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68-562: Until 1875, the Euphrates split into two channels south of the town of Musayyib; the western Hindiya branch and the eastern Hillah branch. Due to changes in the water management of the wider Tigris–Euphrates river system in 1875, severe floodings of the Euphrates downstream from Fallujah occurred. As a result of these floodings, discharge into the lower Hindiya branch increased and the Hillah branch started to silt up. In 1909, discharge into

136-513: A Lur tribe from Iran , primarily inhabiting the Central and South Zagros. Major cities inhabited by Bakhtiaris include Masjed Soleyman , Izeh and Shahr-e Kord . A significant number of Bakhtiari still practice nomadic pastoralism. Kurds are another Iranic group found in the northwestern and the eastern Zagros Taurus mountain ranges , which spans southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Iraq, and northern Syria. The high altitude of

204-574: A lock for the passage of boats. The dam was upgraded in 1927. After the completion of the Hindiya Barrage, the remains of the old Ottoman dam were left in place, even though they inhibited ships to proceed further upstream, because it was feared that the new barrage could not fulfill its function. Apart from supplying water to the Hillah branch, the Hindiyah Barrage also supplies two other canals that run parallel and on either side of

272-674: A common feature of the Zagros Mountains. Salt domes are an important target for petroleum exploration , as the impermeable salt frequently traps petroleum beneath other rock layers. There is also much water-soluble gypsum in the region. The mountains are completely of sedimentary origin and are made primarily of limestone . In the Elevated Zagros or the Higher Zagros, the Paleozoic rocks can be found mainly in

340-567: A layer of rock salt (acting as a ductile decollement with a low basal friction ), whereas in the NW Zagros the salt layer is missing or is very thin. This different basal friction is partly responsible for the different topographies on either side of the Kazerun fault. Higher topography and narrower zone of deformation in the NW Zagros is observed whereas in the SE, deformation was spread more and

408-510: A long mountain range in Iran , northern Iraq , and southeastern Turkey . The mountain range has a total length of 1,600 km (990 miles). The Zagros range begins in northwestern Iran and roughly follows Iran's western border while covering much of southeastern Turkey and northeastern Iraq. From this border region, the range continues southeast to the waters of the Persian Gulf . It spans

476-539: A negative trend in water storage capabilities in the river basin. The combination of diminishing water levels in the Tigris-Euphrates river system and rising sea levels indicates the potential for rapid seawater intrusion in the river basin. This is especially concerning as the demand for clean water increases while the water supply decreases. Currently, the Middle East and North Africa are acknowledged as

544-471: A wider zone of deformation with lower topography was formed. Stresses induced in the Earth's crust by the collision caused extensive folding of the preexisting layered sedimentary rocks . Subsequent erosion removed softer rocks, such as mudstone (rock formed by consolidated mud) and siltstone (a slightly coarser-grained mudstone) while leaving harder rocks, such as limestone (calcium-rich rock consisting of

612-593: Is a large river system in Western Asia that flows into the Persian Gulf . Its primary rivers are the Tigris and Euphrates , along with smaller tributaries . From their sources and upper courses in the Armenian Highlands of eastern Turkey , the rivers descend through valleys and gorges to the uplands of Syria and northern Iraq and then to the alluvial plain of central Iraq. Other tributaries join

680-701: Is also home to populations of Assyrians , Turkic peoples and Farsi speaking Iranians . The mountains contain several ecosystems . Prominent among them are the forest and forest steppe areas with a semi-arid climate . As defined by the World Wildlife Fund and used in their Wildfinder, the particular terrestrial ecoregion of the mid to high mountain area is Zagros Mountains forest steppe (PA0446). The annual precipitation ranges from 400–800 mm (16–31 in) and falls mostly in winter and spring. Winters are severe, with low temperatures often below −25 °C (−13 °F). The region exemplifies

748-819: The Fars Province have somewhat lower summits, reaching 4,000 metres (13,000 feet). They contain some limestone rocks showing abundant marine fossils. The peaks that are at least 3800 meters high and have a topographic prominence of at least 300 meters: The Zagros Mountains have significant ancient history. They were occupied by early humans since the Lower Paleolithic Period. The earliest human fossils discovered in Zagros belongs to Neanderthals and come from Shanidar Cave , Bisitun Cave , and Wezmeh Cave. The remains of ten Neanderthals , dating from around 65,000–35,000 years ago, have been found in

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816-687: The Fertile Crescent region , where Mesopotamian civilization first emerged. The Tigris–Euphrates Basin is shared between Turkey, Syria, Iraq, and Iran. Many tributaries of the Tigris river originate in Iran, and the Shatt al-Arab, formed by the confluence of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, makes up a portion of the Iran–Iraq border , with Kuwait's Bubiyan Island being part of its delta. Since

884-546: The Iran cave barb ( Iranocypris typhlops ) and the Zagros blind loach ( Eidinemacheilus smithi ), are endemic to cave systems in Iran's upper Karun River watershed. The Batman River loach ( Paraschistura chrysicristinae ) is a Critically Endangered fish species endemic to the Batman and Ambar rivers, Turkish tributaries of the Tigris. The species is endangered by drought, habitat destruction , and habitat fragmentation from

952-823: The Joint Trilateral Committee on water for the three nations for better water resources management. Turkey, Iraq and Syria signed a memorandum of understanding on September 3, 2009, in order to strengthen communication within the Tigris–Euphrates Basin and to develop joint water-flow-monitoring stations. On September 19, 2009, Turkey formally agreed to increase the flow of the Euphrates River to 450 to 500 m /s , but only until October 20, 2009. In exchange, Iraq agreed to trade petroleum with Turkey and help curb Kurdish militant activity in their border region. One of Turkey's last large GAP dams on

1020-502: The Mangar fish has been harvested for food in the Tigris-Euphrates basin. Many species move seasonally between the river and the marshes for spawning, feeding, and overwintering. The Hilsa shad ( Tenualosa ilisha ) is an important food fish that lives in the coastal waters and spawns in the lower reaches of the basin. Other ocean species occasionally visit the lower reaches of the rivers; bull sharks ( Carcharhinus leucas ) used to swim up

1088-659: The Marsh Arabs , were almost completely drained . Although they had started to recover after the fall of Ba'athist Iraq in 2003, drought, intensive dam construction and irrigation schemes upstream have caused them to dry up once more. According to the United Nations Environmental Program and the AMAR Charitable Foundation , between 84% and 90% of the marshes have been destroyed since the 1970s. In 1994, 60 percent of

1156-722: The Miocene (about 25–5 mya or million years ago ) and folded the entirety of the rocks that had been deposited from the Paleozoic (541–242 mya) to the Cenozoic (66 mya – present) in the passive continental margin on the Arabian Plate. However, the obduction of Neotethys oceanic crust during the Cretaceous (145–66 mya), and the continental arc collision in the Eocene (56–34 mya) both had major effects on uplifts in

1224-562: The Neolithic period . The DNA from this bone fragment shows that it is from a distinct genetic group, which was not known to scientists before. He belongs to the Y-DNA haplogroup G2b, specifically its branch G-Y37100 , and mitochondrial haplogroup J1d6. He had brown eyes, relatively dark skin, and black hair, although Neolithic pre Indo-European Iranians carried reduced pigmentation-associated alleles in several genes and derived alleles at 7 of

1292-689: The Paleogene (66–23 mya) rocks south of the Cretaceous rocks and then the Neogene (23–2.6 mya) rocks south of the Paleogene rocks. The mountains are divided into many parallel sub-ranges (up to 10 or 250 km (6.2 or 155.3 miles) wide), and orogenically have the same age as the Alps . Iran's main oilfields lie in the western central foothills of the Zagros mountain range. The southern ranges of

1360-643: The Sumerian , Akkadian and Assyrian cities of Mesopotamia . The mountains create a geographic barrier between the Mesopotamian Plain, which is in modern Iraq , and the Iranian plateau . A small archive of clay tablets detailing the complex interactions of these groups in the early second millennium BC has been found at Tell Shemshara along the Little Zab . Tell Bazmusian , near Shemshara,

1428-541: The Uruk period . For this reason, it is often described as a " Cradle of Civilization ". There is a large floodplain in the lower basin where the Euphrates, Tigris, and Karun rivers converge to create the Mesopotamian Marshes , which include permanent lakes, marshes, and riparian forests . The hydrology of these vast marshes is extremely important to the ecology of the entire upper Persian Gulf . Some of

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1496-585: The Zagros Mountains mouse-like hamster ( Calomyscus bailwardi ), the Basra reed-warbler ( Acrocephalus griseldis ) and the striped hyena ( Hyena hyena ). The Persian fallow deer ( Dama dama mesopotamica ), an ancient domesticate once thought extinct, was rediscovered in the late 20th century in Khuzestan Province, in the southern Zagros. Also, wild goats can be found almost all over

1564-500: The pet trade and habitat destruction . Climate change is predicted to strongly impact this species. The entrance to the ancient Mesopotamian underworld was believed to be located in the Zagros Mountains in the far east. A staircase led down to the gates of the underworld. The underworld itself is usually located even deeper below ground than the Abzu , the body of freshwater which the ancient Mesopotamians believed lay deep beneath

1632-550: The 12 loci, showing the strongest signatures of selection in ancient Eurasians. He did not contribute to the genetic makeup of early European farmers or modern Europeans . Instead, he was the most genetically similar to modern Iranian Zoroastrians , followed by Fars , Balochi , Brahui , Kalash and Georgians . Gallego-Llorente et al. (2016) believes that the Zagros Mountain was a plausible source of Eurasian ancestry in Central and South Asia, along with Kotias , which

1700-472: The 1960s and in the 1970s, when Turkey began the GAP project in earnest, water disputes have regularly occurred in addition to the associated dam's effects on the environment. In addition, Syrian and Iranian dam construction has also contributed to political tension within the basin, particularly during drought. The ecoregion is characterized by two large rivers, the Tigris and Euphrates . The high mountains in

1768-539: The 1960s when Turkey implemented a public-works project (the GAP project ) aimed at harvesting the water from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers through the construction of 22 dams, for irrigation and hydroelectric energy purposes. Although the water dispute between Turkey and Syria was more problematic, the GAP project was also perceived as a threat by Iraq. In 1983, the Joint Technical Committee (JTC)

1836-503: The Euphrates are very fertile. Marshy land is home to water birds, some stopping here while migrating, and some spending the winter in these marshes living off the lizards, snakes, frogs, and fish. Other animals found in these marshes are water buffalo , two endemic rodent species, antelopes and gazelles and small animals such as the jerboa and several other mammals. The wetland birds Basra reed warbler ( Acrocephalus griseldis ) and Iraq babbler ( Argya altirostris ) are endemic to

1904-471: The Hillah branch had been reduced to 300 cubic metres (11,000 cu ft) per second, compared to 2,000 cubic metres (71,000 cu ft) per second 50 years earlier. Because the town of Hillah is located on the Hillah branch of the Euphrates and depends on its waters for agriculture, a rubble embankment dam was constructed in the Hindiya branch to raise the water level of the Euphrates and increase

1972-494: The Hindiya branch and are called the Beni Hasan and Kifil. Between 1984 and 1989, a China State Construction Engineering built a new barrage closer to Musayyib to replace the old Hindiya Barrage at a cost of US$ 240 million. This new project included a hydroelectric power station, locks, a fish ladder and six new bridges over the Euphrates. Tigris%E2%80%93Euphrates river system The Tigris–Euphrates river system

2040-650: The Last Glacial Period they had been glaciated to a depth in excess of 1,900 metres (1.2 miles), and during the Last Glacial Period to a depth in excess of 2,160 metres (7,090 feet). Evidence exists of a 20 km (12 miles) wide glacier fed along a 17 km (11 miles) long valley dropping approximately 1,600 m (5,200 ft) along its length on the north side of Kuh-i-Jupar with a thickness of 350–550 m (1,150–1,800 ft). Under conditions of precipitation comparable to current climatic record-keeping, this size of glacier could be expected to form where

2108-647: The Mesopotamian Marshes. The Basra reed warbler is endangered. Another wetland endemic species, Bunn's short-tailed bandicoot rat ( Nesokia bunnii ), is possibly extinct. Their drainage began in the 1950s, to reclaim land for agriculture and oil exploration. Saddam Hussein extended this work in the late 1980s and early 1990s, as part of ecological warfare against the Marsh Arabs, a rebellious group of people in Baathist Iraq. However, with

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2176-652: The Shanidar Cave. The cave also contains two later " proto-Neolithic " cemeteries, one of which dates back about 10,600 years and contains 35 individuals. Evidence from later Upper Paleolithic and Epipaleolithic occupations come from Yafteh Cave, Kaldar Cave near Khoramabad , and Warwasi , Malaverd near Kermanshah , Kenacheh Cave in Kurdistan, Boof Cave in Fars and a number of other caves and rock shelters. Signs of early agriculture date back as far as 9000 BC in

2244-547: The Tigris as far as Baghdad. Endemic fish species in the lower basin include Glyptothorax steindachneri and Hemigrammocapoeta elegans , and as well as two cave fishes, Caecocypris basimi and the Iraq blind barb ( Typhlogarra widdowsoni ), from a cave habitat near Haditha on the Euphrates. One-third of the fish species in the upper watersheds are endemic, including species of Aphanius , Glyptothorax , Cobitis , Orthrias , and Schistura . Two blind fish species,

2312-595: The Tigris from sources in the Zagros Mountains to the east. The rivers flow in a south-easterly direction through the central plain and combine at Al-Qurnah to form the Shatt al-Arab and discharge into the Persian Gulf. The rivers and their tributaries drain an area of 879,790 square kilometres (339,690 sq mi), including almost the entire area of Iraq as well as portions of Turkey , Syria , and Iran . The region has historical importance as part of

2380-667: The Tigris – the Ilisu Dam – is strongly opposed by Iraq and is the source of political strife. The Southeastern Anatolia Project (Turkish acronym: GAP) continues to be a source of tension in the region. GAP is a massive hydroelectric project, consisting of 21 dams and 19 hydroelectric facilities. In 2020, Iraqi authorities complained that the Ilısu Dam had decreased the Tigris river inflows and caused water shortages in Iraqi plains. Zagros Mountains The Zagros Mountains are

2448-527: The Tigris–Euphrates basin and once covered 15–20,000 square kilometers. In the 1980s, this ecoregion was put in grave danger during the Iran–Iraq War . After the 1991 Gulf War , Iraq's President Saddam Hussein initiated a drainage project on these marshes, leading to degradation of ecosystem services that caused economic and social issues for civilians. The Mesopotamian Marshes , which were inhabited by

2516-463: The Zagros into two distinct zones of deformation. The GPS results also show different shortening directions along the belt, normal shortening in the southeast, and oblique shortening in the northwest Zagros. The Zagros mountains were created around the time of the second ice age, which caused the tectonic collision, leading to its uniqueness. The sedimentary cover in the SE Zagros is deforming above

2584-494: The Zagros mountain range. In the late 19th century, the Asiatic lion ( Panthera leo persica ) inhabited the southwestern part of the mountains. It is now extinct in this region. The Luristan newt ( Neurergus kaiseri ) is a salamander endemic to a small section of the central Zagros Mountains in Iran. It lives in highland streams and is primarily aquatic. This newt is considered vulnerable to extinction due to poaching for

2652-530: The Zagros mountains produces a series of choke points and valleys perfect for agriculture and human development. It has also long defended the Kurds in times of war by acting as a natural barrier . Qashqai people are a tribal confederation in Iran mostly of Turkic origin. Significant populations can be found in Central and South Zagros, especially around the city of Shiraz in the Fars province . The Zagros

2720-454: The annual average temperature was between 10.5 and 11.2 °C (50.9 and 52.2 °F), but since conditions are expected to have been dryer during the period in which this glacier was formed, the temperature must have been lower. Although currently degraded through overgrazing and deforestation , the Zagros region is home to a rich and complex flora. Remnants of the originally widespread oak -dominated woodland can still be found, as can

2788-491: The barrage was excavated and inundated after completion of the dam, and the old river bed was closed off by dams. Furthermore, because the barrage was also located upstream from the headwater of the Hillah branch, a new canal and headwater were excavated as well. The work was supervised by Willcocks and carried out by British engineering contractor John Jackson . The barrage is over 250 metres (820 ft) long and has 36 openings that are each 5 metres (16 ft) wide. It includes

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2856-745: The breaching of the dikes by local communities after the 2003 invasion of Iraq and the ending of a four-year drought that same year, the process has been reversed and the marshes have experienced a substantial rate of recovery. The permanent wetlands now cover more than 50% of pre-1970s levels, with a remarkable regrowth of the Hammar and Hawizeh Marshes and some recovery of the Central Marshes . Iraq suffers from desertification and soil salination due in large part to thousands of years of agricultural activity. Water and plant life are sparse. Saddam Hussein 's government water-control projects drained

2924-526: The construction of the Batman Dam . It had not been observed since 1974 and was feared extinct until a 2021 expedition netted 14 fish living above the Batman Dam. The Mesopotamian Marshes in southern Iraq were historically the largest wetland ecosystem of Western Eurasia . The aquatic vegetation includes reeds , rushes , and papyrus , which support numerous species. Areas around the Tigris and

2992-615: The continental variation of the Mediterranean climate pattern, with a snowy winter and mild, rainy spring, followed by a dry summer and autumn. The mountains of the East-Zagros, the Kuh-i-Jupar (4,135 m (13,566 ft)), Kuh-i-Lalezar (4,374 m (14,350 ft)) and Kuh-i-Hezar (4,469 m (14,662 ft)) do not currently have glaciers. Only at Zard Kuh and Dena some glaciers still survive. However, before

3060-536: The discharge into the Hillah branch. However, silting up of the Hillah branch continued and the dam was gradually being swept away by the continually increasing Euphrates discharge into the Hindiya branch. In 1908, the Ottoman government invited contractors to build a new dam based on revolutionary plans by a French engineer, but no company accepted the assignment. After the Young Turk Revolution and

3128-564: The drought affected Turkey, Syria and Iran as well, Iraq complained regularly about reduced water flows. Iraq particularly complained about the Euphrates River because of the large number of dams on the river. Turkey agreed to increase the flow several times, beyond its means in order to supply Iraq with extra water. Iraq has seen significant declines in water storage and crop yields because of the drought. To make matters worse, Iraq's water infrastructure has suffered from years of conflict and neglect. In 2008, Turkey, Iraq and Syria agreed to restart

3196-412: The excess floodwaters of the Euphrates, as well as to reconstruct the Hindiya Barrage so that the land around Hillah could be used for irrigated agriculture. Only the Hindiya Barrage would be completed before the outbreak of World War I . The Hindiya Barrage was constructed from 1911 to 1913, upstream from the old dam and next to the actual bed of the Hindiya branch. A new river bed leading up to and from

3264-527: The first civilizations emerged from the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. From ancient times empires arose and fell in the river basin, including Sumer , Akkad , Babylonia , Assyria , and the Abbasid Caliphate . Being part of the Fertile Crescent , the river system is recognized as the site of one of the world's first agricultural centers, with areological sites containing preserved grain dating up to 12,500 years ago. The river system

3332-506: The foothills of the Zagros mountains, including Sulaymaniyah , Kermanshah , Khorramabad , and Shiraz . The Lurs are an Iranic tribe, primarily inhabiting the Central, Western, and Southern Zagros. Cities inhibited by Lurs include Khorramabad , Borujerd , Malayer , Izeh , Shahr-e Kord , Yasuj . Lurs speak Luri and span across many provinces in Iran including Lorestan , Khuzestan , Chaharmahal and Bakthiari , Ilam , Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad , and Hamedan . The Bakhtiaris are

3400-515: The foothills of the mountains. Some settlements later grew into cities, eventually named Anshan and Susa ; Jarmo is one archaeological site in this area. Some of the earliest evidence of wine production has been discovered in the mountains; both the settlements of Hajji Firuz Tepe and Godin Tepe have given evidence of wine storage dating between 3500 and 5400 BC. A human metatarsal bone fragment from Wezmeh Cave has been analyzed and dated to

3468-462: The inhabited marsh areas east of An Nasiriyah by drying up or diverting streams and rivers. Shi'a Muslims were displaced under the Ba'athist regime. The destruction of the natural habitat poses serious threats to the area's wildlife populations. There are also inadequate supplies of potable water. The marshlands were an extensive natural wetland ecosystem , which developed over thousands of years in

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3536-480: The major mountain belts like Alborz and Zagros. A relatively dense GPS network which covered the Iranian Zagros also proves a high rate of deformation within the Zagros. The GPS results show that the current rate of shortening in the southeast Zagros is ~10 mm/a (0.39 in/year), dropping to ~5 mm/a (0.20 in/year) in the northwest Zagros. The north–south Kazerun strike-slip fault divides

3604-412: The marshes led to the disappearance of the salt-tolerant vegetation ; the plankton rich waters that fertilized surrounding soils; 52 native fish species; the wild boar , red fox , buffalo and water birds of the marsh habitat. Climate change also affects the environmental and social well-being. Climate change and human interaction have directly impacted the Tigris-Euphrates river system, leading to

3672-432: The most water scarce region in the world, with 61% of the population living in areas with high or very high water stress. As climate change worsens and population grows, water scarcity in the region is expected to worsen with 100% of people living in the Middle East and North Africa living in areas with high water stress by 2050. The issue of water rights became a point of contention for Iraq, Turkey and Syria beginning in

3740-448: The mountain range include: Allium iranicum , Astragalus crenophila , Bellevalia kurdistanica , Cousinia carduchorum , Cousinia odontolepis , Echinops rectangularis , Erysimum boissieri , Iris barnumiae , Ornithogalum iraqense , Scrophularia atroglandulosa , Scorzonera kurdistanica , Tragopogon rechingeri , and Tulipa kurdica . The Zagros are home to many threatened and endangered species, including

3808-477: The northeastern parts of the belt. The process of collision continues to the present, and as the Arabian Plate is being pushed against the Eurasian Plate, the Zagros Mountains and the Iranian plateau are getting higher and higher. Recent GPS measurements in Iran have shown that this collision is still active and the resulting deformation is distributed non-uniformly in the country, mainly taken up in

3876-416: The park-like pistachio / almond steppelands. The ancestors of many familiar foods, including wheat, barley , lentil , almond, walnut , pistachio, apricot , plum , pomegranate and grape can be found growing wild throughout the mountains. Quercus brantii (covering more than 50% of the Zagros forest area) is the most important tree species of the Zagros in Iran. Other floral endemics found within

3944-418: The remains of marine organisms) and dolomite (rocks similar to limestone containing calcium and magnesium ). This differential erosion formed the linear ridges of the Zagros Mountains. The depositional environment and tectonic history of the rocks were conducive to the formation and trapping of petroleum, and the Zagros region is an important area for oil production. Salt domes and salt glaciers are

4012-612: The restructuring of the Ottoman government in 1908, British civil engineer William Willcocks , who had won recognition for his work on the Aswan Low Dam in Egypt , was tasked with the mapping of lower Iraq and the preparation of large-scale irrigation projects on both the Euphrates and the Tigris . Willcocks suggested to use the depressions of Habbaniyah and Abu Dibis, which he had recognised during his survey, as reservoirs for

4080-406: The southern parts of the Armenian highlands , and the whole length of the western and southwestern Iranian plateau , ending at the Strait of Hormuz . The highest point is Mount Dena , at 4,409 metres (14,465 ft). The Zagros fold and thrust belt was mainly formed by the collision of two tectonic plates , the Eurasian Plate and the Arabian Plate . This collision mainly happened during

4148-438: The upper and higher sections of the peaks of the Zagros Mountains, along the Zagros main fault. On both sides of this fault, there are Mesozoic rocks, a combination of Triassic (252–201 mya) and Jurassic (201–145 mya) rocks that are surrounded by Cretaceous rocks on both sides. The Folded Zagros (the mountains south of the Elevated Zagros and almost parallel to the main Zagros fault) is formed mainly of Tertiary rocks, with

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4216-407: The upper watershed receive more rain and snow than the lower watershed, which has a hot and arid subtropical climate. Annual snow melt from the mountains brings spring floods, and sustains permanent and seasonal marshes in the lowlands. The plain between the two rivers is known as Mesopotamia . As part of the larger Fertile Crescent , it saw the earliest emergence of literate urban civilization in

4284-400: The wetlands were destroyed by Hussein's regime – drained to permit military access and greater political control of the native Marsh Arabs . Canals, dykes and dams were built routing the water of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers around the marshes, instead of allowing water to move slowly through the marshland. After part of the Euphrates was dried up due to re-routing its water to the sea, a dam

4352-505: Was built so water could not back up from the Tigris and sustain the former marshland. Some marshlands were burned and pipes buried underground helped to carry away water for quicker drying. Riparian entities have constructed dams along the Tigris-Euphrates river system as a method of water management in response to droughts. Turkey, for example, is in control of an estimated 45% of the system's water sources due to its dam constructions for water quantity and hydroelectric power. The drying of

4420-562: Was established to solve ongoing data controversies between Turkey, Syria, and Iraq but stopped meeting in the early 1990s after only passing two bilateral agreements. The tension between Turkey and Iraq about the issue was increased by the effect of Syria and Turkey's participation in the UN embargo against Iraq following the Gulf War . However, the issue had never become as significant as the water dispute between Turkey and Syria. The 2008 drought in Iraq sparked new negotiations between Iraq and Turkey over trans-boundary river flows. Although

4488-418: Was inhabited by Caucasus Hunter-Gatherers. He cites archaeological evidence of eastward Neolithic expansions from the Near East. During early ancient times, the Zagros was the home of various Pre Indo-European peoples such as the Hurrians , Guti , Kassites , Elamites , Turukku and Lullubi , (together with Semitic peoples such as Assyrians and Amorites on the western side) who periodically invaded

4556-410: Was occupied between 5000 BCE and 800 CE, although not continuously. The Zagros mountains have been inhabited by different groups of pastoralists and farmers for thousands of years. Current Pastoralist groups such as Lurs , Bakhtiari Lurs , Kurds or Qashqais move from their herds from the east slopes in summer ( Yeylāgh ) to the west slopes in winter ( Gheshlāgh ). Some major cities are located on

4624-520: Was used by major cities including Ur and Babylon to promote trade and the sharing of cultures. As a result of its invention of the qanat system thousands of years ago which uses gravity to transport water through subterranean tunnels, Iran has a history as an agricultural nation, despite its aridity. The most abundant fishes are species of barbs ( Barbus ), some of which can reach up to two meters in length. Some species have been important food sources for residents for thousands of years. Specifically,

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