Turkish national identity and nationalism (original) (raw)

Today linked inextricably to the modern Republic of Turkey, variations of Turkish nationalism actually arose in the final decades of the Ottoman Empire (1290s–1922). Th is political precursor to the Turkish nation-state was not, however, an entity that could be defined essentially as just “Turkish.” Though led primarily by a ruling Ottoman Turkish dynasty, the Ottoman state was a vast land-based empire that was notable for a populace of diverse ethnicities, languages, and religions. It was also an Islamic state that had claimed control of the Caliphate since as early as the 15th century.