Kars

Kars ( or ; ; ) is a city in northeast Turkey. It is the seat of Kars Province and Kars District. As of 2022, its population was 91,450. Kars, in classical historiography (Strabo), was in the ancient region known as Chorzene, part of the province of Ayrarat in the Kingdom of Armenia, and later the capital of the Bagratid Kingdom of Armenia from 929 to 961. Currently, the mayor of Kars is Türker Öksüz. The city had an Armenian ethnic majority until it was re-captured by Turkish nationalist forces in late 1920. Etymology The city's name may derive from the Armenian word , meaning 'bride'. According to another hypothesis, the name derives from the Georgian word , meaning 'gate'. History Medieval period Little is known of the early history of Kars beyond the fact that, during medieval times, it had its own dynasty of Armenian rulers and was the capital of a region known as Vanand. Medieval Armenian historians referred to the city by a variety of names, including ('Kars city'), , , (all meaning 'Kars Fortress'). At some point in the ninth century (at least by 888) it entered into the domains of the Armenian Bagratunis. Kars was the capital of the Bagratid kingdom of Armenia between 929 and 961. During this period, the town's cathedral, later known as the Church of the Holy Apostles, was built.