Zaman newspaper, an opposition media outlet which has been taken over by the government, reopened Saturday under heavy police guard.
Staff took to social media to post photos of armed special forces at the building, which was surrounded by barricades.
Police used tear gas and water cannons and forced their way into the newspaper's offices on Friday night. They detained and handcuffed a German journalist covering the event, but he was released after several hours.
The state-run Anadolu news agency reported a court had ordered a state-appointed trusteeship to take over the paper, though no reason was given. Zaman employees also said they were unaware of specific charges.
Zaman, which has editions in Turkish and English, is seen as being affiliated with the movement of Fethullah Gulen, an Islamic preacher based in the US.
The Turkish edition, Zaman said, had a daily circulation of 850,000 print copies, making it the largest opposition paper in the country.
Gulen was a one-time ally of Erdogan but the two fell out recently and the government has pushed the line that the preacher's movement, known as Hizmet (Service), is a terrorist group. He is accused of running a "parallel" state within the civil service.
The government has taken over other critical media outlets, including newspaper and television stations, allegedly affiliated with Gulen, amid charges by rights groups that press freedoms are facing a sustained attack in the country.
Amnesty International and press freedom groups were sharply critical of the takeover of Zaman.
Human Rights Watch said this was the "latest attempt by Turkey's president and government to silence critical media". Erdogan insists Turkey has the freest media in the world.
