Polis
Polis, plural poleis literally means city in Greek. It can mean a body of citizens, in modern historiography, polis is normally used to indicate the ancient Greek city-states, like Classical Athens and its contemporaries, and thus is often translated as city-state. The term city-state, which originated in English, does not fully translate the Greek term. The poleis were not like other primordial ancient city-states like Tyre or Sidon, which were ruled by a king or a small oligarchy, the term polis, which in archaic Greece meant city, changed with the development of the governance center in the city to signify state. Finally, with the emergence of a notion of citizenship among landowners, the ancient Greeks did not always refer to Athens, Sparta and other poleis as such, they often spoke instead of the Athenians, Thebans and so on. The body of citizens came to be the most important meaning of the polis in ancient Greece. The Greek term that meant the totality of urban buildings. Plato analyzes the polis in The Republic, whose Greek title, Πολιτεία, the best form of government of the polis for Plato is the one that leads to the common good.
The philosopher king is the best ruler because, as a philosopher, in Platos analogy of the ship of state, the philosopher king steers the polis, as if it were a ship, in the best direction. Books II–IV of The Republic are concerned with Plato addressing the makeup of an ideal polis, in The Republic, Socrates is concerned with the two underlying principles of any society, mutual needs and differences in aptitude. Starting from these two principles, Socrates deals with the structure of an ideal polis. According to Plato, there are five main classes of any polis, merchants, sailors/shipowners, retail traders. Along with the two principles and five classes, there are four virtues. The four virtues of a just city include, courage, with all of these principles and virtues, it was believed that a just city would exist. Publication of state functions, laws and major fiscal accounts were published, conurbation, Absorption of nearby villages and countryside, and the incorporation of their tribes into the substructure of the polis.
Many of a polis citizens lived in the suburbs or countryside, most cities were composed of several tribes or phylai, which were in turn composed of phratries, and finally génea. They had the right to vote, be elected into office, and bear arms, metics could not vote, be elected to office, bear arms, or serve in war. They otherwise had full personal and property rights, albeit subject to taxation, chattel in full possession of their owner, and with no privileges other than those that their owner would grant at will
Grand vizier
In the Ottoman Empire, the Grand Vizier was the prime minister of the Ottoman sultan, with absolute power of attorney and, in principle, dismissible only by the sultan himself. His offices were located at the Sublime Porte, the term “vizier” was originally a denomination used by the Abbasid Dynasty in the 8th century AD. This position came to the Ottomans in the early 14th century by way of the Seljuks of Anatolia, during the nascent phases of the Ottoman state, vizier was the only title used. The first of these Ottoman viziers who was titled Grand Vizier was Çandarlı Halil Pasha the Elder, the purpose in instituting the title Grand Vizier was to distinguish the holder of the Sultans seal from other viziers. The initially more frequently used title of vezir-i âzam was gradually replaced by sadrazam, throughout Ottoman history, the grand viziers have been termed sadr-ı âlî, vekil-i mutlak, sâhib-i devlet, serdar-ı ekrem, serdar-ı azam and zât-ı âsafî. Çandarlı Halil Pasha the Elder reformed the role of the vizier in several ways, several before him held an equivalent but differently named office, he was the first who held the position of “Grand Vizier”, during the reign of Sultan Murad I.
He was the first advisor with a military background – his forerunners had come from a more class of men. It is significant that he was the first of a family that, at the time. Several of Çandarlı Halil Pasha the Elder’s kin went on to hold the office of Grand Vizier in the following his death. Çandarlı Halil Pasha the Younger, the grandson of Pasha the Elder, was highly influential in shaping the role of the Grand Vizier. During the reign of Mehmed II, the Younger opposed the siege of Constantinople, two days after the siege was won by Mehmed II, the Younger was executed for his opposition. After his death, the position of Grand Vizier was chosen nearly exclusively from the kul system and this was usually a political move, designed to appease powerful European factions to Ottoman supremacy. Grand Viziers gained immense political supremacy in the days of the Ottoman Empire. Power was centralized in the position of the Grand Vizier during the Köprülü era, Köprülü Mehmed Pasha was a powerful political figure during the reign of Mehmed IV, and was appointed to the office of Grand Vizier in 1656.
He consolidated power within the position and sent the Sultan away from the city on hunting trips, next, he forcibly removed any officers suspected of corruption, those who did not leave were executed. He conducted campaigns against Venice and the Hapsburgs, as well as quelling rebellions in Anatolia, on his deathbed five years later, he convinced Mehmed to appoint his son as the next Grand Vizier, thus securing his dynasty a position of supreme power in the Empire. It was during the Köprülü era that the Ottoman Empire reached its largest geographic expansion across Europe, Asia Minor, in Ottoman legal theory, the Sultan was supposed to conduct affairs of state exclusively via the Grand Vizier, but in reality this arrangement was often circumvented. He might, too, be inclined to take the advice of his mother
Macedonia (terminology)
The name Macedonia is used in a number of competing or overlapping meanings to describe geographical and historical areas and peoples in a part of south-eastern Europe. It has been a source of political controversy since the early 20th century. The situation is complicated because different ethnic groups use different terminology for the entity, or the same terminology for different entities. Historically, the region has presented markedly shifting borders across the Balkan peninsula, geographically, no single definition of its borders or the names of its subdivisions is accepted by all scholars and ethnic groups. Linguistically, the names and affiliations of languages and dialects spoken in the region are a source of controversy, the rights to the extent of the use of the name Macedonia and its derivatives has led to a diplomatic dispute between Greece and the Republic of Macedonia. The name Macedonia derives from the Greek Μακεδονία, a named after the ancient Macedonians. Their name, Μακεδόνες, is cognate to the Ancient Greek adjective μακεδνός, meaning tall and it was traditionally derived from the Indo-European root *mak-, meaning long or slender, or makros, as well as related words in other Indo-European languages.
It is commonly explained as having originally meant the tall ones or highlanders, according to modern research by Robert S. P. Beekes, both terms are of Pre-Greek substrate origin and cannot be explained in terms of Indo-European morphology. The region of Macedonia has been home to several political entities, which have used the name Macedonia. The borders of each of these entities were different, Macedonia or Macedon, the ancient kingdom, was centered on the fertile plains west of the Gulf of Salonica, the first Macedonian state emerged in the 8th or early 7th century BC. His son Alexander the Great conquered most of the land in southwestern Asia stretching from what is currently Turkey in the west to parts of India in the east. However, while Alexanders conquests are of historical importance as having launched the Hellenistic Age. The ancient Romans had two different entities called Macedonia, at different levels, Macedonia was established as a Roman province in 146 BC. Its boundaries were shifted from time to time for administrative convenience, but during the Roman Republic and the Principate it extended west to the Adriatic and south to Central Greece.
Under Diocletian, including parts of West Macedonia, was split off to form a new province, and the central and southern Balkan provinces were grouped into the Diocese of Moesia. At some point in the 4th century this was divided into two new dioceses, the mostly Latin-speaking Diocese of Dacia in the north and the mostly Greek-speaking Diocese of Macedonia in the south. Under Constantine the Great, the part of the province of Macedonia was split off to form the new province of Epirus nova. After Constantines death, the western Balkans, Macedonia included, became part of the prefecture of Illyricum
Black Sea
The Black Sea is a body of water between Eastern Europe and Western Asia, bounded by Bulgaria, Romania, Russia and Ukraine. It is supplied by a number of rivers, such as the Danube, Rioni, Southern Bug. The Black Sea has an area of 436,400 km2, a depth of 2,212 m. It is constrained by the Pontic Mountains to the south and by the Caucasus Mountains to the east, the longest east-west extent is about 1,175 km. The Black Sea has a water balance, that is, a net outflow of water 300 km3 per year through the Bosphorus. Mediterranean water flows into the Black Sea as part of a two-way hydrological exchange, the Black Sea drains into the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, via the Aegean Sea and various straits. The Bosphorus Strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and these waters separate Eastern Europe and Western Asia. The Black Sea is connected to the Sea of Azov by the Strait of Kerch, the water level has varied significantly. Due to these variations in the level in the basin. At certain critical water levels it is possible for connections with surrounding water bodies to become established and it is through the most active of these connective routes, the Turkish Straits, that the Black Sea joins the world ocean.
When this hydrological link is not present, the Black Sea is a basin, operating independently of the global ocean system. Currently the Black Sea water level is high, thus water is being exchanged with the Mediterranean. The Turkish Straits connect the Black Sea with the Aegean Sea, and comprise the Bosphorus, the Sea of Marmara, the International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Black Sea as follows, On the Southwest. The Northeastern limit of the Sea of Marmara, a line joining Cape Takil and Cape Panaghia. Strabos Geographica reports that in antiquity, the Black Sea was often just called the Sea, for the most part, Graeco-Roman tradition refers to the Black Sea as the Hospitable sea, Εὔξεινος Πόντος Eúxeinos Póntos. This is a euphemism replacing an earlier Inhospitable Sea, Πόντος Ἄξεινος Póntos Áxeinos, strabo thinks that the Black Sea was called inhospitable before Greek colonization because it was difficult to navigate, and because its shores were inhabited by savage tribes.
The name was changed to hospitable after the Milesians had colonized the southern shoreline and it is possible that the epithet Áxeinos arose by popular etymology from a Scythian word axšaina- unlit, the designation Black Sea may thus date from antiquity. A map of Asia dating to 1570, entitled Asiae Nova Descriptio, from Abraham Orteliuss Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, english-language writers of the 18th century often used the name Euxine Sea to refer to the Black Sea
Turkey
Turkey, officially the Republic of Turkey, is a transcontinental country in Eurasia, mainly in Anatolia in Western Asia, with a smaller portion on the Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. Turkey is a democratic, unitary, parliamentary republic with a cultural heritage. The country is encircled by seas on three sides, the Aegean Sea is to the west, the Black Sea to the north, and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. The Bosphorus, the Sea of Marmara, and the Dardanelles, Ankara is the capital while Istanbul is the countrys largest city and main cultural and commercial centre. Approximately 70-80% of the countrys citizens identify themselves as ethnic Turks, other ethnic groups include legally recognised and unrecognised minorities. Kurds are the largest ethnic minority group, making up approximately 20% of the population, the area of Turkey has been inhabited since the Paleolithic by various ancient Anatolian civilisations, as well as Assyrians, Thracians, Phrygians and Armenians. After Alexander the Greats conquest, the area was Hellenized, a process continued under the Roman Empire.
The Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm ruled Anatolia until the Mongol invasion in 1243, the empire reached the peak of its power in the 16th century, especially during the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent. During the war, the Ottoman government committed genocides against its Armenian, following the war, the conglomeration of territories and peoples that formerly comprised the Ottoman Empire was partitioned into several new states. Turkey is a member of the UN, an early member of NATO. Turkeys growing economy and diplomatic initiatives have led to its recognition as a regional power while her location has given it geopolitical, the name of Turkey is based on the ethnonym Türk. The first recorded use of the term Türk or Türük as an autonym is contained in the Old Turkic inscriptions of the Göktürks of Central Asia, the English name Turkey first appeared in the late 14th century and is derived from Medieval Latin Turchia. Similarly, the medieval Khazar Empire, a Turkic state on the shores of the Black.
The medieval Arabs referred to the Mamluk Sultanate as al-Dawla al-Turkiyya, the Ottoman Empire was sometimes referred to as Turkey or the Turkish Empire among its European contemporaries. The Anatolian peninsula, comprising most of modern Turkey, is one of the oldest permanently settled regions in the world, various ancient Anatolian populations have lived in Anatolia, from at least the Neolithic period until the Hellenistic period. Many of these peoples spoke the Anatolian languages, a branch of the larger Indo-European language family, in fact, given the antiquity of the Indo-European Hittite and Luwian languages, some scholars have proposed Anatolia as the hypothetical centre from which the Indo-European languages radiated. The European part of Turkey, called Eastern Thrace, has been inhabited since at least forty years ago. It is the largest and best-preserved Neolithic site found to date, the settlement of Troy started in the Neolithic Age and continued into the Iron Age
Saffron
Saffron is a spice derived from the flower of Crocus sativus, commonly known as the saffron crocus. Saffron crocus grows to 20–30 cm and bears up to four flowers, the styles and stigmas, called threads, are collected and dried to be used mainly as a seasoning and colouring agent in food. Saffron, long among the worlds most costly spices by weight, is native to Southwest Asia and was probably first cultivated in or near Greece. As a genetically monomorphic clone, it was slowly propagated throughout much of Eurasia and was brought to parts of North Africa, North America. Saffrons taste and iodoform or hay-like fragrance result from the chemicals picrocrocin and it contains a carotenoid pigment, which imparts a rich golden-yellow hue to dishes and textiles. Its recorded history is attested in a 7th-century BC Assyrian botanical treatise compiled under Ashurbanipal, Iran now accounts for approximately 90% of the world production of saffron. A degree of uncertainty surrounds the origin of the English word saffron and it might stem from the 12th-century Old French term safran, which comes from the Latin word safranum or from Arabic, az-zafaran, having unknown origin.
Safranum comes from the Persian intercessor zafarān, the domesticated saffron crocus, Crocus sativus, is an autumn-flowering perennial plant unknown in the wild. Its progenitors are possibly the eastern Mediterranean autumn-flowering Crocus cartwrightianus, which is known as wild saffron. The saffron crocus probably resulted when C. cartwrightianus was subjected to artificial selection by growers seeking longer stigmata. C. thomasii and C. pallasii are other possible sources, a corm survives for one season, producing via this vegetative division up to ten cormlets that can grow into new plants in the next season. Corms bear vertical fibres and net-like, that grow up to 5 cm above the plants neck, the plant grows to a height of 20–30 cm, and sprouts 5–11 white and non-photosynthetic leaves known as cataphylls. These membrane-like structures cover and protect the crocuss 5 to 11 true leaves as they bud and develop. The latter are thin and blade-like green foliage leaves, which are 1–3 mm in diameter, C. sativus cataphylls are suspected by some to manifest prior to blooming when the plant is irrigated relatively early in the growing season.
Its floral axes, or flower-bearing structures, bear bracteoles, or specialised leaves, that sprout from the flower stems, after aestivating in spring, the plant sends up its true leaves, each up to 40 cm in length. The flowers possess a sweet, honey-like fragrance, upon flowering, plants average less than 30 cm in height. A three-pronged style emerges from each flower, each prong terminates with a vivid crimson stigma 25–30 mm in length. The saffron crocus, unknown in the wild, probably descends from Crocus cartwrightianus, if C. sativus is a mutant form of C. cartwrightianus, it may have emerged via plant breeding, which would have selected for elongated stigmata, in late Bronze Age Crete
Ottoman Empire
After 1354, the Ottomans crossed into Europe, and with the conquest of the Balkans the Ottoman Beylik was transformed into a transcontinental empire. The Ottomans ended the Byzantine Empire with the 1453 conquest of Constantinople by Mehmed the Conqueror, at the beginning of the 17th century the empire contained 32 provinces and numerous vassal states. Some of these were absorbed into the Ottoman Empire, while others were granted various types of autonomy during the course of centuries. With Constantinople as its capital and control of lands around the Mediterranean basin, while the empire was once thought to have entered a period of decline following the death of Suleiman the Magnificent, this view is no longer supported by the majority of academic historians. The empire continued to maintain a flexible and strong economy, however, during a long period of peace from 1740 to 1768, the Ottoman military system fell behind that of their European rivals, the Habsburg and Russian Empires. While the Empire was able to hold its own during the conflict, it was struggling with internal dissent.
Starting before World War I, but growing increasingly common and violent during it, major atrocities were committed by the Ottoman government against the Armenians and Pontic Greeks. The word Ottoman is an anglicisation of the name of Osman I. Osmans name in turn was the Turkish form of the Arabic name ʿUthmān, in Ottoman Turkish, the empire was referred to as Devlet-i ʿAlīye-yi ʿOsmānīye, or alternatively ʿOsmānlı Devleti. In Modern Turkish, it is known as Osmanlı İmparatorluğu or Osmanlı Devleti, the Turkish word for Ottoman originally referred to the tribal followers of Osman in the fourteenth century, and subsequently came to be used to refer to the empires military-administrative elite. In contrast, the term Turk was used to refer to the Anatolian peasant and tribal population, the term Rūmī was used to refer to Turkish-speakers by the other Muslim peoples of the empire and beyond. In Western Europe, the two names Ottoman Empire and Turkey were often used interchangeably, with Turkey being increasingly favored both in formal and informal situations and this dichotomy was officially ended in 1920–23, when the newly established Ankara-based Turkish government chose Turkey as the sole official name.
Most scholarly historians avoid the terms Turkey and Turkish when referring to the Ottomans, as the power of the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum declined in the 13th century, Anatolia was divided into a patchwork of independent Turkish principalities known as the Anatolian Beyliks. One of these beyliks, in the region of Bithynia on the frontier of the Byzantine Empire, was led by the Turkish tribal leader Osman, osmans early followers consisted both of Turkish tribal groups and Byzantine renegades, many but not all converts to Islam. Osman extended the control of his principality by conquering Byzantine towns along the Sakarya River and it is not well understood how the early Ottomans came to dominate their neighbours, due to the scarcity of the sources which survive from this period. One school of thought which was popular during the twentieth century argued that the Ottomans achieved success by rallying religious warriors to fight for them in the name of Islam, in the century after the death of Osman I, Ottoman rule began to extend over Anatolia and the Balkans.
Osmans son, captured the northwestern Anatolian city of Bursa in 1326 and this conquest meant the loss of Byzantine control over northwestern Anatolia. The important city of Thessaloniki was captured from the Venetians in 1387, the Ottoman victory at Kosovo in 1389 effectively marked the end of Serbian power in the region, paving the way for Ottoman expansion into Europe
Caravanserai
A caravanserai (/kærəˈvænsəri/, was a roadside inn where travelers could rest and recover from the days journey. Caravanserais supported the flow of commerce and people across the network of routes covering Asia, North Africa. Major urban caravanserais were built along the Grand Trunk Road in the Indian subcontinent. The word is rendered as caravansary, caravanseray. The Persian word کاروانسرای kārvānsarāy is a word combining kārvān caravan with sarāy palace, building with enclosed courts. Here caravan means a group of traders, pilgrims, or other travelers, the word serai is sometimes used with the implication of caravanserai. The Persian caravanserai was built as a road station, outside of towns. An inn built inside a town would be smaller and was known in Persian as a khan, in the Middle-East the term khan covers both meanings, of roadside inn as well as of inner-town inn. In Turkish the word is rendered as han, the same word was used in Bosnian, having arrived through Ottoman conquest. Welcoming all, thus meaning inn, led to funduq in Arabic, pundak in Hebrew, fundaco in Venice, fondaco in Genoa and alhóndiga in Spanish.
Guards were stationed at every gate to ensure that taxes for these goods be paid in full, most typically a caravanserai was a building with a square or rectangular walled exterior, with a single portal wide enough to permit large or heavily laden beasts such as camels to enter. Caravanserais provided water for human and animal consumption and ritual purification such as wudu and they kept fodder for animals and had shops for travelers where they could acquire new supplies. In addition, some shops bought goods from the traveling merchants, turkishhan. org, The Seljuk Han in Anatolia. Encyclopædia Iranica, p. 798-802 Erdmann, Erdmann, Mann,1976, ISBN 3-7861-2241-5 Hillenbrand, Robert. Islamic Architecture, Form and meaning, reprinted from, Traditions Architecturales en Iran, Tehran, No.2 &3,1976. Caravanserai, Places, Dialogue in the Middle East, milan,5 Continents Editions, ISBN 978-88-7439-604-7 Yavuz, Aysil Tükel. The Concepts that Shape Anatolian Seljuq Caravansara, muqarnas XIV, An Annual on the Visual Culture of the Islamic World.
Shah Abbasi Caravanserai, Tishineh Caravansara Pictures Consideratcaravanserai. net and photos on research on caravanserais and travel journeys in Middle East, caravanserais in Turkey The Seljuk Han in Anatolia
Zonguldak Province
Zonguldak Province is a province along the western Black Sea coast region of Turkey. The province is 3.481 km² in size and has a population of 619,703 Its adjacent provinces are Düzce to the southwest, Bolu to the south, Karabük to the southeast, and Bartın to the east. Since the discovery of coal in the province, Zonguldak has become a coal production center. The Ereğli Museum, located in the town of Ereğli, is the museum in the city. Ereğli was founded during the 6th century B. C. by the Mariandynians, Ereğli was an important commercial wharf, which takes its name from the famous mythic hero, Hercules. The city preserved its importance during the Roman, Seljuk, many natural and sandy beaches may be found along a fifty-mile stretch of the coast. The boroughs of the city are used as recreation areas for leisurely hikes by regional residents. Boroughs are artificial lakes intended to provide drinking water or serve other industrial purposes and these boroughs are, Ulutan Dam Lake at the center, Kızılcapınar Dam Lake, and Gülüç Dam Lake in Ereğli, Dereköy Pond at Çatalağzı borough and Çobanoğlu Pond at Karapınar borough.
The most important waterfalls of the city are, Harmankaya at Center Kokaksu site, Değirmenağzı at Kozlu borough and Güneşli waterfalls at Ereğli, cehennemağzı Cave, Gökgöl, Kızılelma, İnağzı and Cumayanı are the notable caverns. The first specimen of Turkish coal was brought from Ereğli to Istanbul in 1822, however, in 1829, another specimen of coal was brought to Istanbul by Uzun Mehmet, a sailor and native of the village of Kestaneci, near Ereğli. This time attention was given to the discovery and the received a reward of a life pension. The first miners requested and delivered from the Austrian Government are the Austrian Croats known to have employed in the Ereğli Coal Mines. An investigation of Hazine-i Hassa records in the Ottoman archives shows that mining activities in the Ereğli Basin started in February 1841. This is confirmed by an article published in the 14 February 1841 issue of Ceride-i Havadis. Various places mentioned in the records are not known for sure, records of the period after the Sultan’s participation in the firm mention coal mines administered by the Company in Bezekli, Karaburun areas and various places.
After 1865, one of various places is named as Zone-Goul-Dagh or Zon-Goul-Dak. 1893-189689 AQ1704 Etudes et projets des ports de Zongouldak et de Koslou par A. Guérard, 1891-189789 AQ1705 Projet du port de Zongouldak. 189789 AQ1706 Projet du port de Zongouldak, 1897-189889 AQ1707 Projet du port de Zongouldak
Black Sea Region
The Black Sea Region is a geographical region of Turkey. 4,137,166 people live in cities and 4,301,747 people in villages and this makes it the only one of the seven regions of Turkey in which more people live in rural rather than urban areas. The Black Sea region has a steep, rocky coast with rivers that cascade through the gorges of the coastal ranges, a few larger rivers, those cutting back through the Pontic Mountains, have tributaries that flow in broad, elevated basins. The higher slopes facing northwest tend to be densely forested, because of these natural conditions, the Black Sea coast historically has been isolated from Anatolia. The mild, damp climate of the Black Sea coast makes commercial farming profitable. Running from Zonguldak in the west to Rize in the east, the Samsun area, close to the midpoint, is a major tobacco-growing region, east of it are numerous citrus groves. East of Samsun, the area around Trabzon is world-renowned for the production of hazelnuts, all cultivable areas, including mountain slopes wherever they are not too steep, are sown or used as pasture.
The western part of the Black Sea region, especially the Zonguldak area, is a center of coal mining, the North Anatolian Mountains in the north are an interrupted chain of folded highlands that generally parallel the Black Sea coast. In the west, the mountains tend to be low, with elevations rarely exceeding 1,500 meters, trough-like valleys and basins characterize the mountains. Rivers flow from the mountains toward the Black Sea, the southern slopes—facing the Anatolian Plateau—are mostly unwooded, but the northern slopes contain dense growths of both deciduous and evergreen trees. Black Sea region has a climate, with high and evenly distributed rainfall the year round. At the coast, summers are warm and humid, and winters are cool, the Black Sea coast receives the greatest amount of precipitation and is the only region of Turkey that receives high precipitation throughout the year. The eastern part of that coast averages 2,500 millimeters annually which is the highest precipitation in the country, snowfall is quite common between the months of December and March, snowing for a week or two, and it can be heavy once it snows.
The water temperature in the whole Turkish Black Sea coast is always cool and fluctuates between 8° and 20 °C throughout the year
Russia
Russia, officially the Russian Federation, is a country in Eurasia. The European western part of the country is more populated and urbanised than the eastern. Russias capital Moscow is one of the largest cities in the world, other urban centers include Saint Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Nizhny Novgorod. Extending across the entirety of Northern Asia and much of Eastern Europe, Russia spans eleven time zones and incorporates a range of environments. It shares maritime borders with Japan by the Sea of Okhotsk, the East Slavs emerged as a recognizable group in Europe between the 3rd and 8th centuries AD. Founded and ruled by a Varangian warrior elite and their descendants, in 988 it adopted Orthodox Christianity from the Byzantine Empire, beginning the synthesis of Byzantine and Slavic cultures that defined Russian culture for the next millennium. Rus ultimately disintegrated into a number of states, most of the Rus lands were overrun by the Mongol invasion. The Soviet Union played a role in the Allied victory in World War II.
The Soviet era saw some of the most significant technological achievements of the 20th century, including the worlds first human-made satellite and the launching of the first humans in space. By the end of 1990, the Soviet Union had the second largest economy, largest standing military in the world. It is governed as a federal semi-presidential republic, the Russian economy ranks as the twelfth largest by nominal GDP and sixth largest by purchasing power parity in 2015. Russias extensive mineral and energy resources are the largest such reserves in the world, making it one of the producers of oil. The country is one of the five recognized nuclear weapons states and possesses the largest stockpile of weapons of mass destruction, Russia is a great power as well as a regional power and has been characterised as a potential superpower. The name Russia is derived from Rus, a state populated mostly by the East Slavs. However, this name became more prominent in the history, and the country typically was called by its inhabitants Русская Земля.
In order to distinguish this state from other states derived from it, it is denoted as Kievan Rus by modern historiography, an old Latin version of the name Rus was Ruthenia, mostly applied to the western and southern regions of Rus that were adjacent to Catholic Europe. The current name of the country, Россия, comes from the Byzantine Greek designation of the Kievan Rus, the standard way to refer to citizens of Russia is Russians in English and rossiyane in Russian. There are two Russian words which are translated into English as Russians
Turkey
Safranbolu travel guide from Wikivoyage
