where do the tigris and euphrates rivers begin
the mountains of eastern Anatolia
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Tigris–Euphrates river system The Tigris and Euphrates, with their tributaries, form a major river system in Western Asia. From sources originating in eastern Turkey, they flow by/through Syria through Iraq into the Persian Gulf. The system is part of the Palearctic Tigris–Euphrates ecoregion, which includes Iraq and parts of Turkey, Syria, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Jordan. From their sources and upper courses in the mountains of eastern Anatolia, the rivers descend through valleys and gorges to the uplands of Syria and northern Iraq and then to the alluvial plain of central Iraq. The rivers flow in a south-easterly direction
Tigris–Euphrates river system
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Tigris–Euphrates river system The Tigris and Euphrates, with their tributaries, form a major river system in Western Asia. From sources originating in eastern Turkey, they flow by/through Syria through Iraq into the Persian Gulf. The system is part of the Palearctic Tigris–Euphrates ecoregion, which includes Iraq and parts of Turkey, Syria, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Jordan. From their sources and upper courses in the mountains of eastern Anatolia, the rivers descend through valleys and gorges to the uplands of Syria and northern Iraq and then to the alluvial plain of central Iraq. The rivers flow in a south-easterly direction
Tigris–Euphrates river system
1671004
Tigris–Euphrates river system The Tigris and Euphrates, with their tributaries, form a major river system in Western Asia. From sources originating in eastern Turkey, they flow by/through Syria through Iraq into the Persian Gulf. The system is part of the Palearctic Tigris–Euphrates ecoregion, which includes Iraq and parts of Turkey, Syria, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Jordan. From their sources and upper courses in the mountains of eastern Anatolia, the rivers descend through valleys and gorges to the uplands of Syria and northern Iraq and then to the alluvial plain of central Iraq. The rivers flow in a south-easterly direction
Tigris–Euphrates river system
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Tigris and Euphrates Tigris and Euphrates () is a tabletop eurogame designed by Reiner Knizia and first published in 1997 by Hans im Glück. Before its publication, it was highly anticipated by German gamers hearing rumors of a "gamer's game" designed by Knizia. "Tigris and Euphrates" won first prize in the 1998 Deutscher Spielepreis. A card game version was released in 2005. The game is set as a clash between neighboring dynasties at the dawn of civilization and is named after the rivers Tigris and Euphrates, in the region now called the Middle East. The rivers together formed natural borders
Tigris and Euphrates
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demands may soon exceed Egypt’s. Irrigating only half of Ethiopia’s arable lands would reduce water flow to downstream Sudan and Egypt by 15%. The Tigris-Euphrates River Basin consists of its two primary rivers – The Tigris River and the Euphrates River – and their minor tributaries. Both the Tigris and the Euphrates originate in southeastern Turkey. The Tigris flows from Turkey, tracing the border between Turkey and Syria for 32 km before flowing south through Iraq. From its origin in Turkey, the Euphrates flows into Syria from the north, before continuing on through Iraq. The two rivers meet in Iraq
Water conflict in the Middle East and North Africa
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1961 to in 1963. One of the most important legal texts on the waters of the Euphrates-Tigris river system is the protocol annexed to the 1946 Treaty of Friendship and Good Neighborly Relations between Iraq and Turkey. The protocol provided the control and management of the Euphrates and the Tigris depending to a large extent on the regulations of flow in Turkish source areas. Turkey agreed to begin monitoring the two border-crossing rivers and to share related data with Iraq. In 1980, Turkey and Iraq further specified the nature of the earlier protocol by forming a joint committee on technical
Atatürk Dam
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Euphrates The Euphrates (; Sumerian: "Buranuna"; "Purattu"; "al-Furāt"; "Pǝrāt"; : "Yeprat"; "Perat"; ; ) is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia (the "Land between the Rivers"). Originating in eastern Turkey, the Euphrates flows through Syria and Iraq to join the Tigris in the Shatt al-Arab, which empties into the Persian Gulf. The Ancient Greek form "Euphrátēs" (, as if from Greek εὖ "good" and ϕράζω "I announce or declare") was adapted from Old Persian 𐎢𐎳𐎼𐎠𐎬𐎢 "Ufrātu", itself from Elamite
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and Euphrates and the branches of these rivers. Major cities, such as Ur and Uruk, took root on tributaries of the Euphrates, while others, notably Lagash, were built on branches of the Tigris. The rivers provided the further benefits of fish (used both for food and fertilizer), reeds, and clay (for building materials). With irrigation, the food supply in Mesopotamia was comparable to the Canadian prairies. The Tigris and Euphrates River valleys form the northeastern portion of the Fertile Crescent, which also included the Jordan River valley and that of the Nile. Although land nearer to the rivers was fertile
Mesopotamia
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is likely to be between 8 and 10 kilometers. As of 2017, "Euphrates" effective size, its composition and albedo, as well as its rotation period and shape remain unknown. This minor planet was named after the Euphrates river, that flows through northern Syria and Iraq. It is one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. The Tigris–Euphrates river system, a major river system, is formed when the two rivers combine at Al Qurnah. The minor planet 13096 Tigris is named after the other river of this system. The approved naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center
13963 Euphrates
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the Euphrates continues to the Hindiya Barrage, which was constructed in 1914 to divert the river into the Hindiyah Channel; the present day Shatt al Hillah had been the main channel of the Euphrates before 1914. Below Al Kifl, the river follows two channels to As-Samawah, where it reappears as a single channel to join the Tigris at Al Qurnah. The Tigris also rises in Turkey but is significantly augmented by several rivers in Iraq, the most important of which are the Khabur, the Great Zab, the Little Zab, and the Adhaim, all of which join the Tigris above Baghdad,
Geography of Iraq
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Pishon The Pishon ( "Pîšōn") is one of four rivers (along with Hiddekel (Tigris), Phrath (Euphrates) and Gihon) mentioned in the Biblical Book of Genesis. In that passage, these rivers are described as arising within the Garden of Eden. The Pishon is described as encircling "the entire land of Havilah." Unlike the Tigris and the Euphrates, the Pishon has never been clearly located. It is briefly mentioned together with the Tigris in the Wisdom of Sirach (24:25), but this reference throws no more light on the location of the river. The Jewish-Roman historian Flavius Josephus, in the beginning of his
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of Havilah in Genesis. Pishon The Pishon ( "Pîšōn") is one of four rivers (along with Hiddekel (Tigris), Phrath (Euphrates) and Gihon) mentioned in the Biblical Book of Genesis. In that passage, these rivers are described as arising within the Garden of Eden. The Pishon is described as encircling "the entire land of Havilah." Unlike the Tigris and the Euphrates, the Pishon has never been clearly located. It is briefly mentioned together with the Tigris in the Wisdom of Sirach (24:25), but this reference throws no more light on the location of the river. The Jewish-Roman historian Flavius Josephus, in
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Pasitigris The classical and late classical name for the Karun river--one of the four rivers of Paradise or the Biblical Eden. The Old Testament maintains the four rivers to have been, the Euphrates, the Tigris, the Gihon and the Pishon. The first two are clearly the primary rivers of Iraq and still carry the ancient names. As in the past many millennia, Gihon and Pishon still flowi through Eden---identified with the great marshlands of southern Iraq and Iran. These are the great rivers of Karkheh and Karun, that rub shoulders with the Tigris and Euphrates in volume and importance. They
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Tigris The Tigris (; Sumerian: "Idigna" "Idigina"; Akkadian: '; "Dijlah" ; '; "Tigris"; "Dglatʿ"; "", "Hiddekel"; ; ) is the eastern member of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of southeastern Turkey through Iraq and empties itself into the Persian Gulf. The Tigris is 1,750 km long, rising in the Taurus Mountains of eastern Turkey about 25 km southeast of the city of Elazig and about 30 km from the headwaters of the Euphrates. The river then flows for 400 km through Turkish territory before becoming the
Tigris
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the destruction of the natural habitat poses serious threats to the area's wildlife populations; inadequate supplies of potable water; development of Tigris-Euphrates Rivers system contingent upon agreements with upstream riparian Turkey; air and water pollution; soil degradation (desalination) and erosion; and desertification. Environment - international agreements:<br> "party to:" Biodiversity, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection<br> "signed, but not ratified:" Environmental Modification Geography of Iraq The geography of Iraq is diverse and falls into five main regions: the desert (west of the Euphrates), Upper Mesopotamia (between the upper Tigris and Euphrates rivers), the northern highlands of Iraq, Lower Mesopotamia, and
Geography of Iraq
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Euphrates, whose leisurely pace caused it to deposit more silt and build up a higher bed than the Tigris. The Sumerian form was borrowed into Akkadian as "Idiqlat", and from there into the other Semitic languages (cf. Hebrew Ḥîddeqel, Syriac "Deqlaṯ", Arabic "Dijlah"). Another name for the Tigris used in Middle Persian was "Arvand Rud", literally "swift river". Today, however, "Arvand Rud" (New Persian: ) refers to the confluence of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers (known in Arabic as the Shatt al-Arab). In Kurdish, it is also known as "Ava Mezin", "the Great Water". The name of the Tigris in
Tigris
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of Iraq are Arabic and Kurdish. Iraq has a coastline measuring on the northern Persian Gulf and encompasses the Mesopotamian Alluvial Plain, the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range and the eastern part of the Syrian Desert. Two major rivers, the Tigris and Euphrates, run south through Iraq and into the Shatt al-Arab near the Persian Gulf. These rivers provide Iraq with significant amounts of fertile land. The region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, historically known as Mesopotamia, is often referred to as the cradle of civilisation. It was here that mankind first began to read, write, create
Iraq
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Iraq. Cyprus (ancient Alashiya), a large island in the eastern Mediterranean was a separate cultural entity during most periods of human occupation. However, its proximity to both Anatolia and the northern and southern Levant was responsible for influences from and to both these regions. This was especially the case as Cyprus was an important source of copper for much of the region. Mesopotamia ("The Land of Two Rivers") is considered to begin more or less near the modern border with Iraq and refers to the flat valley of the southern Tigris and Euphrates rivers and their tributaries. These rivers empty
Near Eastern archaeology
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regime – drained to permit military access and greater political control of the native Marsh Arabs. Canals, dykes and dams were built routing the water of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers around the marshes, instead of allowing water to move slowly through the marshland. After part of the Euphrates was dried up due to re-routing its water to the sea, a dam was built so water could not back up from the Tigris and sustain the former marshland. Some marshlands were burned and pipes buried underground helped to carry away water for quicker drying. The drying of the marshes led
Tigris–Euphrates river system
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the use of reclaimed water for irrigation. The most important rivers of Syria are the Euphrates, the Tigris, the Orontes and the Yarmouk River. All these rivers are shared between Syria and its neighbors. The Euphrates, by far the most important river in Syria, flows from Turkey through Syria to Iraq. In Syria, it is joined by the Khabur and the Balikh rivers, which both originate in the Syro-Turkish border region. The Tigris River originates in the eastern Taurus Mountains in Turkey and forms the border between Syria and Turkey on a small mountainous stretch of the river. Its mean
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The engagement took place just south of the town of Kut-al-Amarah, along the banks of the Tigris River. Following a night march, the British and Indian troops defeated the Ottoman forces, driving them from their defensive positions along the Tigris. The capture of the Es Sinn position allowed for the capture of Kut, and with it control over the lower Tigris and Euphrates rivers, by British forces the following day. After consolidating their hold over the Basra Vilayet, a debate began over what to do with Indian Expeditionary Force "D". While originally only envisioned as a limited campaign to secure
Battle of Es Sinn
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methods, are extensively used for irrigation, covering nearly 90,000 km across Western Asia for agriculture. Also, the Tigris and Euphrates rivers contribute very well. Western Asia is primarily arid and semi-arid, and can be subject to drought, but it also contains vast expanses of forest and fertile valleys. The region consists of grasslands, rangelands, deserts, and mountains. Water shortages are a problem in many parts of West Asia, with rapidly growing populations increasing demands for water, while salinization and pollution threaten water supplies. Major rivers, including the Tigris and Euphrates, provide sources for irrigation water to support agriculture. There are
Western Asia
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Finding themselves without control of their waterways, Syria and Iraq formed an alliance, ignoring the previous disputes which had divided them, to confront the issue of water control. Iraq and Syria watched with apprehension the construction of the Atatürk Dam in Turkey and a projected system of 22 dams on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Within the Middle East, all major rivers cross at least one international border, with the most important, the Tigris and Euphrates, crossing through three major Middle Eastern nations. This means that the nations, cities and towns downstream from the next are hugely effected by the
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as the Khabur River Valley in Syria speak varieties of Northeastern Neo-Aramaic while the Assyrians in Turkey and Syria mainly speak Turoyo, a dialect of Central Neo-Aramaic. Other prominent ethnic groups present in Beth Nahrain include: Arabs, Armenians, Yazidis, Turkmen, Kurds and Turks. Beth Nahrain occupies the land between two rivers - referring to the Euphrates and Tigris. The Tigris-Euphrates river system covers 35,600 km² and forms a major river system originating from the Taurus mountains of Eastern Turkey through Syria and Iraq towards the Persian Gulf. Beth Nahrain Beth Nahrain (, ); "house of (two) rivers" is the name
Beth Nahrain
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Abay River (Blue Nile), which encircles the former kingdom of Gojjam. From a geographic standpoint this would seem impossible, since two of the other rivers said to issue out of Eden, the Tigris and the Euphrates, are in Mesopotamia. However, the scholar Edward Ullendorff has argued in support of this identification. Some scholars identify Cush as the ancient Kassite kingdom, which encompassed a Mesopotamian area that is repeatedly flooded by the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. This view has some support from Herodotus, who thought there were both an African Ethiopia (Cush) and a northern (Asiatic) Ethiopia. Nineteenth century, modern, and
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through the central plain and combine at Al-Qurnah to form the Shatt al-Arab and discharge into the Persian Gulf. The region has historical importance as part of the Fertile Crescent region, in which civilization is believed to have first emerged. The ecoregion is characterized by two large rivers, the Tigris and Euphrates. The rivers have several small tributaries which feed into the system from shallow freshwater lakes, swamps, and marshes, all surrounded by desert. The hydrology of these vast marshes is extremely important to the ecology of the entire upper Persian Gulf. Historically, the area is known as Mesopotamia. As
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Anatolia Project- GAP to develop the region. The project GAP was aimed at reducing the harsh living conditions of the Southeastern provinces of Turkey by building 19 dams on the rivers of Euphrates and Tigris. This project, however, would seriously reduce Syrian water resources. In addition to this, Euphrates and Tigris are not the only rivers that tangles Turkish-Syrian relations, the water distribution of Orantes River which pours into Mediterranean from the province of disputed Hatay also rises problems between two states. Turkey has condemned Syria for supporting the PKK, which is listed as a terrorist organization internationally by a
Syria–Turkey relations
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the Arabian Peninsula. Most geographers, including those of the Iraqi government, discuss the country's geography in terms of four main zones or regions: the desert in the west and southwest; the rolling upland between the upper Tigris and Euphrates rivers (in Arabic the "Dijla" and "Furat", respectively); the highlands in the north and northeast; and the alluvial plain through which the Tigris and Euphrates flow. Iraq's official statistical reports give the total land area as , whereas a United States Department of State publication gives the area as . The uplands region, between the Tigris north of Samarra and the
Geography of Iraq
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country, Nineveh, Kalaḫ and Arbela, were all on the east bank of the Tigris. The reason was its abundant supply of water, whereas the great plain on the western side had to depend on streams flowing into the Euphrates. Mesopotamia means "(Land) between two rivers" in ancient Greek. The oldest known occurrence of the name Mesopotamia dates to the 4th century BCE, when it was used to designate the land east of the Euphrates in north Syria. In modern times it has been more generally applied to all the lands between the Euphrates and the Tigris, thereby incorporating not only
Geography of Mesopotamia
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and the Diyala, which joins it about thirty-six kilometers below the city. At the Kut Barrage much of the water is diverted into the Shatt al-Hayy, which was once the main channel of the Tigris. Water from the Tigris thus enters the Euphrates through the Shatt al-Hayy well above the confluence of the two main channels at Al Qurnah. Both the Tigris and the Euphrates break into a number of channels in the marshland area, and the flow of the rivers is substantially reduced by the time they come together at Al Qurnah. Moreover. the swamps act as silt traps,
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tomb of Imam Ahmad Bin Hanbal and Syed Abdul Razzaq Jilani is in Baghdad and the flow of Tigris restricts the number of visitors. The river featured on the coat of arms of Iraq from 1932-1959. Tigris The Tigris (; Sumerian: "Idigna" "Idigina"; Akkadian: '; "Dijlah" ; '; "Tigris"; "Dglatʿ"; "", "Hiddekel"; ; ) is the eastern member of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of southeastern Turkey through Iraq and empties itself into the Persian Gulf. The Tigris is 1,750 km long, rising in the Taurus
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Akshak Akshak(Sumerian: , akšak) was a city of ancient Sumer, situated on the northern boundary of Akkad, sometimes identified with Babylonian Upi (Greek Opis). Its exact location is uncertain. Classical writers located it where the Tigris and Euphrates rivers are closest together and it was mentioned along with Kish in early records. Archaeologists in the 1900s placed Akshak at the site of Tel Omar (or Tel Umar) where a pair of sites straddles the Tigris, but that turned out to be Seleucia (possibly earlier Upi/Opis) when it was excavated by LeRoy Waterman of the American Schools of Oriental Research, though
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wet winter An Alluvial plain begins north of Baghdad and extends to the Persian Gulf. Here the Tigris and Euphrates rivers lie above the level of the plain in many places, and the whole area is a river delta interlaced by the channels of the two rivers and by irrigation canals. Intermittent lakes, fed by the rivers in flood, also characterize southeastern Iraq. A fairly large area () just above the confluence of the two rivers at Al Qurnah and extending east of the Tigris beyond the Iranian border is marshland, known as Hawr al Hammar, the result of centuries
Geography of Iraq
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Giraffe (often interpreted as a Camel), Cancer Minor the Small Crab, Euphrates Fluvius et Tigris Fluvius the Rivers Euphrates and Tigris, Gallus the Cock, Jordanis Fluvius the River Jordan, Monoceros the Unicorn and Sagitta Australis the Southern Arrow. Of the latter constellations, only Camelopardalis and Monoceros are still found on modern star charts, and recognized by the IAU. The minor planet 10648 Plancius commemorates his contributions in celestial and terrestrial cartography. Petrus Plancius Petrus Plancius (1552 – May 15, 1622) was a Dutch-Flemish astronomer, cartographer and clergyman. He was born as Pieter Platevoet in Dranouter, now in Heuvelland, West Flanders.
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even propaganda. The geostrategy of location include river valleys, inland sea, world ocean, world island, and so on. For instance, the start of Western civilization was located in the river valleys of the Nile in Egypt and the Tigris and Euphrates in Mesopotamia. The Nile and Tigris and Euphrates not only provided the fertile soil for crop production, but also allowed for the floods that taxed the ingenuity of the inhabitants. The climate of the area was conducive to an existence based primarily upon agriculture. The rivers also provided the avenues of trade in a period when muscles of man
Geostrategy
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with Genesis, Barton mentions that "The Tigris and Euphrates are twice spoken of as holy rivers – and the 'mighty abyss' (or 'well of the mighty abyss') is appealed-to for protection." His translation reads: "The holy Tigris, the holy Euphrates / the holy sceptre of Enlil / establish Kharsag." Barton Cylinder The Barton Cylinder is a Sumerian creation myth, written on a clay cylinder in the mid to late 3rd millennium BC, which is now in the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. Joan Goodnick Westenholz suggests it dates to around 2400 BC (ED III). The cylinder is
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with high flow in spring as a result of melting snow and when rains fall in Upper Mesopotamia. This is more accentuated with the Tigris, which receives several tributaries from the Zagros during the second part of its course, while the Euphrates has only a minor tributaries in Upper Mesopotamia. Thus its output is weaker, especially since it crosses flatter areas and has a wide bend in Syria which slows its flow. Floods of the rivers thus take place in spring - in April for the Tigris and in May for the Euphrates (shortly after or during the harvest). Their
Agriculture in ancient Mesopotamia
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border. Since the 1960s and in the 1970s, when Turkey began the GAP project in earnest, water disputes have regularly occurred in addition to the associated dam's effects on the environment. In addition, Syrian and Iranian dam construction has also contributed to political tension within the basin, particularly during drought. The general climate of the region is subtropical, hot and arid. At the northern end of the Persian Gulf is the vast floodplain of the Euphrates, Tigris, and Karun Rivers, featuring huge permanent lakes, marshes, and forest. The aquatic vegetation includes reeds, rushes, and papyrus, which support numerous species. Areas
Tigris–Euphrates river system
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to the disappearance of the salt-tolerant vegetation; the plankton rich waters that fertilized surrounding soils; 52 native fish species; the wild boar, red fox, buffalo and water birds of the marsh habitat. The issue of water rights became a point of contention for Iraq, Turkey and Syria beginning in the 1960s when Turkey implemented a public-works project (the GAP project) aimed at harvesting the water from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers through the construction of 22 dams, for irrigation and hydroelectric energy purposes. Although the water dispute between Turkey and Syria was more problematic, the GAP project was also perceived
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the rainfall was hig enough for agriculture without irrigation. But the scale of the rivers in the south and the flat plains which made it easy to cut irrigation channels and put large areas under cultivation gave undeniable advantages to the development of productive irrigated farms - at the cost of constant labour. The two main watercourses of Mesopotamia, which give the region its name, are the Euphrates and the Tigris, which flow from Anatolia to the Persian Gulf. The Euphrates is around 2,800 km long and the Tigris is about 1,900 km. Their regime is of the pluvio-nival type,
Agriculture in ancient Mesopotamia
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An Nasiriyah by drying up or diverting streams and rivers. Shi'a Muslims were displaced under the Ba'athist regime. The destruction of the natural habitat poses serious threats to the area's wildlife populations. There are also inadequate supplies of potable water. The marshlands were an extensive natural wetlands ecosystem which developed over thousands of years in the Tigris–Euphrates basin and once covered 15–20,000 square kilometers. According to the United Nations Environmental Program and the AMAR Charitable Foundation, between 84% and 90% of the marshes have been destroyed since the 1970s. In 1994, 60 percent of the wetlands were destroyed by Hussein's
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the Euphrates, together with his daughter who had been captured, preferring to live with him in peace and friendship. The fourth-century historians Eutropius and Festus assume that the supposed Roman province of Assyria was situated east of the Tigris and so outside of Mesopotamia. Theodore Mommsen wrote that it was located north of the Roman Mesopotamia province, in Upper Mesopotamia, stretching into western Persia (in an area called Media Atropatene) in what is now northwestern Iran. But some modern scholars argue that the "Assyria Provincia" was located between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, in present-day central Iraq, a location that
Assyria (Roman province)
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of Iraq. These two rivers account for 98% of Iraq`s surface water supply. Their flow is therefore very vulnerable to dams and water diversions in Turkey, Syria and Iran. The Euphrates does not receive water from permanent tributaries within Iraq territory and is fed only by seasonal runoff from wadis. The average annual flow of the Euphrates at the border to Turkey is estimated at 30 km³, with a fluctual annual value ranging from 10 to 40 km³. The Tigris has an average annual runoff of 21.2 km³. Within Iraq, the Tigris River receives water from five main tributaries, namely
Water supply and sanitation in Iraq
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full province. Next Severus embarked on a war against Parthia, which he concluded successfully with the sack of the Parthian capital Ctesiphon. In emulation of Trajan, he re-established a province of Mesopotamia in 198, with Nisibis, elevated to the status of a full "colonia", as its capital. Unlike Trajan's province, which encompassed the whole of Roman-occupied Mesopotamia between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, the new province was limited between the province of Osroene to the south, the Euphrates and Tigris to the north, and the river Chaboras (modern Khabur) to the east. For the remainder of its existence, the new
Mesopotamia (Roman province)
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by the deposition of alluvium. Other watercourses in Mesopotamia are the rivers that flow into the Tigris and Euphrates. The tributaries of the former originate in the Zagros; from north to south they are the Great Zab, the Little Zab, and Diyala. Their courses have a rapid flow, on account of the steep relief and the gorges through which they flow, as well as the snow melt in spring which leads to large floods in April/May. They carry a large amount of the alluvium which ends up in the Tigris. The Euphrates has two tributaries which meet it in southern
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Glory River The Glory River (Nahar al-Aaz), Glory Canal or Prosperity Canal is a shallow canal in Iraq about two kilometers wide built by Saddam Hussein in 1993 to redirect water flowing from the Tigris river into the Euphrates, near their confluence at the Shatt al-Arab. It helped cause an environmental and humanitarian disaster since it diverted natural water flow from the Central Marshes and effectively converted much of the wetlands into a desert. After the First Gulf War, Saddam Hussein aggressively revived a program to divert the flow of the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers away from the marshes
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is called Pasitigris. There was a place at or near Seleucia called Coche; and the site of Seleucia is below Baghdad. These are the only points in the description that are certain. It seems difficult to explain the passage of Pliny, or to determine the probable site of Apamea. It cannot be at Korna, as some suppose, e.g., Ptolemy, where the Tigris and Euphrates meet, for both Stephanus and Pliny place Apamea at the point where the Tigris is divided. Pliny places Digba at Korna, "in ripa Tigris circa confluentes", – at the junction of the Tigris and the Euphrates.
Apamea (Babylonia)
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Haffar During the early Islamic centuries, the Daylamite Buwayhid king, Panah Khusraw Adud ad-Dawlah, ordered the digging of a canal to join the Karun River, which at the time emptied independently into the Persian Gulf through the Bahmanshir channel, to the Shatt al-Arab waterway (known as Arvand Rud in Iran), the joint estuary of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. The extra water from the Karun, which, at times during the spring melt, discharged over 27 times the volume of the Tigris-Euphrates water that reaches the Shatt al-Arab) makes the joint estuary more reliably navigable. The estuary thus created was known
Haffar
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Tigris rivers in the 9 provinces of the region (Gaziantep, Adıyaman, Kilis, Şanlıurfa, Diyarbakır, Mardin, Siirt, Batman, and Şırnak), where a total of 6.5 million people live as of the 2000 census. The project is one of the biggest investments of the last century undertaken by State Hydraulic Works and contains 13 sub-projects, 7 of which are in the Euphrates Basin and 6 of which are in the Tigris Basin. Within the scope of these 13 projects, 27,000 GWh hydroelectric energy will be produced annually with 7.5 GW installed capacity and 18,200 km² of land will be irrigated with the
State Hydraulic Works
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Turkey, in Syria and in Iraq. The same figures are given by Isaev and Mikhailova. The length of the Shatt al-Arab, which connects the Euphrates and the Tigris with the Persian Gulf, is given by various sources as . Both the Kara Su and the Murat Su rise northwest from Lake Van at elevations of and amsl, respectively. At the location of the Keban Dam, the two rivers, now combined into the Euphrates, have dropped to an elevation of amsl. From Keban to the Syrian–Turkish border, the river drops another over a distance of less than . Once the Euphrates
Euphrates
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also share their extended deltas--the marshlands--with each other, forming an extended system. The classical name, Pasitigris, may preserve in its first element the Biblical name, Pishon. The river Pasitigris is mentioned in Plutarch's Lives as where Eumenes a general of Alexander the Great, met the army of Antigonus when he was ill. Pasitigris The classical and late classical name for the Karun river--one of the four rivers of Paradise or the Biblical Eden. The Old Testament maintains the four rivers to have been, the Euphrates, the Tigris, the Gihon and the Pishon. The first two are clearly the primary rivers
Pasitigris
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Khawr Abd Allah The Khawr Abd Allah (, ) is today an estuary, but once was the point where the Euphrates and Tigris rivers (Shatt al-Arab) emptied into the Persian Gulf. Located in the south of Iraq, the Iraq-Kuwaiti border divides the lower portion of the estuary, but adjacent to the port of Umm Qasr the estuary becomes wholly Iraqi. The Shatt al-Arab is now the point where the rivers drain out, east of the Khawr Abd Allah. As it extends northwestward into Iraq, it changes its name to Khawr az-Zubayr, at the location of Umm Qasr. From this point
Khawr Abd Allah
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level. The maximum length and width of the depression are 120 and 48 km, respectively. The eastern rim of the depression is higher than the western one, the heights of both rims are and , respectively. The main purpose of the Tharthar Lake is to collect excess water of the Tigris River during flood seasons and to recharge water to the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers during dry seasons, when there is shortage of water in both rivers. Moreover, it aims in washing out the salts from the stored water, in the lake by means of natural continuous draining of the
Lake Tharthar
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The western zone around the Jordan and upper Euphrates rivers gave rise to the first known Neolithic farming settlements (referred to as Pre-Pottery Neolithic A (PPNA), which date to around 9,000 BCE (and includes sites such as Göbekli Tepe and Jericho). This region, alongside Mesopotamia (which lies to the east of the Fertile Crescent, between the rivers Tigris and Euphrates), also saw the emergence of early complex societies during the succeeding Bronze Age. There is also early evidence from the region for writing and the formation of hierarchical statelevel societies. This has earned the region the nickname "The cradle of
Fertile Crescent
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as terubuk. Due to its unique features of being oily and tender, some Malays call it 'terubuk unno'. The fish is marine; freshwater; brackish; pelagic-neritic; anadromous; depth range ? - 200 m. Within a tropical range; 34°N - 5°N, 42°E - 97°E in marine and freshwater. It can grow up to 60 cm in length with weights of up to 3 kg. It is found in rivers and estuaries in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Myanmar (also known as Burma) and the Persian Gulf area where it can be found in the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in and around Iran and southern
Ilish
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economies, and threats to security". It impacts regions, states and countries. Tensions exist between upstream and downstream users of water within individual jurisdictions. During history there has been much conflict over use of water from rivers such as the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. Another highly politicized example is Israel's control of water resources in the Levant region since its creation, where Israel securing its water resources was one of several drivers for the 1967 Six-Day War. Water security is sometimes sought by implementing water desalination, pipelines between sources and users, water licences with different security levels and war. Water allocation
Water security
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he designs so that the streams, lakes and rivers all flow into the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, making them useful for irrigation and agriculture. Ninurta's mother Ninmah descends from Heaven to congratulate her son on his victory. Ninurta dedicates the mountain of stone to her and renames her Ninhursag, meaning "Lady of the Mountain". Nisaba, the goddess of scribes, appears and writes down Ninurta's victory, as well as Ninhursag's new name. Finally, Ninurta returns home to Nippur, where he is celebrated as a hero. This myth combines Ninurta's role as a warrior deity with his role as an agricultural deity.
Ninurta
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Geography of Mesopotamia The geography of Mesopotamia, encompassing its ethnology and history, centered on the two great rivers, the Tigris and Euphrates. While the southern is flat and marshy, the near approach of the two rivers to one another, at a spot where the undulating plateau of the north sinks suddenly into the Babylonian alluvium, tends to separate them still more completely. In the earliest recorded times, the northern portion was included in Mesopotamia; it was marked off as Assyria after the rise of the Assyrian monarchy. Apart from Assur, the original capital of Assyria, the chief cities of the
Geography of Mesopotamia
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most points in their weakest category wins. For example: Players must balance their scoring and avoid overspecializing. Knizia later used this mechanism as the basis for Ingenious. Thomas Lehmann comments: "If you are looking for a tactically rich, intense strategy game with lots of conflict (unusual in a German game), try "Tigris & Euphrates" and see why so many players consider this game Reiner Knizia's masterpiece." Tigris and Euphrates Tigris and Euphrates () is a tabletop eurogame designed by Reiner Knizia and first published in 1997 by Hans im Glück. Before its publication, it was highly anticipated by German gamers
Tigris and Euphrates
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Hammar Marshes lie south of the Euphrates and the Hawizeh Marshes are bound east of the Tigris. Before the 2003 Invasion of Iraq, about 90% of the marshes had been drained. The marshes lie on a flat alluvial plain, as the Euphrates decreases only in elevation during its last while the Tigris falls . This delta provides an environment that allows the Tigris and Euphrates to meander, forming distributaries. The Euphrates has often terminated near Nasiriyah into the Hammar Marshes as its flow slows. The Tigris can distribute some of its flow into the Central and Hawizeh marshes as it
Mesopotamian Marshes
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the Little Khabur, Great Zab, Little Zab, Diyala and Al Authaim. Yet, onlyer lies entirely within Iraq. All together, 50% of the Tigris water comes from outside the country. The flow of the rivers varies considerably. Destructive flooding, especially of the Tigris, is not uncommon. In the south of Iraq, large areas are regularly inundated, levees often collapse and roads and villages must be built on high embankments. Conversely, years of low flow make irrigation difficult. The Euphrates and Tigris they have fallen to less than a third of their normal flow which is largely the result of upstream activities
Water supply and sanitation in Iraq
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states the following regarding the size of the Garden of Eden: " How great might be its extent we do not know. If the sources of the Ganges, Nile, Tigris, and Euphrates, be not now changed, and if these be the rivers which sprung from the fountains of Paradise, (both of which points are undecided), the garden must have comprised a great part of the world." Annotations to the New Testament are in a similar vein, but were not compiled by Haydock. Given the enormous scope of annotating the entire Bible, he was unable to maintain the demanding production schedule
George Leo Haydock
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Euphrates is connected with the Tigris. The largest canal in this network is the Main Outfall Drain or so-called "Third River;" constructed between 1953 and 1992. This canal is intended to drain the area between the Euphrates and the Tigris south of Baghdad to prevent soil salinization from irrigation. It also allows large freight barges to navigate up to Baghdad. The construction of the dams and irrigation schemes on the Euphrates has had a significant impact on the environment and society of each riparian country. The dams constructed as part of GAP – in both the Euphrates and the Tigris
Euphrates
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is an international treaty that would have to be ratified by the Parliaments of the respective countries. The agreements are rather non-binding memorandums of understanding. Euphrates River. In 1989 Iraq and Syria signed a water-sharing agreement under which a maximum of 42% (210 m³/s) of the surface water inflow through the Euphrates granted by Turkey unilaterally to the downstream riparians (500 m³/s) were considered as Syria’s share. There is no final agreement regarding the Syrian water rights on the Euphrates and Tigris rivers. However, since 2005 a group of scholars and retired officials from Syria, Iraq and Turkey initiated Track
Water resources management in Syria
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sandy banks and many fish (especially cyprinids). Although it mainly resides in shallow calm water, this is typically adjacent to deep fast-flowing water. In the fast-flowing Euphrates it generally avoids the main stem, instead occurring in side-branches or backwaters. In parts of the Tigris River with a slower flow, it occurs even in the main stem. They bask on or at the banks of rivers, with some remaining in shallow water to avoid being on land. They sometimes bury themselves into the bottom. The Euphrates softshell turtle is mainly active during the day, but some night-activity also occurs. In parts
Euphrates softshell turtle
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it survives due to human interference, research suggests that the Euphrates Valley would have supported a riverine forest. Species characteristic of this type of forest include the Oriental plane, the Euphrates poplar, the tamarisk, the ash and various wetland plants. Among the fish species in the Tigris–Euphrates basin, the family of the Cyprinidae are the most common, with 34 species out of 52 in total. Among the Cyprinids, the mangar has good sport fishing qualities, leading the British to nickname it "Tigris salmon." The "Rafetus euphraticus" is an endangered soft-shelled turtle that is limited to the Tigris–Euphrates river system. The
Euphrates
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it seems that one Roman division crossed the Tigris into Adiabene, sweeping south and capturing Adenystrae; a second followed the river south, capturing Babylon; Trajan himself sailed down the Euphrates from Dura-Europoswhere a triumphal arch was erected in his honourthrough Ozogardana, where he erected a "tribunal" still to be seen at the time of Julian the Apostate's campaigns in the same area. Having come to the narrow strip of land between the Euphrates and the Tigris, he then dragged his fleet overland into the Tigris, capturing Seleucia and finally the Parthian capital of Ctesiphon. He continued southward to the Persian
Trajan's Parthian campaign
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the party to go hunting in the region between the Euphrates and Tigris, where the two rivers run parallel to each other. The territory is a former Jewish-Babylonian main settlement from the beginning of the Babylonian exile, and the homeland of the Babylonian Talmud and the Gaonic academies. Obermeyer himself later reported, that he was completely indifferent to the hunt. Rather to him the central issue was to take a good look at the historical landscape from the time of the writing of the Babylonian Talmud, and at the sites where the Babylonian Amoraim unfolded their teaching. He gazed at
Jacob Obermeyer
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near the Arvand Rud (Shatt al-Arab in Arabic) between modern-day Qurnah and Basra in modern-day Iraq. In favor of Howard-Carter's proposal, it has been noted that this area does lie to the east of Sumer ("where the sun rises"), and the riverbank where Dilmun's maidens would have been accosted aligns with the Shat al-Arab which is in the midst of marshes. The "mouth of the rivers" where Dilmun was said to lie is for her the union of the Tigris and Euphrates at Qurnah. As of 2008, archaeologists have failed to find a site in existence during the time from
Dilmun
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part of the larger Fertile Crescent, it saw the earliest emergence of literate urban civilization in the Uruk period, for which reason it is often described as a "Cradle of Civilization". In the 1980s, this ecoregion was put in grave danger as the Iran–Iraq War raged within its boundaries. The wetlands of Iraq, which were inhabited by the Marsh Arabs, were almost completely dried out, and have only recently shown signs of recovery. The Tigris–Euphrates Basin is shared by Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Iran and Kuwait. Many Tigris tributaries originate in Iran and a Tigris–Euphrates confluence forms part of the Kuwait–Iraq
Tigris–Euphrates river system
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used in traditional Arabic music, originally built as a wooden frame with jingles, covered with fish or goat skin; Ney is a traditional Middle-Eastern end-blown flute, with a fluid, sensual and floating sound. "Aram of the Two Rivers" (original: "Aram-Naharaim") designates a Syrian region better known today as Mesopotamia, ancient home of the Arameans and primordial cradle of human culture and civilization, stretching between the two rivers Tigris and Euphrates, and referenced as far back as the Old Testament. Aram of the Two Rivers Aram of the Two Rivers is an album by bass guitarist Jonas Hellborg that was released
Aram of the Two Rivers
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Kurdish folklore), Zagros, Qandil, Shingal, Mount Abdulaziz, Kurd Mountains, Jabal al-Akrad, Shaho, Gabar, Hamrin, and Nisir. The plateaus and mountains of Kurdistan, which are characterized by heavy rain and snow fall, act as a water reservoir for the Near and Middle East, forming the source of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, as well as other numerous smaller rivers, such as the Little Khabur, Khabur, Tharthar, Ceyhan, Araxes, Kura, Sefidrud, Karkha, and Hezil. Among rivers of historical importance to Kurds are the Murat (Arasān) and Buhtān rivers in Turkey; the Peshkhābur, the Little Zab, the Great Zab, and the Diyala in
Kurdistan
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Beth Nahrain Beth Nahrain (, ); "house of (two) rivers" is the name for the region known as Mesopotamia in the Syriac language. Geographically, it refers to the areas between and surrounding the Euphrates and Tigris rivers (as well as their tributaries). The Aramaic name loosely describes the area between and "around" the rivers, not only literally between the rivers. The area is considered by Assyrians as their homeland. This area roughly encompasses almost all of present-day Iraq, parts of southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, and, more recently, northeastern Syria. The Assyrians are considered to be indigenous inhabitants of "Beth Nahrain".
Beth Nahrain
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tribe of Judah and part of the Tribe of Levi, was free from foreign domination until the Babylonian conquest to which Rivers Of Babylon refers. The namesake rivers of Babylon (in present day Iraq) are the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. The song also has words from : It is one of a few pop songs whose lyrics come directly from the Bible (See also "Turn! Turn! Turn!" by Pete Seeger, "40" by U2, and "The Lord's Prayer" by Sister Janet Mead). The melody bears a strong resemblance to "How Dry I Am". In the Rastafarian faith, the term "Babylon" is
Rivers of Babylon
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just above the confluence of the two rivers at Al Qurnah and extending east of the Tigris beyond the Iranian border is marshland, known as Hawr al Hammar, the result of centuries of flooding and inadequate drainage. Much of it is permanent marsh, but some parts dry out in early winter, and other parts become marshland only in years of great flood. Because the waters of the Tigris and Euphrates above their confluence are heavily silt-laden, irrigation and fairly frequent flooding deposit large quantities of silty loam in much of the delta area. Windborne silt contributes to the total deposit
Lower Mesopotamia
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slows near Amarah. Downstream of Amarah though, several of its tributaries originating in Iran allow the Tigris' flow to increase and maintain a steady course thereafter. The three marshes combined once provided an intertwined environment, particularly during periods of flooding as the rivers overflowed. The Central Marshes receive water from influxes of the Tigris's distributaries, namely the Shatt al-Muminah and Majar al-Kabir south of Amarah. The Tigris serves as the marshes' eastern boundary while the Euphrates serves as its southern boundary. Covering an area of , the marshes consist of reed beds and several permanent lakes including Umm al Binni
Mesopotamian Marshes
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Lake Tharthar Lake Tharthar (also Therthar), and known in Iraq as Buhayrat ath-Tharthar (), is an artificial lake opened in 1956, situated 100 kilometers northwest of Baghdad between the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers. In 1956, the southern part of the Tharthar depression was turned into an artificial reservoir to collect flood waters of the Tigris River. The water flows via an artificial inlet canal, named Tharthar Canal. The canal diverts the access water, by means of a regulator Samarra Barrage. It merges with the lake in its southeastern bank. The lake has an artificial outlet called Taksim Tharthar Canal,
Lake Tharthar
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the order include: Order of the Two Rivers The Order of the Two Rivers ("Wisam Al Rafidain") was an Order awarded by the Kings of Iraq and then the Presidents of Iraq. It was named after the two rivers the Euphrates and the Tigris that flow through the middle of the country. It was initially awarded by the kings of Iraq between 1922 when the monarchy was established, and 1958 when the monarchy ended. It was continued by the presidents of Iraq through the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. It had five classes and two divisions (military and civil). Some of
Order of the Two Rivers
16781901
Order of the Two Rivers The Order of the Two Rivers ("Wisam Al Rafidain") was an Order awarded by the Kings of Iraq and then the Presidents of Iraq. It was named after the two rivers the Euphrates and the Tigris that flow through the middle of the country. It was initially awarded by the kings of Iraq between 1922 when the monarchy was established, and 1958 when the monarchy ended. It was continued by the presidents of Iraq through the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. It had five classes and two divisions (military and civil). Some of the recipients of
Order of the Two Rivers
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Hilly Flanks The Hilly Flanks is an area curving around the Tigris, Euphrates, and Jordan valleys in Western Asia. It was the location of one of the world’s first civilizations, Mesopotamia, and was the origin of the idea of irrigation. The people in this early civilization were surrounded by water from the rivers, so it was easy to divert water and form "man-made" rivers for trade and irrigation. Eventually these man-made rivers connected the two rivers which helped with trade and travel. This area is known for its sufficient rainfall which leads to the over abundance of wild wheat and
Hilly Flanks
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Geography of Iraq The geography of Iraq is diverse and falls into five main regions: the desert (west of the Euphrates), Upper Mesopotamia (between the upper Tigris and Euphrates rivers), the northern highlands of Iraq, Lower Mesopotamia, and the alluvial plain extending from around Tikrit to the Persian Gulf. The mountains in the northeast are an extension of the alpine system that runs eastward from the Balkans through southern Turkey, northern Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan, eventually reaching the Himalayas. The desert is in the southwest and central provinces along the borders with Saudi Arabia and Jordan and geographically belongs with
Geography of Iraq
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of it were found on the banks of the river Issus, one of the tributaries of the Euphrates, and this fact confirmed by Diodorus Siculus. Herodotus mentioned pitch spring on Zacynthus (Ionian islands, Greece). Also, Herodotus described a well for bitumen and oil near Ardericca in Cessia. In ancient times, bitumen was primarily a Mesopotamian commodity used by the Sumerians and Babylonians, although it was also found in the Levant and Persia. Along the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, the area was littered with hundreds of pure bitumen seepages. The Mesopotamians used the bitumen for waterproofing boats and buildings. Ancient Persian
Petroleum seep
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son Belshazzar, were from Assyria. These nomad Chaldeans settled in the far southeastern portion of Babylonia, chiefly on the left bank of the Euphrates. Though for a short time the name later commonly referred to the whole of southern Mesopotamia in Hebraic literature. This was a geographical and historical misnomer as Chaldea proper was in fact only the plain in the far southeast formed by the deposits of the Euphrates and the Tigris, extending about four hundred miles along the course of these rivers and averaging about a hundred miles in width. The names "Chaldea" and "Chaldaea" are latinizations of
Chaldea
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Caspian Sea and northwards to the foothills of the Caucasus. This newer, more "rational" frontier, depended, however, on an increased, permanent Roman presence east of the Euphrates. The chronology of subsequent events is uncertain, but it is generally believed that early in 115 Trajan launched a Mesopotamian campaign, marching down towards the Taurus mountains in order to consolidate territory between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. He placed permanent garrisons along the way to secure the territory. While Trajan moved from west to east, Lusius Quietus moved with his army from the Caspian Sea towards the west, both armies performing a
Trajan
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Euphrates near al-Qurnah to form the Shatt-al-Arab. According to Pliny and other ancient historians, the Euphrates originally had its outlet into the sea separate from that of the Tigris. Baghdad, the capital of Iraq, stands on the banks of the Tigris. The port city of Basra straddles the Shatt al-Arab. In ancient times, many of the great cities of Mesopotamia stood on or near the Tigris, drawing water from it to irrigate the civilization of the Sumerians. Notable Tigris-side cities included Nineveh, Ctesiphon, and Seleucia, while the city of Lagash was irrigated by the Tigris via a canal dug around
Tigris
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"Mesopotamia". Ancient writers later used the name "Mesopotamia" for all of the land between the Tigris and Euphrates. However, the usage of the Hebrew name "Aram-Naharaim" does not match this later usage of "Mesopotamia", the Hebrew term referring to a northern region within Mesopotamia. The translation of the name as "Mesopotamia" was not consistent - the Septuagint also uses a more precise translation "Mesopotamia of Syria" as well as "Rivers of Syria". Aram-Naharaim Aram-Naharaim ( "’Aram Naharayim"; Aramaic: ארם נהריים) is the biblical term for a region in Upper Mesopotamia along elbow of the Euphrates River. It is mentioned five
Aram-Naharaim
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Enbilulu Enbilulu ( ) was the god of rivers and canals in Mesopotamian mythology. In the creation mythology he was placed in charge of the sacred rivers Tigris and Euphrates by the god Enki. Also he was the deity of irrigation and farming. In the Sumerian story "Enlil and Ninlil" he is a son of Enlil and Ninlil. In Babylonian times he becomes the son of Ea and is connected with Adad. In the Enuma Elish Enbilulu is said to "know the secrets of water" and "of the running of rivers below the earth". Another version calls him "The Lord
Enbilulu
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Lower Mesopotamia Lower Mesopotamia is a historical region of Iraq. Also known as the Sawad and al-'Irāq al-'Arabi ("Arabian Irāq") in the Middle Ages. Lower Mesopotamia was home to ancient Sumerian and Babylonian civilisations. An alluvial plain begins north of Baghdad and extends to the Persian Gulf. Here the Tigris and Euphrates rivers lie above the level of the plain in many places, and the whole area is a river delta interlaced by the channels of the two rivers and by irrigation canals. Intermittent lakes, fed by the rivers in flood, also characterize southeastern Iraq. A fairly large area ()
Lower Mesopotamia
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main column, sometimes it had to depend on itself for protection. Stations "A" and "F" were on interception duties, while stations "B" and "E" were at the headquarters of the two British corps. The British offensive began on the night of 13 December with a short thrust across the desert to the Shatt al-Hayy, a channel connecting the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. The cavalry reached the channel by dawn and began advancing towards the Tigris. During this advance 'G' station came under fire from a Turkish monitor on the river and it and the cavalry were forced to withdraw back
1st Australian Wireless Signal Squadron
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This irrigation is aided by a high water table and by melting snows from the high peaks of the northern Zagros Mountains and from the Armenian Highlands, the source of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers that give the region its name. The usefulness of irrigation depends upon the ability to mobilize sufficient labor for the construction and maintenance of canals, and this, from the earliest period, has assisted the development of urban settlements and centralized systems of political authority. Agriculture throughout the region has been supplemented by nomadic pastoralism, where tent-dwelling nomads herded sheep and goats (and later camels) from
Mesopotamia
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and Mulukhiyah. The Middle East includes the region formerly known as the Fertile Crescent (the land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers - Sumeria, Akkad, Assyria and Babylonia), where wheat was first cultivated, followed by barley, pistachios, figs, pomegranates, dates and other regional staples. Fermentation was also discovered here to leaven bread and make beer in Mesopotamia, and the earliest written recipes come from that region also. As a crossroads between Europe, Asia, the Caucasus and North Africa, this area has long been a hub of food and recipe exchange. During the first Persian Empire (ca. 550–330 BCE), the foundation
Middle Eastern cuisine
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by the ancient Mesopotamians in order to write in cuneiform. They were mostly made of reeds and had a slightly curved trapezoidal section. Egyptians (Middle Kingdom) and the Minoans of Crete (Linear A and Cretan Hieroglyphic) made styluses in various materials: reeds that grew on the sides of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and in marshes and down to Egypt where the Egyptians used styluses from sliced reeds with sharp points; bone and metal styluses were also used. Cuneiform was entirely based on the "wedge-shaped" mark that the end of a cut reed made when pushed into a clay tablet;
Stylus
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he traces the origins of writing from clay tablet and cuneiform script to the efficient Phoenician alphabet written on parchment and papyrus. Along the way, Innis comments on many aspects of the ancient Middle Eastern empires, including power struggles between priests and kings, the evolution of military technologies and the development of the Hebrew Bible. Innis begins by observing that unlike in Egypt where calculating the timing of the Nile's flooding was a source of power, the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in southern Mesopotamia were used for irrigation. Therefore the ability to measure time precisely was somewhat less critical. Nevertheless,
Empire and Communications
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important in preparing mummies. In ancient times, bitumen was primarily a Mesopotamian commodity used by the Sumerians and Babylonians, although it was also found in the Levant and Persia. The area along the Tigris and Euphrates rivers was littered with hundreds of pure bitumen seepages. The Mesopotamians used the bitumen for waterproofing boats and buildings. In Europe, they were extensively mined near the French city of Pechelbronn, where the vapour separation process was in use in 1742. The name "tar sands" was applied to bituminous sands in the late 19th and early 20th century. People who saw the bituminous sands
Oil sands
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the world learned to make paper from linen. The knowledge of gunpowder was also transmitted from China via the caliphate, where the formulas for pure potassium nitrate and an explosive gunpowder effect were first developed. Advances were made in irrigation and farming, using new technology such as the windmill. Crops such as almonds and citrus fruit were brought to Europe through al-Andalus, and sugar cultivation was gradually adopted by the Europeans. Apart from the Nile, Tigris and Euphrates, navigable rivers were uncommon, so transport by sea was very important. Navigational sciences were highly developed, making use of a rudimentary sextant
Abbasid Caliphate
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giant, after the confusion of languages had emerged in Babel. Mesopotamia is the region located between the rivers Tigris and Euphrates. There we find the regions of Babylon and Chaldea. Babylon was the ancient conqueror of the kingdom of Judah and the place where the Jewish people were exiled. In that city the revelations of the prophet Ezekiel took place, which had so much influence on the creation of the Prophetic Chronicle. From Chaldea (South of Mesopotamia), the Asturian Chronicles supposed, came the hordes that invaded Spain and were defeated by Pelayo in Covadonga. Among the most important cities of
Beatus map
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waterways; Mesopotamia, the so-called cradle of civilization, was situated between the major rivers Tigris and Euphrates; the ancient society of the Egyptians depended entirely upon the Nile. Rome was also founded on the banks of the Italian river Tiber. Large metropolises like Rotterdam, London, Montreal, Paris, New York City, Buenos Aires, Shanghai, Tokyo, Chicago, and Hong Kong owe their success in part to their easy accessibility via water and the resultant expansion of trade. Islands with safe water ports, like Singapore, have flourished for the same reason. In places such as North Africa and the Middle East, where water is
Water
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part of Jewish, Catholic, Anglican and Protestant liturgies. It has been set to music often, and was paraphrased in hymns. After Nebuchadnezzar II's successful siege of Jerusalem in 597 BC, and subsequent campaigns, inhabitants of the Kingdom of Judah were deported to Babylonia, where they were held captive until some time after the Fall of Babylon (539 BC). The rivers of Babylon are the Euphrates river, its tributaries, and the Tigris river. Psalm 137 is a hymn expressing the yearnings of the Jewish people during their Babylonian exile. In its whole form of nine verses, the psalm reflects the yearning
Psalm 137
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our cultivated grains (see Einkorn). Recent DNA analysis of modern domesticated wheat compared with wild wheat has shown that its DNA is closest in sequence to wild wheat found on Karaca Dağ away from the site, suggesting that this is where modern wheat was first domesticated. With its mountains catching the rain and a calcareous, porous bedrock creating lots of springs, creeks, and rivers, the upper reaches of the Euphrates and Tigris was a refuge during the dry and cold Younger Dryas climatic event (10,800 – 9,500 BCE). Speculation exists that conditions driven by population expansions locally could have led
Göbekli Tepe
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Sacred prostitution Sacred prostitution, temple prostitution, cult prostitution, and religious prostitution are general terms for a sexual rite consisting of sexual intercourse or other sexual activity performed in the context of religious worship, perhaps as a form of fertility rite or divine marriage ("hieros gamos"). Some scholars prefer the terms "sacred sex" or "sacred sexual rites" to "sacred prostitution" in cases where payment for services was not involved. Ancient Near Eastern societies along the Tigris and Euphrates rivers featured many shrines and temples or "houses of heaven" dedicated to various deities. The 5th-century BC historian Herodotus's account and some other
Sacred prostitution
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the beginning of second millennium BC. In the 14th century BC, it became the capital of an administrative region in Babylonia. The Babylonians dug the "royal canal" between the Euphrates and the Tigris, which ended near Opis. The Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II (605–562 BC) built a long wall between the two rivers to protect against a potential Median invasion; the fortified line continued eastward beyond the Tigris and ended near Opis. In October 539 BC, the troops of the Babylonian king Nabonidus (556–539 BC) defended Opis against the Persians commanded by Cyrus the Great (559–530 BC). The Babylonians were defeated
Opis