Halys River - Clickable Map of the Roman Empire - First Century AD

Halys River
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Ancient Halys River Kizilirmak. The Halys River is the chief river of Anatolia, it rises in the Anti-Taurus mountain range and flows 734 miles into the Euxine Sea (Black Sea).

Halys (Ἅλυς). The modern Kizil-Irmak, i. e. �Red River;� the greatest river of Asia Minor, rising in the Anti-Taurus range of mountains, on the borders of Armenia Minor and Pontus, and after flowing through Cappadocia and Galatia, and dividing Paphlagonia from Pontus, falling into the Euxine Sea between Sinop� and Amisus. In early times it divided the Indo-European races which peopled the western part of Asia Minor from the Semitic (Syro-Arabian) races of the rest of southwest Asia; and it separated the Lydian Empire from the Medo-Persian (Herod.i. 6). - Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities. New York. Harper and Brothers.

Kizil River The Kızılırmak (Turkish: Kızılırmak, "Red River"), also known as the Halys River (from Ancient Greek: Ἅλυς) is the longest river in Turkey. The Hittites called it the Mara��antiya River. It formed the western boundary of the land Hatti, the core land of the Hittite Empire. In Classical Antiquity, it was the boundary between Asia Minor and the rest of Asia, and also the boundary between Pontos and Paphlagonia. As the site of the Battle of the Eclipse on May 28, 585 BC,[1] 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. - Wikipedia

Halys River HALYS
HALYS (Ἅλυς, sometimes Ἄλυς: Kisil Irmak, i. e. the �red river� ), the principal river of Asia Minor, has its sources in the Armenian mountains which form the boundary between Pontus and Armenia Minor, that is, at the point where the heights of Scoedises and Antitaurus meet. (Hdt. 1.72; Strab. xii. p.546; Dionys. Perieg. 786; Ov. ex Pont. 4.10. 48.) At first its course has a southwestern direction, traversing Pontus and Cappadocia; but in the latter country it turns to the north, and, continuing in a north-eastern direction, discharges itself by several mouths into the Euxine, the latter part of its course forming the boundary between Paphlagonia in the west, and Galatia and Pontus in the east. (Strab. xii. p.544; Ptol. 5.4.3; Arrian, Peripl. 16.) According to Strabo, the river Halys received its name from the salt-works in its vicinity (pp. 546, 561); but this is probably incorrect, as the name is often written, without the aspiration, Alys (Eustath. ad Dionys. Per. 784). Pliny (6.2), making this river come down from Mount Taurus and flow at once from south to north, appears to confound the Halys with one of its tributaries (Iechel Irmak). According to Xenophon (Xen. Anab. 5.6.9), the breadth of the Halys is at least 2 stadia. At the time of the greatness of the Lydian empire the Halys formed the boundary between it and Persia, and on its banks Cyrus gained the decisive victory over Croesus. (Hdt. 1.53, 75. 84; Justin, 1.7; Cic. de Div. 2.5. 6; Lucan 3.272.) The importance of the river is attested by the fact that Asia is frequently divided by it into two parts, Asia cis and Asia trans Halyn. (Strab. xii. p.534, xvii. p. 840.) Respecting the present condition of the river, see Hamilton's Researches, vol. i. pp. 297, 324, 411, vol. ii. p. 240 - Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography, William Smith, LLD, Ed.