The Kelkit River ( tr, Kelkit Irmağı or ''Kelkit Çayı''), is a river in the
Black Sea Region
The Black Sea Region ( tr, Karadeniz Bölgesi) is a geographical region of Turkey. The largest city in the region is Samsun. Other big cities are Trabzon, Ordu, Tokat, Giresun, Rize, Amasya and Sinop.
It is bordered by the Marmara Region to the ...
of
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
. It is the longest tributary of the
Yeşilırmak. Its name derives from the Armenian ''Gayl get'' ( hy, Գայլ գետ 'wolf river', Kayl ked in Western Armenian pronunciation). Its Greek name is Lykos ( el, Λύκος), also meaning 'wolf', and romanized as Lycus.
It rises in
Gümüşhane Province
Gümüşhane Province ( tr, Gümüşhane ili ) is a province in northern Turkey, bordering Bayburt to the east, Trabzon to the north, Giresun and Erzincan to the west. It covers an area of 6,575 km2 and has a population of 129,618 in 2010. Th ...
and runs through the provinces of
Erzincan
Erzincan (; ku, Erzîngan), historically Yerznka ( hy, Երզնկա), is the capital of Erzincan Province in Eastern Turkey. Nearby cities include Erzurum, Sivas, Tunceli, Bingöl, Elazığ, Malatya, Gümüşhane, Bayburt, and Giresun. The city is ...
,
Giresun
Giresun (), formerly Cerasus (Ancient Greek: Κερασοῦς, Greek: Κερασούντα), is the provincial capital of Giresun Province in the Black Sea Region of northeastern Turkey, about west of the city of Trabzon.
Etymology
Giresun wa ...
,
Sivas
Sivas (Latin and Greek: ''Sebastia'', ''Sebastea'', Σεβάστεια, Σεβαστή, ) is a city in central Turkey and the seat of Sivas Province.
The city, which lies at an elevation of in the broad valley of the Kızılırmak river, is a ...
, and
Tokat
Tokat is the capital city of Tokat Province of Turkey in the mid-Black Sea region of Anatolia. It is located at the confluence of the Tokat River (Tokat Suyu) with the Yeşilırmak. In the 2018 census, the city of Tokat had a population of 155,00 ...
before flowing into the Yeşilırmak at the modern village of
Kızılçubuk, near the site of the ancient city of
Eupatoria. The Kelkit follows the
North Anatolian Fault
The North Anatolian Fault (NAF) ( tr, Kuzey Anadolu Fay Hattı) is an active right-lateral strike-slip fault in northern Anatolia, and is the transform boundary between the Eurasian Plate and the Anatolian Plate. The fault extends westward fro ...
for about 150 km from
Suşehri
Suşehri is a town and a district of Sivas Province of Turkey. The mayor is Fazlı Yüksel ( AKP).
Suşehri is one of the country sides of Sivas.
Name
The first localization of Suşehri is 2 km east of the city centre. After the country, ca ...
to
Resadiye and
Niksar
Niksar, historically known as Neocaesarea (Νεοκαισάρεια), is a city in Tokat Province, Turkey. It was settled by many empires, being once the capital city of the province. Niksar is known as "Çukurova of the North-Anatolia" due to it ...
.
In Hellenistic times, a major east-west road following the valley of the Kelkit led from
Armenia Minor
Lesser Armenia ( hy, Փոքր Հայք, ''Pokr Hayk''; la, Armenia Minor, Greek: Mikre Armenia, Μικρή Αρμενία), also known as Armenia Minor and Armenia Inferior, comprised the Armenian–populated regions primarily to the west and no ...
to
Bithynia
Bithynia (; Koine Greek: , ''Bithynía'') was an ancient region, kingdom and Roman province in the northwest of Asia Minor (present-day Turkey), adjoining the Sea of Marmara, the Bosporus, and the Black Sea. It bordered Mysia to the southwest, Pa ...
.
[B. C. McGing, ''The Foreign Policy of Mithridates VI Eupator, King of Pontus'' (Mnemosyne Ser.: Suppl. 89), 1997. . p. 6''f''.]
It was the site of the
Battle of the Lycus The Battle of the Lycus was fought in 66 BC between a Roman Republican army under the command of Gnaeus Pompeius (better known to posterity as Pompey the Great) and the forces of Mithridates VI of Pontus. The Romans easily won the battle with few l ...
in 66 BCE
Phanaroea
The valley of the last 40 km of the Kelkit is the Erbaa plain (Erbaa Ovası), known in antiquity as the Phanaroea.
Notes
Bibliography
Kelkit Basin Museums
Rivers of Turkey
Rivers of Gümüşhane Province
Eastern Anatolia Region
Rivers of Giresun Province
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