Mureș (river) explained

The Mureș (pronounced as /ro/) or Maros (pronounced as /hu/; de|Mieresch, Serbian: Мориш|Moriš|separator=" / ") is a 789adj=midNaNadj=mid river in Eastern Europe. Its drainage basin covers an area of 30332km2.^[3] It originates in the Hășmașu Mare Range in the Eastern Carpathian Mountains, Romania, rising close to the headwaters of the river Olt, and joins the Tisza at Szeged in southeastern Hungary. In Romania, its length is 761km (473miles) and its basin size is 27890km2.

The Mureș River flows through the Romanian counties Harghita, Mureș, Alba, Hunedoara, Arad and Timiș, and the Hungarian county Csongrád. The largest cities on the Mureș/Maros are Târgu Mureș, Alba Iulia, Deva and Arad in Romania as well as Makó and Szeged in Hungary.

The Hungarian reaches of the Mureș/Maros are 73km (45miles) long as the state border. Some 28.5km2 on the northern side of the river are protected as part of the Körös-Maros National Park. The Maros Floodplain Protected Area consists of gallery forests, floodplain meadows and 0.6km2 of forest reserve near Szeged.

Salt used to be traded in medieval times on the river on large rafts.

Name

The river is known to be first mentioned by Herodotus in 485 BC bearing the name Maris (Μάρις).^[4] Strabo calls it Marisos (Μάρισος).^[5] It was known in Latin as the Latin: Marisus; the Mureș is also mentioned, as Morisis (Μορήσης), in a document of the Byzantine Emperor Constantine VII, in 948 AD.^{[6] [7]}

It was also known in German variously as the German: Mieresch, German: Marosch or German: Muresch, owing to Transylvanian Saxon settlements and prior Habsburg rule. It was known in Turkish as the Turkish: Maroş or Turkish: Muriş under the Ottomans.

Towns and villages

The following towns are situated along the river Mureș, from source to mouth: Toplița, Reghin, Târgu Mureș, Luduș, Ocna Mureș, Aiud, Teiuș, Alba Iulia, Geoagiu, Orăștie, Simeria, Deva, Lipova, Arad, Nădlac (all in Romania), Makó, Szeged (both in Hungary).

The Mureș flows through the following communes (grouped by counties, from source to mouth):

• Harghita County

Voșlăbeni, Suseni, Joseni, Remetea, Subcetate, Sărmaș, Gălăuțaș, Toplița

• Mureș County

Stânceni, Lunca Bradului, Răstolița, Deda, Rușii-Munți, Aluniș, Brâncovenești, Ideciu de Jos, Suseni, Reghin, Petelea, Gornești, Glodeni, Ernei, Sântana de Mureș, Sângeorgiu de Mureș, Târgu Mureș, Sâncraiu de Mureș, Cristești, Pănet, Ungheni, Sânpaul, Iernut, Cuci, Bogata, Luduș, Chețani

• Alba County

Noșlac, Lunca Mureșului, Ocna Mureș, Unirea, Mirăslău, Aiud, Rădești, Teiuș, Sântimbru, Ciugud, Alba Iulia, Vințu de Jos, Blandiana, Săliștea, Șibot

• Hunedoara County

Geoagiu, Orăștie, Turdaș, Rapoltu Mare, Simeria, Hărău, Deva, Șoimuș, Vețel, Brănișca, Ilia, Gurasada, Dobra, Burjuc, Zam

• Arad County

Petriș, Săvârșin, Birchiș, Vărădia de Mureș, Bata, Bârzava, Conop, Ususău, Lipova, Păuliș, Frumușeni, Fântânele, Vladimirescu, Arad, Zădăreni, Felnac, Pecica, Secusigiu, Semlac, Șeitin, Nădlac

• Timiș County

Periam, Sânpetru Mare, Sânnicolau Mare, Cenad

• Csongrád County

Nagylak, Magyarcsanád, Apátfalva, Makó, Kiszombor, Ferencszállás, Maroslele, Klárafalva, Deszk, Szeged

Tributaries

The following rivers are tributaries to the river Mureș (from source to mouth):

Left: Cărbunele Negru, Senetea, Fierăstrăul, Șumuleul Mare, Borzontul Mare, Borzontul Mic, Pietrosul, Bacta, Limbuș, Piatra, Eseniu, Martonca, Calnaci, Muscă, Gălăuțaș, Zăpodea, Măgheruș, Mărșinețul de Sus, Gudea Mare, Sălard, Iod, Borzia, Sebeș, Fițcău, Idicel, Deleni, Gurghiu, Mocear, Beica, Habic, Petrilaca, Valea cu Nuci, Terebici, Pocloș, Budiu, Niraj, Pârâul Mare, Lăscud, Sărata, Șeulia, Valea Luncilor, Ațintiș, Găbud, Fărău, Ciunga, Pusta Băgăului, Rât, Târnava, Hăpria, Sebeș, Pianul, Cioara, Cugir, Vaidei, Romos, Orăștie, Turdaș, Strei, Tâmpa, Cerna, Herepeia, Căoi, Vulcez, Leșnic, Săcămaș, Plai, Dobra, Abucea, Valea Mare, Sălciva, Peștiș, Căpriorișca, Somonița, Birchiș, Izvor, Corbul, Fiac, Suliniș, Lalașinț, Chelmac, Pârâul Mare, Șiștarovăț, Țârnobara, Sinicoț, Valea Fânețelor de Jos, Zădărlac, and Zădăreni

Right: Chindeni, Arinul Scurt, Chirtoegher, Strâmba, Pârâul Noroios, Belcina, Lăzarea, Ghiduț, Ditrău, Faier, Jolotca, Filipea, Sărmaș, Ciucic, Toplița, Călimănel, Mermezeu, Zebrac, Neagra, Ilva, Obcina Ferigelor (Fântânel), Răstolița, Gălăoaia, Bistra, Pietriș, Dumbrava, Râpa, Agriș, Lueriu, Luț, Șar, Voiniceni, Cuieșd, Valea Fânațelor, Șăușa, Valea din Jos, Lechința, Ranta, Pârâul de Câmpie, Grindeni, Arieș, Unirea, Ciugud, Ormeniș, Mirăslău, Lopadea, Aiud, Gârbova, Geoagiu (Alba), Galda, Ampoi, Pâclișa, Valea Vințului, Blandiana, Stânișoara, Băcăinți, Homorod, Geoagiu (Hunedoara), Boiul, Bobâlna, Valea lui Sânpetru, Lazu, Vărmaga, Certej, Boholt, Căian, Bejan, Boz, Sârbi, Băcișoara, Gurasada, Zam, Almaș, Petriș, Crăciuneasca, Troaș, Vinești, Stejar, Julița, Valea Mare, Grosul, Monoroștia, Bârzava, Nadăș, Conop, Cornic, Milova, Jernova, Șoimoș, Radna, Cladova, Crac, and Száraz-ér

See also

• List of rivers of Romania
• List of rivers of Europe

Notes and References

1. Web site: Rivers Network. 2020.
2. Web site: Rivers Network. 2020.
3. https://www.icpdr.org/main/sites/default/files/Tisza_RB_Analysis_2007.pdf Analysis of the Tisza River Basin 2007
4. Hdt. 4.49
5. Str. 7.3.13
6. Book: Porphyrogenitus, Constantine VII . De Administrando Imperio . Dumbarton Oaks Center for Byzantine Studies Trustees for Harvard University . 1967 . Washington, District of Columbia . 40-41 . English, Greek . Moravcsik . Gyula . De Administrando Imperio . R. J. H. Jenkins.
7. Béla Köpeczi, History of Transylvania: From the beginnings to 1606.