Quote: (08-25-2013 11:39 PM)Samseau Wrote:
Quote: (08-25-2013 11:18 PM)Quintus Curtius Wrote:
That's cool to discover things about your heritage, man. Congrats. I've known a couple Armenian guys over the years and both of them could speak both Turkish and Armenian. I guess they have to know both languages.
Turkey really is an ethnically diverse place. I've read somewhere that a big percentage of the population in Anatolia is actually Kurdish. And in the days of the Ottoman Empire before the end of World War I, there was a very big population of Armenian Christians, and even Greeks, believe it or not. A lot of ethnic cleansing and terrible stuff happened as the Ottomans collapsed. A huge volume of Armenians and Arabs emigrated to North and South America in the 1920s and 1930s.
And the hilarious thing is that when these immigrants came to South America, everyone called them "Turcos" even if they were Arabs or Armenians....
Present day Turkey has one of the most violent histories on the planet. Before it was the Ottoman Empire it was the Byzantine Empire, which started off as the remains of the Roman Empire but slowly was dominated by the Greeks who took over the Empire and made Greek the official language.
The Byzantine Empire had an incredibly violent existence; plagued by wars from aggressive neighbors as well as civil wars from the constant assassinations of its Emporers due to the heavy infighting between its major political factions, the Reds and Blues. Google the Nika Riots for a hell of a story.
Reading about the history of Constantinople (present day Istanbul) is gruesome as it is fascinating, from it's start as Greek city that morphed into the seat of a great Christian Empire that was slowly destroyed and turned into a Islamic one, which eventually died and gave way to the present day atheist reforms of Ataturk.
Turkey is also notable for being home to a once 90%+ white Empire that was invaded by Arabs, multiple times, who slaughtered the men and raped the women, which is why Turkish citizens are extremely ethnically diverse and range from snow white to dark brown, with most being in-between.
Sam:
That Nika Riots story with Belasaurius has always been one of my favorites. A textbook example of how iron-fisted ruthlessness is necessary when your throne is threatened. Justinian hesitated, but Theodora (an ex-courtesan, no less!) was tough as hell and made him stand his ground. Her quote: "This purple is best fit as a burial shroud".
Fast forward to today: If Bashar Asad had learned this lesson, he would not be dealing with a civil war now. If he had acted ruthlessly when the rebellion started, instead of hesitating, he would have had a better chance of keeping his throne.