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
Northern Thrace Bulgaria occurred here: it was 45.2 °C at Sadovo in 1916. Important rivers are the Maritsa and its tributaries. Important cities include Plovdiv, Burgas, Stara Zagora, Sliven, Haskovo, Yambol, Pazardzhik, Asenovgrad, Kardzhali, Dimitrovgrad, Kazanlak and Smolyan. Northern Thrace has an area of 42,073 km². The Ottoman Turks created the autonomous province of Eastern Rumelia in northern Thrace in 1878. The region was annexed to the Principality of Bulgaria in 1885. Northern Thrace Northern Thrace or North Thrace (, ) (as opposed to Western Thrace and East Thrace to the south) constitutes the northern and the largest part of the historical