The Mustafakemalpaşa River, Orhaneli River or Adirnaz River (, or ) is a

river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

in northwestern

Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

in the Bursa Province 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 ...

's Marmara Region. It is named for the city of Mustafakemalpaşa which lies near its delta onto Lake Uluabat. In antiquity, the river was known as Rhyndacus (, ''Rhýndakos''

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 ...

. ''The Geographica''
XII, 8, §11
Retrieved 2011-09-03.). In Greek Mythology, Rhyndacus was a son of Oceanus and Tethys, and his daughters by Mount Didymos, the Rhyndacides, were revered as pegaeæ, meaning water-Springs. In his ''Dionysiaca'', Nonnus recorded their waters being used by

Dionysus In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, myth, Dionysus (; ) is the god of wine-making, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, festivity, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, and theatre. He was also known as Bacchus ( or ; ...

to drug the nymph Nicaea after she offended the Rhyndacides by murdering the shepherd Hymnus. Upon recovering her senses, she then cursed them.Nonnus. ''Dionysiaca'', XV & XVI. Op. cit. ''Theoi Greek Mythology: Exploring Mythology in Classical Literature & Art''.
Rhyndakides
" Retrieved 2011-09-04. Although the Rhyndacus was formerly the main artery running to the

Sea of Marmara The Sea of Marmara, also known as the Sea of Marmora or the Marmara Sea, is a small inland sea entirely within the borders of Turkey. It links the Black Sea and the Aegean Sea via the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits, separating Turkey's E ...

and served as the border between

Mysia Mysia (UK , US or ; ; ; ) was a region in the northwest of ancient Asia Minor (Anatolia, Asian part of modern Turkey). It was located on the south coast of the Sea of Marmara. It was bounded by Bithynia on the east, Phrygia on the southeast, Lyd ...

and Bithynia, today the Mustafakemalpaşa is merely a tributary of the Simav, which then flows into the

. During the First Mithridatic War, Flavius Fimbria defeated Mithridates VI of Pontus's forces under his son also known as Mithridates along the Rhyndacus in 85 BC. During the third,

Lucullus Lucius Licinius Lucullus (; 118–57/56 BC) was a Ancient Romans, Roman List of Roman generals, general and Politician, statesman, closely connected with Lucius Cornelius Sulla. In culmination of over 20 years of almost continuous military and ...

again defeated him at the Rhyndacus in 73 or 72 BC. Under Manuel I, the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

based their main Anatolian army at Lopadion (modern Uluabat) on the Rhyndacus. After the sack of Constantinople during the

Fourth Crusade The Fourth Crusade (1202–1204) was a Latin Christian armed expedition called by Pope Innocent III. The stated intent of the expedition was to recapture the Muslim-controlled city of Jerusalem, by first defeating the powerful Egyptian Ayyubid S ...

, the Latin emperor Henry won another battle there against the Nicaean Empire on October 15, 1211.

References

Rivers of Turkey Landforms of Bursa Province {{Turkey-river-stub

See also

References