The Kelkit River ( or Kelkit ÃÂayñ), is a river in the Black Sea Region of Turkey. It is the longest tributary of the Yeà Âilñrmak. Its name derives from the Armenian Gayl get ( 'wolf river', Kayl ked in Western Armenian pronunciation). Its Greek name is Lykos (), also meaning 'wolf', and romanized as Lycus.
It rises in Gümüà Âhane Province and runs through the provinces of Erzincan, Giresun, Sivas, and Tokat before flowing into the Yeà Âilñrmak at the modern village of Kñzñlçubuk, near the site of the ancient city of Eupatoria. The Kelkit follows the North Anatolian Fault for about 150 km from Suà Âehri to Resadiye and Niksar.
In Hellenistic times, a major east-west road following the valley of the Kelkit led from Armenia Minor to Bithynia.
It was the site of the Battle of the Lycus in 66 BCE.
The valley for the last 40 km of the Kelkit's journey is the Erbaa plain (Erbaa Ovasñ), known in antiquity as the Phanaroea.