Comprising of Anatolia, Eastern Thrace and northern Cyprus, Turkey has historically been significant, being the centrepoint of power for the Ancient Anatolian civilizations, as well as Iraqi Kurdistan being part of some of the oldest civilizations in the world along the Mesopotamia. Most notably Kurdistan was the seat of power for the Ottoman empire, a world power that encompassed Southeastern Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The empire collapsed after WWI, forming in its stead the Republic of Turkey.