Mustafakemalpaşa River

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The Mustafakemalpaşa River, also known as the Orhaneli or Adirnaz River, runs in Bursa Province in northwestern Turkey's Marmara region. It flows past the city of Mustafakemalpaşa to the delta of Lake Uluabat. In ancient times the river was called Rhyndacus.

In Greek myth, Rhyndacus was a son of Oceanus and Tethys, and his springs were linked to the Rhyndacides. Historically, the Rhyndacus was a major river that helped form the border between Mysia and Bithynia and fed the Sea of Marmara. Today, the Mustafakemalpaşa River is a tributary of the Simav River, which also flows into the Sea of Marmara.

Several important battles took place along the Rhyndacus. In 85 BC, Flavius Fimbria defeated Mithridates VI’s forces there during the First Mithridatic War. Around 73 or 72 BC, Lucullus defeated Mithridates again at the river. In the Byzantine era, Emperor Manuel I stationed his main Anatolian army at Lopadion (modern Uluabat) on the Rhyndacus. After the sack of Constantinople, the Latin emperor Henry won a battle there on October 15, 1211, against the Nicaean Empire.