Tigris

The Tigris is one of the two great rivers that together form the borders of the ancient crucible of civilization Mesopotamia, a fertile area which in the past contained the ancient city of Babylon. Along with the Euphrates, the Tigris, which rises from the Taurus Mountains of Eastern Turkey, flows in a southeasterly direction until the two rivers join in southern Iraq and empty into the Persian Gulf.

Along its way the Tigris is joined by many smaller rivers, including the Diyala, the Upper and Lower Zab Rivers. In ancient times, many of the great cities of Mesopotamia, such as Nineveh, Calah, Ashur, and Seleucia, used to lie on the banks of the Tigris, drawing water from the river to irrigate the fields of the Sumerian land.