Gölova
Town in Sivas Province, Turkey
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gölova is a town in Sivas Province of Turkey. It is the seat of Gölova District.[1] Its population is 995 (2022).[2] The mayor is İbrahim Yenidünya (AKP). The name "Gölova" means "lake-plain".[3]
Historically known as Ağvanis, Gölova is located on top of a hill on the edge of the Refahiye plateau and also overlooking the Suşehri plain to the west.[3] To the south are small lakes where water from the Çobanlı Su's tributaries collects.[3] These lakes water a meadow area called Suşehir ("water-city"; not to be confused with the Suşehri plain to the west), which was historically a stopping place for armies and travelers in general.[3]
History
Gölova is likely equivalent to the ancient Roman settlement known as Olotoedariza in the Antonine Itinerary and Aladaleariza in the 4th-century Notitia Dignitatum.[3] This was the base of a cavalry unit called the Ala Rizena.[3] The etymology of both these names, along with the modern name of Ağvanis, may be from the Armenian word ełigi, meaning "marsh".[3]
