Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan marked the 952nd anniversary of the Battle of Manzikert, a historic victory for Turks in Anatolia, later the home of both the Ottoman Empire and the Republic of Türkiye.
"The truth should never be forgotten that Manzikert was no ordinary battle, no ordinary victory," Erdogan said at an event in the eastern Mus province, the site of the battle nearly a millennium ago.
"We did not set foot in Anatolia with Manzikert," Erdogan added, speaking of the Turkish people. “We had long since been here. Manzikert opened the gateway to our political sovereignty in Anatolia.”
The president also commemorated with gratitude all the heroes of the victory, including Alp Arslan, sultan of the Seljuk Empire.
"History changed when the gateway to Anatolia was opened to the Turks 952 years ago. The spirit of unity and solidarity of the victory at Manzikert, inherited from our distinguished forebears, will continue to guide future generations," first lady Emine Erdogan said on X, formerly Twitter.
Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmus also marked the victory of Manzikert, "one of the pages of pride in our glorious history."
"Our beloved nation continues its progress with the same consciousness and determination, inspired by our ancestors who made Anatolia our homeland and whose past is full of heroism," Kurtulmus said on X.
The pivotal victory made Anatolia "our eternal homeland and shaped world history," said Communications Director Fahrettin Altun.
"Together with the spirit of 1071, we will carry this cherished homeland, entrusted to us by our heroic forebears to a much stronger future," Altun said on X.
Turkish control of Anatolia began with the Battle of Malazgirt, also known as the Battle of Manzikert, on August 26, 1071, which saw the Seljuk Turks led by Sultan Alp Arslan defeat a much larger Byzantine army.
The victory accelerated the decline of the Byzantine Empire and led to more Turks settling in the region, paving the way for both the Ottoman Empire and the modern Republic of Türkiye, founded a century ago this year.
Hundreds of years later, foreign occupation prompted Türkiye’s War of Independence in 1919, in which Turkish forces – led by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk – eventually drove the invaders from Anatolia.
By the end of 1922, all foreign forces had left the territories, which became a part of the Republic of Türkiye a year later.
