History of Turkey History of Turkey The history of Turkey, understood as the history of the region now forming the territory of the Republic of Turkey, includes the history of both Anatolia (the Asian part of Turkey) and Eastern Thrace (the European part of Turkey). For times predating the Ottoman period, a distinction must be made between the history of the Turkish peoples, and the history of the territories now forming the Republic of Turkey, essentially the histories of ancient Anatolia and Thrace. The name "Turkey" is derived from Middle Latin "Turchia", i.e. the "land of the Turks", historically referring to an entirely
Diocese of Thrace Diocese of Thrace The Diocese of Thrace (, ) was a diocese of the later Roman Empire, incorporating the provinces of the eastern Balkan Peninsula (comprising territories in modern south-eastern Romania, central and eastern Bulgaria, and Greek and Turkish Thrace). Philippopolis (modern Plovdiv, in Bulgaria) was the capital. The diocese was established as part of the reforms of Diocletian and Constantine the Great, and was headed by a "vicarius" subordinate to the praetorian prefecture of the East. As outlined in the "Notitia Dignitatum" of ca. 400, the diocese included the provinces of Europa, Thracia, Haemimontus, Rhodope, Moesia II and Scythia