History of Turkey facts

Christian children. When a Christian boy was recruited, first he would be sent to selected Turkish families to learn to speak Turkish and culture of Ottoman society. Later they were trained in tough Enderun school, eventually converting to Islam. The more talented ones received a higher standard of education to become engineers, architects, physicians and scientists. Janissaries belonged to the Sultan, carrying the title kapıkulu "slaves of the Porte".

Various Greek and Iranian gods. Mount Nemrut is a 2,134 m (7,001 ft) high mountain in southeastern Turkey. Near the summit, a number of large statues of Greek and Iranian gods are erected around the royal tomb, which King Antiochus I Theos of Commagene built for himself in 62 BC. The heads of the statues have at some stage been removed from their bodies, and they are now scattered throughout the site.

Byzantium. In 660 BC, the city was founded as the colony of Megara and named to honour its king Byzas. In 324 AD, Constantine the Great made it an eastern capital of Roman Empire. The city was then renamed Nea Roma; however, most simply called it Constantinople.

Viking runes. Constantinople, called Miklagard by Vikings, hosted thousands of Vikings and Anglo-Saxons, who served as mercenaries of the Varangian Guard. They were famed for their battlefield skills and fierce, loyalty and drinking. They often fought for the Byzantine Empire, including fights with Arabs.

Ottoman Empire. Several Bulgarian revolts erupted throughout the nearly five centuries of Ottoman rule, including some Habsburg-backed ones. Bulgaria had been widely autonomous since 1878, after the Russo-Turkish War. It finally proclaimed independence following the Young Turk Revolution in the Ottoman Empire in 1908.