Turkish government's Seljuk era map reveals dream for Ottoman revival

A map depicting “Greater Turkey” dating back to the Seljuk era, which includes vast lands spanning from northern Greece to large swathes of Georgia, shared by a former lawmaker from Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) signals the country’s desire to revive the Ottoman Empire, Egypt Today said on Saturday.

Metin Külünk, known for his close ties to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, on Friday shared the map to mark the anniversary of the Battle of Manzikert, dating back to era of the Seljuk Empire and its defeat of the Byzantine army in 1071.

Turkey has regained the spirit of the Manzikert Victory after the failed coup against Erdoğan on July 15, 2016, Külünk said in a series of Twitter posts.

The remarks by the former AKP lawmaker amid Turkey’s involvement in multiple conflicts in the region, including northern Syria, northern Iraq, Libya, and the Eastern Mediterranean with Greece and Cyprus.

“The reason why the Western world is confronting us today is the reawakening of a nation on July 15 and (Ankara’s) opening up to Syria, the Mediterranean and Africa,” Külünk said.

Ankara’s new approach, under the leadership of Erdoğan, attempts to reclaim the heritage of the Ottoman Empire and has taken a violent turn after resorting to military intervention instead of adopting a policy of “zero problems with neighbors,” Egypt Today said.

Egypt Today pointed particularly to Turkey’s “Blue Homeland” doctrine, which lays claim to expansive territorial waters in the Aegean, Mediterranean and Black seas, as an example of the country’s desire to impose control over seas on its shores.