Lying between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, Asia Minor is the meeting point between the continents of Asia and Europe. In the past it was a crossroad for migrating people and for armies from the two continents. Also known by its old Greek name of Anatolia, Asia Minor is now a part of Turkey.

Geography

The peninsula of Asia Minor lies to the east of Greece and extends westward from Asia. The area of the peninsula is about 292,000 square miles (756,000 square kilometers). The peninsula is mainly a plateau that is about 3,000 feet (900 meters) in height. Mountain ranges rise in the north and south. There are also broad and flat valleys where many saltwater lakes are found. The plateau has no navigable rivers.

History

By about 2000 BC Asia Minor was controlled by the Hittites, who had earlier migrated from lands located east of the Black Sea. In the 12th century BC the Assyrians defeated them and conquered Asia Minor. The Assyrians were inhabitants of an ancient empire in western Asia founded on the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. The Greeks then occupied and settled in colonies along the coastal areas of the peninsula in about 8th century BC.

In about 546 BC these Greek colonies passed to Cyrus II the Great of Persia. Under Persian rule Asia Minor was divided into four provinces. The Persians held the peninsula until it was invaded and conquered by Alexander the Great in 334–333 BC. Asia Minor was unified after its conquest by Rome in the 2nd century BC and was governed through provinces. It enjoyed centuries of peace under Roman rule.

In AD 395, when the Roman Empire was divided into eastern and western sections, Asia Minor became a part of the eastern section, or the Byzantine Empire. As this empire declined Asia Minor began to be invaded by Arab and Mongol armies. In the 15th century the Ottoman Turks conquered the peninsula and made Constantinople (now Istanbul) their capital. The Ottoman Empire lasted until 1922.

In 1923 Asia Minor became the larger part of the Republic of Turkey. Its leader, Kemal Atatürk, made Ankara the new capital of Turkey. He carried out many reforms to make Turkey a modern and efficient country.