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Euphrates

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Geography of the Middle
East

          For the song "River Euphrates" by the Pixies, see Surfer Rosa'

                                Euphrates
   Map of the Tigris-Euphrates Watershed

                    Map of the Tigris-Euphrates Watershed

   Origin           Eastern Turkey
   Mouth            Shatt al Arab
   Basin countries  Turkey, Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iraq
   Length           2,800 km
   Source elevation 4,500 m
   Avg. discharge   818 m³/s
   Basin area       765,831 km²

   The Euphrates (the traditional Greek name, Arabic: الفرات Al-Furat,
   Armenian: Եփրատ Yeṗrat, Hebrew: פְּרָת Perath, Kurdish: Ferat, Azeri:
   Fərat, Old Persian: Ufrat, Syriac: ܦܪܬ Frot or Prâth, Turkish: Fırat,
   Akkadian: Pu-rat-tu) is the westernmost of the two great rivers that
   define Mesopotamia (the other being the Tigris).

   In the Bible, God's promise to Abraham and his descendants (which also
   includes Isaac and Jacob) of the promised land extends to this river.

Etymology

   The name Euphrates may have originated from Old Persian Ufratu, as it
   were from Avestan *hu-perethuua, meaning "good to cross over" (from
   hu-, meaning "good", and peretu, meaning "ford") . Alternatively, some
   suggest that the name Euphrates is possibly of Kurdish origin. In
   Kurdish, fere means "wide", re means "flowing water" and hat is
   "flowing", giving fererehat, meaning "wide flowing water". The modern
   Kurdish name, Ferat, is possibly a reduction of the older name.
   However, the Indo-European etymology of the name is put into doubt by
   the Sumerian and Akkadian names for the Euphrates are Buranun and
   Pu-rat-tu, respectively, Buranun being attested in an inscription
   associated with king Gudea ( 22nd century BC). It seems thus likely
   that the Old Persian name arose by popular etymology based on the
   pre-Iranian name of the river.

Course of the Euphrates

   The river is approximately 2,780 kilometers (1,730 miles) long. It is
   formed by the union of two branches, the Kara (the western Euphrates),
   which rises in the Armenian highlands of today's eastern Turkey north
   of Erzurum and the Murat (the eastern Euphrates), which issues from an
   area southwest of Mount Ararat, north of Lake Van. The upper reaches of
   the Euphrates flow through steep canyons and gorges, southeast across
   Syria, and through Iraq. The Khabur and the Balikh River join the
   Euphrates in eastern Syria.
   Boat on the Shatt-al-Arab
   Enlarge
   Boat on the Shatt-al-Arab

   Both rivers have their origins in Turkey. Downstream, through its whole
   length, the Euphrates receives no further water flow. North of Basra,
   in southern Iraq, the river merges with the Tigris to form the
   Arvand/Shatt al-Arab, this in turn empties into the Persian Gulf.

   The river used to divide into many channels at Basra, forming an
   extensive marshland, but the marshes were largely drained by the Saddam
   Hussein government in the 1990s as a means of driving out the
   rebellious Marsh Arabs. Since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the drainage
   policy has been reversed, but it remains to be seen whether the marshes
   will recover.

   The Euphrates is only navigable by very shallow-draft boats, which can
   reach as far as the Iraqi city of Hit, located 1,930 kilometers (1,200
   miles) upstream and which is only 53 meters (58 yards) above sea level.
   Above Hit, however, shoals and rapids make the river commercially
   unnavigable. Its annual inundation, caused by snowmelt in the mountains
   of northeastern Turkey, has been partly checked by new dams and
   reservoirs in the upper reaches. A 885 kilometer (550-mile) canal links
   the Euphrates to the Tigris to serve as a route for river barges.
   The Euphrates River near Ar Raqqah, Syria
   Enlarge
   The Euphrates River near Ar Raqqah, Syria

Euphrates in the Bible

   A river named Euphrates is one of the four rivers that flow from the
   Garden of Eden according to Genesis 2:14. It is the fourth river, after
   the Pishon, the Gihon, and the Tigris, to form from the river flowing
   out of the garden. The river of the same name marked one of the
   boundaries of the land promised by God to Abraham and his descendants
   (Isaac, Jacob, etc). In the Hebrew Bible, it is often referred to
   simply as "The River" (ha-nahar).

   The word Euphrates is a translation for the word "Gush forth" or "break
   forth". It has always been assumed to mean "river" but this is not
   explicitly stated. It literally means "breaking forth of liquid". The
   river Euphrates was named from this root word, "To gush forth".

   In the Book of Revelation, it is prophesied that in the " near future
   the Potamos Euphrates or "breaking forth like water" of the middle east
   will dry up in preparation for the Battle of Armageddon.

Islamic prophecies

   In Islam, some of the hadiths of the Prophet Muhammad, suggest that the
   Euphrates will dry up, revealing unknown treasures that will be the
   cause of strife and war.
     * Soon the river Euphrates will disclose the treasure [the mountain]
       of gold. So, whoever will be present at that time should not take
       anything of it. — Sahih Bukhari.
     * The Prophet Muhammad said: "The Hour will not come to pass before
       the river Euphrates dries up to unveil the mountain of gold, for
       which people will fight. Ninety-nine out of one hundred will die
       [in the fighting], and every man among them will say: 'Perhaps I
       may be the only one to remain alive'." — Sahih Bukhari, Sahih
       Muslim.
     * The Prophet Muhammad said: "The Euphrates reveals the treasures
       within itself. Whoever sees it should not take anything from it". —
       Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Al-Burhan fi `Alamat al-Mahdi Akhir az-Zaman,
       p. 28.
     * It [the Euphrates] will uncover a mountain of gold [under it]. —
       Sunan Abi Da'ud.

Euphrates in history

   The Euphrates provided the water that led to the first flowering of
   civilisation in Sumer, dating from about the 4th millennium BC. Many
   important ancient cities were located on or near the riverside,
   including Mari, Sippar, Nippur, Shuruppak, Uruk, Ur and Eridu. The
   river valley formed the heartlands of the later empires of Babylonia
   and Assyria. For several centuries, the river formed the eastern limit
   of effective Egyptian and Roman control and western regions of the
   Persian Empire. Also, the Battle of Karbala occurred at the banks of
   Euphrate river, where Imam Hussain, along with his family and friends,
   were martyred.

Controversial issues

   As with the Tigris there is much controversy over rights and use of the
   river. The Southeastern Anatolia Project in Turkey involves the
   construction of 22 dams and 19 power plants by 2005, the biggest
   development project ever undertaken by Turkey. The first of the dams
   was completed in 1990. Southeast Turkey is still struggling
   economically, adding fuel to the discontent expressed by Turkey's
   Kurdish minority centered there. The Turkish authorities hope that the
   project will provide a boost to the region's economy, but domestic and
   foreign critics have disputed its benefits as well as attacking the
   social and environmental costs of the scheme.

   In Syria the Tabaqah Dam (completed in 1973 and sometimes known simply
   as the Euphrates Dam) forms a reservoir, Lake Assad that is used for
   irrigating cotton. Syria has dammed its two tributaries and is
   constructing another dam. Iraq has seven dams in operation, but water
   control lost priority during Saddam Hussein's regime. Since the
   collapse of Ba'ath Iraq in 2003, water use has come once again to the
   fore. The scarcity of water in the Middle East leaves Iraq in constant
   fear that Syria and Turkey will use up most of the water before it
   reaches Iraq. As it is, irrigation in southern Iraq leaves little water
   to join the Tigris at the Shatt-al-Arab.

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