Definition of Euphrates River

Some rivers on the planet have played a leading role in the history of mankind. It would not be possible to understand the civilization of Ancient Egypt without taking into account the Nile. The indigenous cultures of the basin Amazonia make sense if we know the complex network of the Amazon riverbed. The cities of London and Paris cannot be separated from the Thames and the Seine either.

The Euphrates River played a decisive role in the flourishing of Mesopotamian civilization

The word Mesopotamia means precisely between two rivers. Thus, the non-desert areas of Iraq, Syria and Turkey were in ancient times the cradle of Mesopotamian civilization. The two rivers that determined the history of these territories were the Tigris and the Euphrates. The original settlers of Mesopotamia were the Sumerians, who settled along both rivers.

In the two river basins, the right conditions were given for the Sumerians to develop a farming advanced. Likewise, it is considered that the Sumerians were the inventors of three great advances: the

writing, the wheel and the adobe bricks.

Data of interest

The relationship between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers is not only historical, since both are linked by the Shatt al-Arab river, which flows into the waters of the Persian Gulf.

The Euphrates River measures 2,780 kilometers from its source in Turkey to its mouth in Iraq. Its main tributaries are the Karasu and the Murat Nehri.

Its hydrographic basin is about 500,000 square kilometers, so its waters run through a total of five countries: Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

The river basin is the habitat natural to many species of animals, such as the softshell turtle, cyprinids, the Basra warbler or the pygmy cormorant.

The waters of the river continue to be a fundamental pillar for some peoples of the Middle East. In this sense, the fertile lands that surround it provide wheat and barley. On the other hand, the water of the Euphrates basin allows the generation of Energy hydroelectric plant and provides drinking water.

In ancient times the overflow of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers was controlled by dikes and canals that formed an important irrigation network for agriculture.

Despite its strategic value, there is a problem of contamination of water caused by industrial discharges.

The territory situated between the Tigris and the Euphrates is the location of the earthly paradise described in the Bible.

In recent years the Euphrates is losing its fresh water reserves as a result of prolonged droughts. For some scholars of the Holy Scriptures this event it is described in one of the ancient biblical prophecies (in Revelation 16:12 it is stated that an angel would cause the river to dry up).

Photo: Fotolia - pavalena

Themes in Euphrates River