﻿PROCEEDINGS 
  OF 
  THE 
  FOURTH 
  ENTO?>rOLOGICAL 
  MEETING 
  165 
  

  

  time. 
  Mesopotamia 
  has 
  been 
  referred 
  to 
  by 
  various 
  Greek 
  and 
  Eoman 
  

   writers 
  as 
  the 
  granary 
  of 
  the 
  world, 
  indicating 
  a 
  highly 
  developed 
  type 
  

   of 
  cultivation, 
  and 
  even 
  as 
  late 
  as 
  the 
  period 
  of 
  Harun-al-Rashid 
  — 
  the 
  

   balmy 
  days 
  of 
  the 
  delightful 
  Arabian 
  Nights— 
  the 
  country 
  appears 
  to 
  

   have 
  been 
  exceedingly 
  prosperous. 
  Historians 
  affirm 
  that 
  the 
  trans- 
  

   formation 
  of 
  this 
  delightful 
  picture 
  into 
  the 
  present 
  scene 
  of 
  desolation 
  

   is 
  due 
  to 
  the 
  inroad 
  of 
  hordes 
  of 
  barbarous 
  Mongols 
  under 
  the 
  Chieftain- 
  

   ship 
  of 
  Hulagu 
  who 
  about 
  1230 
  A. 
  D. 
  swept 
  through 
  the 
  land, 
  plundered 
  

   the 
  city 
  of 
  Baghdad 
  and 
  destroyed 
  the 
  canals, 
  leading 
  not 
  only 
  to 
  the 
  

   destruction 
  of 
  the 
  cultivation 
  but 
  also 
  to 
  the 
  inundation 
  in 
  succeeding 
  

   years 
  of 
  high 
  floods 
  of 
  large 
  areas 
  of 
  land 
  — 
  now 
  converted 
  into 
  permanent 
  

   marshes. 
  After 
  several 
  successive 
  periods 
  of 
  anarchy, 
  the 
  land 
  came 
  

   under 
  the 
  subjection 
  of 
  Turkey, 
  but 
  partly 
  due 
  to 
  the 
  distance 
  of 
  this 
  

   province 
  from 
  the 
  capital 
  and 
  partly 
  due 
  to 
  the 
  general 
  ineptitude 
  of 
  

   the 
  Turk 
  the 
  development 
  of 
  the 
  resources 
  of 
  this 
  rich 
  tract 
  remained 
  in 
  

   abeyance. 
  It 
  is 
  only 
  recently 
  since 
  the 
  British 
  occupation 
  that 
  the 
  

   question 
  of 
  the 
  development 
  of 
  irrigation 
  has 
  begun 
  to 
  receive 
  attention 
  

   and, 
  if 
  political 
  conditions 
  allow 
  of 
  it, 
  there 
  is 
  no 
  reason 
  why 
  this 
  

   province 
  should 
  not 
  again 
  attain 
  to 
  its 
  ancient 
  glories. 
  

  

  Seasons. 
  Mesopotamia 
  lies 
  really 
  in 
  the 
  Temperate 
  Zone, 
  and 
  

   enjoys 
  a 
  mild 
  winter 
  resembling 
  that 
  of 
  the 
  South 
  of 
  Europe, 
  but 
  as 
  it 
  

   falls 
  within 
  the 
  area 
  of 
  the 
  rainless 
  arid 
  zone 
  passing 
  from 
  the 
  Sahara 
  

   through 
  Egypt 
  and 
  Arabia 
  into 
  Mongolia, 
  it 
  is 
  subject 
  to 
  an 
  excessively 
  

   hot 
  summer. 
  There 
  are 
  four 
  definitely 
  defined 
  seasons 
  as 
  in 
  Europe 
  : 
  

   spring, 
  summer, 
  autumn 
  and 
  winter. 
  In 
  winter 
  temperatures 
  as 
  low 
  

   as 
  20°F. 
  may 
  be 
  experienced 
  while 
  in 
  the 
  north 
  near 
  Mosul 
  there 
  is 
  

   regular 
  snowfall 
  in 
  winter. 
  The 
  scanty 
  rain 
  amounting 
  to 
  an 
  average 
  

   of 
  5 
  inches 
  in 
  the 
  year 
  is 
  received 
  in 
  the 
  winter 
  months, 
  the 
  largest 
  fall 
  

   being 
  in 
  March. 
  There 
  is 
  a 
  well-defined 
  spring, 
  most 
  noticeable 
  in 
  the 
  

   North. 
  The 
  summer 
  is 
  practically 
  rainless 
  and 
  is 
  subject 
  to 
  hot 
  desert 
  

   wmds 
  and 
  very 
  high 
  temperatures, 
  reaching 
  to 
  126°or 
  more 
  at 
  Basrah. 
  

   The 
  cumate 
  cools 
  down 
  in 
  autumn 
  which 
  imperceptibly 
  merges 
  into 
  

   winter. 
  

  

  Cultivation. 
  Being 
  mainly 
  a 
  rainless 
  tract, 
  it 
  is 
  very 
  uncommon 
  to 
  

   find 
  crops 
  raised 
  solely 
  by 
  the 
  help 
  of 
  rain, 
  except 
  in 
  the 
  extreme 
  north 
  

   near 
  Mosul 
  and 
  the 
  sub-montane 
  tracts 
  along 
  the 
  Persian 
  Hills, 
  where 
  a 
  

   heavier 
  rainfall 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  snowfall 
  is 
  experienced. 
  In 
  these 
  places 
  wheat 
  

   and 
  barley 
  are 
  the 
  crops 
  "mostly 
  raised. 
  In 
  the 
  rest 
  of 
  the 
  country, 
  

   cultivation 
  is 
  entirely 
  dependent 
  on 
  irrigation. 
  Around 
  Basrah 
  the 
  

   periodical 
  rise 
  in 
  the 
  level 
  of 
  the 
  river 
  water 
  owing 
  to 
  the 
  influence 
  of 
  

   the 
  tides 
  is 
  taken 
  advantage 
  of 
  for 
  irrigating 
  the 
  abundant 
  Date 
  groves. 
  

   Along 
  the 
  Euphrates 
  area 
  and 
  in 
  the 
  Diyalah 
  River 
  area 
  around 
  Baqubah, 
  

  

  M 
  

  

  