Turkey

As the Ottoman Empire crumbled, the Greek and Armenian quarters of Smyrna were set ablaze on 13 September 1922 by the vengeful Turkish army.

The unholy alliance between France and the Ottoman Empire in 1530 caused great concern but had little military success.

Was the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974 inevitable?

On 6 December 343, Saint Nicholas died but his miracles continued. Eventually, the man was replaced by the myth of Santa Claus – if he even existed at all.

The Republic of Turkey is 100 years old. Built on the ashes of an old empire, what place is there for the Ottoman past in the secular state?

Once described as a ‘slow-motion car crash’, relations between Turkey – or Türkiye – and the rest of Europe have often been defined by suspicion and mistrust. Do historical grievances define the country’s relationship with Europe?

Turkey has a long history of coups, but the failed İzmir plot to assassinate Atatürk in 1926 had a lasting impact. One foreign journalist recorded the reprisals that followed with admiration – which soon turned to fear.

Over the last 30 years, western ideas about the Ottoman Empire have been transformed, just as Turkish attitudes towards the West have become increasingly negative, writes Erik Zurcher.

Roger Hudson describes the bloody stalemate that followed the landing of Allied troops on the Turkish coast.

“Perhaps... not the noblest of victories”. This haphazard action, in which the forces of Great Britain, France and Russia destroyed a gallant Ottoman fleet, did much to ensure the achievement of Greek independence. By Robin Fedden.