The most important rivers of Mesopotamia were the Tigris River and the Euphrates. In fact, the Greek name Mesopotamia means land between two rivers. These two bodies of water became the source of food and wealth for the region, thanks to the fact that the soil benefited from the layers of silt deposited in it by the two rivers.
The Tigris and Euphrates rivers are born east of Turkey, run parallel to each other and die when creating the Shatt al Arab river, which has its mouth in the Persian Gulf.
These rivers were fed by snowmelt that came down from the Taurus Mountains (northwestern modern Turkey), and the Zagros Mountains (north in Iran and Turkey). Its extension is calculated in 3600 kilometers, in the case of the Euphrates; and 1900 kilometers, in the case of the Tigris.
They used to flood in spring and leave behind miles of fertile land. Ideal for growing wheat and other cereals and grains.
Both were of enormous importance for the subsistence and progress of Mesopotamia, since they used it as a water supply, to irrigate crops, for transport and for trade.
With them, the first civilizations that populated that valley built a whole system of irrigation canals, dikes, reservoirs and dams, with the purpose of not depending on the floods caused by the rising rivers, but that they could generate them whenever they wanted to. benefit from your crops.
On the other hand, the valley served as a kind of great highway through which people could move with their respective loads.
The indiscriminate use of its waters, the greenhouse effect caused by global warming, the accumulation of salts and sediments and some sources of contamination in several of its sections, threaten the existence of both rivers.
Tigris River
The Tigris, is born in Lake Hazar belonging to the Taurus Mountains region. It runs east and then goes south through Iraqi, Turkish and Syrian lands, touching cities such as Mosul, Baghdad and Samarra.
Some of its tributaries are the Great Zab, Little Zab, Diala, Botan, Garzar and Jabur rivers. Its age is estimated at more than 13 million years.
It has an area of close to 1900 kilometers, drains a 375 thousand km² basin and discharges just over 100 km3 / s.
This body of water has a speed in its current greater than that of the Euphrates, the river to which it joins in Al-Qurnah, giving rise to the Shatt al-Arab river. For this reason, many reservoirs have been built to contain and take advantage of the energy from their waters.
Besides being a source of fresh water for human consumption, the generation of hydroelectric energy and irrigation, this river is the habitat of around 55 species of fish (46 native and 7 endemic), and 6 species of amphibians.
It is a river that can be navigated with small boats.
The booming commercial activity of past years began to decline in the 20th century with the road development of the region.
Euphrates River
The Euphrates is a river approximately 2,800 kilometers long, making it the longest in Southwest Asia. It is born in Turkey at the confluence of the Karasu and Murat rivers.
It has a basin of approximately 500 thousand km² and a flow of 356 m3 / s, on average. In addition to touching the territory of Iraq, Syria and Turkey, it also passes through Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.
Its current is slower than that of the Tigris, perhaps because there are few tributary rivers; for example in Syria, only the rivers Sajur, Balikh and Jabur provide water.
It also feeds on the rains of the Armenian highlands (usually between April and May), melted snow and some small streams.
The Euphrates is the habitat of such a peculiar animal as the softshell turtle. It is also the natural space for the Basra warbler, the pygmy cormorant, the gerbil and the European otter.
As for the flora, on the banks of this river you can see xerophilous bushes and oaks. Already on the border between Syria and Iraq, low plants and bushes appear.
Like the Tigris, it has waters that turn its banks into very fertile lands, and it is a navigable body of water, although with small boats.
Even when the Persian Gulf War upset the balance in the Euphrates basin, the fourth largest dam in the world was built: Ataturk.
In addition, 70% of the water in its basin is used for three important things: the generation of hydroelectric energy thanks to which Iraq, Syria and Turkey have electricity; human consumption; and for irrigation.
Rivers of discord
Currently, the Tigris and Euphrates rivers are the main source of drinking water for the inhabitants of the Middle East (such as Iraq, Turkey and Syria), who also use it for agriculture.
However, according to satellite observations, its channel has decreased consistently since it was monitored. In fact, nowadays these water sources are the cause of tensions between countries.
In the case of the Euphrates River, disputes began in the 1970s between Syria and Iraq, but in 1990, Turkey entered the conflict by interrupting the river flow for a month to fill the Ataturk dam.
This action caused Syria and Iraq to pause their conflict and unite to face the actions of the Turkish nation, which already controls 80% of the tributaries of the Tigris and 30% of the Euphrates.
This behavior of Turkey could be due to the need it has for water to be able to carry out the project in Southeastern Anatolia that would transport the vital liquid to the desert regions inhabited by the Kurds.
Likewise, the construction and consolidation of reservoirs that reduce the amount of water that reaches Syria and Iraq has been proposed.
While Iran, in a certain sense limits the tributaries of the Tigris River to be used in hydroelectric power plants and agricultural activities.
As for possible solutions to these disputes, Baghdad has proposed that each country consume a third of the flow of the rivers in question (there are 120 million inhabitants between the three countries).
However, an agreement is not reached because Syria defends that each country can use as much as it needs until they have to reduce consumption proportionally.
It is worth saying that Mesopotamia was the name given to the area located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, in southern Iraq, where today Assyria, Akkad and Sumer are.
Mesopotamia was considered the "cradle of civilization", because the settlements that arose there were probably the first in history in relation to their socio-political organization.
Great civilizations flourished there, largely thanks to the waters of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, which were later dammed, as a security measure against floods and in need of the energy that these waters provide when they are in motion.
Today, satellite images show Mesopotamia almost swallowed up by deserts, which also took over the piece of the Persian Gulf, where the Tigris and Euphrates rivers meet.
References
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