Abstract
Ottoman Empire's Struggle to Set Up A Line of Defence in the Black Sea Against Russia: The Acu Castle (1696-1711)
It is known that Russia has long been the target of reaching warm seas through the Black Sea. For the first time, a planned operation was made during the Tsar I.Petro era. In the years following the Second Siege Of Vienna, the Ottomans continued to struggle on various fronts. Since the majority of the Ottoman soldiers were on the Austrian front, it could not be expected to send enough forces here. As a matter of fact, in 1696 Russia took the fortress of Azov which was at a very strategic point in the Black Sea. Russia reaches on the Black Sea, it would become a serious threat for the Ottomans. The first target of the Ottomans, who understood this reality very well, tried to restricted he Russians in the Azov ea. For this purpose, the fortresses in the Crimea and Taman peninsula maintenanced and repaired. Also fortresses have been reinforced. In additionly, Ottomans have built new fortresses at strategic points in order to control the Kerch Strait. One of these strongholds was the fortress of Acu.
In this paper, the strategic importance of the fortress of Açu in 1697, the repair and maintenance activities of the castle until 1711 and the state of the military forces in the castle will be examined. Additionally , the effects of closing the passages from the Sea of Azov to the Kuban River on the Russian menace will be perused. Hence, with the construction of the Acu Castle it will be seen that the passage to the Taman Peninsula from the Kuban River was prevented.
Keywords
Ottoman, Russia, Black Sea, Açu fortress, Kerch Strait.
