Bakırçay ( la, Caicus, ) is a river in

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

. It rises in the Gölcük Dağları mountains and

debouch In hydrology, a debouch (or debouche) is a place where runoff from a small, confined space discharges into a larger, broader body of water. The word is derived from the French verb ''déboucher'' (), which means "to unblock, to clear". The term ...

es into the Gulf of Çandarlı. In antiquity, the Bakırçay was or formed part of the ''Kaikos'' or ''Caicus'' River which flowed near the city of Pergamon and was the site of the Battle of the Caecus River. The Kaikos River is mentioned by

Hesiod Hesiod (; grc-gre, Ἡσίοδος ''Hēsíodos'') was an ancient Greek poet generally thought to have been active between 750 and 650 BC, around the same time as Homer. He is generally regarded by western authors as 'the first written poet i ...

and

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 h ...

, who claims that its name was originally Astraeus (Ἀστραῖος) but was changed after Caicus, a son of

Hermes Hermes (; grc-gre, Ἑρμῆς) is an Olympian deity in ancient Greek religion and mythology. Hermes is considered the herald of the gods. He is also considered the protector of human heralds, travellers, thieves, merchants, and orator ...

, threw himself into it after sleeping with his sister Alcippe. However, since the course of the river has changed since antiquity it is not clear how the ancient names apply to the modern geographical features. Leake infers from the direction of L. Scipio's march from

Troy Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in present-day Turkey, south-west of Ç ...

to the Hyrcanian plain, that the Caicus was the north-eastern branch of the river of Pergamon which flows by Menduria (possibly Gergitha) and

Balıkesir Balıkesir () is a city in Turkey and is the capital city of Balıkesir Province. Balıkesir is located in the Marmara region of Turkey and has a population of 338,936. Between 1341–1922, it was the capital of Karasi. History Close to mo ...

(Caesaraea). The Caicus as it seems is formed by two streams which meet between 50 and 65 km above its mouth, and it drains an extensive and fertile country.

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 ...

(p. 616) says that the sources of the Caicus are in a plain separated by the range of

Temnos Temnos or Temnus ( grc, Τῆμνος; grc-x-aeolic, Τᾶμνος) was a small Greek '' polis'' (city-state) of ancient Aeolis, later incorporated in the Roman province of Asia, on the western coast of Anatolia. Its bishopric was a suffragan of ...

from the plain of

Apia Apia () is the capital and largest city of Samoa, as well as the nation's only city. It is located on the central north coast of Upolu, Samoa's second-largest island. Apia falls within the political district (''itūmālō'') of Tuamasaga. ...

e, and that the plain of Apia lies above the plain of Thebe in the interior. He adds that there also flows from Tetanus a river (the Mysius) which joins the Caicus below its source. The Caicus enters the sea approximately 12 km from Pitane, and 3 km from Elaea. Elaea was the port of Pergamon, which was on the Caicus, approximately 25 km from Elaea. The Bakırçay is one of the two candidates for the Hittite placename ''Seha River'', site of the

Seha River Land The Seha River Land was a kingdom in Western Anatolia in the Late Bronze Age known from Hittite texts. Part of Arzawa, it was located north of Mira and south of Wilusa, and at one point controlled the island of Lazpa. History The Seha Riv ...

known from texts such as the

Manapa-Tarhunta letter The Manapa-Tarhunta letter ( CTH 191; KUB 19.5 + KBo 19.79) is a tablet in Luwian/Hittite language from the thirteenth century BC, which has come down to us in a fairly good state of conservation. It was discovered in the 1980s. It was written by ...

. The

Gediz River The Gediz River ( tr, Gediz Nehri, ) is the second-longest river in Anatolia flowing into the Aegean Sea. From its source of Mount Murat in Kütahya Province, it flows generally west for to the Gediz River Delta in the Gulf of İzmir. Name ...

is the other candidate.

References

* Smith, William (editor); ''

Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography The ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography'' is the last in a series of classical dictionaries edited by the English scholar William Smith (1813–1893), following '' A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities'' and the ''Dictionary of ...

''
"Stratoniceia"

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, (1854) Rivers of Turkey Landforms of İzmir Province {{Turkey-river-stub

See also

References