Erzurum (Armenian: Կարին, romanized: Karin;[1] Kurdish: Erzîrom[2]) is a city in eastern Anatolia, Turkey.

[1] In 1048/49, a neighboring commercial city named Artze (Arcn, Arzan; Armenian: Արծն) was heavily sacked by the Seljuks.

[1][8] Its Armenian, Syrian, and other Christian inhabitants moved to Theodosiopolis, which they began calling Artsn Rum (meaning 'Artze of the Rûm', i.e., Romans) to distinguish it from their former residence.

[16] As the chief military stronghold along the eastern border of the empire, Theodosiopolis held a highly important strategic location and was fiercely contested in wars between the Byzantines and Persians.

Though only an island of Arab power within Christian Armenian-populated territory, the native population was generally a reliable client of the Caliph's governors.

[18] In 931, and again in 949, Byzantine forces led by Theophilos Kourkouas, grandfather of the future emperor John I Tzimiskes, captured Theodosiopolis.

After the fall of the Sultanate of Rum in early 14th century, it became an administrative province of the Ilkhanate, and later on the city was under Empire of Trebizond occupation for a while around the 1310s.

In 1733, Iranian ruler Nader Shah took Erzurum during the Ottoman–Persian War (1730–35),[22] but the city returned to Ottoman possession following his death in 1747.

[26] The city was also the location of one of the key battles in the Caucasus Campaign of World War I between the armies of the Ottoman and Russian Empires.

This resulted in the capture of Erzurum by Russian forces under the command of Grand Duke Nicholas and Nikolai Nikolaevich Yudenich on February 16, 1916.

[30] Theodosiopolis was important enough in the Late Roman province of Armenia Tertia to become a bishopric, which the Annuario Pontificio lists as suffragan of the Archdiocese of Comachus, but in Notitiae Episcopatuum from the seventh and early tenth centuries, its (later?)

Its historically recorded Suffragan Bishops were : After the long Byzantine-Sasanian War of 572-591, Byzantine rule was extended to all western parts of Armenia, and emperor Maurice (582-602) decided to strengthen political control over the region by supporting pro-Chalcedonian fraction of the Armenian Church.

Erzurum is notable for the small-scale production of objects crafted from Oltu stone: most are sold as souvenirs and include prayer beads, bracelets, necklaces, brooches, earrings and hairclips.

Erzurum will also be the starting point of the planned Nabucco pipeline which will carry natural gas from the Caspian Sea basin to the European Union member states.

The intergovernmental agreement between Turkey, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary and Austria to build the Nabucco pipeline was signed by five Prime Ministers on 13 July 2009 in Ankara.

[36][37] The European Union was represented at the ceremony by the President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso and the Commissioner for Energy Andris Piebalgs, while the United States was represented by the Special Envoy for Eurasian Energy Richard Morningstar and the Ranking Member of the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Senator Richard Lugar.

[38][39] Little of medieval Erzurum survives beyond scattered individual buildings such as the citadel fortress, and the 13th century Çifte Minareli Medrese (the "Twin Minaret" madrasa).

Although this kebab variety is of recent introduction outside its native region, it is rapidly attaining widespread popularity around Turkey.

Other regional foodstuffs include Su böreği (wet pastry), ekşili dolma (sour stuffed vegetables), kesme çorbası (soup), ayran aşı yayla çorbası (nomads soup), çiriş, şalgam dolması (stuffed turnip), yumurta pilavı (egg pilaf), and kadayıf dolması.

To be able to carry out the competitions of the Winter Universiade, a ski jumping ramp, an ice hockey arena and a curling hall were built in Erzurum.

In May 1894, American bicyclist Frank Lenz disappeared outside the city on the final leg of his quest to circumnavigate the globe on a bike.