The Republic of Turkey is a new, contemporary and technological country which exists in an old land with a rich history. The modern Turkish state—beginning with the creation of the Republic of Turkey in the years immediately after World War I—drew on a national consciousness that had developed only in the late nineteenth century. But the history of nomadic Turkish tribes can be traced with certainty to the sixth century A.D., when they wandered the steppes of central Asia. Asia Minor, which the Turks invaded in the eleventh century, has a recorded history that dates back to the Hittites, who flourished there in the second millennium B.C. However, archaeological evidence of far older cultures has been found in the region. The term Turkey , although sometimes used to signify the Ottoman Empire, was not assigned to a specific political entity or geographic area until the republic was founded in 1923. The large peninsular territory had been wrested from the Byzantine Empire. The term Anatolia is also used when events described affected both that region and Turkish Thrace (“Turkey-in-Europe”) because of the two areas’ closely linked political, social, and cultural development. The Republic of Turkey is a bridge connecting the Middle East and Europe, and it shares in the history of both those parts of the world. Despite the diversity of its peoples and their cultures, and the constantly shifting borders of its ethnic map, Anatolia has a history characterized by remarkable continuity. Wave after wave of conquerors and settlers have imposed their language and other unique features of their culture on it, but they also have invariably assimilated the customs of the peoples who preceded them. The history of Turkey encompasses, first, the history of Anatolia before the coming of the Turks and of the civilizations—Hittite, Thracian, Hellenistic, and Byzantine. Secondly, it includes the history of the Turkish peoples, including the Seljuks, who brought Islam and the Turkish language to Anatolia. Thirdly, it is the history of the Ottoman Empire, a cosmopolitan state that for many centuries was a world power. Finally, the Republic of Turkey’s history is that of the republic established in 1923 under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal (1881- 1938), called Atatürk. The creation of the new republic in the heartland of the old empire was achieved in the face of internal traditionalist opposition and foreign intervention. Atatürk’s goal was to build upon the ruins of Ottoman Turkey a new country and a vibrant and progressive society patterned directly on Western Europe. He equated Westernization with the introduction of technology, the modernization of administration, and the evolution of democratic institutions. Today, amidst vast history and culture, the cities of the Republic of Turkey present a proud democracy, social diversity, strength in business and technology, and modern progress into the future. Turkey not only serves as a bridge between Europe and Asia, but a bridge between a rich past and a progressive future.