ERZERUM, the chief town of an important vilayet of the same name in Asiatic Turkey. Pop. (1935), 33,127. It is a mili tary station and a fortress of considerable strategical value, closing the roads from Kars, Olti and other parts of the frontier. Several important routes from Trebizond and various parts of Anatolia converge towards it from the west. It is situated at the eastern end of an open bare plain, 3o m. long and about m. wide, bordered by steep, rounded mountains and traversed by the Kara Su, or western Euphrates, which has its source in the Dumlu Dagh a few miles north of that town, which lies at an elevation of 6,25o ft. above sea-level, while the near hills rise to ro,000 ft. The scen ery in the neighbourhood is striking, lofty bare mountains being varied by open plains and long valleys dotted with villages. Just east of the town is the broad ridge of the Deveboyun ("Camel's Neck"), across which the road passes to Kars. To the south is the Palanduken range, from which emerge numerous streams, sup plying the town with excellent water. In the plain to the north the Kara Su traverses extensive marshes which afford good wild fowl shooting in the spring. The great altitude accounts for very severe winter cold, occasionally ro° to 25° below zero F, accompanied by blizzards (tipi) sometimes fatal to travellers over taken by them. The summer heat is moderate (5 9° to 7 7 °) .
The town is surrounded by an earthen enceinte or rampart with some forts on the hills just above it, and others on the Deveboyun ridge facing east, the whole forming a position of considerable strength. The old walls and the citadel have dis appeared. Inside the ramparts the town lies rather cramped, with narrow, crooked streets, badly drained and dirty ; the houses are generally built of dark grey volcanic stone with flat roofs, the general aspect, owing to the absence of trees, being somewhat gloomy. The water-supply from Palanduken is distributed by wooden pipes to numerous public fountains.
Situated on the main road from Trebizond into north-west Persia, the town has always a large caravan traffic, principally of camels, but since the improvement of communications in Russia this has declined. A good carriage-road leads to the coast at Trebizond, the journey being made in five or six days. There are also roads to Kars, Bayazid, Erzingan and Kharput. Blacksmiths' and coppersmiths' work is better here than in most Turkish towns; horse shoes and brasswork are also famous. There are several tanneries, and Turkish boots and saddles are largely made. Jerked beef (pasdirma) is also prepared in large quantities for winter use. The plain produces wheat, barley, millet and vegetables. Wood fuel is scarce, the present supply being from the Tortum district, whence surface coal and lignite are also brought, but the usual fuel is tezek or dried cow-dung.
Erzerum is a town of great antiquity, and has been identified with the Armenian Garin Kalakh, the Arabic Kalikale, and the Byzantine Theodosiopolis of the 5th century, when it was a fron tier fortress of the empire—hence its name Erzen-er-Rum. It was captured by the Seljuks in 1201, when it was an important city, and it fell into Turkish possession in 1517.