Historical geography of the Tao region (Narman-Tortum-Yusufeli)

Today, the Tao region includes the Merkez, Yusufeli and Şavşat districts of Artvin and the Tortum, Narman, Oltu and Olur districts of Erzurum. In the sources, Xenophon mentioned the Tao region for the first time and pronounced the region as "Taokhia" and the people living in the region as "Taokhians". Despite the fact that the Taolu, who gave the region its name, were withdrawn from the historical scene in a short time, the name Tao remained permanent and this name continued to be used in many sources from Ancient Greek works to Ottoman sources. The Tao region has been a geography where great empires and regional local elements wanted to dominate in every period during the Middle Ages. During this struggle for domination, great empires with strong armies sometimes directly dominated the Tao region, while sometimes they preferred to rule through local elements such as Bagratids, Mamikons and Kipchaks who were active in the region. In every period of history, Tao has been a favorite region not only for the magnificent empires of its time, but also for the local tribes and dynasties that became stronger and became states. The geographical location of Tao, which has been the center of struggle for centuries, was so valuable. As a matter of fact, the region, located at the intersection of the Caucasus, Eastern Anatolia and the Eastern Black Sea, which is the entrance of Anatolia, was also increasing its value with its natural beauties and water resources. Besides its geopolitical position, defensive structure, natural beauty and charm, it also had the status of a religious center. That's why the Tao region is the home of Romans, Iranian tribes, Arabs, Turkish tribes, Armenians and Georgians, etc. It has been the center of struggle for many tribes throughout history. In the region, which is home to many different ethnic origins, many cultural riches and historical artifacts and ruins belonging to different tribes have reached today. In this study; 17 castles, 5 monasteries, 1 bridge and 1 watchtower located within the borders of Narman, Tortum and Yusufeli were examined on site. Keywords: Tao Region, Taokhia, Narman, Tortum, Yusufeli, Kipchak, Bagratians