Paleolithic and Mesolithic Ages During these ages between 600000-8000 B.C. and also named as the Old Stone Age and the Middle Stone Age, man survived by gathering and they Middle Stone Age, man survived by gathering and they made tools and weapons of stone. Important finds related to this period are in the settlement centers in Karain, Kadiini, Okuzini, Beldibi and Belbasi in Antalya region and in Sehremuz near Adiyaman, in Duluk near Gaziantep. Neolithic Age The distinguishing characteristic of this age between 8000-5000 B.C. is the start of production, farming and animal husbandry. Man in this age, left the caves and began to live in stone and mud brick dwellings. The most important finds related to the Neolithic Age in Anatolia are in Catalhoyuk. Chalcolithic Age In this age covering the years between 5000-3000 B.C., man started to make pottery of baked clay and to decorate the ceramics. This is understood from the excavation finds in settlement centers such as Hacilar, Can Hasan, Yumuktepe, Gozlukule, Beycesultan, Alisar, Alacahoyuk. Relations with Mesopotamia developed by way of the rivers Tigris and Euphrates. Early Bronze Age The people who lived in Anatolia between 3000-2000 B.C. acquired the knowledge to produce bronze by combining copper and tin, and they started to produce weapons, pots and pans and ornaments from this alloy. The most important finds of this period are in Troy and Alacahoyuk. During this era when the pottery wheel was put into use, the Anatolian man learned to make statuettes of baked clay, marble, alabaster, bronze and gold with both religious and decorative purposes. Middle and Late Bronze Ages This age covering the period between 2000-1200 B.C. is the era when trading was prevalent and the first written records were made in Anatolia. The trade relations with various Mesopotamian states and especially with Assyria, caused cultural and artistic interaction and as the result of this interaction an Anatolian style with characteristics of its own was created. The political power dominating this age was the Hittite Empire. The typical characteristics of the age can be understood from the excavation finds in Bogazkoy-Hattussas in Central Anatolia, and the ceramics found in Troy, Western Anatolia prove the relations with the Mycenaean civilization. Late Hittite City States Small kingdoms who were the inheritors of the Hittite Empire between 1200-700 B.C. carried on the Hittite tradition for a while. However, this tradition gradually lost its own characteristics and began to take new forms under the influence of the Aramaean's who moved into the region, the Assyrians in the south, the Phrygians in the west and the Urartians in the east. The Urartian Kingdom The Urartian Kingdom (900-600 B.C. which established a developed civilization on the area between the lakes of Van, Urmiye, Gokcegol and Cildir, on the one hand left many documents written in cuneiform and hieroglyph and on the other hand they contributed a great deal to the Near Eastern art in architecture and engineering fields. The Urartians who knew how to make use of natural forces by constructing dams and water channels, also made a great development in the field of metallurgy. The Phrygian Kingdom During the Phrygian Kingdom (700-550 B.C.) founded in the area between the northern Kizilirmak and Sakarya rivers, woodworks, ceramic production and the objects made both for daily use and for artistic purposes showed a great development. The capital of the Phrygian Kingdom was Gordian, their chief goddess was Kybele and their most famous king was Midas. The Lydian Kingdom The most important historical characteristic of the Lydian Kingdom which was founded in Western Anatolia (700-550 B.C. was the coining of the first metal coin in the world. Ionian City States The settlement centers founded in Western Anatolia since 3000-2000 B.C. carried on relations with the Aegean world on one hand and Anatolia on the other. The resulting cultural and artistic interaction created the Orientalizing style during the 8th and 7th centuries B.C. This development, influenced the art of the following Archaic and Classical ages. The Persian Period and Graeco-Persian Style After the Lydian Kingdom was defeated by the Persian king Cyrus, Anatolia came under the control of the Persians. The most important works remaining from this period which lasted between 546-334 B.C. are the famous Royal Road and the Halicarnassus Mausoleum. The Hellenistic Period This period which started by the defeat of Persian dominance by Alexander the Great lasted between 330-30 B.C. A major part of Anatolia came under the power of Pergamum after Alexander's death. Pergamum contributed a great deal to the world history of culture and art in the field of sculpture and by using parchment as a writing material. The Roman Period When the last king of Pergamum bequeathed his kingdom to Rome, Anatolia came under the sovereignty of Rome. In the beginning of this era which lasted between 30 B.C.-330 A.D. the influence of the Hellenistic style preserved its being in the Anatolian art and culture. Although the influence of Roman art and culture was later imposed, the traditional culture nevertheless survived and regional characteristics in art developed. The most important cultural and artistic centers of the period were Aphrodisias and Perge. The Byzantine Period The Byzantine era which lasted for nearly a thousand years between 330-1453 A.D. was greatly influenced by the former civilization accumulation. When regional characteristics were combined with the influences of Christianity, new styles were created. Istanbul renowned worldwide as a cultural and artistic center, played an important role in turning over the art of the archaic ages to the medieval age. The Byzantine architecture which reached its summit with Hagia Sofia, gave its most beautiful examples with fortresses, water archways and cisterns, bridges and places. The Byzantine era also witnessed great developments in sculpture, mosaic, gilding and ornaments. Seljuk Period This period which started by Alpaslan's victory (the nephew of Seljuk Bey, founder of the Seljuk dynasty) in 1071, lasted until 1300 A.D. After the collapse of the Great Seljuk Empire in 1157, the Anatolian Seljuks centered their state in Konya. This state which had its most glorious period during Sultan Alaaddin Keykubat's reign, gained supremacy over Anatolia. Roads, bridges, caravanserais were built during this period. The Seljuks, while having close links with Persian maintained their own art and culture brought from Central Asia by the Turkish migrations. They created the Turkish-Islamic culture by the synthesis, of the Anatolian cultural accumulation and other cultural influences. The mosques, medreses, baths formed the finest examples of the period in architecture. Developments in various fields of art was so great as to influence the following ages. One of the greatest contributions of the Seljuks to the Anatolian civilization was the introduction of knotted-carpet making. The Ottoman Period This period which lasted between 1299-1923, is the era when not only Anatolia but also the land on the European side was attached to the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman art based on the Turkish-Islamic and Anatolian artistic synthesis created during the Seljuk period, developed further under the direction of the palace by adopting the new techniques of the age and created a characteristic Ottoman style. However, the Westernization trend of the 18th century, gave way to the Western influence and consequently the traditional Ottoman art gradually lost its impact. The Ottomans, besides all the other fields of art also proved their superiority in architecture by mosques, tombs, medreses, libraries, covered bazaars, baths, places, caravanserais, kiosks, mansions, aqueducts and bridges. The most famous architect of the Ottoman period was Sinan and the finest example of his work is the Selimiye Mosque in Edirne. Source : Turkish Ministry of Tourism and Culture | 
