The Arbat is one of the oldest surviving streets in Moscow.
Exactly when it came into existence is not recorded, but a document from July 28, 1493 mentions it.
The document describes a fire which started in the wooden Church of Nicholas on the Sand (Церковь Николы на Песках).
The fire spread throughout Moscow, devastating large areas of the city, which consisted for the most part of wooden structures.

The original meaning of the place name Arbat remains unknown.
In addition to places with Slavic names, there are also numerous places of Oriental origin in Moscow.
Geographically Moscow is located within Russia between the wooded northwest and the southwestern steppe areas.
The Russian steppes in Eurasian steppes were through its history largely inhabited by nomadic tribes.
Many theories assume that the term arbat is of Oriental origin.

Several hypotheses attempt to explain it:
Probably the most widespread hypothesis states that the name comes from the Arabic word أرباض arbāḍ, meaning "suburb" or "outskirts".
This fits with the fact that from the 16th century the area surrounding the Arbat did form the outer district of the city, the Kremlin being the city centre.
Like many traders from various oriental cultures, the Arabs have also used the Volga river, which flows through the Russian steppe into the Caspian Sea, for their trade with Vikings.
Some local historians explain the origin of the term with reference to the frequent attacks of the Crimean Khanate on Moscow in the 15th and 16th centuries, linked with the fact that many Arabic loan words had entered the Turkic languages (including Tatar) by this point.

Another hypothesis links the word Arbat with the Tatar word arba, i.e. "cart".
This is explained either by reference to the significance of the Arbat as a trade route, and thus used by traders and their carts, or by the possible existence of a workshop in the area which produced carts.

In the 19th century the historian and archaeologist Ivan Yegorovich Sabelin proposed a purely Russian origin for the street name.
According to him, the word Arbat derives from the adjective gorbat, i.e. "bumpy", which corresponds to the uneven nature of the land on which Moscow is built.
 However, this theory is disputed, as in fact the space where the Arbat is located is flatter than much of the city.

The word Arbat is also found in Persian language (Persian: ارباط).
A village which is called Arbat exists in Iran.

A non-Russian origin of the word Arbat is generally held to be more likely than a Russian origin.
Possibly lending some weight to this view, an Arbat Street (Арбатская улица) exists in Kolomna, 100 km southeast of Moscow.
It is possible that the name of the place has Mongolian roots which came through the Golden Horde culture to Muscovite Russia.
Arbat was in ancient times the name of the whole area and not just of the one street.
The location of the Old Arbat was in ancient times situated between the borders of today's Sadovoe Kolco (Garden Ring), Ermolayevski, Vozdvizhenka and Arbat.
The Arbat is one of the oldest surviving streets in Moscow. Exactly when it came into existence is not recorded, but a document from July 28, 1493 mentions it. The document describes a fire which started in the wooden Church of Nicholas on the Sand (Церковь Николы на Песках). The fire spread throughout Moscow, devastating large areas of the city, which consisted for the most part of wooden structures.
The original meaning of the place name Arbat remains unknown. In addition to places with Slavic names, there are also numerous places of Oriental origin in Moscow. Geographically Moscow is located within Russia between the wooded northwest and the southwestern steppe areas. The Russian steppes in Eurasian steppes were through its history largely inhabited by nomadic tribes. Many theories assume that the term arbat is of Oriental origin.
Several hypotheses attempt to explain it:
Probably the most widespread hypothesis states that the name comes from the Arabic word أرباض arbāḍ, meaning "suburb" or "outskirts". This fits with the fact that from the 16th century the area surrounding the Arbat did form the outer district of the city, the Kremlin being the city centre. Like many traders from various oriental cultures, the Arabs have also used the Volga river, which flows through the Russian steppe into the Caspian Sea, for their trade with Vikings. Some local historians explain the origin of the term with reference to the frequent attacks of the Crimean Khanate on Moscow in the 15th and 16th centuries, linked with the fact that many Arabic loan words had entered the Turkic languages (including Tatar) by this point.
Another hypothesis links the word Arbat with the Tatar word arba, i.e. "cart". This is explained either by reference to the significance of the Arbat as a trade route, and thus used by traders and their carts, or by the possible existence of a workshop in the area which produced carts.
In the 19th century the historian and archaeologist Ivan Yegorovich Sabelin proposed a purely Russian origin for the street name. According to him, the word Arbat derives from the adjective gorbat, i.e. "bumpy", which corresponds to the uneven nature of the land on which Moscow is built.  However, this theory is disputed, as in fact the space where the Arbat is located is flatter than much of the city.
The word Arbat is also found in Persian language (Persian: ارباط). A village which is called Arbat exists in Iran.
A non-Russian origin of the word Arbat is generally held to be more likely than a Russian origin. Possibly lending some weight to this view, an Arbat Street (Арбатская улица) exists in Kolomna, 100 km southeast of Moscow. It is possible that the name of the place has Mongolian roots which came through the Golden Horde culture to Muscovite Russia. Arbat was in ancient times the name of the whole area and not just of the one street. The location of the Old Arbat was in ancient times situated between the borders of today's Sadovoe Kolco (Garden Ring), Ermolayevski, Vozdvizhenka and Arbat.
Arbat Street