Erzurum
Erzurum (Turkish: Erzurum), also Arzrum, is a city in northeastern Turkey. In antiquity, it was called Theodosiopolis (named in honor of Emperor Theodosius II; in Georgian – Karnu-Kalaki, “City of Kars”). From ancient times, it was a fortified settlement.
During the Middle Ages, it was connected to the major South Caucasian trade and transit route (Sultaniyya – Karabakh – Barda – Ganja – Shamkhori – Tbilisi – Gori – Akhaltsikhe – Erzurum). In the 3rd–4th centuries, Erzurum was the object of conflict between Rome and Sasanian Iran. In the 640s, it was conquered by the Arabs, who renamed it Kalikala. After the fragmentation of the Caliphate, it came under the Byzantine rule.
Between 976 and 979, as a reward for assisting Emperor Basil II in suppressing the rebellion of Bardas Skleros, Georgian Prince David Kuropalates received Karnu-Kalaki, the district of Basiani, and other territories from Byzantium. After David Kuropalates’ death (in 1001), much of his domain was annexed by the Byzantine Empire.
At one point in the 11th century, Erzurum was governed by Grigol Bakurianis dze; later it came under the control of the Saltukid dynasty, a Turkmen ruling family. In 1163, King George III of Georgia campaigned against Erzurum, and in 1192–93 Georgian troops again attacked the city.
The Seljuk Sultan of Asia Minor, Rukn ad-Din (1196–1204), deposed the ruler of Erzurum in 1201 and appointed his brother, Mughith ad-Din Toghrul Shah, as governor. This marked the end of the Saltukid dynasty’s rule, and Erzurum became part of the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum (Asia Minor).
At the beginning of the 13th century, Erzurum became a tributary of Georgia. In the 1220s, Georgia brought under its control the trade route connecting Dvini and Erzurum. In 1223, Queen Tamar’s daughter Rusudan was married to son of the Sultan of Erzurum Toghrul Shah, Mughith ad-Din, who converted to Christianity.
In 1241, Erzurum was captured by the Anatolian Seljuks, who massacred the population. From the second half of the 13th century, it became part of the Ilkhanid state. At the end of the 14th and beginning of the 15th century, Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I laid claim to Erzurum. During Tamerlane’s invasion of Asia Minor, Erzurum’s ruler supported him against the Ottomans.
After the Ottoman defeat at Ankara in 1402, Tamerlane restored Erzurum to its former ruler. Following Tamerlane’s death in 1405, the Georgians revolted and ravaged the territories of Erzurum (as mentioned by Clavijo).
In 1522 (according to some sources, 1517), Erzurum was finally annexed by the Ottoman Empire. In 1534–35, the Erzurum Beglarbeglik (governorate) was established, which became a staging ground for Ottoman military campaigns against the South Caucasus.
After the conquest of Meskheti, the Ottoman authorities instructed the Beglarbeg of Erzurum to oversee the activities of the Pashas of Akhaltsikhe. During the Russo-Turkish wars, Erzurum was captured three times (in 1829, 1878, and 1916) by Russian forces, but was returned to the Ottoman Empire under subsequent peace treaties.
Literature: ჯავახიშვილი ივ., ქართველი ერის ისტორია, წგ. 2–3, თბ., 1965–66; საქართველოს ისტორიის ნარკვევები, ტ. 2–3, თბ., 1973–79; Гордлевский В. А., Государство Сельджукидов Малой Азии, Избр. соч., т. 1, М., 1960.
D. Katsitadze
