The Yeşilırmak (, ), known as the Iris in antiquity (), is a river in northern
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 ...
. From its source northeast of
Sivas
Sivas is a city in central Turkey. It is the seat of Sivas Province and Sivas District.[İl Beledi ...]
, it flows past
Tokat and
Amasya, crosses the
Pontic Mountains and the
Çarşamba Plain, reaching 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 ...
east of
Samsun
Samsun is a List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, city on the north coast of Turkey and a major Black Sea port. The urban area recorded a population of 738,692 in 2022. The city is the capital of Samsun Province which has a population of ...
after .
Its tributaries include the
Çekerek (ancient Scylax) and the
Kelkit (ancient Lycus).
It was mentioned by
Menippus of Pergamon in the 1st century BC.
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 ...
's ''
Geographica
The ''Geographica'' (, ''Geōgraphiká''; or , "Strabo's 17 Books on Geographical Topics") or ''Geography'', is an encyclopedia of geographical knowledge, consisting of 17 'books', written in Greek in the late 1st century BC, or early 1st cen ...
'' describes it as flowing through
Comana Pontica, the plain of
Dazimonitis (Kaşova) (), and
Gaziura (probably modern
Turhal) before receiving the waters () of the
Scylax, then flowing through
Amaseia (Amasya) before reaching the valley of
Phanaroea.
Starting with
Dionysius Periegetes, in his ''
Periegesis of the World'', the Iris is often confused with the Thermodon (modern
Terme), which also crosses the Themiscyra Plain (modern Çarşamba Plain), with its mouth about 40 km further east; the Thermodon is much smaller and clearer.
[Tønnes Bekker-Nielsen, Marit Jensen, "Two Pontic Rivers", ''Cedrus: The Journal of MCRI'' 3:231-2142 (2015), ]
Notes
Rivers of Turkey
Black Sea region
Landforms of Sivas Province
Landforms of Tokat Province
Landforms of Amasya Province
Landforms of Samsun Province
{{Turkey-river-stub