Erbaa is a town and a district (''
ilçe
The 81 provinces of Turkey are divided into 973 districts (''ilçeler''; sing. ''ilçe''). In the early Turkish Republic and in the Ottoman Empire, the corresponding unit was the ''kaza''.
Most provinces bear the same name as their respectiv ...
'') of
Tokat Province
Tokat Province ( tr, ) is a province in northern Turkey. Its adjacent provinces are Amasya to the northwest, Yozgat to the southwest, Sivas to the southeast, and Ordu to the northeast. Its capital is Tokat, which lies inland of the middle Black ...
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, Rom ...
region of
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...
. The town of Erbaa lies on the left bank of the
Kelkit River
The Kelkit River ( tr, Kelkit Irmağı or ''Kelkit Çayı''), is a river in the Black Sea Region of Turkey. It is the longest tributary of the Yeşilırmak. Its name derives from the Armenian ''Gayl get'' ( hy, Գայլ գետ 'wolf river', Kayl ...
and is surrounded by the
Erbaa Plain, 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
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 i ...
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 ...
, 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, 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 througho ...
became a separate district in 1944, Sonusa was also annexed to Taşova.
References
Populated places in Tokat Province
Districts of Tokat Province
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