A country of southwest Asia and southeast Europe between the Mediterranean and the Black Seas. The region was dominated by many ancient civilizations and peoples, among them the Hittites (1800 BC), the Greeks (8th century BC), and the Persians (6th century BC), and in AD 395 it became part of the Byzantine Empire. The area was conquered by the Ottoman Turks between the 13th and 15th centuries and remained the core of the Ottoman Empire for more than 600 years. Its modern history dates to the rise of the Young Turks (after 1908) and the collapse of the empire in 1918. Under the leadership of Kemal Atatürk, a republic was proclaimed in 1923. Ankara is the capital and Istanbul the largest city.