- 1453 AD. Mehmed II's entry into Constantinople. Artist: Fausto Zonaro.
Turks — a Turkic-speaking people, the main population of Turkey, and the second largest ethnic group in Cyprus. Total population is about 81 million. The majority of believers are Sunni Muslims (about 90%), with Sufi tariqas being widespread.
In the second half of the 16th century, the dependence of Abkhazia and Western Georgia on the Ottoman Empire increased. The Turks built numerous fortifications on the Black Sea coast — Sukhum-Kale (future Sukhumi), Poti, Anapa, and others. In 1555, under the peace treaty between Iran and Turkey, the Ottoman Empire acquired Imereti, Odishi, Abkhazia, Guria, and the country of the Lazi. A significant part of the population of Abkhazia was converted to Islam; the resistance of the Abkhazians to the destruction of their spiritual and material values was expressed in anti-Turkish uprisings (1725, 1733, 1771, 1806, and others). In 1615, Abkhazia gained temporary independence. However, in fact, Abkhazia, like all of Western Georgia, remained dependent on the Ottoman Empire until 1810.
VARIANT NAMES: Turkish. Türkler, Russian. Turki.
Sources:
Ethnogenesis of the Abkhazians. D.A. Arshba, 2015