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This chapter shows the versatility of the Manzikert myth and how this eleventh-century battle serves as a key symbol in the formation of the Turkish Republic almost a millennium later. Atatürk's views on history and those of early twentieth- century Turkish scholars, such as Kafesoglu, Kaymaz and Köymen, are examined. Manzikert is shown to fit into Schöpflin's taxonomy of myths. The way in which Manzikert evokes analogies between the Greek-Turkish conflicts of the early twentieth century is also discussed. The chapter ends with an account of the anniversary celebrations of Manzikert in 1971, including the erection of a statue of Alp Arslan near the battle site, the issue of commemorative stamps, coins and medals, and a poem written for the occasion. It is argued that the memory of Manzikert, given this degree of state support, will continue to resonate for a long time to come in the hearts and minds of the Turks.

Between 1828 and 1947, a total of sixty-four Turkish newspapers and magazines were published in Egypt. They fall into five historical stages: periodicals intended for Egypt’s Turkish speakers; periodicals published by members of the CUP and Young Turks in opposition to Ottoman rule; newspapers published in prisoner-of-war camps during the First World War; periodicals associated with the establishment of the Turkish Republic in 1923 and the abolition of the caliphate in 1924; and one magazine that appeared during the Second World War.

This chapter discusses how in the aftermath of the War of Independence, the abolition of the monarchy in 1922 was followed by the monarch's flight from the country, ushering in a smooth establishment of the new regime. Modern Turkish historiography has assumed that abolishing the sultanate and proclaiming the Republic ensued with little debate or deliberation, and both were made possible by the outstanding character of Mustafa Kemal. However, the claim the Turkish republicanism was shaped merely by Mustafa Kemal's ideas deliberately ignores the competing conceptions of republicanism—radical, Islamic, and liberal—that fought one another in the revolutionary context for political dominance. It also understates the depth of republican thinking within opposition circles and groups.

This chapter talks about how Turkish historiography has long overlooked the Republic's origins in earlier successive revolutions, above all the Constitutional Revolution of 1876, and later the Young Turk Revolution of 1908. Each reinforced the others and pressed toward the ultimate republican Revolution of 1923. There were two decisive moments in its concluding phase during the War of Independence, the establishment of the parliament in 1920, and the monarch's flight from the country in 1922, which smoothly ushered in the young Republic after years of preparation and collective effort by patriots and revolutionaries. This period of political crisis saw the rejuvenation of a radical republican language, incorporated with militarism and nationalism.

This chapter explores the contentious debates among modernist and traditional Muslim scholars in the Turkish Republic and Egypt over the future of the caliphate. Scholars and intellectuals on both sides of the divide faced serious consequences for their positions: İsmail Şükrü's publisher was brutally murdered by Mustafa Kemal's lead bodyguard, Seyyid Bey was sidelined from power after justifying the new Turkish regime, and Mustafa Sabri lived in double exile in Egypt. Although not directly instigated by his intriguing views on the caliphate, Said Nursi survived multiple poisonings, imprisonment, and exile within Republican Turkey for his charismatic potential and activism. The separation of the caliphate from the Ottoman Sultanate followed by the Ottoman Caliphate's abolition had opened up the possibilities for new and passionately contested configurations of power.

This chapter describes how the hamam began to show signs of aging. This included a redefinition of its economic family relations, as it became a burden to the endowment and was rented out according to a practice that approximated the status of renters to that of owners. Furthermore, old age now meant that after a disastrous fire in 1865 novel city planning practices assigned less value to the sixteenth-century structure and allowed the monument to be mutilated for the sake of building a European-style boulevard wide enough for tramway traffic. At the same time, the hamam took on a new identity as an emblem of Ottoman cultural heritage to be displayed at nineteenth-century world fairs and exhibitions which required each nation to represent itself by easily recognizable architectural icons. With the establishment of the Republic of Turkey in 1923, this split identity continued: on the one hand, hamams constituted an old, redundant institution standing for the Ottoman Empire and lifestyle, resulting in neglect and destruction; on the other hand, they were part of the cultural heritage that every nation-state needs to legitimise itself. Nevertheless, the Çemberlitaş Hamamı managed to survive for practical reasons, as it still provided hygiene and entertainment.

This chapter discusses Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's childhood in the ancient Macedonian capital of Salonica. The future founder of the Turkish Republic was born one winter, either in 1880 or in 1881. His upbringing was more liberal than that of most lower-class Muslims. No one in his family's circle of friends and relatives, for instance, practiced polygamy. Likewise, his father reportedly drank alcohol, which was abhorred by conservatives. The confusing dualism produced in Ottoman society by the reforms of the nineteenth century had its first imprint on Mustafa when his parents entered into a heated argument about his education. There is little doubt that Mustafa Kemal's deep-seated predilection for new institutions and practices owed much to his years as one of a handful of students in the empire who had their primary education at a private elementary school devoid of a strong religious focus.

Conditions on Cyprus have evolved in predictable ways. The two communities have moved further apart; the Republic of Cyprus has become economically successful, and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus remains something of a backwater. Attempts to resolve differences have failed. The discovery of nearby oil and gas reserves has only exacerbated these differences. US administrations have maintained a low-profile approach to the dispute, urging the United Nations to take the lead. The Reagan administration came to rely on Turkey as a point of stability in the region, and US assistance increased accordingly.

After summarizing the main arguments of the book, the conclusion discusses what happened to the Dönme community, and their struggle against assimilation in the Turkish Republic after the 1920s. It also briefly reviews the status of the Dönmes who remained in Greece. Lastly it discusses how this remarkable history of the Dönmes being remembered and used in later decades by both Dönmes and non-Dönmes. It reminds once again that Modern observers of the Dönmes usually conflate the Dönme subgroups by creating false dichotomies and treat them as if they were members of an undifferentiated community. The Dönmes were never a monolithic community in history except for the very first decades of the movement. Today in Turkey there are approximately 60,000–70,000 persons of Dönme descent and perhaps another 10,000 in other parts of the world, mostly in Europe and North America. Of those, only 3,000–4,000 are thought to remain actual believers.

This chapter investigates the revolutions in the social and political organization of the Ottoman imperial domains – the Balkans and today’s “Middle East” – from the 1908 Young Turk Revolution to the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne, although this transformation cannot be considered to have ended then, or to have ever been completed. The instability that marked this period was replaced by equally unstable regimes, and its aftershocks have continued to define the region. The great number of casualties, displaced people, and forced migrations produced long-term socioeconomic consequences: urban populations did not return to pre-war levels until the early 1950s.