Anadolu’da Bir Çepni Merkezi: 13-16. Yüzyıllarda Sinop ve Çevresinde Çepniler
A Chepni Center in Anatolia: Chepnis in Sinop and its Environs in the 13th-16th Centuries

Summary/Abstract: The Turkification of Anatolia generally had an east-west axis of progress, but this line of progress was not valid in the Turkification of the Black Sea. The Turkification of the Black Sea began with the Oghuz-Turkmen masses reaching Central Anatolia, advancing to the Black Sea coastline, and gaining positions against the Greek Empire of Trabzon by building castles and defense lines in fortified positions along the valleys. In the Central and Eastern Black Sea Region, which became a field of war against the Trabzon Greek Empire, the flag bearer of the gaza was the Chepni, who came to the forefront among the Oghuz/Turkmen groups. Moving towards Sinop, one of the important port cities of the Central Black Sea, from the middle of the thirteenth century, the Chepnis transformed this place into one of the central fortified and main military bases of the Black Sea defense line. In this way, they increased the pressure against the Greek State of Trabzon and engaged in a long-term struggle with them. Over time, some migrated to the Crimea with Sarı Saltuk, and some migrated to the Ordu-Giresun line after the borders of the Trabzon Greek State were withdrawn to the east. Despite this, the power of the Chepni presence in Sinop and its surroundings continued in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Ottoman tahrir records strongly reveal the existence of Chepni in the region. In this study, the Sinop-centered gaza activity of the Chepni will be briefly discussed, and the role of the Chepni in the Turkification process of Sinop and its environs will be evaluated based on the information in the Ottoman cadastral registers.

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