Erzurum
[key], city, capital of Erzurum prov., E Turkey. It is an agricultural
trade center and a railroad center. Agricultural products include sugar
beets, wheat, barley, and vegetables. Metal and leather handicrafts are also
produced. Although its origins are obscure, the city was known in the 5th
cent. a.d. as Theodosiopolis, an important Byzantine frontier
fortress. It was later held by various peoples, including the Armenians,
Persians, and Seljuk Turks, before being captured by the Ottoman Turks in
the early 16th cent. The first Turkish Nationalist congress was held there
in 1919. In 1983 an earthquake caused extensive damage in and around the
city and killed more than 1,300 people. It is the site of Atatürk
Univ.
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