Mehmed Şerif Pasha’s Governorate in Çıldır

Abstract

Çıldır Province was on a tough geography of The Ottoman State ranging towards Caucasia. The area near Russia and Persia border was very importatnt for the security of the east wing of the state. The Caucasia was a part of the Russian policy that aimed to reach warm waters onward the beginning of the 18th century. In this contex the Northeastern region of Anatolia was one of the goals of Russia that attacked through Balkans, Black Sea and the Southern Caucasia to reach sea. Çıldır which was exactly located at this region became a very important strategic region. Russia sent troops to Çıldır and Anatolia from the Eastern Mediterranean in all the wars against the Ottoman Empire during the 18th and 19th centuries. In this direction at the beginning of the contemporary age the region witnessed Ottoman-Russian wars. In 1789, in which Selim III acceded to the throne, because of the ongoing Ottoman-Russian war the Çıldır Province had also been attacked. Selim III who gave importance to the border security endeavoured to appoint decisive governors to the Çıldır province. One of the statesmen who was appointed by Selim III as Çıldır governor was also Mehmed Şerif Pasha. Şerif Pasha, besides carrying governorship of Çıldır out, had performed governorships of Trabzon and Kars and also worked as serasker of Black Sea Coasts. ın this article the activities of Mehmed Şerif Pasha in the region under the light of main sources of the time Vekayinames and archive documents are studied.