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HBSOFOTAMIA. 



MESOPOTAMIA. 



TTI 



ooe on raoh aide of Die rirer. That on the Moaopotiuniiui *ida U 

 oallod the ouutl of Yiuuf. It begins about half an hour above 

 Diwaoiyeh and termioatea at Kl Kararin. The canal of tlio Arabian 

 aide ia called the canal of Old Lamlun. It branehoa off from the 

 Eaphratca about 19 milrs below Diwaniyob, and r«joina it a abort 

 diatanoe aboTe the mouth of the Yuauf Canal The two canals an 

 oaaneolad with the Euphiatea by numeroua otlier canaU of amaller 

 dinMBrioM, and oilier eanala again carry the mean* of irrigation to thoae 

 parts of the manhas which are more diatant from the river. Qreat 

 qoantitiea of rice are grown in thia maraby region ; bu&loea abound ; 

 plantationa of dataa cover the banlu of all the canak. There are alao 

 a few plantationa of ftg-treea. During the inundationa the whole 

 «nrfa<M( of theae manhes is under water, with the exception of those 

 places which are inclosed by embankments, and some more elevated 

 tnuits on which the villages are built The villages alao are frequently 

 inundated, and when this happens the iuhabitants convert the roofa 

 of their reedbuilt huts into boats, or place their families on buffaloes, 

 and in this way reach a more elevated spot As it is very difficult to 

 •ntar their country with any force, they are nearly independent The 

 Eaphimtes in their conntiy contracts very much in width, bo as to be 

 at soOM places not 200 feet across, and the Kasahel Arabs levy a very 

 arbitrary toll co all the river boats which navigate between the lower 

 and middle course of the river. 



The manhy swamps terminate at El Karayin, and with them the 

 large canals for irrigation : farther downward only short narrow cuts 

 are met with, whidi serve to irrigate the tracts adjacent to the banks 

 of the river, and do not advance far inland. The banks are much 

 more elevated, though not high, and in most places overgrown with 

 hodiaa. This country inhabited by the Hontefik Arabs, exhibits a 

 miztore of cultivation and pastoral occupation. As the country is 

 rather fertile, it in well inhabited, but not so populous as the marshes 

 of T^tnlim The date plantations are as numerous and extensive as 

 •t soy plaoe higher up the river, but less care is bestowed upon them 

 aod oo the cultivation of rice and wheat Thoae inhabitants who still 

 adhere to a nomadic life have large herds and flocks of horses, camels, 

 bollaloes, sheep, and goat*. The tract of ground between the mouth 

 of the two canals Shat.el-Kar and Shat^el-Hiyeh is swampy and well 

 wooded, but little inhabited. But below the last-mentioned water- 

 oonise the country rather improves ; the banks of the rirer present 

 almost a continuoua forest of date-trees, between which the villages 

 and hamlets are so numerous that they almost touch one another ; on 

 uiproaching the plaoe where the two rivers unite, the banks of the 

 nvers sink lower, snd large tracts are only swampa overgrown with 

 reads, but in msny plaoss extensive fields still occur, on which wheat, 

 rioe, and barley are grown. The uncultivated grounds are used as 

 pastarsa for the numerous herds of buffaloes. From 10 to 12 miles 

 from the confluence of the rivers, the waters of the Tigris are so 

 abundant that the country is converted into a swamp, which during 

 part of the year ia covered with water many feet deep, and in the dry 

 asason it is cut up by numerous watercourses. From neglect of the 

 aubankmenta the marahes are greatly on the increase in Lower 

 Meaopotamia. [Baobdao, vol i., coU. 819, 820.] 



This Euphratea fertilises the low country whidi extends on both of 

 its banks below the tovm of Diwaniyeh. The detritus brought down 

 by the river is formed by the abrasion of chalk, lime, and gypsum, 

 which form a rather hard day, not fertile itself, but becoming so when 

 irrig^ed. The water in the Euphrates is lowest from the middle of 

 November to the and of the year. It then begins to rise slowly, and 

 continues to rise to the middle of January, m consequence of the 

 great rains in oentnl Armenia at the beginning of winter. No differ- 

 aoee in the level of the water is obaerred between the middle of 

 January and the vernal equinox, when the great rise begins (conse- 

 qnaot on the melting of the snow on the Armenian highlands), and 

 eootinnes to the end of May. It is then found that opposite the town of 

 Annah it is from 11 to 12 feet above the lowest level, and farther 

 down to the m«j«l»«« of Lamlun from IS to 18 feet Were thia great 

 volume of vratar permitted to rush down on the low country, it would 

 entirely submerge it, and convert it into an immense swamp. To 

 prevent this the great canals of Babylonia were made, as they all 

 occur above Hillah, or the place where the Euphrates enters the 

 low country. The canals carried the superabundant water into the 

 Tigris, and also gave to the adjacent country the means of irrigation. 

 nay appear stillin some small degree to serve these purposes, but for 

 tba nest part they are out of repair, all of them, even the SakUwiyeh, 

 are either dry or neariy so dunng three or four months. As these 

 oaaals at preaaat are not kept in good order, they cannot carry away 

 Iha great volume of water, and a Urger quantity descends to Uie low 

 coaatrj, destroys the embankments, and converts a groat part of the 

 BMnbas of I«mlun and of the low country farther down into swamps. 

 Proa tha aod of May to November the waters of the Euphrates are 

 eootfanially but slowly on the decrease. 



The Tigris also Inundates the adjacent countries ; but its inunda- 

 tiona are more dsatruc U ve than useful, on account of the great 

 irregularity with which the inundations occur, and their difference in 

 difhrent years. This irregularity in the inundations of the Tigris is 

 chiefly to be ascribed to toe numerous large rivers which originate 

 in the monntaina of Kurdistan, and join the Tigris in its middle 

 coarse ; while the Buphrates, after the junction of its two principsl 



brauchea, the KaraHra and Mnrad, is not joined by any river of 

 consequence. The affluents of the Tigris rise in the mountains of 

 Kurdistan, which for many months being covered with deep snow, 

 bring down an immense volume of water when the snow melta. The 

 Zab Ala, or Greater Zab, at that time brings down a volume superior 

 to that of the Tigris above the point of union. The other affluents, 

 the Zab Asfal, or Lesser Zab, the Adhem, and the Diyalah, are also 

 large rivers. [Baobdao, Psshalio of.] The Tigris begins to rise in 

 November, owmg to the great rains which then fall in its upper basin. 

 It rises and falls at intervals until the supply of water from the 

 mountainous countries is stopped by the frost In the middle of 

 March begins the great rise, which continues to the end of May. 

 After that period its waters alternately rise and fall during June, when 

 they begin to decrease quickly, owug to the great rapidity of the 

 current Between August and November the volume of water has 

 decreased so much that only vessels drawing four feet can navigate 

 the river, and even such vessels encounter great difficulties. The 

 Tigris and its great affluents flow in beds which consist of hard rocks, 

 and a small quantity of detritus is brought ,down by them. It does 

 not ruse its bed by a deposit, but, on the contrary, scours it out 

 deeper. This is probably the reason why the canals for irrigation are 

 at preaent without water during the greater part of the year. Even 

 the Shat Eidha, an ancient bed of the Tigris in the pUun of Baghdad, 

 has very little water in it 



The country along the banks of the Tigris, from the northern 

 extremity of the Median Wall to its confluence with the Euphrates, 

 is nearly s desert, except in the immediate neighbourhood of Baghdad, 

 which ia not supplied with provisions from the lands in its vicimty, 

 but fixim the country which lies farther north. Bi^hdad is indeed 

 surrounded with extensive gardens and some fields, but they extend 

 only a few miles from the walls, and are surrounded by an unculti- 

 vated country. North of the town the plain is traversed by the 

 great canal called the Ishahi, which extends from the neighbourhood 

 of Tekrit to the Saklitwiyeh Canal, but is without water. There are 

 also mauy other eanala of amaller dimensions in the same state. 

 The remainder of this tract is pasture-ground for the herds of the 

 nomadic tribes during the summer. South of Baghdad there is still 

 leas cultivation. The country is quite flat, and in most parts a 

 grassy prairie, well watered ; in others, covered with extensive swamps. 

 A few small cultivated spots appear at great intervals. Herds of 

 buffaloes, however, and the black tents of the nomadic Arabs, are 

 common. There are hardly two or three villages which have a per- 

 manent population. As we approach the confluence of the Tigris and 

 Euphrates, nothing is seen but stagnant water, swamps, and morasses, 

 in which single families have settled, who live on the milk of their 

 buffaloes and the little rice that they can raise. 



Numerous high mounds are seen in several parts of Babylonia 

 and of the great plain of Mesopotamia, marking the sites of ancient 

 cities; some of these are enumerated in the articles Babtlok and 

 Babylonia. [See alao AaSTBXA ; Baqhsad, Pashalic of.] The climate 

 and products of this part of Mesopotamia will be found noticed 

 under Baqhdao. [Baqbdad, Pashalic of ; Babylonia.] Besides the 

 town of Baghdad, a few places occur on the banks of the Euphratea 

 which require notice. 



J/illah is a fortified pkoe with about 25,000 inhabitants, Arabs, 

 Persians, Turks, Jews, Armenians, and Indians, in the midst of a 

 number of canals, which are partly filled up. It carries on a con- 

 siderable commerce with all the towns on the Euphrates, mostly in 

 river-barges of 60 to 80 tons. The imports consist especially of rice, 

 dates, fish, oil, coffee, cotton-stuflb, and Indian goods, part of which 

 are re-exported to Hit and Annah. 



Ditcaniyek, lower down, a considerable place, with 1500 houses, is 

 inclosed by a wall. Numeroua riverbarves are employed in carrying 

 the produce of the rich country in its vicinity to ouier places. 



Suk el Shei/uJcli, the capital of the Montefik Arabs, contains from 

 6000 to TOob families, whose habitations are dispersed among the 

 large plantationa of dates which cover the country. It is the principal 

 if not the only market which is viaited by the nomadic tribes of Ki'jd 

 in Arabia. They bring to this place cattle, horses, wool, and guui ; 

 and take in return lead, fire-arms, ores of different kinds, and culinary 

 utenails. From thia place the British settlements in Hindustan obtain 

 horses. 



From the sway of the kings of Asnria Meso])otamia passed succes- 

 sively to that of the Babylonians and libdians, and then it was subjected 

 by the Persian Cyrus. After the battle of Issus it fell into the power 

 of the Macedonians, and after the death of Alexander his geucmis 

 Antigonus and Seleucua successively got possession of it Selcucus 

 founded the kingdom of Syria, of which Mesopotamia formed a portion, 

 until the counbics belonging to the Syrian kingdom were divided 

 between the Romans and Parthians. During many centuries Meso- 

 potamia was the theatre of the wars in which these two nations con- 

 tended for superiority, until the Parthians were supplanted by the 

 Persian dynasty of the Ssaianides, when Mesopotamia was disputed 

 between them and the Oreek emperor of Constantinople. But at last 

 the Arabiana appeared, and their kalifs established the seat of their 

 wide-spreading empire in Mesopotamia. After theae princes had lost 

 their power, Mesopotamia fell into the hands of the Turkish princes, 

 the Seljuks and Atabccks. The Mongols overran the country, and 



