Travelers and travel books giving information about the Caucasia

The ancient Caucasus geography we live in has been frequented by travelers in every period of history. It was the travelers who best lived, understood and conveyed the Caucasus, a fierce and unyielding geography where time has lost its meaning, where its holiness up binds people. As the travelers came to the Caucasus at different ages, they observed the natural resources, people, languages, peoples and cultures personally and perpetuated much more of these in their travel books. Therefore, they shed light on the history and culture of the nations that lived in the Caucasus. It is noteworthy that almost all of the travelers covered in this study are not ordinary travelers who have fallen on the road with the desire to travel. In other words, these people who came to the Caucasus throughout history are not ordinary adventurers. They were educated people who were field experts such as military officers, clergy, botanists, missionaries who had certain duties and purposes. Therefore, the notes they kept are great sources and provide us unique information of their time. Therefore, they should be acknowledged in the academic world. Some of these travelers went to the Caucasus in captivity like Shiltberger, some traveled with a religious mission like Yehuda Halevi or Rubruck, a soldier like Sir Cunynghame, a botanist like Klaproth or a commercial trip like Marco Polo. When examining the works of European travelers who are suspicious of the eastern world, it is necessary to have information about the traveler as well since they have a great role in the formation of an orientalist point of view. Actually, this applies to the travel books of Arab and Persian travelers. Many travelers from different nations came to the Caucasus. Medieval travelers such as Priscus, İbn A'Sem El-Kûfî, İbn Fadlan, Ebu Dülef, Carpini, Marco Polo and Rubruck, Evliya Çelebi, Barbaro, Zeno, Contarini and Modern Age travelers such as Klaproth, Koch, Dumas, Frishfield, Cunynhgame can be given as examples. In the Middle Ages, travelers traveled not only for the discovery of unknown geographies and cultures, but also for missionary work. The mighty Ottoman Empire and its surroundings were a matter of curiosity in the New Age. However, in the Modern Age when the English, French, German and Russian struggled for supremacy in every field and the world balances began to change, travelers needed to be supported in line with these policies. It is no coincidence that the number of Caucasian travelers has increased, especially in this age when the energy resources of the Caspian basin began to gain prominence. In this study, which aims to provide information and documents for the researches of history, geography, language, anthropology and sociology, important travelers and their travel books who came to the Caucasus in the Middle Ages, New Ages and Modern Ages were introduced.