Erbaa is a town and a district ('' ilçe'') of Tokat Province in the

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

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 ...

. The town of Erbaa lies on the left bank of the Kelkit River and is surrounded by the

Erbaa Plain The Phanaroea plain (Φανάροια), the modern Erbaa Plain (), is a plain lying mostly in the Erbaa district of Tokat Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey. It runs east-west for about , along the Kelkit River (ancient ''Lykos'') in a val ...

, most of which lies in its district. One kilometer east-southeast of Erbaa is the archaeological site of Horoztepe.

Etymology

The name "Erbaa" means "four" in Arabic. According to the official records of the Ottoman Empire, this name started to be used beginning from the early 18th century. The name was also used as "Nevah-i Erbaa", which literally means "four towns". It refers to the period when the most important settlements between Niksar and

Amasya Amasya () is a city in northern Turkey and is the capital of Amasya Province, in the Black Sea Region. It was called Amaseia or Amasia in antiquity."Amasya" in ''The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th e ...

, namely Erek, Karayaka, Sonusa (Uluköy), and Taşâbat (Taşova) were collectively named as Nevah-i Erbaa or "four towns" as they were in the same region and close to one another. Even the accrued taxes of the time were recorded in this name. In 1840, the taxes collected from these four towns were registered to be 47,243 kuruş. Erbaa came to be used as a general name for Erek,

Karayaka The Karayaka (''Black Neck'') is a breed of domestic sheep from Turkey. It is a dual purpose breed producing meat and milk. The wool Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and cam ...

, Sonusa, and Taşâbat and was regarded as a district. The name Kaza-i Erbaa, or Erbaa District was also used during the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

. As the town of Erek developed more than the others over time, it became a district in 1872 and took the name Erbaa on its own and the others, Taşâbat, Karayaka and Sonusa became the villages of Erek, or today's Erbaa. Later, in 1944, when Taşabat or today's

Taşova Taşova is a town and a district of Amasya Province of the central Black Sea region of Turkey. It covers an area of 1,041 km², and the population as of 2010 is 33,138, of which 10,759 live in the town of Taşova, the majority spread throughou ...

became a separate district in 1944, Sonusa was also annexed to Taşova.

References

Populated places in Tokat Province Districts of Tokat Province {{Tokat-geo-stub