Aras (river)
river located in and along the countries of Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Iran
The Aras is a transboundary river in the Caucasus. It rises in eastern Turkey and flows along the borders between Turkey and Armenia, between Turkey and the Nakhchivan exclave of Azerbaijan, between Iran and both Azerbaijan and Armenia, and, finally, through Azerbaijan where it flows into the Kura river as a right tributary. It drains the south side of the Lesser Caucasus Mountains, while the Kura drains the north side of the Lesser Caucasus. The river's total length is 1,072 km (666 mi) and its watershed covers an area of 102,000 km2 (39,000 mi2). The Aras is one of the longest rivers in the Caucasus.
Names
In classical antiquity, the river was known to the Greeks as Araxes (Greek: Ἀράξης). Its modern Armenian name is Arax or Araks (Armenian: Արաքս). Historically, it was called Eraskh (Old Armenian: Երասխ, Yeraskh in modern pronunciation) by Armenians and its Old Georgian name is Rakhsi (რახსი). In Azerbaijani, the river is named Araz, while in Turkish it is called Aras. In Persian and Kurdish its name is ارس (Aras).
“Aras (river)” enters the record as river located in and along the countries of Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Iran. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Aras, river and located can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Aras (river)” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Aras, river and located provides the most credible route into that argument.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 12, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q179751. VIAF identifies the subject as 305331731. The Library of Congress control number is sh97005750. Authority coordinates are 39.338, 41.328. 5 of 5 selected statements include explicit references; 2 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
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Three-step research path
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Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “Aras (river)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.