Kızılırmak River

The Kızılırmak (Turkish pronunciation: [kɯˈzɯɫɯɾmak], Turkish for "Red River"), historically known as the Halys River (Ancient Greek: Ἅλυς), is the longest river flowing entirely within Turkey. It is a source of hydroelectric power and is not used for navigation.

Geography

The Kızılırmak flows for a total of 1,355 kilometres (842 mi), rising in Eastern Anatolia around 39.8°N 38.3°E / 39.8; 38.3 (Kızılırmak source), flowing first to the west and southwest until 38.7°N 34.8°E / 38.7; 34.8, then forming a wide arch, the "Halys bend", flowing first to the west, then to the northwest, passing to the northeast of Lake Tuz (Tuz Gölü in Turkish), then to the north and northeast, where it is joined by its major tributary, the Delice River (once known in Greek as the Cappadox river) at 40.47°N 34.14°E / 40.47; 34.14. After zigzagging to the northwest to the confluence with the Devrez River at 41.10°N 34.42°E / 41.10; 34.42, and back to the northeast, it joins the Gökırmak (Sky River in Turkish) before finally flowing via a wide delta into the Black Sea northwest of Samsun at 41.72°N 35.95°E / 41.72; 35.95 (Kızılırmak mouth).

Delta

History

The Hittites called the river the Maraššantiya, and it formed the western boundary of Hatti, the core land of the Hittite empire. Thales of Miletus is said to have used early engineering techniques to allow the Lydian army to cross the river.

Until the Roman conquest of Anatolia the Halys River (later renamed the Kızılırmak by the Turks) served as a natural political boundary in central Asia Minor, first between the kingdom of Lydia and the Persian Empire, and later between the Pontic Kingdom and the Kingdom of Cappadocia. As the site of the Battle of Halys, or the Battle of the Eclipse, on May 28, 585 BC, the river formed the border between Lydia to the west and Media to the east until Croesus of Lydia crossed it to attack Cyrus the Great in 547 BC. He was defeated and Persia expanded to the Aegean Sea.

In the 1st century AD Vespasian combined several provinces, including Cappadocia, to create one large province with its eastern boundary marked by the Euphrates River. This province once again splintered during Trajan's reign - the newly created province of Cappadocia, bounded by the Euphrates to the East, included Pontus and Lesser Armenia.