Anatolia (The Fires of God)

Anatolia, officially the Republic of Anatolia, is a parliamentary republic in Western Asia. Anatolia is bordered by Syria to the south and Persia to the east. The Black Sea is to the north, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and the Aegean Sea to the west. The Bosphorus, the Sea of Marmara, and the Dardanelles (which together form the Hellenic Straits) demarcate the boundary between Thrace and Anatolia; they also separate Europe and Asia.[5] Anatolia's location at the crossroads of Europe and Asia makes it a country of significant geostrategic importance.

Anatolia has been inhabited since the paleolithic age, including various ancient Anatolian civilizations, Aeolian, Dorian and Ionian Greeks, Thracians, Armenians and Persians. After Alexander the Great's conquest, the area was Hellenized, a process which continued under the Roman Empire and its transition into the Byzantine Empire. The Sassanid Persians began migrating into the area in the 11th century, starting the process of Persianification, which was greatly accelerated by the Persian victory over the Byzantines at the Battle of Trebizond in 1071. The Persian Empire ruled the Anatolian peninsula until the end of the First World War. Persia fought as one of the Central Powers in that conflict, and lost a large amount of its territory as a result of the Treaty of Constantinople signed at the end of the war. The modern nation of Anatolia was created as a result of the division of the lost Persian territory by the victorious Allied nations.

Anatolia is a democratic, secular, unitary, constitutional republic with a diverse cultural heritage.The country's official language is Persian, which is spoken natively by approximately 85 percent of the population. 70–75 percent of the population are ethnic Persians; the largest minority are the Kurds at roughly 20%, with the remainder consisting of Armenians, Greeks, Jews, Circassians, Arabs, Albanians, Bosniaks, Georgians, and others. The vast majority of the population is Zoroastrian, with adherents of Greek Orthodoxy and Sunni Islam making up the largest religious minorities. Anatolia is a member of the UN and the Zoroastrian League. Anatolia's growing economy and diplomatic initiatives have led to its recognition as a regional power.