are comfortable and deep bays. Here is an important port of Asian Turkey - Izmir.

Climate

Turkey is a predominantly mountainous country. In connection with this, the climate of the country has an average mountainous character and features of a continental climate. Summer in the interior continental regions of Turkey is hot and dry everywhere, winters are snowy and cold. The Aegean and Mediterranean have a Mediterranean climate, with milder winters and no permanent snow cover. The Black Sea has a temperate maritime climate with typical warm summers and cool winters. The average temperature in winter (January) is about +5 °C, in summer (July) - about +23 °C. Precipitation falls up to 1000-2500 mm per year. In summer, the average daily temperature can exceed 30 and (occasionally) 35 °C, and the heat can exceed +40 °C, but this is relatively rare on the southern coast of Turkey. In the southeast of Turkey, the climate has features of a tropical desert, and the humidity is low, in contrast to the high humidity on the Black Sea coast.

Story

Historical regions of Asia Minor during classical antiquity. Asia Minor by 550 B.C. BC, before the Persian invasion History of Anatolia

Since ancient times (approximately from the 5th-4th centuries BC), Asia Minor also had another name - Anatolia (Turkish Anadolu, from the Greek Anatolē, literally - east).

The territory of Asia Minor in different historical periods was part (in whole or in part) of various state formations of antiquity and the early Middle Ages (the Hittite kingdom, the Lydian kingdom, Media, the Achaemenid state, Greater Armenia, Lesser Armenia, Cilicia, Western Armenia, the power of Alexander the Great, the state Seleucids, the Kingdom of Pontus, Pergamum, Ancient Rome, Byzantium, the Sultanate of Konya, etc.).

From the middle of the XVII to the beginning of the XIII centuries. BC. Hegemony in Asia Minor was established by the Hittites. In the east of the peninsula and in Armenia, a number of unions of tribes arose, which later united in the state of Urartu. In the southeast at that time there were state formations of the Hittites - first the Ancient Hittite, then the New Hittite kingdom.

The eastern, central, northern and southern regions of Asia Minor were inhabited by Armenians until the Armenian Genocide in 1915. During this period, a number of Armenian states and ethno-territorial formations existed here, such as Hayasa (1500-1290 BC), Lesser Armenia (600 BC - 428 AD), Ervandid Armenia (570-200 BC), Western Armenia (387-1921), Cilicia (1080-1375), Kingdom of Filaret Varazhnuni (1071-1086), Armenian Empire (95-55 BC) AD), Commagene (163 BC-72 AD), Vaspurakan Republic (1915-1918), and others.

Later, central Anatolia was occupied by the Phrygians, and the Lydian kingdom arose in the southwest. 546 BC e. Croesus, the ruler of the Lydian kingdom, was defeated by the Persian king Cyrus II. From that time on, Asia Minor fell under the influence, first of the Persian, and then, in the 4th century BC, of ​​the Persian Empire. e., with the creation of the empire of Alexander the Great, - Hellenic culture.

In the II century BC. e. The Romans reached Asia Minor, gradually subduing it and dividing it into several provinces (Asia, Bithynia, Pontus, Lycia, Pamphylia, Cilicia, Cappadocia and Galatia). After the division of the Roman Empire, Asia Minor was part of the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantium).

In the 11th century, most of Byzantium was captured by the Seljuk Turks, who created their own state, the Konya Sultanate, in the west of Asia Minor.

During the XIV-XV centuries, the Ottoman Turks destroyed Byzantium, creating the Ottoman Empire (after the First World War - Turkey) on its ruins.

Links

• Asia Minor // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - St. Petersburg, 1890-1907.
• Anatolia or Natolia // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - St. Petersburg, 1890-1907.

Notes

1. Asia Minor // Great Soviet Encyclopedia.
2. Anatolia // Great Soviet Encyclopedia.

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