The Abas River (), was a river of Iberia in Asia, mentioned by

Plutarch Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''P ...

(Plut. ''Pomp.'' 35) and

Dio Cassius Lucius Cassius Dio (), also known as Dio Cassius ( ), was a Roman historian and senator of maternal Greek origin. He published 80 volumes of the history on ancient Rome, beginning with the arrival of Aeneas in Italy. The volumes documented the ...

(37.3) as crossed by

Pompey Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey or Pompey the Great, was a leading Roman general and statesman. He played a significant role in the transformation of ...

, on his expedition into the Caucasian regions. Its course was east of the Cambyses (likely the modern Iori); and it seems to be the same as the "Alazonius" or "Alazon" of

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 "Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see ...

and

Pliny Pliny may refer to: People * Pliny the Elder (23–79 CE), ancient Roman nobleman, scientist, historian, and author of ''Naturalis Historia'' (''Pliny's Natural History'') * Pliny the Younger (died 113), ancient Roman statesman, orator, w ...

which fell into the Cambyses just above its confluence with the

Cyrus Cyrus ( Persian: کوروش) is a male given name. It is the given name of a number of Persian kings. Most notably it refers to Cyrus the Great ( BC). Cyrus is also the name of Cyrus I of Anshan ( BC), King of Persia and the grandfather of Cyrus ...

(modern Kura). Thus, likely the modern

Alazani The Alazani ( ka, ალაზანი, az, Qanıx) is a river that flows through the Caucasus. It is the main tributary of the Kura in eastern Georgia, and flows for . Part of its path forms the border between Georgia and Azerbaijan, before it ...

River. The

Battle of the Abas The Battle of the Abas was fought in 65 BC between the forces of the Roman Republic under Pompey Magnus and those of the Caucasian Albanian King Oroeses during the course of the Third Mithridatic War. The battle took place on a flat plain by ...

was fought on a plain adjacent to the river in 65 BCE.

References

Rivers of Asia Rivers of Europe Classical geography {{Europe-river-stub