Erbaa is a town in

Tokat Province Tokat Province () is a province in northern Turkey. Its area is 10,042 km2, and its population is 596,454 (2022). Its adjacent provinces are Amasya to the northwest, Yozgat to the southwest, Sivas to the southeast, and Ordu to the northeast. ...

in the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea 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 bound ...

region of

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. It is the seat of

Erbaa District Erbaa District is a district of the Tokat Province of Turkey. Its seat is the city of Erbaa.İ ...

.İlçe Belediyesi
Turkey Civil Administration Departments Inventory. Retrieved 22 May 2023. Its population is 75,210 (2022). The town of Erbaa lies on the left bank of the

Kelkit River The Kelkit River ( 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'' ( 'wolf river', Kayl ked in Western Armenian pronunciation ...

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 is the seat of Niksar District.Amasya Amasya () is a city in northern Turkey, in the Black Sea Region. It was called Amaseia or Amasia in antiquity."Amasya" in ''Encyclopædia Britannica, The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th edn., 1992, Vol ...

, 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 (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. 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 in Amasya Province of the central Black Sea region of Turkey. It is the seat of Taşova District.

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

References

Populated places in Erbaa District District municipalities in Turkey {{Tokat-geo-stub