Turkey is reportedly introducing major changes to its school textbooks, replacing internationally recognized historical and geographical terms with new terminology that reflects Ankara’s national narrative and geopolitical positions.
Among the most controversial changes is the reported replacement of the term “Aegean Sea” with “Sea of Islands” (“Adalar Denizi”) in educational materials. According to Turkish media reports, the revision is part of a broader effort by the Turkish Ministry of Education to reshape how history and geography are taught in schools.
The move has already sparked debate among historians, academics, and commentators. Critics argue that the Aegean Sea has been known by this name for thousands of years and that the term appears in ancient Greek literature, Roman sources, Byzantine texts, and modern international maps. They warn that altering long-established geographical names in school curricula risks politicizing education and distancing students from internationally accepted terminology.
Supporters of the changes, however, argue that every nation has the right to teach history and geography from its own perspective and that the new terminology better reflects Turkey’s interpretation of regional history and sovereignty issues.
The textbook revisions reportedly go beyond the Aegean. Turkish media have also reported plans to increasingly use the term “Eastern Rome” instead of “Byzantium,” emphasizing the continuity of the Eastern Roman Empire rather than the later historical label commonly used by Western scholars.
The changes come amid continuing tensions between Greece and Turkey over maritime boundaries, airspace, and competing claims in the Eastern Mediterranean and Aegean regions.
While countries often use different names for geographical features in their own languages, international organizations and global cartography continue to recognize the body of water between Greece and Turkey as the Aegean Sea.
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