When did Kars become Ottoman?

Chronology

1. 1537
   Became Ottoman

   Mehmed Khan of Dulkadir, in Ottoman service, annexed the city for good.

   Sultan: Suleiman I
2. 1565
   Left Ottoman rule

   Under a border settlement Kars was ceded to Iran.

   Sultan: Suleiman I
3. 1576
   Became Ottoman

   Shortly before this year the city rejoined the Ottoman lands.

   Sultan: Murad III
4. 1828
   Note

   It was occupied by Russia and devastated.

   Sultan: Mahmud II
5. 1855
   Note

   It was occupied by Russia again during the Crimean War.

   Sultan: Abdulmejid I
6. 1877
   Left Ottoman rule

   The Russians occupied the city; the 1878 Treaty of Berlin ceded it to Russia.

   Sultan: Abdulhamid II
7. 1918
   Became Ottoman

   The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (3 March 1918) returned it; the Turkish army took the city on 23 April 1918.

   Sultan: Mehmed V
8. 1918
   Left Ottoman rule

   Under the Armistice of Mudros, which required a withdrawal to the 1914 borders, the city was evacuated.

   Sultan: Mehmed VI
9. 1920
   Became Ottoman

   In Kâzım Karabekir's Eastern campaign the city was retaken on 30 October 1920; the treaties of Moscow and Kars (1921) confirmed it.

How the total is counted: years of actual Ottoman rule are added up. Temporary occupations shorter than a year (that were reversed) are not subtracted; they appear as notes in the chronology.

In the atlas

On the atlas map the city lies in the region “Kars–Ardahan–Artvin”. Map colours work at region level, so the city's own dates may differ from the region's by a few years.

Source: TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, “KARS” (Turkish); text written for the atlas.