Tokat is the capital city of Tokat Province 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 ...

in the mid-

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Roma ...

region of

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

. 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 155,000.

History

The city was established in the Hittite era. During the time of King

Mithradates VI of Pontus Mithridates or Mithradates VI Eupator ( grc-gre, Μιθραδάτης; 135–63 BC) was ruler of the Kingdom of Pontus in northern Anatolia from 120 to 63 BC, and one of the Roman Republic's most formidable and determined opponents. He was an e ...

, it was one of his many strongholds in

Asia Minor Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

. Known as Evdokia or Eudoxia, ecclesiastically it was later incorporated into the western part of the

Byzantine Greek Medieval Greek (also known as Middle Greek, Byzantine Greek, or Romaic) is the stage of the Greek language between the end of classical antiquity in the 5th–6th centuries and the end of the Middle Ages, conventionally dated to the Ottoman co ...

Empire of Trebizond The Empire of Trebizond, or Trapezuntine Empire, was a monarchy and one of three successor rump states of the Byzantine Empire, along with the Despotate of the Morea and the Principality of Theodoro, that flourished during the 13th through to t ...

. Some authors like

Guillaume de Jerphanion Guillaume de Jerphanion, born at Pontevès in 1877, died in Rome on 22 October 1948, was a French Jesuit, . Biography Guillaume de Jerphanion was born on 3 March 1877, the third in a family of eight children. He came from a family of old nobili ...

and William Mitchell Ramsay identified Tokat with the ancient and medieval Dazimon, with Ramsay saying, "Dazimon, which seems to have been a fortress, must have been the modern Tokat, with its strong castle.

Henri Grégoire Henri Jean-Baptiste Grégoire (; 4 December 1750 – 28 May 1831), often referred to as the Abbé Grégoire, was a French Catholic priest, Constitutional bishop of Blois and a revolutionary leader. He was an ardent slavery abolitionist and sup ...

, on the other hand, refuted this as implausible, because a 13th-century text written by

Ibn Bibi Ibn Bibi was a Persian historiographer and the author of the primary source for the history of the Seljuq Sultanate of Rum during the 13th century. He served as head of the chancellery of the Sultanate in Konya and reported on contemporary events. ...

clearly distinguishes Dazimon and Tokat as separate places. Instead, he said, Tokat should be identified with the town of Dokeia ( gr, Δόκεια) mentioned in another 10th-century text, by Theophanes Continuatus, which says that the Byzantine general

John Kourkouas John Kourkouas ( gr, Ἰωάννης Κουρκούας, Ioannes Kourkouas, ), also transliterated as Kurkuas or Curcuas, was one of the most important generals of the Byzantine Empire. His success in battles against the Muslim states in the Ea ...

was born in a village near Dokeia sometime in the 9th century. According to Grégoire, the name "Dokeia" does not have a Greek etymology and probably represents an old

Anatolian Anatolian or anatolica may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the region Anatolia * Anatolians, ancient Indo-European peoples who spoke the Anatolian languages * Anatolian High School, a type of Turkish educational institution * Anatol ...

place name. The supposed derivation from "Eudokia", he claimed, is only a

folk etymology Folk etymology (also known as popular etymology, analogical reformation, reanalysis, morphological reanalysis or etymological reinterpretation) is a change in a word or phrase resulting from the replacement of an unfamiliar form by a more famili ...

that came much later. After the

Battle of Manzikert The Battle of Manzikert or Malazgirt was fought between the Byzantine Empire and the Seljuk Empire on 26 August 1071 near Manzikert, theme of Iberia (modern Malazgirt in Muş Province, Turkey). The decisive defeat of the Byzantine army and th ...

the town, like most of

, came under the control of the Seljuk Turks. After the death of Sultan Suleiman ibn Qutulmish in 1086, the

Emir Emir (; ar, أمير ' ), sometimes transliterated amir, amier, or ameer, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or cerem ...

Danishmend Gazi took control of the area, operating from his power base in the town of Sivas. It would be many decades before the Seljuks re-took control of that region, in the reign of

Kilij Arslan II Kilij Arslan II ( 1ca, قِلِج اَرسلان دوم) or ʿIzz ad-Dīn Kilij Arslān ibn Masʿūd ( fa, عز الدین قلج ارسلان بن مسعود) (Modern Turkish ''Kılıç Arslan'', meaning "Sword Lion") was a Seljuk Sultan of Rûm ...

. After the Battle of Köse Dağ, Seljuk hold over the region was lost, and local Emirs such as the Eretna took power until the rise of the

Ottomans The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922). Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...

, who captured the town in 1392. Prior to

WWI World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Tokat had 40,000 residents of which included 15,000 Armenians, 1,000 Greeks, and a small number of Jews.

Climate

Tokat has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate, or alternatively a

continental climate Continental climates often have a significant annual variation in temperature (warm summers and cold winters). They tend to occur in the middle latitudes (40 to 55 north), within large landmasses where prevailing winds blow overland bringing som ...

( Köppen: ''Csa,''

Trewartha Trewartha and Andrewartha are Cornish family names (and placename, Dexter). There are places called Trewartha in the parishes of Merther, St Agnes, St Neot and Veryan. According to the ''Handbook of Cornish Names'' by G. Pawley White, "Trew ...

: ''Dc''). Due to the relatively high altitude and inland location, winters are colder with average lows below the freezing point and annual snowfall.

Economy

Historically,

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...

was mined in the area. According to Greek researcher, Dimosthenis Oeconomidis (1858–1938):

Culture

Education

Tokat Gaziosmanpaşa University Tokat Gaziosmanpaşa University ( tr, Tokat Gaziosmanpaşa Üniversitesi) is a public university established in 1992 and primarily located in Tokat, Turkey. The university takes its name from the famous Turkish commander Gazi Osman Nuri Pasha, ...

is one of Turkey's newer tertiary institutions, founded in 1992. It was named after the local hero Gazi Osman Paşa.

Sports

Football is the most popular sport: in the older districts above the city center children often kick balls around in the evenings in the smallest streets. The city's

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

club is Tokatspor, which plays its games at the Tokat Gaziosmanpaşa Stadium.

Basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

, volleyball, tennis, swimming, cable skiing (in summer), horse riding, go karting, paintballing, martial arts and many other sports are played. Cycling and jogging are only common along the sea front, where recreational fishing is also popular.

Cuisine

Foods distinctive to Tokat include Tokat kebabı and Zile pekmezi, the latter being served in a wooden pot. ''Tokat kebabı'' consists of sliced lamb, aubergines, potatoes, green bell peppers and tomatoes. The slices are laid on their sides in rows in a dish and baked with cloves of garlic. ''Zile pekmezi'' is a grape-molasses confection, prepared from a variety of small green grapes, which are pressed (traditionally by foot but nowadays by machine) and then evaporated to a thick syrup by boiling. Egg-whites are then beaten into the syrup until it forms a pale marshmallow-like paste. It is sold commercially in tubs.

Tourism

The most important landmark is Tokat Castle, an Ottoman

citadel A citadel is the core fortified area of a town or city. It may be a castle, fortress, or fortified center. The term is a diminutive of "city", meaning "little city", because it is a smaller part of the city of which it is the defensive core. In ...

with 28 towers on a rocky hill overlooking the town. Vlad the Impaler, who may have inspired

Bram Stoker Abraham Stoker (8 November 1847 – 20 April 1912) was an Irish author who is celebrated for his 1897 Gothic horror novel '' Dracula''. During his lifetime, he was better known as the personal assistant of actor Sir Henry Irving and busine ...

's fictional character Count Dracula, was imprisoned in one of its dungeons.Archaeologists In Turkey Say They've Discovered Dracula's Dungeon
/ref> Other sights include the remains of several

Greek Orthodox The term Greek Orthodox Church (Greek language, Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the Eastern Orthodox Church, entire body of Orthodox (Chalced ...

churches and a cathedral, the Garipler Mosque dating to the 12th century, the Ali Paşa Mosque (16th century), the

Hatuniye Külliyesi Hatuniye is a historical ''külliye'', an Islamic religious complex, located in the city center of Tokat, Turkey. Its 1485 construction was ordered by Ottoman Sultan Bayezid II in honour of his mother, Gülbahar Hatun. Its facilities include a m ...

, also 16th century and the

Gök Medrese Gök Medrese may refer to: *Gök Medrese (Sivas) Gökmedrese or Gök Medrese (literally: "Celestial Madrasah" or "Blue Madrasah"; fa, گوک مدرسه), also known as Sahibiye Medresesi, is a 13th-century madrasah, medrese, an Islamic education ...

(Pervane Bey Darussifasi), which was constructed in 1270. It was founded as a school of

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

, and was converted into a museum, housing archaeological finds from the area, until that function was transferred in 2012 to another location. File:Tokat Ali Pasha Mosque 2419.jpg, Tokat Ali Pasha Mosque File:Tokat Ali Pasha Mosque 2423.jpg, Tokat Ali Pasha Mosque View along side File:Tokat Ali Pasha Mosque 8117.jpg, Tokat Ali Pasha Mosque View along side File:Tokat Ali Pasha Mosque 2421.jpg, Tokat Ali Pasha Mosque Entrance File:Tokat Ali Pasha Mosque 2422.jpg, Tokat Ali Pasha Mosque Entrance File:Tokat Ali Pasha Mosque 8127.jpg, Tokat Ali Pasha Mosque Interior File:Tokat Ali Pasha Mosque 8128.jpg, Tokat Ali Pasha Mosque Interior File:Tokat Ali Pasha Mausoleum 8124.jpg, Tokat Ali Pasha Mosque Mausoleum The Latifoglu Konak, a late 18th-century Ottoman residence, is an example of

Baroque architecture Baroque architecture is a highly decorative and theatrical style which appeared in Italy in the early 17th century and gradually spread across Europe. It was originally introduced by the Catholic Church, particularly by the Jesuits, as a means t ...

. The two-story building has been restored and has been converted into a small museum. Much of the furniture in the kitchen, study, visitors' rooms with bath and toilet, bedroom, master's room, and harem is original.

Ballıca Cave Ballıca Cave ( tr, Ballıca Mağarası) is a small cave situated at southeast of Pazar, Tokat Province, Turkey. The cave is southeast of the village Ballıca. Ballıca Cave is a fossil cave. Its overall length is . The upper sections are compo ...

is a small cave situated at 6 km (3.8 mi) southeast of

Pazar, Tokat Pazar is a town and a district of Tokat Province in the Black Sea Region, Turkey, Black Sea region of Turkey. The mayor is Adnan Özmen (Nationalist Movement Party, MHP). References

Populated places in Tokat Province Districts of Tokat Pr ...

Province. File:Ballıca_Cave_1933.jpg, Ballıca Cave Image File:Ballıca Han 2021.jpg, Ballıca Han Door decoration File:Ballıca Han 2027.jpg, Ballıca Han Decoration at entrance File:Ballıca Han 2025.jpg, Ballıca Han View into closed courtyard File:Ballıca Han 2026.jpg, Ballıca Han Exterior wall

Notable people

* Apkar Tebir Tokhatetsi (1520?–1572?), Armenian printer and typographer * Gazi Osman Paşa (1832–1897), Ottoman commander * Symeon Savvidis (1859–1927), Greek painter *

Mehmet Emin Tokadi Mehmet Emin Tokadi (fully ''Mehmed Emin bin Hasan bin Omar Nakkash Tokadi''; 1664–1745) was the son of one of Aziz Mahmud Amawi's derwishes. Born at Tokat, during Ottoman times, he died in Istanbul. Nicknamed Jemaleddin, he was officially known ...

Hazretleri (1664–1745), Sufi saint of Istanbul *

Krikor Balakian Grigoris Balakian ( hy, Գրիգորիս Պալագեան) 1875 – 8 October 1934), was a bishop of the Armenian Apostolic Church, in addition to being a survivor and memoirist of the Armenian genocide. Life Grigoris Balakian was born in Toka ...

(1875–1934), Armenian bishop *

Cahit Külebi Cahit Külebi (20 December 1917, Tokat – 20 June 1997 Ankara) was a leading Turkish poet and author. He has an important place in contemporary Turkish poetry due to his attachment to folk poetry traditions. His poetry is enriched with simple yet ...

(1917–1997), Turkish poet *

Engin Günaydın Engin Günaydın (born 29 January 1972) is a Turkish actor and comedian. Biography Günaydın was born in Erbaa, Tokat Province. He began his university studies at Hacettepe University Conservatory, but in his second year he switched to Mimar S ...

(born 1972), Turkish actor and comedian *

Hüseyin Akbaş Hüseyin Akbaş (1933–1989) was a Turkish wrestler. He competed in freestyle wrestling at the 1956, 1960 and 1964 Olympics and won a bronze medal in 1956 and a silver in 1964. Akbaş won the world freestyle title in 1954, 1957, 1959 and 1962, p ...

(1933–1989), Turkish World and Olympic Champion in wrestling *

Seda Sayan Seda Sayan (born Aysel Gürsaçer; 30 December 1962) is a Turkish pop folk singer, actress, and TV variety-show hostess. Personal life Sayan was born in a poor family so she started working from a very young age. She started performing at the ...

(born 1964), Turkish pop folk singer, actress and TV variety-show hostess * Aziz Kocaoğlu (born 1948), mayor and politician.

International relations

Tokat is twinned with:

Notes

References

Sources and external links

Tokat
at kultur.gov.tr
Tokat web news
{{Authority control Cities in Turkey Former Armenian Catholic eparchies History of Tokat Province Districts of Tokat Province Populated places in Tokat Province