Kars Province (Turkish: Kars ili; Azerbaijani: Qars Rayonu; Kurdish: Parêzgeha Qersê; Armenian: Կարսի նահանգ) is a province of Turkey, located in the northeastern part of the country. It shares part of its closed border with Armenia. Its area is 10,193 km, and its population is 274,829 (2022). The provincial capital is the city of Kars. The provinces of Ardahan and Iğdır were part of Kars Province until 1992.
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👉 Kars Province in the context of Ani
Ani (Armenian: Անի; Ancient Greek: Ἄνιον, romanized: Ánion; Latin: Abnicum) is a ruined medieval Armenian city now situated in Turkey's province of Kars, next to the closed border with Armenia.
Between 961 and 1045, it was the capital of the Bagratuni Armenian kingdom that covered much of present-day Armenia and eastern Turkey. The iconic city was often referred to as the "City of 1,001 Churches," though the number was significantly less. To date, 50 churches, 33 cave chapels and 20 chapels have been excavated by archaeologists and historians. Ani stood on various trade routes and its many religious buildings, palaces, and sophisticated fortifications distinguished it from other contemporary urban centers in the Armenian kingdom. Among its most notable buildings was the Cathedral of Ani, which is associated with early examples of Gothic architecture and that scholars argue influenced the great cathedrals of Europe in the early gothic and Romanesque styles; its ribbed vaulting would not be seen in European cathedrals for at least another two centuries. At its height, Ani was one of the world's largest cities, with a population of perhaps 100,000, though given its limited area historians have cast doubt at this estimate.
In this Dossier
- ⭐ Core Definition: Kars Province
- 👉 Kars Province in the context of Ani
- Kars Province in the context of Saltukids
- Kars Province in the context of Lake Çıldır
- Kars Province in the context of Vanand
- Kars Province in the context of Kars
- Kars Province in the context of Erivan Khanate
- Kars Province in the context of Iğdır Province
- Kars Province in the context of Erzurum Province
- Kars Province in the context of Ağrı Province
Kars Province in the context of Saltukids
The Saltukids or Saltuqids (Modern Turkish: Saltuklu Beyliği) were a dynasty of the Seljuk Empire, founded after the Battle of Manzikert (1071) centred on Erzurum. The Saltukids ruled between 1071 and 1202. The beylik was founded by Emir Saltuk, one of the Turkmen commanders of the Great Seljuk Alp Arslan. The beylik fought frequently against the Georgian Kingdom for hegemony of the Kars region. The center of the beylik, Erzurum, was briefly re-occupied by the Byzantine Empire between 1077 and 1079, and was besieged by the Georgian King Giorgi III in 1184. It comprised the entirety of present-day Erzurum and Bayburt provinces, lands east of Erzincan, most of Kars, and lands north of Ağrı and Muş provinces during its height.
Kars Province in the context of Lake Çıldır
Lake Çıldır (Turkish: Çıldır Gölü; Georgian: ჩრდილი, ჩრდილის ტბა, Črdilis tba, meaning "lake of shadows", Armenian: Ծովակ Հիւսիսոյ, Tsovak Hyusiso, meaning "small sea of the north", Armenian: Պաղկացի լիճ, Paghkatsi lich, meaning "cold lake"), is a large freshwater lake in the provinces of Ardahan and Kars in northeastern Turkey. It is located close to the borders with Georgia and Armenia. Lake Çıldır is located at an elevation of approximately 1,959 m (6,427 ft) and is surrounded by a mountainous region. It has an area of 123 km (47 sq mi) and a maximum depth of about 42 m (138 ft). Water from the lake is used for irrigation. The lake freezes over in the winter.
The area around the lake is primarily used for livestock farming, with little vegetation present and absence of agriculture due to harsh conditions.
Kars Province in the context of Vanand
Vanand (Armenian: Վանանդ) is the area of historic Armenia that roughly corresponds to the Kars Province of present-day Turkey. Named after the Armenian family of Vanandi (derived from the Bulgar chieftain Vund), it was a principality of the Kingdom of Armenia and a later province of the Democratic Republic of Armenia. Its historic capital was the city of Kars. The region fell to numerous invaders including the Assyrians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Mongols, Persians, and the Ottoman Turks. After the 1877-1878 Russo-Turkish War, the Russian Empire acquired the region at the Congress of Berlin. The area still retained a substantial Armenian population, but after World War I, most of it was decimated during the Turkish-Armenian War in 1920. This region was passed to Turkish control by the Treaty of Alexandropol and the Treaty of Kars.
Kars Province in the context of Kars
Kars (Armenian: Կարս or Ղարս; Azerbaijani: Qars; Kurdish: Qers; Georgian: ყარსი) is a city in northeast Turkey. It is the seat of Kars Province and Kars District. As of 2022, its population was 91,450. Kars, in classical historiography (Strabo), was in the ancient region known as Chorzene (Greek: Χορζηνή), part of the province of Ayrarat in the Kingdom of Armenia, and later the capital of the Bagratid Kingdom of Armenia from 929 to 961. Currently, the mayor of Kars is Ötüken Senger. The city had an Armenian ethnic majority until it was re-captured by Turkish nationalist forces in late 1920.
Kars Province in the context of Erivan Khanate
The Erivan Khanate (Persian: خانات ایروان, romanized: Khānāt-e Iravān), also known as Chokhur-e Sa'd, was a khanate (i.e., province) that was established in Afsharid Iran in the 18th century. It covered an area of roughly 19,500 km, and corresponded to most of present-day central Armenia, the Iğdır Province and the Kars Province's Kağızman district in present-day Turkey and the Sharur and Sadarak districts of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic of present-day Azerbaijan.
Following the death of Nader Shah in 1747, Iranian authority over the territories north of the Aras River was greatly weakened, and the Erivan Khanate became a tributary of King Heraclius II of Georgia. This arrangement persisted after Karim Khan Zand nominally restored Iranian authority in the South Caucasus. The Georgian king attacked the khanate multiple times when the khan attempted to avoid paying tribute. Like some of the other khans of the Caucasus, Mohammad Khan of Erivan sought to make contact with Russia after 1783, when Georgia became a Russian protectorate. In 1794–95, Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar campaigned to restore central authority in the region and received the submission of the khan of Erivan.
Kars Province in the context of Iğdır Province
Iğdır Province (Turkish: Iğdır ili, Kurdish: Parêzgeha Îdirê, Azerbaijani: İğdır ili, Armenian: Իգդիրի մարզ, romanized: Igdiri marz) is a province in eastern Turkey, located along the borders with Armenia, Azerbaijan (the area of Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic), and Iran. Its adjacent provinces are Kars to the northwest and Ağrı to the west and south. Its area is 3,664 km, and its population is 203,594 (2022). Its population was 168,634 in 2000 and 142,601 in 1990. The province is considered part of Turkish Kurdistan and has a Kurdish majority with a pretty close Azerbaijani minority.
The province was created in 1992 from the southeastern part of Kars Province. The current Governor of the province is Ercan Turan. Being the highest mountain in Armenian Highlands, Mount Ararat (Ağrı Dağı) is at present in Turkey's Iğdır province, but much of the land is a wide plain far below the mountain. The climate is the warmest in this part of Turkey; cotton can be grown in Iğdır. The closed border with Armenia follows the Aras River.
Kars Province in the context of Erzurum Province
Erzurum Province (Turkish: Erzurum ili) is a province and metropolitan municipality in the Eastern Anatolia Region of Turkey. Its area is 25,006 km, and its population is 749,754 (2022). The capital of the province is the city of Erzurum. It is the fourth largest province in all of Turkey. It is bordered by the provinces of Kars and Ağrı to the east, Muş and Bingöl to the south, Erzincan and Bayburt to the west, Rize and Artvin to the north and Ardahan to the northeast. The governor of the province is Mustafa Çiftçi, appointed in August 2023. The province has a Turkish majority.
Kars Province in the context of Ağrı Province
Ağrı Province (Turkish: Ağrı ili, Armenian: Արարատ մարզ, Kurdish: Parêzgeha Agirîyê) is located in eastern Turkey, bordering Iran to the east and the provinces of Kars to the north, Erzurum to the northwest, Muş and Bitlis to the southwest, Van to the south, and Iğdır to the northeast. Its area is 11,099 km, and its population is 511,238 (2023). The provincial capital is Ağrı, situated on a 1,650 metres (5,410 ft) high plateau. Doğubayazıt was the capital of the province until 1946. The current governor is Mustafa Koç.
The province is considered part of Western Armenia and was part of the ancient province of Ayrarat of Kingdom of Armenia. Before the Armenian genocide, modern Ağri Province was part of the six Armenian vilayets. The majority of the province's population are ethnic Kurds.