Bayburt, as mentioned by Manuel, is a strategically important military town located northeast of Erzincan.
The city was also the most significant victory achieved by the Bosporus Army, besides Erzincan, in recent days.
Situated on high ground, the city boasts well-defended fortifications and is the second-largest commercial hub in West Armenia, after Erzincan and Erzurum.
It's worth noting that while historical records suggest this region would become a Turk-dominated city a century later, its population remained predominantly Armenian until the late Middle Ages.
Logically, this city should have served as the White Sheep's central point of resistance against the Bosporus, yet it fell into Bosporus hands within a mere five days.
The reason for this was quite unexpected: after the White Sheep forces in Erzincan were routed, fewer than a hundred White Sheep defenders remained in Bayburt.
Thanks to the extensive trade networks among Armenians, which the Erzincan Armenians, in cooperation with the Bosporus, heavily exploited, the semi-true message that "the Bosporus will grant Armenians rights and land, and Christians freedom" quickly spread throughout Erzincan and its surrounding areas, including Bayburt.
Consequently, when the Bosporus Army arrived at the city gates, the remaining White Sheep garrison was directly overthrown by the Armenians within the city.
Posadas, who was leading the troops at the time, thus entered the city without much resistance.
Expecting a fierce battle, he could only, out of sheer frustration, lead his army to slaughter the Muslims in Bayburt and the surrounding area to vent his anger.
Returning to the present, because the Bosporus controlled this strategically important and elevated military town, Manuel decided, at this military council, to position the defense against the enemy at Bayburt, using the terrain to repel them.
Furthermore, from a topographical and strategic perspective, for the Aq Qoyunlu Dynasty to regain control of Erzincan, they would certainly have to attempt to retake Bayburt, which is located on high ground.
Otherwise, merely focusing on taking Erzincan would make them vulnerable to harassment and counterattacks from enemies still entrenched in the surrounding mountains and high ground like Bayburt, leading to an easy loss of the city.
After Manuel explained these concerns and reasons to the Generals, they all agreed with Caesar's assessment once they understood.
The most crucial part of this military council was thus decided.
Over the next week or two, the Bosporus and the local Armenians focused their efforts on repairing the defenses, primarily centered around Bayburt, but they did not neglect the mountainous areas on the southwest and northeast sides of Erzincan, to prevent the enemy from exploiting any weaknesses.
This tense situation continued until late August.
On a morning in late August, Ali and others, encouraged by various tribes, gathered four thousand Turkmen and Kurdish warriors and, just as Manuel had predicted, headed straight for Bayburt.
However, it must be stated that Ali's decision to attack Bayburt was not impulsive or presumptuous; it was a well-considered one.
Although Bayburt had fallen into enemy hands, from the White Sheep's perspective, the Bosporus had only been in the region for less than a month, and their foundation was not yet stable.
As long as the enemy was not intimately allied with what they called "Armenian pigs," Bayburt would not be as easy to defend as it normally would be.
Moreover, a loss might even be beneficial for Ali, as it would then give him a legitimate reason to request reinforcements from his father, White Sheep Sultan Kara Osman, instead of being forced to deploy troops due to tribal instigation.
In his eyes, this medium-scale conflict was a wasteful attrition of vital forces, but to appease the aggrieved tribes, he had to react quickly, making what seemed like a futile move.
In contrast to Ali, who considered all aspects, the Turkmen tribes, who had suffered significant losses due to the Bosporus invasion, were eager to reclaim their lost pastures and lands from the Christians.
Their tribal soldiers, spurred on by their tribal Mullahs, were highly motivated, even believing, as always, that Ghazi Warriors were invincible.
As for these Christians from across the sea, they believed they would be directly crushed by their cavalry on the dry plateaus, just as they had encountered in the past.
Ali's two brothers, Hamza and Sheikh Hassan, were somewhat anxious.
They were more interested in proving their own capabilities through this campaign, and their actions regarding the Turkmen tribes were mostly opportunistic.
It was under these circumstances, with each having their own intentions, that the White Sheep Army set out.
Initially, things went smoothly; during the seven or eight hours of the White Sheep Army's march from Erzurum to Bayburt, they only encountered a few small, loosely organized scout parties.
Upon seeing the formidable presence of the White Sheep Army, every scout immediately spurred their horses and fled at top speed.
Although Ali actively dispatched light cavalry to eliminate these scouts, he did not want to spend too much time on this, adhering to the principle of swift military action.
However, the tribal Generals advised him to spend more time pursuing these scouts, to prevent the enemy from gaining intelligence and to boost morale simultaneously.
After much persuasion, Ali had no choice but to slow his march and spend more time on this endeavor.
Even so, many scouts successfully escaped back to Bayburt, reporting the enemy's movements to Tukharovsky, the Bosporus General stationed in the city.
Upon learning that the White Sheep Army was on the counterattack, Tukharovsky did not dare to be negligent in the slightest.
He immediately dispatched messengers to inform Caesar, who was stationed with the main army east of Erzincan.
At the same time, he actively mobilized the Armenians within the city, explaining the stakes, using both persuasion and intimidation, to induce or threaten them into temporarily serving as military servants and assisting in the city's defense.
As the Bosporus Army actively fortified the city, the main force of the White Sheep Army appeared on the eastern horizon shortly after noon.
Standing on the city walls, watching the disciplined and valiant Muslim army, the Bosporus Army's officers and soldiers felt their hearts pound.
Their task now was to withstand the fierce assault of the White Sheep until Manuel arrived with his army.
Below the city, facing the Bosporus Army on the city walls, Ali did not hesitate to issue his first military order, as the prelude to the White Sheep's recapture of the city: "allah akbar, loose the arrows!"