Tarkhu from the Eyes of Travelers (XVII-XVIIIth Centuries)

Tarkhu city, whose history is quite old, became the capital of the Caspian Kingdom in medieval time for a while and in this sense, it has been one of the most important centers of the Caucasia. Tarkhu lost this feature considerably in the result of Slav attacks in the tenth century. However, Kumuk Turks selected Tarkhu as their capital city when they established their own states in the sixteenth century and they made the city important again for Caucasia. That this state is entitled as Tarkhu Shamkhal in Ottoman, Iranian, and Russian sources has been regarded as a remarkable example concerning the importance of Tarkhu. It is interesting that there has not been any studies related to Tarkhu in Turkish literature despite the importance of the city. At this point, this study can be regarded as one of the improvements to fill an important gap. This study is based on the depictions and works of Ottoman, English, French, German and Russian travelers who gave information about Tarkhu when visiting or being the neigborhood of Tarkhu in the XVIIth and XVIIIth century and on the expressions of diplomats or soldiers which presents the quality of travelouge. Thus, the text is designed according to the information given by the travelers. Therefore, the matters that the travelers did not mention or give very little information has not been taken place. Moreover, it has been applied to the XIXth century historians dealing with the history of Daghistan in the explanation of some subjects. Finally, the study has been reinforced by taking advantage of some books and articles written about Tarkhu. In summary this study, according to the viewpoint of the travelers, deals with political life, economic activities of urban residents and physical urban structure in Tarkhu in the XVIIth and XVIIIth century