Corlu has been the scene of important historical events due to its location as a resting place on the main road extending from Anatolia to the Rumelia border during the Ottoman period.

The Turks, who crossed into Rumelia during the reign of Ottoman Sultan Orhan Bey, began to advance in Rumelia during the reign of Murad I (Murat Hudavendigar). The new sultan's aim was to capture Edirne. However, before that, he seized Corlu and Luleburgaz to counter a potential threat from Byzantium.

The name Thrace comes from the Thracians, who also gave their name to the region. The Thracians arrived in the region in large numbers, with their raids beginning around 4000 BC. The first wave of Thracian raids, lasting until 2000 BC, occurred via Anatolia, while the second wave, lasting until 1200 AD, took place via the northern route.

Tekirdag has been home to statesmen who left a deep mark on Turkish history from the Ottoman period to the present day, as well as important historical leaders exiled from Europe. Furthermore, the city is the birthplace of many valuable figures who shaped the world of literature and art during the Republican era.

Before 1876, there were 142 Turkish villages and 45 Greek villages in Tekirdag province. Today, hundreds of village and farm names in Tekirdag province bear the names of old Yoruk tribes, clans, and settlements. Since many Turks from all corners of Anatolia came and settled in the lands of Tekirdag province during the founding period of the Ottoman Empire, many of the current village and farm names belong to the Oghuz Turks, their main branches such as the Avshars and Beydilis, the Danishmendids, the Dulkadirids, the Bozoks, the Karamanids, the Saruhanids, the Aydin and Karesi Ogullari, and the Syrian and Iranian Yoruks.

Mustafa Kemal was serving as Military Attaché in Sofia during the First World War, which began on July 28, 1914. On August 2nd, an agreement was signed between the Ottoman Empire and Germany, and on October 29, 1914, the Ottoman Empire officially joined World War I alongside its allies, Germany and Austria. Following this entry into World War I, Lieutenant Colonel Mustafa Kemal, who was in Sofia, received a telegram from the acting Minister of War. The telegram stated, "You have been appointed commander of the 19th Division; leave for Istanbul immediately." Mustafa Kemal arrived in Istanbul and met with Enver Pasha, the acting commander-in-chief who had recently returned from the Sarıkamış operation. He inquired about which corps and army the 19th Division belonged to. The answer he received was to consult with the General Staff. Upon arriving at the General Staff, Mustafa Kemal found no one aware of the existence of such a division. After that, Liman met with Fon Sanders and learned that the party was still in its formative stages in Tekirdağ, so he travelled to Tekirdağ.

Tekirdag is located on the northwestern coast of the Marmara Sea, within the lands of Thrace. Due to its geographical position, it holds strategic importance as a passage region. The city is situated where the coastline transitions from an east-west direction to a north-south direction, along a semi-circular bay, partially on valley slopes and partially on cliffs. It has rapidly expanded towards the east-west and northern sections through successive terraces.

197 BC – 395 AD: With Roman military intervention in 197 BC, the Thracian tribes gained their independence. In 46 AD, after the Thracian King Rhoemetalces III was killed by his own wife, Emperor Claudius annexed Thrace as a province of Rome and appointed a procurator from the equestrian class to govern the province. To Romanize Thrace, Emperor Claudius established two Roman colonies in the interior regions of Thrace, settling retired Roman soldiers there.

The history of Tekirdag should not be considered separately from the history of Thrace and the Marmara region. The most important feature of the region is that all kinds of relations such as migration, invasion, trade and cultural exchange between Anatolia, the Near East and Europe took place through Thrace. The second important feature of the region is that it is located at the junction of the main sea route from the Mediterranean and the Aegean Sea to the Black Sea and from there to Central and Eastern Europe and Asia via large rivers.