The Aheloy (), also known as the Achelous, is a river in eastern

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

. It is 40 km long. The river is famous for being the site of the Battle of Achelous that took place on 20 August 917 between Bulgarian ruler Simeon I and the Byzantines under Leo Phocas during the

Byzantine–Bulgarian war of 913–927 The ByzantineBulgarian war of 913927 () was fought between the Bulgarian Empire and the Byzantine Empire for more than a decade. Although the war was provoked by the Byzantine emperor Alexander's decision to discontinue paying an annual tribu ...

. It was one of the largest battles in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

and among the greatest military successes of the

First Bulgarian Empire The First Bulgarian Empire (; was a medieval state that existed in Southeastern Europe between the 7th and 11th centuries AD. It was founded in 680–681 after part of the Bulgars, led by Asparuh of Bulgaria, Asparuh, moved south to the northe ...

. The

main stem In hydrology, a main stem or mainstem (also known as a trunk) is "the primary downstream segment of a river, as contrasted to its tributaries". The mainstem extends all the way from one specific headwater to the outlet of the river, although t ...

is the Arnautska reka, which springs from the Aytoska Planina division of the eastern

Balkan Mountains The Balkan mountain range is located in the eastern part of the Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It is conventionally taken to begin at the peak of Vrashka Chuka on the border between Bulgaria and Serbia. It then runs f ...

east of the village of Dryankovets. The river proper is formed from the confluence of the Arnautska reka with the Mangarska reka at an altitude of 166 m, about three kilometers east of the village of Belodol. The Aheloy flows eastwards in a wide alluvial valley until the village of Aleksandrovo, where it turns southeast for the remainder of its length. It flows into the

Gulf of Burgas Gulf of Burgas or Burgas Bay (, ''Burgaski zaliv'') between the coastline and the straight line joining Cape Emine and Cape Maslen nos is the largest bay of the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast and one of the largest in the Black Sea. The length of the ...

of the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

near a campsite some 1.2 km south of the town of Aheloy. Its drainage basin covers a territory of 141 km². To the north its basin follows the ridge of the Aytoska Planina, which separates it from the basin of the river Hadzhiyska reka. To the west it borders the drainage system of the Aytoska reka, and to the south it is limited by the basins of several small rivers and streams flowing directly into the Black Sea. The river has predominantly rain feed with high water in February–March and low water in August–September. The average annual flow near the town of Aheloy is 0.7 m³/s; water mineralization is 500–600 mg/m³. The Aheloy flows entirely in

Burgas Province Burgas (, formerly the Burgas okrug) is a province in southeastern Bulgaria on the southern Bulgarian Black Sea Coast. The province is named after its administrative and industrial centre, the city of Burgas, the fourth biggest town in the countr ...

. There are four settlements along its course, Draganovo in

Burgas Municipality Burgas Municipality ( Bulgarian: Община Бургас, ''Obshtina Burgas'') is the most populated municipality in Burgas Province. It includes Burgas Burgas (, ), sometimes transliterated as Bourgas, is the second largest city on the Bulg ...

and

Medovo Medovo () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, rural locality (a Village#Russia, selo) in Medovskoye Rural Settlement, Bogucharsky District, Voronezh Oblast, Russia. The population was 149 as of 2010. There are 4 streets. Geography Medo ...

, Aleksandrovo and Aheloy (town) in

Pomorie Municipality Pomorie Municipality (, ) is located in the Burgas Province, Bulgaria. The territory is km2 and the population is . The main economic activities are tourism, wine industry and grape growing. Climate The Pomorie Municipality experiences a ...

. Its waters are utilised for irrigation. The Aheloy Reservoir with a volume of 12.7 million m³ has been constructed along its course in 1964 to irrigate a territory of 23 km².

Citations

References

* * * * {{cite book , ref={{harvid, Andreev, Lalkov, 1996 , title = Българските ханове и царе (The Bulgarian Khans and Tsars) , last1 = Андреев (Andreev) , first1 = Йордан (Jordan) , first2= Милчо (Milcho) , last2= Лалков (Lalkov) , year = 1996 , language = bg , publisher = Абагар (Abagar) , location = Велико Търново (

Veliko Tarnovo Veliko Tarnovo (, ; "Great Tarnovo") is a city in north central Bulgaria and the administrative centre of Veliko Tarnovo Province. It is the historical and spiritual capital of Bulgaria. Often referred to as the "''City of the Tsars''", Velik ...

) , isbn = 954-427-216-X Rivers of Bulgaria Landforms of Burgas Province Tributaries of the Black Sea