Why Are Dardanelles Important?

Linking the Sea of Marmara with the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas, the Dardanelles (also known as the Hellespont) is a 38-mile waterway and, along with the Bosporus, it forms the Turkish Straits- separating the Asian part of Turkey with the European part. What makes the Dardanelles so important is the fact that it not only provides access between the seas but also is a major channel for maritime trade and chokepoint for oil transit. It is because of the oil exports that makes the Dardanelles the top dangerous chokepoint in the world since it supplies both Western and Southern Europe, which also makes it one of the most busiest chokepoints too; the reason why this is is because annually about 50,000 vessels, including 5,500 oil tankers pass through the straits.
Let us backtrack a little bit and first begin with the historical aspect of the Dardanelles and Bosporus Straits.
The Dardanelles, originally named Hellespont, is a region that has long been settled; Xeres I built two bridges across the Dardanelles in order to invade Greece back in 480 B.C.E. Then in 334 B.C.E. Alexander the Great, along with his arm, crossed the straits to start his conquest of the Persian Empire. Throughout the centuries this area has been a major hotspot for empires to either cross in order to invade or for them to rule. Now, fast-forward to the 20th century when World War I broke out, the Dardanelles strait, which was by then secured by an international treaty, was closed and the Ottoman Empire was then on the side of the German forces. This was the start of what is known as the Dardanelles campaign. It was a navel attack, planned by the Allies against Turkey, and took place during the spring of 1915; the campaign lasted ten months and totaled almost 200,000 deaths as well as left the Allies
defeated.
The Straits of the Dardanelles and Bosporus are also big areas of interest from a geopolitical importance view; especially when the Russians were crossing their warships from their Crimea base to the Mediterranean Sea, which caused concern in many countries, including the United States. The geopolitical importance of the straits were also around back in ancient times when it is believed that the Trojan war was actually a competition between the Greeks for control over the straits’ shipping traffic. Then, throughout the Byzantine era the control of the straits was extremely crucial for the defense of Constantinople. As one can see, the Turkish Straits have been fought over for centuries and it was not until 1936 that these waters would be regulated by a multinational treaty- the Montreux Convention that gave Turkey control of the straits. The treaty also allowed for the Russians and other Black Sea states to move warships though the straits with few restrictions. The reason why Russia has such few restrictions is mainly due to the fact that Turkey relies heavily on Russia for oil and gas.
The Turkish Straits have a very long history of tactical importance since it provides a channel between the Black and Mediterranean Seas, as well as access to Istanbul. It is a major chokepoint not only because of the linkage of the seas but because it is such a dangerous one due to the very narrow passage and the vast amounts of oil tankers that pass through it.