Displaying the Turkish History Thesis & dealing with antiquity, its art and architecture in the early Turkish Republic

Abstract

The Republic of Türkiye, founded in 1923 after a long series of wars, promoted cultural activities concentrating on the history of the state and nation in order to secure its authority both within and outside the country. An effective and significant element of these cultural activities was the conception and teaching of the Turkish History Thesis, claiming the continuity of the Turkish dominion of Anatolian and Eastern Thracian lands since prehistory.

This paper studies the Turkish History Thesis’s perception of classical antiquity with a special focus on its material display at the exhibition held at Dolmabahçe Palace in 1937, on the occasion of the Second Congress of Turkish History organized by the Turkish Historical Society.