Turkey

Breaking With Predecessors, Biden Declares Mass Killings of Armenians a Genocide

The declaration, which has been long expected, was greeted with modest enthusiasm by human rights activists who view it as symbolic, and with denunciations by the Turkish government. 

'The Historical Record Is Affirmed': Armenian Reaction To Biden Recognition Of Armenian Genocide

Historian Ara Sanjian says that the Biden Administration's recognition of the Armenian Genocide is long overdue. 

Scholars to Erdoğan: Persecution of Professor Şık shows your disregard for academic freedom and public health

In a letter to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Professor Dina Rizk Khoury urged that all charges against Professor Bülent Şık, a food engineer working on public health and food safety, be dropped.

A Turkish dam is about to flood one of the oldest continuously settled places on Earth

The project has also faced years of stiff resistance from critics who said its benefits were hardly worth the cost to local communities and from historians, archaeologists and others who say the preservation of Turkey’s cultural heritage is a global concern.

The History Briefing on the Assassination of ISIS Founder Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi: How Historians Have Discussed Recent News

by Lila Someshwar

Historians give much-needed context to a complex issue. 

A Belated Recognition of Genocide by the House

by Samantha Power

For too long, Turkey bullied America into silence. Not anymore.

National Security Archive Publishes New Briefing Book on Nuclear Weapons and Turkey Since 1959

by William Burr

During Mid-1960s Turkish Officials Were Interested in Producing an “Atomic Bomb”

The Greatest Danger in the Kurdish Crisis

by Zaman Stanizai

If the heavy-handedness of the Turkish military is any indication, Erdogan seems to be bent on the ethnic cleansing and relocation of Kurds in northern Syria and resettling their lands along the Turkish border with Arab Syrian refugees currently residing in Turkey.

Kurdish Stalingrad: The Origins of the US-YPG Battle Synergy

by Robert Troy Souza

The American president would be wise to familiarize himself with the recent history that led to the small falafel shop in central Kobane that bears his name.

Historian Brad Simpson Says He's Never Read a Letter As Unhinged As Trump's To Erdogan

Among those on Twitter voicing their bemusement, was U.S. foreign relations expert Brad Simpson, an associate professor at the University of Connecticut.

Video of the Week: The history behind Turkey's involvement in Syria's civil war

Turkey’s invasion of northern Syria highlights the complicated relationship between the U.S., Turkey and the Kurds.

An Act of Betrayal and Infamy

by Alon Ben-Meir

To think that the President would sell America’s interests and abandon its allies for the sake of personal financial gain is not merely outrageous but criminal. 

Historian unearths evidence that Istanbul directed Armenian genocide

New documents suggest the Armenian genocide was both sanctioned and assisted by leaders of the Ottoman Empire in Istanbul.

New dam on River Tigris threatens thousands of years of heritage in Turkey

A new dam being built on the River Tigris is believed to responsible for potentially displacing around 50 thousand people from the area, and the historical losses are incalculable.

Destroying Istanbul to 'Restore' It

Many Istanbulites are concerned that the city’s plans for the future leave its storied past behind.

The Turkish Embassy’s Surprising Role In Desegregating D.C. Jazz

What was a completely segregated art slowly — and somewhat secretly — began to integrate in the halls of the Turkish Embassy.

Sacrificing Greatness For Personal Ambition

by Alon Ben-Meir

An Open Letter to Turksih President Erdogan

Ritual Child Sacrifice Uncovered in Bronze Age Turkey

Archaeologists have uncovered evidence that at least 11 children and young people were killed as a result of ritualistic sacrifice between 3100 and 2800 B.C.E.

Daniel Pipes says regime change in Iran is “inevitable”

by Daniel Pipes

In an expansive interview he gives his views on Iran, Turkey and the future of Islamism.

Two Bullies, Putin and Erdoğan, Try Friendship

by Daniel Pipes

Turks and Russians have a long and complex history.