Anatolians are one of the oldest distinct indo european cultures. They were originally a mixture of indo european people with anatolian farmers (the same as every other european group). In pre history they were the hittites, the medes, and the Lydians. Lydia was taken over by the Persians, which was then taken over by the Greeks, who were taken over by Rome. Rome split in 2, and eastern Rome was beaten by the ottomans. Anatolia wasn't an independent land for a very long time until after ww1, but it maintained a degree of autonomy in every empire it ended up in (and it had control in the ottoman empire), plus a degree of safety, so it was advantageous overall for them to not be independent.
The anatolians were and were not their own race. A majority of their dna is still from the native inhabitants, but there is a mixture with other closely related people like the Greeks and Persians. The anatolians who fought the ottomans would be culturally greek, but ethnically distinct from Greece
I am quite confused about Anatolians being indo-european because I remember there being 2 kinds: Anatolian farmers (Neolithic, ~7000–4000 BCE) and Indo-European Anatolians (Bronze Age, after ~2000 BCE) who were the Hittites, Luwians, and related peoples. I feel people use these interchangeably and it causes some confusion.
Anatolian farmers conquered all of europe, some of them stayed in anatolia. The hittites, luwians, et al were created from these 2 groups of people mixing.
Are Anatolians their own race?
The anatolians were and were not their own race. A majority of their dna is still from the native inhabitants, but there is a mixture with other closely related people like the Greeks and Persians. The anatolians who fought the ottomans would be culturally greek, but ethnically distinct from Greece