The Euphrates River
Facts about Ancient Sumer
by James W. Bell © 2002-3
‘Buranunu’ in Sumerian
‘Purattu’ in Akkadian
‘Perath’ in Hebrew
‘Ufrat’ in ancient Persian
‘Euphrates’ in Greek
‘Al-Furât’ in Arabic
‘Firat’ in Turkish
The Euphrates Today
The Euphrates River is 1,725 miles long, beginning in the Armenian plateau of Turkey. In Iraq, it flows across land laid down by alluvial deposits, a surface that is very flat. As far as 300 miles north of the Arabian/Persian Gulf, the surface of the land rises only 60 feet above the level of the Gulf. The result of this flatness is that the river easily floods and often changes course. It is easy to deflect river water onto the land for irrigation but difficult to drain the land afterwards, causing the fields to become increasingly saline. In the case of permanent flooding, the terrain becomes a marsh.
Flooding on the Euphrates is caused by the melting of snow in the Armenian plateau. The lower Euphrates begins to rise at the end of March and usually reaches its maximum height by the end of May. The water level then gradually drops throughout the summer until it reaches its lowest level at the end of November.
The Euphrates is navigable from the Lower Sea (Arabian/Persian Gulf) to a series of rapids at Ana, just above Hit, where major bitumen springs are located. At Hit, the Euphrates is 750 feet wide. Below Hit, the width of the river narrows and averages 450 to 500 feet. The current of the lower Euphrates is very slow, not normally exceeding one mile per hour and often falling to a quarter of that speed. However, during spring flooding, the speed of the flow can increase to as much as five miles per hour.
Today, the Euphrates divides into two branches below Museyib, the primary or western branch called the Hindiya and the secondary or eastern branch called the Hilla.
The Euphrates in Ancient Times
The ancient Euphrates, which seems to have coursed about forty miles to the east of the present-day course, also appears to have had two branches. The primary branch, the western branch, flowing by Sippar, Nippur, Kisurra, Shuruppak, Uruk, Enegi, Ur, and Kuara, was most often referred to as the Euphrates River or the River of Sippar. The secondary branch, the shallower eastern branch, flowing by Adab, Dabrum, KI.AN, Zabalam, Umma, Nagsu, Bad-tibira, Larsa and Uruk was referred to as the Iturungal or the Iturungal Canal, due to the continual maintenance necessary to keep it open and navigable.
The Mouth of the Euphrates
Today the Euphrates joins the Tigris at Qurna and flows to the Arabian (or Persian) Gulf through the Shatt al Arab. In Sumerian times, the Euphrates flowed directly into the Gulf which was then called the Lower Sea (also called the Bitter Sea and the Sea of the Rising Sun).
The End
Go Back to the Fact Menu
| |
