notable with his advisor and tribe crossing the Aras River. In
Armenian tradition, the river is named after
Arast, a great-grandson of the legendary Armenian patriarch
Haik. According to a legend cited by
Strabo, in ancient times, the Araxes river in
Armenia had no outflow to the
Caspian Sea, but spread out in plains and created a lake without outflow. In 589 during the
Sasanian era, the river was the site of a
battle between the Persians and the
Byzantines. During Islamic times, the Araxes became known in Arabic parlance as
al-Rass (not to be confused with modern-day
Ar Rass) and in Perso-Turkish contexts as
Aras. Because of these 19th-century border changes, one modern, not widely accepted scheme draws Aras River as the line of
continental demarcation between Europe and Asia. In 1963–1970, Iran and the
Soviet Union built the
Aras Dam near the Azerbaijani city of
Nakhchivan, creating the Aras Reservoir. In 1999–2008, Iran built the
Khoda Afarin Dam near the historic
Khudafarin Bridges, creating the
Khoda Afarin Reservoir, and the
Giz Galasi Dam 12 km down the river, creating the
Giz Galasi Reservoir. Iran and Armenia are planning to build the
Meghri Dam near the Armenian town of
Meghri. ==Aras Valley==