The Seyhan River (formerly written ''Seihan'', ''Sihun''; ancient name: , ''Sáros''), alternatively known as ''Sarus'' (or in Turkish as ''Sarus Su''),John Garstang and O.R. Gurney is the longest river of

Cilicia Cilicia () is a geographical region in southern Anatolia, extending inland from the northeastern coasts of the Mediterranean Sea. Cilicia has a population ranging over six million, concentrated mostly at the Cilician plain (). The region inclu ...

and the longest of

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

that flows into the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

. The river is long and flows southwest from its headwaters in the Tahtalı-Mountains (in

Sivas Sivas is a city in central Turkey. It is the seat of Sivas Province and Sivas District.İl Beledi ...

and

Kayseri Kayseri () is a large List of cities in Turkey, city in Central Anatolia, Turkey, and the capital of Kayseri Province, Kayseri province. Historically known as Caesarea (Mazaca), Caesarea, it has been the historical capital of Cappadocia since anc ...

provinces) in the

Anti-Taurus Mountains The Anti-Taurus Mountains (from ) or Aladaglar are a mountain range in southern and eastern Turkey, curving northeast from the Taurus Mountains. At , Mount Erciyes ( Turkish: Erciyes Dağı) is the highest peak not just in the range but in ce ...

to the

via a broad delta. Its main tributaries are Zamantı and

Göksu The Göksu River (), known in antiquity as the Calycadnus and in the Middle Ages as the Saleph, is a river on the Taşeli Plateau in southern Turkey. Its two sources arise in the Taurus Mountains—the northern in the Geyik Mountains and the s ...

, which unite in Aladağ,

Adana Adana is a large city in southern Turkey. The city is situated on the Seyhan River, inland from the northeastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea. It is the administrative seat of the Adana Province, Adana province, and has a population of 1 81 ...

to form the Seyhan River. The

Zamantı River Zamantı River is a river in Central Anatolia, Turkey, crossing Kayseri Province in practically its whole course to join Seyhan River further south, of which it is the western, the longest and the most important tributary. Zamantı and Göksu jo ...

originates from the Uzun Plateau in Pınarbaşı,

and crosses Tomarza,

Develi Develi, formerly known as ''Averak'' or ''Everek'', is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Kayseri Province, Turkey. Its area is 1,892 km2, and its population is 66,840 (2022). History The historical name of the town is Eve ...

and

Yahyalı Yahyalı is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Kayseri Province, Turkey. Its area is 1,587 km2, and its population is 35,481 (2022). It is the southernmost district of the province. The Aladağlar Mountains, a part of the roc ...

districts in

. Its sources were reported being in the

Taurus Mountains The Taurus Mountains (Turkish language, Turkish: ''Toros Dağları'' or ''Toroslar,'' Greek language, Greek'':'' Ταύρος) are a mountain range, mountain complex in southern Turkey, separating the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coastal reg ...

in Cataonia. It flowed through

Cappadocia Cappadocia (; , from ) is a historical region in Central Anatolia region, Turkey. It is largely in the provinces of Nevşehir, Kayseri, Aksaray, Kırşehir, Sivas and Niğde. Today, the touristic Cappadocia Region is located in Nevşehir ...

by the town of Comana, then through

. It is noted by numerous ancient authors including

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding i ...

Xenophon Xenophon of Athens (; ; 355/354 BC) was a Greek military leader, philosopher, and historian. At the age of 30, he was elected as one of the leaders of the retreating Ancient Greek mercenaries, Greek mercenaries, the Ten Thousand, who had been ...

Procopius Procopius of Caesarea (; ''Prokópios ho Kaisareús''; ; – 565) was a prominent Late antiquity, late antique Byzantine Greeks, Greek scholar and historian from Caesarea Maritima. Accompanying the Roman general Belisarius in Justinian I, Empe ...

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-si ...

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; , ; ; – 160s/170s AD) was a Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were important to later Byzantine science, Byzant ...

Appian Appian of Alexandria (; ; ; ) was a Greek historian with Roman citizenship who prospered during the reigns of the Roman Emperors Trajan, Hadrian, and Antoninus Pius. He was born c. 95 in Alexandria. After holding the senior offices in the pr ...

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/24 79), known in English as Pliny the Elder ( ), was a Roman Empire, Roman author, Natural history, naturalist, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the Roman emperor, emperor Vesp ...

, and

Eustathius of Thessalonica Eustathius of Thessalonica (or Eustathios of Thessalonike; ; ) was a Byzantine Greek scholar and Archbishop of Thessalonica and is a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church. He is most noted for his stand against the sack of Thessalonica by the No ...

who erroneously calls it ''Sinarus''. from its mouth, Seyhan River flows through the city of

, the only settlement situated on the river. Several bridges and footbridges cross the river in

including the Stone Bridge, a 2nd-century Roman bridge. Ancient city of Augusta was also situated on the river, corresponding today to the east side of the Çatalan reservoir. The river meets the

at Cape Deli. Its basin is the mountainous Seyhan Basin.

History

An ancient Greco-Roman legend mentions that the name of the city of Adana originates from ''Adanus'', the son of the Greek god

Uranus Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun. It is a gaseous cyan-coloured ice giant. Most of the planet is made of water, ammonia, and methane in a Supercritical fluid, supercritical phase of matter, which astronomy calls "ice" or Volatile ( ...

, who founded the city next to the river with his brother. His brother's name, ''Sarus'', was given to the river. Originally, the ''River Sarus'' flowed from the mountains, became the ''Seyhan River'' whilst passing through Cilicia and then onwards to the Mediterranean Sea. In 2009, a total of 33 fish species were listed as being found in the Seyhan River, including 29 native, 3 introduced and 4 endemic species. Eight amphibians were listed and two of them ('' Rana holtzi'' and ''Triturus vittatus cilicensis'') are known to be

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to the river. The major Seyhan Dam upstream of Adana serves for

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering of plants) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has bee ...

hydroelectric power Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...

, and

flood control Flood management or flood control are methods used to reduce or prevent the detrimental effects of flood waters. Flooding can be caused by a mix of both natural processes, such as extreme weather upstream, and human changes to waterbodies and ru ...

. Yedigöze, Çatalan and Kavşak Bendi are the other dams on Seyhan River which also serve the same purposes. The river is currently under extensive development for

hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...

power and irrigation.

References

External links

Artificial Intelligence Techniques for river flow forecasting in the Seyhan River Catchment, Turkey
Rivers of Turkey Rivers of Mersin Province {{Turkey-river-stub

History

See also

References

External links