Turkey
Prehistory and ancient history

Present-day Turkey has been inhabited by modern humans since the late Paleolithic period and contains some of the world's oldest Neolithic sites. Göbekli Tepe is close to 12,000 years old. Parts of Anatolia include the Fertile Crescent, an origin of agriculture. Other important Anatolian Neolithic sites include Çatalhöyük and Alaca Höyük. Neolithic Anatolian farmers differed genetically from farmers in Iran and Jordan Valley. These early Anatolian farmers began to migrate into Europe around 9,000 years ago, eventually coming to dominate most of the continent.

Anatolia's historical records start with clay tablets from approximately around 2000 BC that were found in modern-day Kültepe. These tablets belonged to an Assyrian trade colony. The languages in Anatolia at that time included Hattian, Hurrian, Hittite, Luwian, and Palaic. Hattian was a language indigenous to Anatolia, with no known modern-day connections. Hurrian language was used in northern Syria. Hittite, Luwian, and Palaic languages were in the Anatolian sub-group of Indo-European languages, with Hittite being the "oldest attested Indo-European language". The origin of Indo-European languages is unknown. They may be native to Anatolia or non-native.

Hattian rulers were gradually replaced by Hittite rulers. The Hittite kingdom was a large kingdom in Central Anatolia, with its capital of Hattusa. It co-existed in Anatolia with Palaians and Luwians, approximately between 1700 and 1200 BC. As the Hittite kingdom was disintegrating, further waves of Indo-European peoples migrated from southeastern Europe, which was followed by warfare.

Troy's earliest layers go back to the Chalcolithic. It is not known if the Trojan war is based on historical events. Troy's Late Bronze Age layers matches most with Iliad 's story.

Around 750 BC, Phrygia had been established, with its two centers in Gordium and modern-day Kayseri. Phrygians spoke an Indo-European language, but it was closer to Greek, rather than Anatolian languages. Phrygians shared Anatolia with Neo-Hittites and Urartu. Urartu's capital was around Lake Van. Urartu was often in conflict with Assyria, but fell with the attacks of Medes and Scythians in seventh century BC. When Cimmerians attacked, Phrygia fell around 650 BC. They were replaced by Carians, Lycians and Lydians. These three cultures "can be considered a reassertion of the ancient, indigenous culture of the Hattian cities of Anatolia".
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