KARS, GYUMRI AND THE KARS-CHAI VALLEY,Russian Armenia ,Asiatic Russia,Antique Map

1890s HISTORICAL MAP CHART SHOWING TERRAIN, TOPOGRAPHY, ENVIRONS FROM THE MAP OF THE RUSSIAN STAFF

Kars is a city in northeast Turkey and the capital of the Kars Province, formerly at the head of a sanjak in the Turkish vilayet of Erzurum. In the 10th century the region surrounding Kars was an Armenian Kingdom, ruled by the Bagratid family. Later on, Kars was captured and destroyed by the Seljuk Turks, by the Mongols in the 13th century, and by Timur (Tamerlane) in 1387. The citadel was strong enough to withstand a siege by Nadir Shah of Persia, in 1731, and in 1807 it successfully resisted the Russians. After a brave defence it surrendered on June 23, 1828 to the Russian general Count Ivan Paskevich, 11,000 men becoming prisoners of war. During the Crimean War the Turkish garrison, guided by General William Fenwick Williams and other foreign officers, kept the Russians at bay during a protracted siege; but after the garrison had been devastated by cholera and food had utterly failed, nothing was left but to capitulate in November of 1855. The fortress was again stormed by the Russians in the Battle of Kars during the Russo-Turkish War, 1877-78 and on its conclusion was transferred to Russia by the Treaty of San Stefano. As a city at the juncture of Caucasian, Russian, and Turkish cultures, the buildings of Kars come in a variety of architectures. Kars Citadel - Kars Kalesi, the citadel atop a plateau overlooking Kars, appears to have been built by Ottoman Sultan Murad III during the war with Persia, at the close of the 16th century. At the foot of the plateau is St. Arak'elos Cathedral, or the Church of the Apostles, now a museum. Built in the 10th century, it constitutes a domed tetraconch atop a square base with four apses. The drum of the dome features bas relief depictions of The Twelve Apostles and the dome itself is covered by a conical roof. Gyumri (first Kumayri or Gyumri, then Alexandropol , is the capital of the Shirak province in northwest Armenia. It is located about 50 miles (90 km) from the Armenian capital Yerevan. The first settlement at the location occupied by the modern city of Gyumri is believed to have been founded some time in the 5th century BC, perhaps ca. 401 BC, by Greek colonists [1]. An alternative theory suggests that the city was founded by Cimmerians, based on the fact that Cimmerians conquered the region in 720 BC and that the original name of the city was Kumayri [2]. The settlement existed sporadically during the next two millenia until a major Russian fortress was built on its site in 1837. In 1840, the town that was quickly growing around the fortress was named Alexandropol (sometimes transliterated as Aleksandropol). The name was chosen in honor of Emperor Nicholas I's wife, Princess Charlotte of Prussia, who had changed her name to Alexandra Fyodorovna after converting to Orthodox Christianity. Gyumri is the second largest city in the Republic of Armenia.

1890s Wood Engraving, Antique Map

Approximate Overall Size: 7 X 10 1/2 inches

CONDITION: Book Plate INTEXT MAP - Excellent Condition. Beautiful with excellent detail. There is Text on Front and Back Side.