Sarıkamış or Sarikamish (Kurdish: Zerqamîş,[2] Armenian: Սարիղամիշ, romanized: Sariġamiš[3]) is a town in Kars Province in the Eastern Anatolia Region of Turkey.

Obsidian from Sarikamish was found at several Neolithic sites in South Caucasus, such as at Aratashen, and at Khramis Didi-gora dating from the 6th millennium BC.

[6] In 1878, archaeologist Alexander Yeritsian discovered near Sarıkamış a cuneiform inscription made during the reign of Urartian king Argishti I.

After the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878, Sarikamish became part of the Russian empire, incorporated within the militarily administered Kars Oblast, which was renowned for the extreme ethnic diversity of its population.

Enver Pasha intended to occupy the town in order to halt logistic support to the city of Kars, which the Turks lost to the Russians in 1878, and which he was planning to reoccupy.

The battle finally ended on January 4 and the Ottoman army retreated in complete disorganization back through the mountains in the middle of winter.

It is very likely that the majority of Turkish soldiers died because of inadequate winter clothing and field shelters during the attack and retreat.