17. Anatolia

Return to History 8 Near East Vocabulary The Anatolian Peninsula is the geographical area, found in modern day Turkey, where the Near East meets with Western Europe. Often referred to as 'Asia Minor,' this area severed as a breeding grounds for new cultures over the years of early civilization. The first great civilization to occupy this territory were the ancient Hittites. This civilization reined Anatolia from about 2000-1200 BC, until the mighty Assyrian Empire swept through the area and included it into its territory. The controllers of this territory wavered between the power of the Assyrians up until the 8th century BC when the Greeks began colonizing the Anatolian Peninsula. Asia Minor was the stage one of the most renowned ancient conflicts, The Trojan War. In 560 BC the Lydian king Croesus overtook the Greek colonies, then was defeated by the Persian ruler, Cyrus the Great, one and a half decades later. 200 years later, Anatolia was again conquered by the Greeks, led by Alexander the Great. In the 2nd century BC the peninsula was taken over by the powerful Roman Empire, sending the region into several centuries of peace. During the Dark Ages, Anatolia was a center for Christianity and preserved the ancient Greek and Roman cultures.

http://www.britannica.com/place/Anatolia http://www.allaboutturkey.com/anatolia.htm

Miller Humphreys