Ardahan and its surroundings from Seljuks to Ottomans

Ardahan, has been a transition point for Turkish communities such as Cimmerians and Scythians since the Ancient Age. Ardahan served as a gate between the Caucasus and Anatolia, and the influence of the Huns, Sabers and Khazars in Anatolia can still be seen. The Georgian and Armenian kingdoms under Byzantine rule were used as a buffer force for the raids to the region. Turkish raids in the region increased with the accession of Çağrı Bey. Seljuks to last for a long time. After the Dandanakan War, Tuğrul Bey demonstrated the existence of the Seljuk State with the Beys he sent to the region for conquest. During the reign of Sultan Alparslan, Seljuk domination was established around Kars and Ardahan, and they maintained their power in the Caucasus as Melikşah continued the same policy. Especially the Turkish raids called Didi Türkoba, which were organized in Georgia in 1080, are important. During the period of Beyliks, the same strong politics were tried to be preserved, but when the Georgian King David IV brought the Kipchaks to the region in 1118 and benefited from those military forces against the Seljuks, the political balance in the region changed again. The Seljuk power in the Caucasus weakened with the Battle of Did Gori, which took place in 1121 between the Seljuks and the Georgians. In particular, the influence of the Saltuks in the struggle with the Georgians around Kars and Ardahan is seen. In addition, the region exposed to the Mongol invasion was also affected by the Akkoyunlu and Karakoyunlu struggles. The attention of the Safavids, who emerged as a new power in the South Caucasus, to Eastern Anatolia was an indicator of a new struggle to be experienced between the Ottoman Empire and the Safavid Empire.During Suleyman the Magnificent period, the castles around Kars and Erzurum were taken under Ottoman rule and repaired. With the Battle of Çıldır, which took place on August 9, 1578, between the Ottoman Empire and the Safavid Empire during the reign of Murad I, Ottoman rule was established in the region, and Kars and Ardahan came under Ottoman rule. Keywords: Ardahan, Seljukids, Akkoyunlu, Karakoyunlu, Safavid, Ottoman