JOHN F. BADDELEY’İN AHISKA’YA İLİŞKİN GÖZLEMLERİ ÜZERİNE BİR DEĞERLENDİRME
AN EVALUATION UPON THE OBSERVATIONS OF JOHN. F. BADDELEY RELATING TO AHISKA

Summary/Abstract: Ahıska is in the south western part of the Caucasia in the Georgian lands. In the north and east of Ahıska lies Georgia; in the south lies Armenia, in the south western lies Turkey; in the west lies autonomous Ajarian Republic. The motherland of Ahıska Turks having been settled in the region from 16th century to the Russian conquest in 1828 and having been inseparable part of the Anatolian Turks is the Ahıska region, which is in territories of Georgia and the neighbour of Türkiye today. To some researchers the reason of why the Turks having settled there are called as “Ahıska Turks” stems from the fact that the geographical name of the region that covers those provinces is Ahıska. According to some, Ahıska “Ak-Sıka” (Ak Kale) in Dede Korkut and mentioned as “Akesga” in the records of the year 481 is the Turkish and Persian form of “Akhal-Tsikhe” which means “the New Castle” in Georgian. After the region had been under the Ottoman sovereignty for 250 years it went under the domination of Russia with the treaty of Adrionaple (Edirne) having been signed in 1829. This study is based on the observations and researches of the English traveler, John F. Baddeley related to Ahıska in the work titled as “The Russian Conquest of the Caucasus” published in 1908. The purpose of the study is to discuss and evaluate the information given by Baddeley as to how the Russia managed to conquer the Caucasia, especially Ahıska and make some contributions to the field of literature. Thus, it is aimed to enlighten the history of the Ahıska region and the Ahıska Turks, who have deep historical root and bond with Turkey.

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