The theoretical grounds for this thesis is Steven Pinker’s seminal work “The Better Angels of Our Nature”, the basic assertion of which is that violence between and within human communities is in a long-term universal decline, for which Pinker uses ample evidence in mostly Western societies. The thesis will try to test his theory on the example of Turkey. It’s a traditionally predominantly Muslim and therefore non-Western society and at the same time went through periods of state centralization, monopolization of violence as well as modernization, making it similar enough to Western states. If Pinker’s assertions don’t apply here, it will pose a serious threat to their credibility; if they do, it will vastly contribute to their corroboration. The thesis will examine Pinker’s main points and apply them to the case of Turkey. It will look at the general trends: monopolization of violence by the state; proliferation of commerce; feminization of the society; cosmopolitanism and education; and escalation of reason in human affairs. Thereafter, these trends will be linked to specific indicators and their changes in time: the number and death toll in interstate armed conflicts; the number of violent criminality, its legal status, punishment and enforcement; death penalty, its evolution and history of abolishment/re-introduction; influence of religion on political and social life as opposed to secularism. At the end of the thesis, we will be able to corroborate or falsify whether or not Pinker’s assertions about the general decrease in human violence hold true outside the Western society using the example of Turkey and its historic predecessor, the Ottoman Empire.