THE ROMAN AGE: Due to the will of King Attalos III., the Pergamon Kingdom was granted to the Roman Empire in 133 BC. Defeating the Pontic King Mithridates who resisted against the Roman rule in Asia Minor, the Romans extended their boundaries allover Anatolia. They founded brand new cities, such as Iconium (Konya), Caesarea (Kayseri), Sebasteia (Sivas) as they restyled and renovated the cities like Ephesos, Miletus, Phokaia, Tarsus, Philadelphia, Thralles and Assos. Pamphilian and Lycian cities, Perge, Side, Aspendos, Kaunos, Antiphellos, Myra and Termessos enjoyed their golden ages. It is worth mentioning the contemporary Kommagene Kingdom of East Anatolia and King Antiochus (ruled 69 to 34 BC.) and his incredible burial site on Mt. Nemrut; the great tumulus, with enormous proportions.

CHRISTIANITY AND THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE: Anatolia has always been a sacred land since the biblical times. Noah's arc had landed on Mt. Ararat, Ptophet Abraham lived in Edessa (Urfa) and Harran. St. Paul was born in Tarsus; he traveled throughout Anatolia and preached, to spread the word on the newborn religion. The followers of Jesus adopted the name "Christian", in the.cave church of St. Peter in Antioch and used this name thereafter. St. John, the evangelist, wrote his Gospel in the city of Ephesus. Mother Mary spent the last years of her life and passed away there. The seven churches of Revelation are also located in Anatolia.

The early ecumenical councils were held in the major cities of Asia Minor; Nicaea (Iznik), Ephesos, Constantinople (Istanbul) and Chalchedon (Kadıköy).

In the first half of the 4thcen. AD., Constantine the Great altered the administrative capital of the Eastern province. The former Byzantium, renamed as Constantinople (the city of Constantine), became the capital of a huge empire and the center of a great civilization, as Christianity was recognized as the state religion. Constantinople and many other Anatolian cities were restored and adorned with , outstanding monuments. The diverse history of the Empire has always been an interesting research topic by itself.

Under the Byzantine rule, Anatolia was the scene of continuous wars and eleven crusades. The Empire succeeded in driving back the Arab attacks in the 7th cell. and the Pecheneks in the 11th, but could not resist the Latin invasion of the 13th cell.. The defeat of Emperor Romallus Diogenes by the Seldjuk Turks in the battle of Manzikert (1071) marks the beginning of decline that lasted till the conquest of Constantinople in 1453; thus, the end of the Byzantine Empire.