ABSTRACT
The area covered by present-day Turkey has since the dawn of history constituted an integral part of European politics. The foundations of Hellenic culture were built along both shores of the Aegean Sea and in Anatolia Greeks and Persians. The Christian Byzantine Emperor was succeeded by the Muslim Ottoman Sultan. While the Emperor had been occupied by defensive wars along the eastern border the Sultan concentrated on conquests westwards in order to assert the role of his empire as one of the main actors in European politics. The role of the Ottoman Empire was transformed from having been the overwhelming menace to Western Europe to becoming a counter-weight to Russian expansionism. The Franco-British partition of the Near East gave France dominion over Syria and a sphere of interest in Southeast Anatolia. Developments occurred when the Cold War was over and the Turks were disturbed by signs that the West was losing interest in Turkey as a partner in politics.
