Mesopotamia

Mesopotamia or Mesopotamia (Greek: εεσοοοταμία, "Mesopotamia", meaning the land between 2 rivers)
It was one of the first cultural centers in the world. It is currently located in Iraq and Syria between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, which originate southward from southern Turkey and are about 400 kilometers apart. It is now located in Southwest Asia. The need for defense and irrigation was one of the motives that helped shape the first civilization in a country
Rafidain by the inhabitants of the ancient Mesopotamia, and they opened their cities and channels.

After 6000 BC. Settlements that became cities in the fourth millennium BC appeared. And the oldest of these settlements
There are the hill of Aleppo, Aridu and Uruk where clay brick temples were built, decorated with metalwork and stones, and the cuneiform script was invented. The Sumerians were responsible for the first culture there and then spread north of Upper Euphrates in the Syrian Jazair region and the most important Sumerian cities, which then originated in Isin, Kish, Larsa, Ur and Adab. And in the year 2330 BC. The Acadians, who were among the Semitic peoples, lived in the middle of the land between the Persians and their king Sargon I (2335 BC - 2279 BC) founded the Akad Kingdom and replaced the Akkadian language with Sumerian. The rule of the Acadians remained until the Juteans overthrew it in 2218 BC. They are tribes of the eastern hills . And after the third period of Ur and the rule of most Mesopotamia appeared.


Then the Elamites came and destroyed Ur in the year 2000 BC. They controlled most of the old cities and did not develop anything until Hammurabi came from Babylon and united the state for a few years in his late rule. But family Amuriyah took power in Assyria in the north. The Hittites who came from Turkey were able to overthrow the Babylonian state, followed immediately by the Kushites for four centuries. It was then taken over by the Mitnites (a people of Asami, often called Horon or Horian) coming from the Caucasus and were called and remained in Mesopotamia for centuries. But after 1700 BC. Deployed in large numbers across the north in all of Anatolia. The Assyrian state emerged in northern Mesopotamia and the northeastern kingdoms, defeated the Assyrian Assyrians and seized the city of Babylon in 1225 BC. And reached the White Sea in 1100 BC


Euphrates
Is one of the largest rivers in Southwest Asia, stems from Turkey and consists of two rivers in Asia Minor
Murat Soo (east of the water), and its source between Lake Wan and Mount Ararat in Armenia and the village of Soo (ie water
West) and its source in northeastern Anatolia. The rivers run westward and then converge
Their water runs southward, penetrating the southern Taurus mountain range. Then the river runs south
And join many branches before passing through the Syrian territory.
In the Syrian territory joined by the River Balikh and then the Khabour River and enter Syria at the city of Grable,
And then passes in the province of Raqqa and then goes to the province of Deir Al-Zour, and exit from the city of Albuqamal. And from
Then enters Iraq at the city of Qaim and expands to form the marshes in the center of southern Iraq, and unite with him in
Iraq The Tigris River forms Shatt al-Arab, whose waters run 90 miles and then pour into the Gulf
Arabi. The length of the Euphrates is about 2700 km (1800 miles), and its width ranges from 200 to more than 2000
Meters at the downstream. Iraq is called Mesopotamia because of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.

River Euphrates in history
It was called by the peoples of the region by the great river or river, as was the boundary between East and West
Between the countries of Assyria, Babylon, North Africa and Egypt, both of these powers were seeking to own
Land between the Valley of Egypt and the Euphrates. The Euphrates was also the borderline between the East and the West
The era of the Persians. It was also one of the borders of the Seleucid Kingdom and was considered the eastern boundary of the Roman Empire.
Babylon was the greatest city on its shores and Carchemish the Hittite city. I have seen the banks of this river
Many battles, most notably the battle in which the victory of Nebuchadnezzar Chaldean on Pharaoh Neco Masri 605
BC. The Euphrates mentioned many times in the Scriptures because of its vital role in the lives of the inhabitants of the country
The two rivers are ancient and modern

Human activities
Since the dawn of history, the banks of the Euphrates River (in addition to the banks of the Tigris river, and between them) have been the basic cradle of irrigated agriculture development some 12,000 years ago. The peoples living on its banks also practiced fishing, river transport and inter-trade. They followed economic human activities and built thousands of cities and villages over thousands of years on its banks, some of which are still alive today. Recently, the pace of investment has increased with the construction of dozens of dams and the establishment of large collective farms along its banks. In Turkey, there are 22 dams and 19 hydroelectric stations within the South-East Anatolia project to reclaim a large area equivalent to Belgium. The largest Turkish dam is the Ataturk Dam, which is within walking distance of the Syrian border. It is followed by a very large artificial lake of 817 km². The project was put into investment in the early 1990s. In Syria, there are 5 dams on the Euphrates, three of which were built in the mid 1960s, within the Euphrates dam or the dam dam, which formed behind it a large artificial lake called Lake Al Assad located in the province of Raqqa near the city of Thawra. M3 before the city of Raqqa. The other dam is Al-Ba'ath Dam, located in Al-Raqqa Governorate in Mansoura City. The last two dams were established in the late 1980s for surface irrigation. The Syrian government intends to construct another large dam in the adoption area north of Deir al-Zour.
In Iraq there are seven dams operating on the Euphrates since the seventies of the twentieth century. In the early 1980s, the Euphrates and Tigris were connected to a canal near Samarra.

River Islands in the Euphrates
In the Euphrates, the river islands are often referred to as the "Hawaij" (the collection of Hawija).

In the Euphrates, there are many different types of land, which are formed from the soil and transported by the river during the floods of the river and trees have grown there
And nature plants are characterized by their density and long leaves and fins such as the Euphrates and willow
Lice, licorice, west, allies, falcons, rice, kina, and lintel because they are plants that grow only in Places where water is available permanently. Because these hawijas are surrounded by water from all sides and a hand Man is far away from them, in addition to the density of plants in them, so the animals in which they live
Predatory animals (hyena, the wolf and jackal) in addition to the tiger animal Fratti is wild wild cat,
All these animals have either extinct or are on their way to extinction in that area. Also, prepare the needs
Colonies of species of endemic and migratory birds, with abundant bird nests, but despite
That has not turned into nature reserves yet.
Euphrates River in Religions
In Christianity, according to the Bible (Genesis 2:14), the Euphrates is one of the rivers of the Garden of Eden
(Does not know the geographical location of the fixed paradise). In Islam, he told the Prophet Muhammad that the Euphrates and the Nile are
From the rivers of Paradise has been mentioned in the book of the beginning of creation in Saheeh al-Bukhari in the chapter on the mention of the angels: «Raised to
Sidra the end of the end in the seventh heaven Nabqha like the abandonment of migration and paper like the ears of elephants if four
Two rivers were visible, and two rivers were hidden. As for the manifest: Valnil and Euphrates . It came true
Muslim that the Prophet Muhammad said: «Sihan and Jihan and Euphrates and Nile each of the rivers of Paradise (. Believes
Muslims that the Euphrates River will retreat from a mountain of gold at the end of time as the Prophet Muhammad told
Abdullah: "The Euphrates is about to wail about a treasure of gold. He who attends it will not take anything from him. "


The Tigris
The river stems from the southeastern heights of the Anatolian plateau in Turkey to enter the territory of Iraq at the town
Fesh Khabur, and pour into the river a wide range of tributaries scattered in the territory of Turkey, Iran and Iraq
Perhaps the most important and longest Khabour, the Great Zab, small Zab, the great, Diyala. The Tigris River was met by a river
Euphrates at Qurnah after his journey through the territory of Iraq to be Shatt al-Arab, which flows in the Arabian Gulf,
But the current course of the Euphrates has changed and became a meeting with the Tigris River at the nearby Karma area
Basra, and the length of the river is about 1,718 km.
Length: 1 900 Km
Rising height 10-12 meters
Flow amount 1500 m3 / s
Area of the water surface ::: 375 000 km²
Upstream Turkey
Downstream Arab Gulf.