Oltu (Oltu İlçesi)
Oltu (Ողթիկ; ოლთისი) is a town and district of Erzurum Province in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey. The mayor is Necmettin Taşçı, from the AKP. The population was 31,087 in 2020.
An inscription found in Oltu's castle has been dated to the 7th century A.D.(see below), but the settlement is known to have been established much earlier. The city-fortress had once belonged to the Mamikonian nakharars and later passed into the hands of the Bagratunis. Administratively, it was found within the borders of the region of Vok'aghe in the province of Tayk. The first mention of Oltu as a fortified settlement is in the 9th century when the Georgian Bagratids occupied this region. After the death of the Iberian Kuropalates David in 1000, the troops of Emperor Basil II occupied the castles and towns in the region of Tao-Tayk‛, which included Oltu. In the following centuries, Oltu successively passed into the control of the Seljuk Turks, the Mongols and Turkmen tribes. The Ottomans conquered Olti from the Georgians in the sixteenth century.
In the summer of 1829, the Russian Empire took control of the region, but ultimately relinquished it to the Ottomans upon the conclusion of peace. During the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78, Oltu (Олты) was incorporated into the Russian Empire and made the center of the Olti Okrug of the militarily administered Kars Oblast.
The Olti Okrug along with the entire Kars Oblast were ceded by the Russian SFSR to the Ottoman Empire by virtue of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk in 1918. After a brief reincorporation, Olti was again relinquished by the Ottomans in their 1919 withdrawal from the Kars Oblast as per the terms of the Armistice of Mudros. The First Republic of Armenia with British support expanded to include the self-governing Kars Oblast in the wake of the power vacuum caused by the Russian Revolution, however, was prevented from occupying the western half of the Olti Okrug by the commander of the Black Sea, G.F. Milne, as he believed Armenia had already acquired more territory than they could handle. In September 1920, 3 months after Armenia had seized the strategic coal fields of Penek in the Olti Okrug from the self-governing Kurdish miltias, Turkish forces led by Kazım Karabekir recaptured the entire Olti Okrug, setting the stage for the Turkish–Armenian War—as a result of which, the Kars Oblast including Oltu was brought back under Turkish control in the midst of the Turkish War of National Liberation. The annexation was confirmed by the Treaty of Kars.
The primary historical sight in Oltu is the castle, which covers the top of a rocky outcrop. Its walls are fortified by large round towers and salients, including an imposing talus at the southwest. A circuit wall once extended from the outcrop to protect a small adjoining settlement. The medieval fortress is the result of two major periods of construction between the 7th and the 11th centuries; major repairs were undertaken by the Turkish Corps of Engineers in 1977. Atop the north tower are the remains of a Georgian hexaconch church in which a fragment of a 7th-century “bilingual” Greek-Armenian inscription was reused in the foundation. This Georgian church was built sometime between the 9th and 10th centuries. Inside the north tower is the tomb of a Muslim saint, Mişrî Zenūn. Late-antique and medieval churches as well as fortresses are located in the hills surrounding the Oltu-Penek valley at Cücürüs, Körolu, Olur, Kamhis, Sağoman, Olan, and nearby Kız.
During the Ottoman period the Arslan Pasa Mosque was built in 1665 by Arslan Pasha together with his grave. It is a domed structure with a pencil minaret. Nearby is the 14th century Muslim tomb/kümbet, of Misri Zunnun located. During the Russian rule (1878-1914) a new church was built. Some of its stones could have come from the medieval Bana Cathedral. It was partly ruined until in January 2019, District Governor Senol Turan announced to restore its structure. The project is supposed to complete in 2021, and the church will be converted into a library. In the village of Gaziler there is a 12th-century Saltukid castle with a small Ottoman mosque built in 1784.
An inscription found in Oltu's castle has been dated to the 7th century A.D.(see below), but the settlement is known to have been established much earlier. The city-fortress had once belonged to the Mamikonian nakharars and later passed into the hands of the Bagratunis. Administratively, it was found within the borders of the region of Vok'aghe in the province of Tayk. The first mention of Oltu as a fortified settlement is in the 9th century when the Georgian Bagratids occupied this region. After the death of the Iberian Kuropalates David in 1000, the troops of Emperor Basil II occupied the castles and towns in the region of Tao-Tayk‛, which included Oltu. In the following centuries, Oltu successively passed into the control of the Seljuk Turks, the Mongols and Turkmen tribes. The Ottomans conquered Olti from the Georgians in the sixteenth century.
In the summer of 1829, the Russian Empire took control of the region, but ultimately relinquished it to the Ottomans upon the conclusion of peace. During the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78, Oltu (Олты) was incorporated into the Russian Empire and made the center of the Olti Okrug of the militarily administered Kars Oblast.
The Olti Okrug along with the entire Kars Oblast were ceded by the Russian SFSR to the Ottoman Empire by virtue of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk in 1918. After a brief reincorporation, Olti was again relinquished by the Ottomans in their 1919 withdrawal from the Kars Oblast as per the terms of the Armistice of Mudros. The First Republic of Armenia with British support expanded to include the self-governing Kars Oblast in the wake of the power vacuum caused by the Russian Revolution, however, was prevented from occupying the western half of the Olti Okrug by the commander of the Black Sea, G.F. Milne, as he believed Armenia had already acquired more territory than they could handle. In September 1920, 3 months after Armenia had seized the strategic coal fields of Penek in the Olti Okrug from the self-governing Kurdish miltias, Turkish forces led by Kazım Karabekir recaptured the entire Olti Okrug, setting the stage for the Turkish–Armenian War—as a result of which, the Kars Oblast including Oltu was brought back under Turkish control in the midst of the Turkish War of National Liberation. The annexation was confirmed by the Treaty of Kars.
The primary historical sight in Oltu is the castle, which covers the top of a rocky outcrop. Its walls are fortified by large round towers and salients, including an imposing talus at the southwest. A circuit wall once extended from the outcrop to protect a small adjoining settlement. The medieval fortress is the result of two major periods of construction between the 7th and the 11th centuries; major repairs were undertaken by the Turkish Corps of Engineers in 1977. Atop the north tower are the remains of a Georgian hexaconch church in which a fragment of a 7th-century “bilingual” Greek-Armenian inscription was reused in the foundation. This Georgian church was built sometime between the 9th and 10th centuries. Inside the north tower is the tomb of a Muslim saint, Mişrî Zenūn. Late-antique and medieval churches as well as fortresses are located in the hills surrounding the Oltu-Penek valley at Cücürüs, Körolu, Olur, Kamhis, Sağoman, Olan, and nearby Kız.
During the Ottoman period the Arslan Pasa Mosque was built in 1665 by Arslan Pasha together with his grave. It is a domed structure with a pencil minaret. Nearby is the 14th century Muslim tomb/kümbet, of Misri Zunnun located. During the Russian rule (1878-1914) a new church was built. Some of its stones could have come from the medieval Bana Cathedral. It was partly ruined until in January 2019, District Governor Senol Turan announced to restore its structure. The project is supposed to complete in 2021, and the church will be converted into a library. In the village of Gaziler there is a 12th-century Saltukid castle with a small Ottoman mosque built in 1784.
Map - Oltu (Oltu İlçesi)
Map
Country - Turkey
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One of the world's earliest permanently settled regions, present-day Turkey was home to important Neolithic sites like Göbekli Tepe, and was inhabited by ancient civilisations including the Hattians, Hittites, Anatolian peoples, Mycenaean Greeks, Persians and others. Following the conquests of Alexander the Great which started the Hellenistic period, most of the ancient regions in modern Turkey were culturally Hellenised, which continued during the Byzantine era. The Seljuk Turks began migrating in the 11th century, and the Sultanate of Rum ruled Anatolia until the Mongol invasion in 1243, when it disintegrated into small Turkish principalities. Beginning in the late 13th century, the Ottomans united the principalities and conquered the Balkans, and the Turkification of Anatolia increased during the Ottoman period. After Mehmed II conquered Constantinople (Istanbul) in 1453, Ottoman expansion continued under Selim I. During the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent, the Ottoman Empire became a global power. From the late 18th century onwards, the empire's power declined with a gradual loss of territories. Mahmud II started a period of modernisation in the early 19th century. The Young Turk Revolution of 1908 restricted the authority of the Sultan and restored the Ottoman Parliament after a 30-year suspension, ushering the empire into a multi-party period. The 1913 coup d'état put the country under the control of the Three Pashas, who facilitated the Empire's entry into World War I as part of the Central Powers in 1914. During the war, the Ottoman government committed genocides against its Armenian, Greek and Assyrian subjects. After its defeat in the war, the Ottoman Empire was partitioned.
Currency / Language
| ISO | Currency | Symbol | Significant figures |
|---|---|---|---|
| TRY | Turkish lira | ₺ | 2 |
| ISO | Language |
|---|---|
| AV | Avar language |
| AZ | Azerbaijani language |
| KU | Kurdish language |
| TR | Turkish language |