Erzurum

Erzurum
Metropolitan Municipality
Top left: Lala Kara Mustafa Pasha Mosque, Top right: Erzurum Poolside, Middle left: Cumhuriyet avenue, Top right: Statue of Nene Hatun, Bottom left: Kiremitliktepe Ski Jump, Bottom right: The Statue of Liberty in Erzurum
Erzurum Location of Erzurum
Coordinates: 39°54′31″N 41°16′37″E / 39.90861°N 41.27694°E / 39.90861; 41.27694Coordinates: 39°54′31″N 41°16′37″E / 39.90861°N 41.27694°E / 39.90861; 41.27694
Country	Turkey
Province	Erzurum Province
Government
• Mayor	Mehmet Sekmen (AKP)
Elevation	1,900 m (6,200 ft)
Population (2010)
• Urban	367,250
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
• Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)
Climate	Dfb
Website	www.erzurum-bld.gov.tr

Erzurum (Armenian: Կարին Karin)^[1] is a city in eastern Turkey. It is the largest city in and the eponymous capital of Erzurum Province. The city is situated 1757 meters (5766 feet) above sea level. Erzurum had a population of 361,235 in the 2000 census, increasing to 367,250 by 2010.

Erzurum, known as "The Rock" in NATO code, served as NATO's southeastern-most air force post during the Cold War. The city uses the double-headed Anatolian Seljuk Eagle as its coat-of-arms, a motif based on the double-headed Byzantine Eagle that was a common symbol throughout Anatolia and the Balkans in the medieval period.

Erzurum has some of the finest winter sports facilities in Turkey and hosted the 2011 Winter Universiade.

Name and etymology

During Roman times Erzurum was named Theodosiopolis (Latin: Theodosiopolis, Greek: Θεοδοσιούπολις). It got its present name after its conquest by the Seljuks following the Battle of Manzikert in 1071.^[2]

A neighboring commercial city named Artsn (Arcn, Artze, Arzan; Armenian: Արծն) was heavily sacked by the Seljuk Turks in 1048-49.^[2][3] Its Armenian, Syrian, and other Christian inhabitants moved to Theodosiopolis, which they began calling "Artsn Rum" (meaning Arzan of the Romans) to distinguish it from their former residence.^[4][5][6] The city's Muslim inhabitants changed the name to Arzan ar-Rum and then Erzurum.^[4][7] After the Arab conquest of Armenia, the city was known to the Arabs as Kālīkalā (which was adopted from the original Armenian name Karno K'aghak' (Armenian: Կարնո քաղաք), meaning "Karin City", to distinguish it from the district of Karin (Կարին).^[2] To the Georgians, the city was known as Karnu-Qalaqi (კარნუ-ქალაქი). Armenians still called it "Karin" or "Garin" during the modern period.

History

Early history

In ancient times, Erzurum existed under the Armenian name of Karin. During the reigns of the Artaxiad and Arsacid kings of Armenia, Karin served as the capital of the eponymous canton of Karin, in the province Bardzr Hayk' (Upper Armenia).^[8] After the partition of Armenia between the Eastern Roman Empire and Sassanid Persia in 387 AD, the city passed into the hands of the Romans. They fortified the city and renamed it Theodosiopolis, after Emperor Theodosius I.^[9] As the chief military stronghold along the eastern border of the empire, Theodosiopolis held a highly important strategic location and was fiercely contested in wars between the Byzantines and Persians. Emperors Anastasius I and Justinian I both refortified the city and built new defenses during their reigns.^[10]

Middle Ages

The Seljuk era Çifte Minareli Medrese (Twin Minaret Madrasa) is the symbol of the city and appears on its coat of arms.

Seljuk stone carving on the Yakutiye Medrese, 13th century

Theodosiopolis was conquered by the Umayyad general Abdallah ibn Abd al-Malik in 700/701. It became the capital of the emirate of Ḳālīḳalā and was used as a base for raids into Byzantine territory. Though only an island of Arab power within Christian Armenian-populated territory, the native population was generally a reliable client of the Caliph's governors. As the power of the Caliphate declined, and the resurgence of Byzantium began, the local Armenian leaders preferred the city to be under the control of powerless Muslim emirs rather than powerful Byzantine emperors.^[11]

In 931, and again in 949, Byzantine forces led by Theophilos Kourkouas, grandfather of the future emperor John I Tzimiskes, captured Theodosiopolis. Its Arab population was expelled and the city was resettled by Greeks and Armenians.^[12] Emperor Basil II rebuilt the city and its defenses in 1018 with the help of the local Armenian population.^[13] In 1071, after the decisive battle at Manzikert, the Seljuk Turks took possession of Theodosiopolis. The Saltukids were rulers of an Anatolian beylik (principality) centered in Erzurum, who ruled from 1071 to 1202. Melike Mama Hatun, sister of Nâsırüddin Muhammed, was the ruler between 1191 and 1200.

Erzeron from Joseph Pitton de Tournefort's 1717 book Relation d'un voyage du Levant

Theodosiopolis repelled many attacks and military campaigns by the Seljuks and Georgians (the latter knew the city as Karnu-Kalaki) until 1201 when the city and the province was conquered by the Seljuk sultan Süleymanshah II. Erzen-Erzurum fell to the Mongol siege in 1242, and the city was looted and devastated. After the fall of the Seljuk Sultanate of Anatolia (Rüm) in early 14th century, it became an administrative province of the Ilkhanate, and after their fall, became part of the Çoban beylik, Black Sheep Turkmen, empire of Timur Lenk and White Sheep Turkmen. It subsequently passed to Safavid Persia, until the Ottomans under Selim I in 1514 conquered it through the Battle of Chaldiran. During the Ottoman Empire reign, the city served as the main base of Ottoman military power in the region.

It served as the capital of the eyalet of Erzurum. Early in the seventeenth century, the province was threatened by Safavid Persia and a revolt by the province governor Abaza Mehmed Pasha. This revolt was combined with Jelali Revolts (the uprising of the provincial musketeers called the Jelali), backed by Iran and lasted until 1628. In 1733, the Iranian Nader Shah took Erzurum during the Ottoman–Persian War (1730–35),^[14] but if returned into Ottoman possession following his death in 1747.

Modern history

Photograph by W. L. Sachtleben showing Armenian victims of a massacre in Erzurum on October 30, 1895 being gathered for burial in a mass grave.^[15]

In 1821, during the last major Ottoman-Persian War, the Ottomans were crushingly defeated at Erzurum despite a numerical superiority by the Iranian Qajars at the Battle of Erzurum (1821).^[16] In 1829 the city was captured by the Russian Empire, but was returned to the Ottoman Empire under the Treaty of Adrianople (Edirne), in September of the same year. During the Crimean war Russian forces approached Erzurum, but did not attack it because of insufficient forces and the continuing Russian siege of Kars. The city was unsuccessfully attacked (Battle of Erzurum (1877)) by a Russian army in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78. However, in February 1878, the Russians took Erzurum without resistance, but it was again returned to the Ottoman Empire, this time under the Treaty of San Stefano. There were massacres of the city's Armenian citizens during the Hamidian massacres (1894–1896).^[17][18] The city was the location of one of the key battles in the Caucasus Campaign of World War I between the armies of the Ottoman and Russian Empires. This resulted in the capture of Erzurum by Russian forces under the command of Grand Duke Nicholas and Nikolai Nikolaevich Yudenich on February 16, 1916.

Erzurum was also a major deportation center during the Armenian Genocide in 1915.^[19] In the late April 1915, about 450 prominent Armenians of Erzerum city were imprisoned. Most of them were intellectuals, community leaders, journalists and merchants. In early May 1915 they were all executed.^[20] Prior to the war, the city had a vibrant Armenian community with numerous schools and served as the provincial residence of the Archbishop of the Armenian Apostolic Church. By the time the Russians entered in 1916, barely a hundred Armenians were left alive, out of a prewar population of 20,000;^[21] it is estimated that approximately 90% of the Armenians of Erzurum province had perished.^[22] By 1919, according to the American Committee for Relief in the Near East, Erzurum was left completely devoid of its Armenian population.^[23] In 1918 Armenian troops carried out revenge killings of Muslims in the Erzurum area, after having witnessed the massacres that had been directed against the Armenian population.^[24]

Erzurum reverted to Ottoman control after the signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk in March 1918. In 1919, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, one of the key founders of the modern Turkish Republic, resigned from the Ottoman Army in Erzurum and was declared an "Honorary Native" and freeman of the city, which issued him his first citizenship registration and certificate (Nüfus Cuzdanı) of the new Turkish Republic. The Erzurum Congress of 1919 was one of the starting points of the Turkish War of Independence.^[25]

Climate

Erzurum has a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfb) with cold, snowy winters and warm, dry summers with cool night. The average maximum daily temperature during August is around 27 °C (81 °F). The highest recorded temperature is 36.5 °C (97.7 °F), on 31 July 2000. However, the average minimum daily temperature during January is around −15 °C (5 °F); temperatures fall below −30 °C (−22 °F) most years. The lowest recorded temperature is −37.2 °C (−35.0 °F), on 28 December 2002.

Economy

Erzurum Cumhuriyet Avenue

One of the largest source of income and economic activity in the city has been Atatürk University. Established in 1950, it is one of the largest universities in Turkey, having more than forty-thousand students. Tourism also provides a portion of the province's revenues. The city is a popular destination in Turkey for winter sports at the nearby Palandöken Mountain.

Erzurum is notable for the small-scale production of objects crafted from Oltu stone: most are sold as souvenirs and include prayer beads, bracelets, necklaces, brooches, earrings and hairclips.

For now, Erzurum is the ending point of the South Caucasus Pipeline, also called the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum (BTE) pipeline. Erzurum will also be the starting point of the planned Nabucco pipeline which will carry natural gas from the Caspian Sea basin to the European Union member states. The intergovernmental agreement between Turkey, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary and Austria to build the Nabucco pipeline was signed by five Prime Ministers on 13 July 2009 in Ankara.^[26][27] The European Union was represented at the ceremony by the President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso and the Commissioner for Energy Andris Piebalgs, while the United States was represented by the Special Envoy for Eurasian Energy Richard Morningstar and the Ranking Member of the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Senator Richard Lugar.^[28][29]

Tourism

Palandöken in August 2009, as seen from downtown Erzurum.

Little of medieval Erzurum survives beyond scattered individual buildings such as the citadel fortress, and the 13th century Çifte Minareli Medrese (the "Twin Minaret" madrasa). Visitors may also wish to visit the Çobandede Bridge, which dates back to late 13th century^[30]

Six kilometres to the south of the center of Erzurum is an important skiing center on the Palandöken Mountain range. There are several ski runs; the south ski run is 8 km long, while the north ski run is intended for advanced skiers. The summit of Mt. Palandöken, which is called Büyük Ejder (Great Dragon), is at an altitude of 3188 metres. It can be reached with a chair lift which rises to an altitude of 3100 metres.

Transport

The main bus station has bus links to most major Turkish cities. Erzurum is also the main railroad endpoint for the Eastern Anatolia region. Erzurum Airport, also used by the Turkish Air Force, has the second longest runway in Turkey.

Cuisine

One specialty of Erzurum's cuisine is Cağ Kebab. Although this kebab variety is of recent introduction outside its native region, it is rapidly attaining widespread popularity around Turkey.

Kadayıf Dolması is an exquisite dessert made with walnut.

Other regional foodstuffs include Su böreği (wet pastry), ekşili dolma (sour stuffed vegetables), kesme çorbası (soup), ayran aşı yayla çorbası (nomads soup), çiriş, şalgam dolması (stuffed turnip), yumurta pilavı (egg pilaf), and kadayıf dolması^[30]

Sports

Venues

2011 Winter Universiade opening in Kazım Karabekir Stadium.

The K-95 /left) and K-125 (right) ski jumping towers at Kiremitliktepe.

• Kazım Karabekir Stadium
• Erzurum Ice Hockey Arena
• GSIM Yenişehir Ice Hockey Hall
• Milli Piyango Curling Arena
• Kiremitliktepe Ski Jump

International events hosted

Erzurum has hosted the following international winter sports events:

• 11th World Ice Hockey U18 Championships-Division III - Group B Tournament - March 9–15, 2009
• 12th World Ice Hockey U18 Championships-Division III - Group A Tournament - March 8–14, 2010
• 25th Winter Universiade - January 27 – February 6, 2011
• World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship - April 23 – 29, 2012
• European Curling Championships - Group C Tournament - October 5–10, 2012
• 11th IIHF World Championship Division III - April 15 – 21, 2012

The city's football club Erzurumspor, which during 1998–2001 played in the Turkish Super League, was forced to relegate to the TFF Third League due to financial problems.

Erzurum's football venue, the Cemal Gürsel Stadium, has a seating capacity for 21,900 spectators. To be able to carry out the competitions of the Winter Universiade, a ski jumping ramp, an ice hockey arena and a curling hall were built in Erzurum.

Frank Lenz disappearance

In May 1894 American bicyclist Frank Lenz disappeared outside the city on the final leg of his quest to circumnavigate the globe on a bike.

Notable natives

Armenians

The Statue of Nene Hatun, (1857 – 22 May 1955) was a Turkish folk heroine, who at her age of twenty showed bravery during the recapture of Fort Aziziye in Erzurum from Russian forces at the start of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878.

• Armenak Arzrouni, Armenian photographer
• Nikita Balieff, Armenian stage performer
• Arshak Gafavian, Armenian military commander
• Johannes Avetaranian (a.k.a. Mehmet Sükrü), Seyyid (self-proclaimed descendant of the prophet Muhammed), Christian missionary
• Karekin Pastermadjian, a leader of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation and an ambassador of Armenia to the US
• Vartkes Serengülian, Armenian deputy in the Ottoman parliament killed during the Armenian Genocide
• Kourken Yanigian, American-Armenian author, engineer and activist who murdered two Turkish consular officials

Turks

• Acun Ilıcalı Television programmer
• Adnan Polat, Ahiska-Turk, President of Galatasaray
• Arif Sağ, Turkish singer, bağlama virtuoso
• Cemal Gürsel, the fourth president of Turkey
• Fethullah Gülen, Islamic writer
• Huseyin Avni Ulas, Influential Politician during the early period of the Republic of Turkey
• İbrahim Hakkı Erzurumi, Turkish and Sufi philosopher and encyclopedist
• Nene Hatun, female defender of Erzurum during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78
• Orhun Ene, Turkish Basketball player
• Recep Akdağ, minister of health of Turkey
• Sair Nef'i, 17th century Turkish poet

Others

• Markos Vafiadis, leading cadre of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE)

Twin towns and sister cities

• Urmia, Iran (since 2015)^[31]

Notes and references

Further reading

Published in the 19th century

• Jedidiah Morse; Richard C. Morse (1823). "Erzerum". A New Universal Gazetteer (4th ed.). New Haven: S. Converse 
• Robert Curzon (1854). Armenia: A Year at Erzeroom and on the frontiers of Russia, Turkey, and Persia. London: John Murray. 
• "Erzeroom". Handbook for Travellers in Turkey (3rd ed.). London: J. Murray. 1854. OCLC 2145740 

Published in the 20th century

• "Erzerum". The Encyclopaedia Britannica (11th ed.). New York: Encyclopaedia Britannica. 1910. OCLC 14782424 
• (Armenian) Ter-Ghevondyan, Aram N. "Կարին-Թեոդուպոլիսը ավանդության և պատմության մեջ" [Karin-Theodosiopolis in Tradition and History]. Lraber Hasarakakan Gitutyunneri 3 (1971).

Published in the 21st century

• Hovannisian, Richard G. (ed.) Armenian Karin/Erzerum. UCLA Armenian History and Culture Series: Historic Armenian Cities and Provinces, 4. Costa Mesa, CA: Mazda Publishers, 2003.
• "Erzurum". Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art & Architecture. Oxford University Press. 2009. 

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Erzurum.

• Erzurum Chamber of Commerce
• Bilkent Üniversitesi Erzurum Yerleşkesi
• ArchNet.org. "Erzurum". Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA: MIT School of Architecture and Planning. 

Erzurum in Erzurum Province of Turkey Districts Aşkale Aziziye Çat Hınıs Horasan Ilıca İspir Karaçoban Karayazı Köprüköy Narman Oltu Olur Palandöken Pasinler Pazaryolu Şenkaya Tekman Tortum Uzundere Yakutiye List of Provinces by Region Istanbul Istanbul West Marmara Balıkesir Çanakkale Edirne Kırklareli Tekirdağ Aegean Afyonkarahisar Aydın Denizli İzmir Kütahya Manisa Muğla Uşak East Marmara Bilecik Bolu Bursa Düzce Eskişehir Kocaeli Sakarya Yalova West Anatolia Ankara Karaman Konya Mediterranean Adana Antalya Burdur Hatay Isparta Kahramanmaraş Mersin Osmaniye Central Anatolia Aksaray Kayseri Kırıkkale Kırşehir Nevşehir Niğde Sivas Yozgat West Black Sea Amasya Bartın Çankırı Çorum Karabük Kastamonu Samsun Sinop Tokat Zonguldak East Black Sea Artvin Giresun Gümüşhane Ordu Rize Trabzon Northeast Anatolia Ağrı Ardahan Bayburt Erzincan Erzurum Iğdır Kars Central East Anatolia Bingöl Bitlis Elazığ Hakkâri Malatya Muş Tunceli Van Southeast Anatolia Adıyaman Batman Diyarbakır Gaziantep Kilis Mardin Siirt Şanlıurfa Şırnak Metropolitan municipalities are bolded.