from the mountains north of Tabriz. Having run about 35
miles through the plain of Moghan, where it receives the
Bergushet stream on the left, the Araxes, at some distance
from their common estuary, is joined by the Kur, whose
length, to the place of junction, is greater than that of the
former river.
T h e K u r , or C y r u s .
The Kur (the ancient Cyrus,1 or Kyrus) springs from the
side of the Saghanlou mountain, in the pachalic of Akhaltskha'i,
at a spot only a few miles northward of the sources of the
Araxes. The course which it first takes is a little east of
north; in this direction it flows through the province, and
almost to the capital, being augmented by numerous tributaries
which enter it on both sides.
Near the town of Akhaltskha'i the river takes, for about 70
miles, a north-easterly direction, when it runs E.S.E. an
additional distance of 50 miles, to Mitzkheta, where it is
joined by a large tributary coming in a S.S. easterly direction
from the Caucasus. Ten miles below the junction the
main trunk passes through the city of Tiflis, where its ordinary*
width is 93 yards, which, in the season of floods, is
augmented to 233 yards ; and, at the latter period, it has a
depth of 27 feet. Here the river bears the name of Mtwari,
and it abounds with salmon and other fish ; but it requires to
be filtered previously to being drunk.2 Below Tiflis its course
is S.E. for a distance of 115 miles through the province of
that name; in which it is increased by the rivers Martkoby,
Dygom, and Yera. Lastly, on arriving at the borders of
Karabagh, it is joined by a great stream formed by the
Alazani and Yori rivers, whose courses, from the slopes of the
Caucasus, are nearly S.E., or almost parallel to the Araxes
as far as their point of junction, which takes place within
two miles of the latter. The Kur now pursues a southeasterly
course for about 120 miles between Erivan and
Shirvan; from the last of which it receives numerous streams,
1 Pliny, lib. VI., c. 9. 2 Aperçu, &c., p. 353, &c.
ru n n in g into it in a southerly direction from the same
mountains.
The waters of the Cyrus and Araxes, at length uniting,
form one river, which makes a bold sweep northward, and
again another southward, through the plain of Moghan ;
when, after having run a distance of about 110 miles, measured
along the windings, it falls into the Caspian Sea by
three mouths, being navigable for boats up to the point of
junction. Strabo1 makes the Araxes larger than the Cyrus,
which, he says/augments the former; and at one time it had
a separate channel to the sea, merely communicating with
the Cyrus by means of a canal.
The name of the former river is supposed to be derived
from Araxes, son of Polusis, who was drowned in it.2 Moses
Choronensis calls it Erashes ; and other oriental writers give
it different terminations, as Arashe, Raksi, Eris, Araksis,
Arras, Ras, Rus, Arsinas, Cras, and Arras ; but Xenophon
thinks it came from ar-ax, or holy water, and that it was
dedicated to the sun. In very ancient times it was called
Raktos,3 from jj a mercantile colony which came from the east
and settled on its banks. Owing to its rapidity, it is navigable
only for a short distance ; but it no longer justifies the expression
of the poet ;4 for Shah Abbas constructed over it,
at about 60 miles north of Tabriz, a stone bridge, which is a
very fine specimen of architecture : there is a second, of
seven arches, each double,5 of beautifully light construction,
by which I crossed the Aras at Kopri Keiu ;6 and there is
another at Hasan kal’eh, of two arches only. The river
itself, however, is occasionally fordable at some places in
summer.
1 Lib. IX., p. 491.
8 Plutarch. See, also, Vol. II., chap. I. I t is called Arath and Arasson by
some writers. 8 Aperçu, &c., p. 354.
4 Virgil, VIII., 726, 728.
“ :----------------------- ibat jam mollior undis,
_________________ pontem indignatus Araxes.”
5 The Persians are accustomed to construct two arches touching each other,
instead of a single one of greater solidity.— See the Chapter on Architecture,
YqI, j j . 8 Thirteen hours from Erz-Riim.
*