Uğurtaşı with Documents

Ottoman documents about the lives of Turks in Uğurtaşı village date back to the 1500s. In an Ottoman document found by İlhan Öztürk, it is understood that the guard of the Oltu castle was Mir, son of Yakup Bey from İstavri. Upon Mir's death in 1552, his timar right was given to his two eldest sons, Mehmet and Süleyman. Although it is known that Turks lived here before this date (Uzlar, 1000's), a written document in Ottoman Turkish could not be obtained.

In the studies carried out by Assist. Assoc. Dr. Kemal Saylan, we see that two people were appointed as Ehl-i Örf in İstavri in 1643 (Annex-3). Ehl-i Örfs were the groups that fulfilled their administrative and military duties in the Ottoman state. The representatives of this class, which were given names such as Ehl-i Örf, Ehl-i Seyf and Ümera, in the Divan-ı Hümayun were vizier-i azam and viziers. Apart from the Divan, Beylerbeyi, Sanjak Bey, Kapikulu soldiers and sipahis from Timar were in this group.

As you know, mining was a major industry in our region. The people living in our villages either worked in these mines or worked in the business of providing logs to be used in the fortification of these mines. Again, in the studies carried out by Assist. Assoc. Dr.Kemal Saylan, it is understood that there were 6 Muslim and 32 Christian loggers in İstavri in 1643 (Annex-4).

Another document belonging to this process is the Ottoman edict dated 8 Muharram 1225 (12 February 1810) (Annex-4). A person or group from the people of Stavri applied to the Ottoman Sultan Mahmut the 2nd for the derbet service of Derbendin on Ac*su-Kolat-U*urtaş* through this edict. Our Sultan Mahmut II, considering it appropriate in , appointed the applicants as Derbentci. I would like to briefly talk about this structure. Derbent Organization is the organization responsible for protecting the passage and caravan routes in the mountainous regions of Anatolia and Rumelia and ensuring the safety of passengers. It started to be established in the Ottoman Empire at the end of the 14th century. Derbentcilers and bridge builders with military status lived in the district. Derbentci guarded the mountain passes and ensured the safety of passers-by. Significant trade and military junction points and places where mountains gave way were derbent districts. Since Gümüşhane had an economic importance due to the mines as well as strategically, derbent workers were employed. Considering the mountainous nature of Gümüşhane, the villages at the important crossing points were appointed as debentci. The safety of the mine roads belonged to them. Derbend facilities were a small castle surrounded by a wall, and there were inns, mosques, schools and shops next to it. Thus, a village or a small town was formed near derbend. Derbends were mostly built at the intersections of roads and places of central importance. Therefore, the village people who were registered as derbendci were exempted from some or all of the taxes according to their service. Although Derbends are important facilities in terms of ensuring the safety of the region and the road, they were also used to make the deserted places open to settlement. The place names mentioned in the edict were used as evidence in the determination of the village boundaries during the restructuring works that took place after the Republic. Annex-5, Annex-6

During my studies on Uğurtaşı village, I met İlhan Öztürk from the Öztürk family, who settled in Trabzon-Akçaabat-Mayer (Fındıklı) village in the early 1800s. According to the notes of his grandfather, Ruşen Zeki Öztürk, held by İlhan Öztürk, the oldest known Karakullukcu who settled in İstavri is Mahmut Efendi (1720-1780/1800). I confirmed this with the 1835 census results that I translated later. İlhan Bey's oldest grandfather in Meyer is Feyzullah Efendi (1770-1850). According to İlhan Bey, Feyzullah Efendi was the eldest son of İsmail Karakullukçu (1750-1840), who was the son of Mahmut Karakullukçu from Istavri. This situation could not be detected from the results of the 1835 Istavri Census. Because the records at that time were made on the basis of residence, not on a log basis, and Feyzullah Efendi was living in Meyer at that time. I don't know if İlhan Öztürk determined this situation with the census results in Meyer. Feyzullah Efendi took his children Mahmut, Ahmet and Cemile with him due to some special reasons, left İstavri and settled in Mayer and changed his nickname to Öztürk (Annex-27). But as far as I learned from my studies, Feyzullah Efendi's other children Hasan (D.1790) and grandchildren Süleyman (D.1829), Mustafa (D.1833), Yusuf (D.1835) and Süleyman (D.1800) and grandchildren Osman (D. .1830) stayed in İstavri with Hüseyin (1834) and it can be seen from the 1835 election results.

In the same notes, he mentions that the Karakullukists emigrated from Central Asia and came to Istanbul via Anatolia. Although the date of their settlement in Istanbul is not specified, he writes about those who appear to have appeared in İstavri from Istanbul in the 1600-1700s. Hüseyin Karakullukcu, one of the former heads of the Council of State, states that they left Gümüşhane in the early 1800s and settled in Kıyılı village, Görele town of Giresun. Soner Karakullukçu, from whom I graduated from university, and his older brother Mehmet Erol Karakullukcu, one of the former mayors of Datça, are among those who left Gümüşhane and settled in the Kıyılı village of Görele. Hüseyin and Erol Karakullukçu's are relatives. If it can be researched a little more, maybe kinship ties with me can be established. Since the Ottoman population numbers were initially based on residence/settlement, it was very difficult to show kinship relations with a person by examining these censuses. Population numbers from the 1900's, on the other hand, are easier to interpret because they are placed on a log basis. By the way, I would like to talk about Prof. Dr. Engin Sezer who I met in Istanbul. In the conversation, he stated that he was Karakullukcu from his mother's side and that they had come to Sivas from Gümüşhane. I will talk about the reasons for these migrations in detail in the following pages. In these narratives, it is understood that the Karakullukcuukcu family came from Central Asia through the Caucasus to Anatolia. There is an agreement, a sense, a consensus about this subject.

Professor of Istanbul University, Prof. Dr. İbrahim Yıldırım also stated to Orhan Karakullukcu (of Azerbaijani origin) that there are still families belonging to the Karakullukcu dynasty in Azerbaijan-Baku and in Karabakh.

Uğurtaşı ( İstavri ) village is an eastern Black Sea settlement unit that has lived for many years with Armenians, mostly Turks and Greeks. By using some examples from my grandfather, I will explain the importance of living life together. In a Greek document dated February 5, 1895, it is understood that my grandfather Hüsnü Karakullukçu was chosen as the headman (President of the Union) probably after a controversial meeting held in the mosque (Annex-7). After the 1839 Tanzimat Edict, the Greeks were also given the right to vote and be elected. Due to the density of the Greek population, from 1847 until the population exchange in 1923, mostly Greeks were elected as mukhtars. Again, in the translation of a Greek document, it is seen that Hüsnü Karakullukçu was elected to the headman's office (union president) for the second time in 1913 (Annex 15. An Ottoman document (Annex-9) states that he was the first headman appointed to Uğurtaşı village after the proclamation of the Republic. It is understood from the Ottoman Service Schedule that my grandfather Hüsnü Karakullukcu received in 1925 that he was both a teacher and graduated from the high school in Mescitli (Beşkilise) with a 10 out of 10 in 1886 (Annex-8).