Kızılırmak River

The Kızılırmak flows for a total of 1,355 kilometres (842 mi),[2] 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, then to the north and northeast, where it is joined by its major tributary, the Delice River (also known by its Greek name Cappadox) at 40.47°N 34.14°E / 40.47; 34.14, and 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, joining the Gökırmak before finally flowing through its delta into the Black Sea at 41.72°N 35.95°E / 41.72; 35.95 (Kızılırmak mouth). Dams on the river include the Boyabat, Altınkaya and Derbent.

The Hittites called it the Maraššantiya. It formed the western boundary of Hatti, the core land of the Hittite empire.

Until the Roman conquest of Anatolia the Halys River, later called by Turkish conquerors the Kızılırmak, 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. In the 1st century AD Vespasian combined several provinces, including Cappadocia, to create one large province; its eastern boundary was 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. The Halys River remained an interior river and never regained its significance as a political border. In the 130s a governor of Cappadocia wrote: "long ago the Halys River was the boundary between the kingdom of Croesus and the Persian Empire; now it flows under Roman dominion."[3]

As the site of the Battle of Halys or Battle of the Eclipse on May 28, 585 BC,[4] it was 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.

The river water is used to grow rice and in some areas water buffalo are kept.

The historical fiction manga Red River is named after and largely set in the Kızılırmak basin, during the age of the Hittites. The Greek drama TV series feature the Greek Pontian Genocide To Kokkino Potami was inspired by the name of that river.

• Livius.org: Halys - Photos
• sdu.dk/halys
• List of rivers of Turkey

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