The proceedings are expected to last several months.
Turkey's military, which has long regarded its role as protector the country's secular traditions, staged three other coups between 1960 and 1980.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan whose ruling party splintered from Erbakan's now-defunct Welfare Party and came to power in 2002 has curtailed the powers of the generals and has vowed to put an end to the era of coups in Turkey.
Last year, a court in Istanbul convicted nearly 330 army officers, including the former air force and navy chiefs, of plotting to bring down Erdogan's government in 2003, and sentenced some to 20 years in prison. That case, however, has been marred by procedural flaws and long pre-trial detention periods. All of the defendants are appealing the verdict.
Earlier this month, scores of people including another former military chief, politicians and journalists were convicted of a separate plot to overthrow Erdogan's government in 2003 and 2004, soon after it came to power.
Meanwhile, the two ailing previous leaders of the country's military are also on trial for the 1980 coup that stopped deadly fighting between political extremists but also led to a wave of executions and torture in Turkey.