# Talas River

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Talas_River
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Talas_River.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talas_River
> Source revision: 1322726021
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

The **Talas** (/təˈlɑːs/; Kazakh and tʰɑɫɑ́s) is a river which rises in the [Talas Region](/source/Talas_Region) of [Kyrgyzstan](/source/Kyrgyzstan) and flows west into the [Jambyl Region](/source/Jambyl_Region) of [Kazakhstan](/source/Kazakhstan). The river is 661 kilometres (411 mi) long and has a basin area of 52,700 square kilometres (20,300 sq mi).

## Course

It is formed from the confluence of the Karakol and the Uch-Koshoy and flows roughly west and northwest. It runs through the city of [Taraz](/source/Taraz) in [Zhambyl Province](/source/Zhambyl_Province) of [Kazakhstan](/source/Kazakhstan) and [vanishes](/source/Losing_stream) in the [Muyunkum Desert](/source/Muyunkum_Desert) before reaching [Lake Aydyn](/source/Lake_Aydyn).[1]

The [Ili](/source/Ili_(river)), [Chu](/source/Chu_River) and Talas are three steppe rivers that flow west and then north-west. The Ili rises in [Xinjiang](/source/Xinjiang), flows west to a point north of Lake [Issyk Kul](/source/Issyk_Kul) and then turns north-west to reach [Lake Balkash](/source/Lake_Balkash). The Chu rises west of Lake Issyk Kul, flows out into the steppe and dries up before reaching the [Syr Darya](/source/Syr_Darya). The Talas starts west and south of the Chu, flows west and north-west, but dries up before reaching the Chu.

## History

During the [Battle of Talas](/source/Battle_of_Talas) (named after the river) in 751, the [Abbasid](/source/Abbasid_Caliphate) force defeated the [Tang](/source/Tang_dynasty) [Chinese](/source/China) forces led by the General [Gao Xianzhi](/source/Gao_Xianzhi) over a dispute regarding a client kingdom in the [Fergana Valley](/source/Fergana_Valley). The battle was won by the Abbasids after the Karluks defected.

The Chinese monk [Xuanzang](/source/Xuanzang) arrived from the Chui river to Talas during one of his journeys.[2][3]

## References

1. [Талас (река)](http://bse.sci-lib.com/article108621.html), [Great Soviet Encyclopedia](/source/Great_Soviet_Encyclopedia)

1. [*The Chinese recorder, Volume 5*](https://books.google.com/books?id=BsoWAQAAIAAJ&q=city+of+talas+or+taraz+the+persian+historians+position+almalik+great+road+russian+map&pg=PA192). American Presbyterian Mission Press. 1874. p. 192. Retrieved 2011-05-08.

1. E. Bretschneider (1875). [*Notes on Chinese mediaeval travellers to the West*](https://archive.org/details/notesonchinesem00bretgoog). American Presbyterian Mission Press. p. [34](https://archive.org/details/notesonchinesem00bretgoog/page/n48). Retrieved 2011-05-08. further to the west we arrived in four days at the T'a-la-su mo-lien [Talas muren] ... The river, which is deep and broad, comes from the east...

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Talas River](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talas_River) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talas_River?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.