This book is part of “The Greenwood Histories of the Modern Nations” and was written by Douglas A. Howard.  This is the second Turkish history book I’ve reviewed. I think the first, “Turkey Unveiled,” is more colorful that the usual history book; the authors admit they are in love with the country. This book is more of what you would expect from a “nuts and bolts” history book, and it has some useful features. There is a quite useful timeline of historical events in the front of the book. There is a glossary of terms in the back that I found quite useful. All in all, I don’t think you could go wrong with reading either this book or “Turkey Unveiled” if you are interested in the country or want to learn about the country in preparation for a visit.I intend to attempt to focus on aspects of the history of Turkey that were mostly new to me despite the significant amount of reading I’ve done about the country in recent weeks. One aspect that isn’t new is the mention in the preface that Mustafa Kemal Ataturk is “…the main character of the story…whose legacy is at the center of public discussion in modern Turkish life.” For those unfamiliar with this fascinating person, Ataturk won national recognition as a Turkish army commander in the battles with Allied forces on the Gallipoli Peninsula in World War I. He later commanded Turkish forces in the victory over the Greeks after World War I that essentially won Turkish independence. Even more interesting in my estimation is that as the first president he ended the reign of the sultan, dissolved the Muslim caliphate, and thus terminated Islamic control of the government. He believed that religion had held his country back and insisted that the country be controlled by secular laws. His influence and the conflict over his insistence that Islam should not control government in a country that is 99 percent Islam continues.

Regardless of the opinion of whether Ataturk was good or bad for the country, Turkey recovered from being bankrupt and devastated from World War I. The country had been known as the “sick man of Europe” before the war, and the war wiped out nearly everything. The country had the eighteen largest gross domestic product in the world as of the year the book was published (2001). Ataturk was insistent that education was required to strengthen the country, and today it has a mostly literate work force. One hesitation I have about espousing the advantages of Turkey is that there are millions of Turks working in European countries who mostly seem to have no intention of returning. Another qualm about the current status of the country is the continuing conflict of the government with the millions of Kurds. The atrocities on both sides of that conflict continue reinforce the Turkish reputation for brutality. From a strictly economic perspective, it is estimated that the Kurdish conflict costs the country $7 billion dollars annually.

Getting back to some interesting history, the book discusses that the grandson of “Chinggis Khan (I had always seen his name written as Genghis Khan) sacked Baghdad in 1258 and put to death the last Abbasid caliph.”  There is also a discussion of the historical conflict between the Muslim Shiism and Sunnism that continues to wrack the Middle East. However, “…secular law and sacred law coexisted with customary law in the classical Ottoman Empire…” Non-Muslims lived under “…state tolerance and official state discrimination.” Christians and Jews had “…a symbiotic relationship between community religious and commercial leaders and Ottoman state officials.”

Chapter 5 of the book begins a run of more traditional history. One event I found particularly interesting was when Sultan Mahmud II in the early 1800s “…turned his heavy artillery on the Janissary mob…decimating their ranks and destroying their barracks.” To emphasize the usefulness of the glossary, the Janissary corps (mostly young men of Christian families who had been converted to Islam and trained in combat) are described as “The elite infantry corps of the classical Ottoman army.”

Chapter 6 describes the demise of the Ottoman Empire beginning with the “Young Turks” who became known as the “Committee of Union and Progress (CUP)” against the Ottoman hierarchy. One great stain on the transition from the Ottoman Empire to the new country of Turkey was the slaughter of many tens (or hundreds) of thousands of Christians in a pogrom. Many thousands (or perhaps a million) of Armenian Christian families were driven into desolate areas where they died of exposure and starvation.

Turkish independence in 1923 brought into focus the conflict that continues to divide the country today. The “Westernists” wanted foreign assistance in rebuilding, but wanted to retain the Muslim sultanate and caliphate. The “Easternists” led by Ataturk advocated that the country be controlled by secular laws and to move toward European culture. Ataturk even advocated getting rid of the fez and replacing them with European-style hats. Ataturk and his supporters won by removing the financial support for the Islamic institutions within government. A conspiracy was uncovered that planned the assassination of Ataturk in 1926 and the government was purged of even the loyal opposition over the next two years. Women were granted the right to vote and hold political positions and seventeen were elected to parliament in the 1935 election.

The Turks remembered the devastation of World War I and stayed out of World War II despite continual pressure from the allies. Development of infrastructure was slow despite efforts to build new railroads. There were only about 300 miles of paved roads in the early 1940s. The “Truman Doctrine” to aid Greece and Turkey led to an ambitious road-building program. Turkey moved closer to the West during the Cold War and joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 1949. Modernization and the movement to Westernize did not halt the creep of religion back into government. The 27-year ban on religious broadcasting was lifted in the early 1950s. Conflict within the government has led to a current history of military coups and execution of political enemies. One coup in 1971 was accomplished by an ultimatum from the military and became known as the “coup by memorandum.” Weak government continued to plague the country, and there was another coup in 1980. Violence became prevalent with bombings, assassinations, and street battles. Martial law was declared, political parties were outlawed, and more than 100,000 were arrested in the next few months. The “Military Republic” lasted more than a decade.

The book closes with a discussion of how Turkey continues to be troubled by the lack of a strong government, political scandals, economic difficulties, conflict between the Alevis Shiites and Sunnites, and the ongoing war with the Kurds and the Maoist PKK terrorist organization. There also has been a slow but steady march of Islamic revivalism in government, although a poll in 1986 found only 7 percent of Turks favored a political legal order based on sharia law. All of that is mostly invisible to the millions of tourists who visit annually and enjoy the sights and culture of a fascinating country.