The historical record shows that the Turks are among the oldest nations on earth. Since the founding of their first state in the third century they have lived in regions that cover a vast territory, from their homeland in Central Asia to the İndian Ocean, the Western Mediterranean and Central Europe. Wherever they went, they have established states and civilizations that occupy an important place in the history of mankind. In the process of ruling in the Middle East, the Balkans and North Africa the Turks have, in the course of things, found themselves opposing certain other nations. The fact that the Turks are Muslim, combined with the geopolitically strategic position of today's Türkiye and its increased strength, have led certain foreign powers and ethnic groups With the same interests to generate negative propaganda, with the result that there is prejudiced view of the country. Because of these negative influences and prejudice, a number of topics connected with Turkish history have been deliberately distorted, or in some cases the information related to them has remained inadequate. But the fact is that Turkish history, from antiquity to recent times, possesses an archive and inventory system at least as rich as that of other European nations. In particular, the 600 years that the Ottoman Empire ruled in Asia, Europe and Africa are reflected in archives that are open to every sort of inspection. Detailed research in these archives would illuminate many points which have been deliberately misconstrued to date. During the near1y 2500 years that Turkish states have been established, we find that when one had completed its historical mission and gave way the next, a tradition of statecraft was continued and in some cases improved upon. The experience that had accumulated from antiquity to the Middle Ages perhaps best accounts for the Ottoman success in ruling for centuries as a superpower. In their social and cu1tural systems and their way of life, Turkish states have never been dissimilar.

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