Alucra

History

This area has firstly been settled by the Hittites in ancient times. During the Middle Ages, Alucra was the part of the Byzantine Empire, disrupted by the Arab armies of the Abbasid caliphate. Turks first came to the area in their 11th century movement into Anatolia from their homeland in Central Asia following their defeat of the Byzantines at the Battle of Malazgirt. From 1054 this area was settled by the Kipchak Turks from southern Russia, who moved into the area along the Black Sea coast, under the loose authority of the Seljuk Turks. The Seljuks assumed direct control by defeating the Mengujekids in 1228, but their rule came to an end with their defeat by the Mongol hordes at Kösedağ in 1243. The Anatolian beyliks remerged despite the growth of the Ottoman Empire until the area was brought into Ottoman in 1473 with the defeat of Uzun Hasan by Sultan Mehmet II at the battle of Otlukbeli.