ZONGULDAK HISTORY
According to archaeological proofs, the history of Zonguldak dates back to 2500 BC.Fistly, Hattians
settled in the district and then the Hittites did.The first residents were Bithins, Mariandyns and Migdons
from Phrygians tribes.During the Greek colonization in Western Anatolia in 7 BC, harbours were built in
order to do trade.The district ,which was under the control of Persians until 334 BC, was governed by
Macedonian officers for a while after the military campaign by Alexander the Great to Anatolia.Byzantine
conquered Kingdom of Pontus and then Zonguldak ,which was a part of Pontus, became Byzantine
territory after the division of Roman Empire.Ereğli Region was one of the places that Christianity was
spreading rapidly.In this period, one of the Apostles ,Andreas, set rituals in the Holy Worship Caves in
Ereğli. In 1084, Seljuk Sultanate conquered Zonguldak.Then Republic of Genova attacked the
region.Isfendiyarids governed the area between 1292-1461.Mehmed the Conqueror invaded the disrict
and Ottoman Empire dominated the territory. During the period of Mahmud II, coal was discovered in the
region.Coal mines were established in 1848.Belgian and French companies run the mines. Zonguldak
Harbour hosted warships and ammunition during the World War I. It had a role in relationships with USSR
at Independence War. Under color of saving French companies’ rights, France occupied Zonguldak and
then Ereğli in 1919.Community forces resisted the attacks and French soldiers had to leave the area on
21st June 1920.
The Republic of Turkey.
The occupation of some parts of the country by the Allies in the aftermath of World War I prompted
the establishment of the Turkish national movement.Under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal, a military
commander who had distinguished himself during the Battle of Gallipoli, the Turkish War of
Independencewas waged with the aim of revoking the terms of the Treaty of Sèvres. By September 18,
1922, the occupying armies were expelled. On November 1, then ewly founded parliament formally
abolished the Sultanate, thus ending 623 years of Ottoman rule. The Treaty of Lausanne of July 24, 1923,
led to the international recognition of the sovereignty of the newly formed "Republic of Turkey" as
the successor state of the Ottoman Empire, and the republic was officially proclaimed on October 29,
1923, in the new capital of Ankara. Mustafa Kemal became the republic's first President of Turkey and
subsequently introduced many radical reforms with the aim of founding a new secular republic from the
remnants of its Ottoman past. The Ottoman fez was abolished, full rights for women politically were
established, and new writing system for Turkish based upon the Latin alphabet was created.According to
the Law on Family Names, the Turkish parliament presented Mustafa Kemal with the honorific surname
"Atatürk" (Father of the Turks) in 1934.
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