Erzurum

Erzurum, a city and region located in Eastern Anatolia and mentioned in historical sources with its ancient name Karin. Erzurum, mentioned in a wide range of sources from ancient and Islamic period texts to Ottoman archival documents, stands out as an important center in both Armenian historiography and Ottoman administrative and military organization.

Early Armenian Sources

In the earliest layer, Erzurum appears in Armenian sources under the name Karin. According to the text attributed to Sebeos, some nobles from Byzantium want to kill a Byzantine official (kurator) who entered a hot spring near Karin/Erzurum to find healing; this person, aware of the attack, manages to escape before being captured, and the said nobles later burn and destroy everything they encounter in the region (Volume 1, p. 79). The historian Aristakes Lastivertsi is also connected to this geography: he was born in the village of Lastivert, near Erzen (Artzn), in the Karin (Erzurum) region. Aristakes, who is stated to have died after 1072, is the first Armenian historian to record the Seljuks' attacks and campaigns against Armenia (Volume 1, p. 113).

In Islamic Geographical Works

In Islamic period geographical literature, Erzurum is associated with the region's water system. According to El-Mağribî, the Euphrates is fed by waters originating from springs, meadows, forests, and violets northeast of Erzurum; İbn el-Verdî states that both the Great (Upper) and Little (Lower) Zap originate from Azerbaijan and Ermenistan (Volume 2, p. 85).

Ottoman Archive and Administration

During the Ottoman period, Erzurum was extensively documented in archive records. The region stands out in tahrir defters and customs records; indeed, the Detailed Tahrir Defter of Erzurum Eyalet No. 67 covers the years 1591-1592 and includes many places, especially the districts of Erzurum and Kemah, as well as Hınıs and its surroundings (Volume 3, p. 24). Erzurum was also one of the eyalets where Ahkâm defters were kept (Volume 3, p. 31); there are nineteen Erzurum Ahkâm Defters, eight of which belong to the Ottoman classical period and shed light on tax, land, and waqf issues in different sanjaks of the eyalet (Volume 3, p. 32). The timar ruznamçe defters belonging to the Erzurum eyalet also contain significant information about regions densely populated by Kürtler (Volume 3, p. 29).

Erzurum was a strategic base and customs center on the Ottoman-İran conflict line. During the campaigns organized by the Ottoman Devleti against the Safeviler, fortresses such as Erzurum, Kars, and Bayezid were used as important military bases and were continuously reinforced (Volume 3, p. 35); in this context, the Erzurum Gümrüğü also formed a separate fund for border trade (Volume 3, p. 36).

The city was also at the center of tribal movements and settlement policies in the region. In a Mühimme record, it was reported that the Bisyan and Bociyan tribes, who migrated from Diyarbekir with 300 households to Erzurum and Malazgirt, damaged the property and crops of the local populace, and Behlül Bey, responsible for the tribe, was asked to prevent these wrongdoings; in the same context, an order sent to the Erzurum Beylerbeyi stated that a person named Hızır from the Zilan and other tribes in the Hınıs livası plundered the property of the reaya with three hundred men (Volume 3, p. 13).

The governor of Erzurum and surrounding beys also played a role in suppressing rebellions in the region. In Osman Bey's rebellion, the central administration ordered the Kars Beylerbeyi to assist the Erzurum governor (Volume 3, p. 17); Osman Paşa's rebellion, on the other hand, was attempted to be suppressed with the beys of Erzurum, Van, Kars, Çıldır, and Bitlis (Volume 3, p. 18). In 1720, this rebellion was suppressed as a result of the joint action of the beys of Kars, Çıldır, and Karahisarışarki with the governor of Erzurum (Volume 3, p. 47). In response to developments on the İran border, orders were sent to the governors of Erzurum and Çıldır to be vigilant (Volume 3, p. 43).

Religious-Cultural Trace

From a religious-cultural perspective, Erzurum also finds a place in sources: there is a waqf record related to the Erzurum and Tillo regions concerning İbrahim Hakkı Efendi, one of the important figures of the Nakşibendi order (Volume 3, p. 42).