User:Rupert Clayton/List of cities in the Ottoman Empire by date

This page lists major ^{[when defined as?]} cities ^{[when defined as?]} that were at some point part of the Ottoman Empire, or of a tributary state and gives the duration of Ottoman control.

Duration is calculated at the aggregate length of occupation. For cities that were under the control of Osman I when he declared independence from the Seljuk Empire in 1299, this is treated as the start of Ottoman occupation. For cities that remained under Turkish control during the Turkish War of Independence, the abolition of the sultanate on 1 November 1922 is treated as the date Ottoman occupation terminated. Where cities were lost and later retaken, the dates of initial and final occupation are given along with the aggregate length of Ottoman control, with further detail in the notes.

Where exact start and end dates are known, the precise duration is listed. Where only a year is known for one or both dates, the duration is given to the nearest year. For occupation that began and ended the same year, a duration of six months is assumed where more precise data is unavailable.

City (former names in parentheses)	Current country, province	Occupation began	Occupation ended	Length of occupation	Captured from	Notes
Söğüt (Thebasion)	Turkey, Bilecik	1299^{[n 1]}	1 November 1922^{[n 2]}	623 years	Nicaean Empire	Conquered by Ertuğrul in 1231. Birthplace of Osman I. Capital of Ottomans under the Seljuks until 1299. Occupied by Greece during Turkish War of Independence.
Eskişehir (Dorylaeum)	Turkey, Eskişehir	1299^{[n 1]}	1 November 1922	622 years	Byzantine Empire	Awarded to Osman I by the Seljuks in 1289. Occupied by Greece during Turkish War of Independence.^{[n 3]}
Bilecik (Belokeme)	Turkey, Bilecik	1299	1 November 1922	623 years	Byzantine Empire	Conquered by Osman I in 1299, the same year he declared independence from the Seljuks. Occupied by Greece during Turkish War of Independence.
Yenişehir	Turkey, Bursa	1299	1 November 1922	623 years	Byzantine Empire	Conquered by Osman I in 1299, the same year he declared independence from the Seljuks. Ottoman capital 1299–1325. Occupied by Greece during Turkish War of Independence.
Bursa (Prousa, Brusa)	Turkey, Bursa	6 April 1326	1 November 1922	596 years, 6 months, 26 days	Byzantine Empire	Captured in the Siege of Bursa. Ottoman capital 1326–1365. Occupied by Greece during Turkish War of Independence.^{[n 4]}
İznik (Nicea)	Turkey, Bursa	1331	1 November 1922	591 years	Byzantine Empire	Occupied by Greece during Turkish War of Independence.
İzmit (Nicomedia)	Turkey, Kocaeli	1337^{[n 5]}	1 November 1922	582 years	Byzantine Empire	Occupied for 951 days after World War I.^{[n 6]}
Üsküdar (Scutari, Chrysopolis)	Turkey	1338			Byzantine Empire
Çanakkale	Turkey, Çanakkale	1345			Byzantine Empire
Gelibolu (Gallipoli)	Turkey, Çanakkale	March 1354	1 November 1922	558 years	Byzantine Empire	Gelibolu was reoccupied by the Byzantine Empire 1366–1376.^{[n 7]}
Ankara (Angora)	Turkey	1354	1 November 1922	558 years	Ahi Brotherhood	Ankara was initially annexed from the Ahis by Orhan Bey in 1354. In 1402, the city was captured by Timur following the Battle of Ankara that began the 11-year Ottoman Interregnum.^{[n 8]}
Edirne (Hadrianoplis, Adrianople)	Turkey, Edirne	1365	1 November 1922	555 years	Byzantine Empire	First gained by Ottomans in 1365.^{[n 9]} Fourth Ottoman capital (1365–1457). Occupied by foreign forces four times between 1829 and 1922.^{[n 10]}
Erzurum	Turkey, Erzurum		16 February 1916		Byzantine Empire	Lost to the Persian Empire in 1821 during the Ottoman–Persian War (1821–1823); regained following the 1823 Treaty of Erzurum. Lost to Russian Empire during the Battle of Erzurum.
Thesaloniki (Thesalonica, Salonica)	Greece	29 March 1430	9 November 1912	482 years, 7 months, 11 days	Byzantine Empire and Republic of Venice	Captured by Sultan Murad II in 1430 after an 8-year siege.
Istanbul (Constantinople, Byzantium, many others)	Turkey, Istanbul	29 May 1453	13 November 1918	465 years, 5 months, 15 days	Byzantine Empire	Captured by Sultan Mehmet II in 1453 after a 53-day seige. At the end of World War I, Istanbul was occupied by British, French, Italian and Greek forces. The occupation lasted from 13 November 1918 to 23 September 1923.
Kars	Turkey, Kars	1534	1 November 1922		Anatolian beyliks	Kars changed hands many, many times.^{[n 11]}

Notes

^ ^a ^b Under the control of Osman I when he declared independence from the Seljuk Turks in 1299.
^ Under the control of Turkish forces when the Sultanate was abolished on 1 November 1922.
^ Eskişehir was occupied by Greek forces following the defeat of Turkish forces in the [[ Battle of Kütahya–Eskişehir]] on 24 July 1921. Turkish forces retook the city during the Battle of Dumlupınar (26–30 August 1922), as part of the Great Offensive.
^ Bursa was occupied by Greek forces following the defeat of Turkish forces in the [[ Battle of Kütahya–Eskişehir]] on 24 July 1921. Turkish forces retook the city during the Battle of Dumlupınar (26–30 August 1922), as part of the Great Offensive.
^ İzmit was blockaded by Ottoman forces in 1304 and 1330, but was not captured until 1337.
^ İzmit was captured by United Kingdom forces on 20 November 1918 and by Greek forces on 26 October 1920. Retaken by Turkish forces 28 June 1921.
^ Gelibolu was abandoned by most of its Greek inhabitants following an earthquake on 2 March 1354, and conquered by Ottoman forces later the same month. It was recaptured by Amadeus VI, Count of Savoy and returned to the Byzantines on 24 August 1366. Andronikos IV Palaiologos surrendered Gelibolu to Murad I in 1376.
^ In 1362, the Ahis briefly tried to restore their independence after Orhan's death, but Murat I ended the political power of Ahis and they became the part of Ottoman Empire.
^ Although Edirne was captured by the Ottomans at the Battle of Adrianople (1365), they did not achieve full control of the area until 1369.
^ Edirne was briefly occupied by imperial Russian troops in 1829, during the Greek War of Independence; and in 1878, during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878. After a 4-month siege during the First Balkan War, the Ottoman army lost the city between 26 and 28 March 1913 to the Bulgarians. That occupation was confirmed by the Treaty of London, signed on 9 June 1913. However, the Turkish army was able to retake the city on 21 July 1913. After World War I, Edirne was occupied by the Greeks from the Treaty of Sèvres on 10 August 1920 until Greece acceded to the Armistice of Mudanya on 14 October 1922.
^ Withstood a siege by Nadir Shah of Persia in 1731 and an attack by the Russian Empire in 1807. Lost to the Russian general Count Ivan Paskevich 23 June 1828, but later returned to Ottoman control. The last engagement of the Crimean War was the 1855 Siege of Kars from June until the city's surrender to the Russian general Nikolay Muravyov on 26 November 1855; but was apparently already back in Ottoman control by the time the Treaty of Paris was signed on 30 March 1856. The city was a major focus of the Russo-Turkish War, 1877-78, and was lost to the Russians at the Battle of Kars on 17 November 1877. The Treaty of San Stefano confirmed the loss of Kars and various other northeast Anatolian towns. Although Russia ceded control of Kars to the Ottomans under the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk on 3 March 1918, it was at the time under the effective control of Armenian and non-Bolshevik Russian forces. The Ottoman empire captured Kars on 25 April 1918; in theory, under the 30 October 1918 Armistice of Mudros, the Ottoman army was to retreat to its 1914 boundaries, but in fact only retreated to the 1877 boundary. On 1 December 1918, the Provisional National Government of the Southwestern Caucasus was declared in Kars and controlled most of the surrounding sanjak until British troops dispatched from Batum occupied Kars on 19 April 1919 and then transferred it to the Democratic Republic of Armenia. During the subsequent Turkish–Armenian War, the Turkish forces recaptured Kars on 30 October 1920 and it remained in Turkish hands when the sultanate was abolished on 1 November 1922.

References

[oStart-1] Under the control of Osman I when he declared independence from the Seljuk Turks in 1299.

[oEnd-2] Under the control of Turkish forces when the Sultanate was abolished on 1 November 1922.

[3] Eskişehir was occupied by Greek forces following the defeat of Turkish forces in the [[ Battle of Kütahya–Eskişehir]] on 24 July 1921. Turkish forces retook the city during the Battle of Dumlupınar (26–30 August 1922), as part of the Great Offensive.

[4] Bursa was occupied by Greek forces following the defeat of Turkish forces in the [[ Battle of Kütahya–Eskişehir]] on 24 July 1921. Turkish forces retook the city during the Battle of Dumlupınar (26–30 August 1922), as part of the Great Offensive.

[5] İzmit was blockaded by Ottoman forces in 1304 and 1330, but was not captured until 1337.

[ww1Izmit-6] İzmit was captured by United Kingdom forces on 20 November 1918 and by Greek forces on 26 October 1920. Retaken by Turkish forces 28 June 1921.

[7] Gelibolu was abandoned by most of its Greek inhabitants following an earthquake on 2 March 1354, and conquered by Ottoman forces later the same month. It was recaptured by Amadeus VI, Count of Savoy and returned to the Byzantines on 24 August 1366. Andronikos IV Palaiologos surrendered Gelibolu to Murad I in 1376.

[8] In 1362, the Ahis briefly tried to restore their independence after Orhan's death, but Murat I ended the political power of Ahis and they became the part of Ottoman Empire.

[Edirne1-9] Although Edirne was captured by the Ottomans at the Battle of Adrianople (1365), they did not achieve full control of the area until 1369.

[Edirne2-10] Edirne was briefly occupied by imperial Russian troops in 1829, during the Greek War of Independence; and in 1878, during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878. After a 4-month siege during the First Balkan War, the Ottoman army lost the city between 26 and 28 March 1913 to the Bulgarians. That occupation was confirmed by the Treaty of London, signed on 9 June 1913. However, the Turkish army was able to retake the city on 21 July 1913. After World War I, Edirne was occupied by the Greeks from the Treaty of Sèvres on 10 August 1920 until Greece acceded to the Armistice of Mudanya on 14 October 1922.

[Kars1-11] Withstood a siege by Nadir Shah of Persia in 1731 and an attack by the Russian Empire in 1807. Lost to the Russian general Count Ivan Paskevich 23 June 1828, but later returned to Ottoman control. The last engagement of the Crimean War was the 1855 Siege of Kars from June until the city's surrender to the Russian general Nikolay Muravyov on 26 November 1855; but was apparently already back in Ottoman control by the time the Treaty of Paris was signed on 30 March 1856. The city was a major focus of the Russo-Turkish War, 1877-78, and was lost to the Russians at the Battle of Kars on 17 November 1877. The Treaty of San Stefano confirmed the loss of Kars and various other northeast Anatolian towns. Although Russia ceded control of Kars to the Ottomans under the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk on 3 March 1918, it was at the time under the effective control of Armenian and non-Bolshevik Russian forces. The Ottoman empire captured Kars on 25 April 1918; in theory, under the 30 October 1918 Armistice of Mudros, the Ottoman army was to retreat to its 1914 boundaries, but in fact only retreated to the 1877 boundary. On 1 December 1918, the Provisional National Government of the Southwestern Caucasus was declared in Kars and controlled most of the surrounding sanjak until British troops dispatched from Batum occupied Kars on 19 April 1919 and then transferred it to the Democratic Republic of Armenia. During the subsequent Turkish–Armenian War, the Turkish forces recaptured Kars on 30 October 1920 and it remained in Turkish hands when the sultanate was abolished on 1 November 1922.

[n 1]

[n 2]

[n 3]

[n 4]

[n 5]

[n 6]

[n 7]

[n 8]

[n 9]

[n 10]

[n 11]