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124-625: Isuwa was located on the eastern bank of the river Euphrates, opposite modern-day Malatya and along the south bank of the Murat Su. The important crossing of the Euphrates from Malatya to Elazığ is referred to in the Hittite texts as the 'Isuwa crossing' ( eberti KUR Iśuwa ). Isuwa covers the present-day province of Tunceli . The plain had favourable climatic conditions due to the abundance of water from springs and rainfall. Irrigation of fields

248-454: A karstic spring near 'Ayn al-'Arus and flows due south until it reaches the Euphrates at the city of Raqqa . In terms of length, drainage basin and discharge, the Khabur is the largest of these three. Its main karstic springs are located around Ra's al-'Ayn , from where the Khabur flows southeast past Al-Hasakah , where the river turns south and drains into the Euphrates near Busayrah . Once

372-565: A trolleybus line was under way in 2013, and the line opened in March 2015, operating under the name Trambus. It serves a route that is around 21.5 km (13.4 mi) in length and connects Maşti bus station (Maşti Otogar), in the west, with İnönü University (İnönü Üniversitesi), in the east. Malatya's airport, Erhaç Airport , is 26  km west of the city center. There are daily domestic flights from Istanbul , Ankara and İzmir . Since 2007 there have been international flights during

496-593: A Sumerian pronunciation and an Akkadian pronunciation, taken from a Sumerian word and an Akkadian word that mean the same. The Akkadian Purattu has been perpetuated in Semitic languages (cf. Arabic : الفرات al-Furāt ; Syriac : ̇ܦܪܬ Pǝrāṯ , Hebrew : פְּרָת Pǝrāṯ ) and in other nearby languages of the time (cf. Hurrian Puranti , Sabarian Uruttu ). The Elamite, Akkadian, and possibly Sumerian forms are suggested to be from an unrecorded substrate language . Tamaz V. Gamkrelidze and Vyacheslav Ivanov suggest

620-547: A bilateral treaty to that effect was signed between the two countries. Another bilateral agreement from 1989 between Syria and Iraq settles the amount of water flowing into Iraq at 60 percent of the amount that Syria receives from Turkey. In 2008, Turkey, Syria and Iraq instigated the Joint Trilateral Committee (JTC) on the management of the water in the Tigris–Euphrates basin and on 3 September 2009

744-578: A clear ethnic Turkish majority, and an Armenian population of 3,000, of whom 800 were Catholics . Of the five churches in the city, three belonged to the Armenians. In the spring of 1915, the vast majority of the Armenians of the town were rounded up by Ottoman authorities and deported on death marches as part of the Armenian genocide . According to reports of the governor of the Malatya district, of

868-636: A drainage area of 440,000 km (170,000 sq mi) that covers six countries. The term Euphrates derives from the Greek Euphrátēs ( Εὐφρᾱ́της ), adapted from Old Persian : 𐎢𐎳𐎼𐎠𐎬𐎢 , romanized:  Ufrātuš , itself from Elamite : 𒌑𒅁𒊏𒌅𒅖 , romanized:  Úipratuiš . The Elamite name is ultimately derived from cuneiform 𒌓𒄒𒉣; read as Buranun in Sumerian and Purattu in Akkadian ; many cuneiform signs have

992-480: A further agreement was signed to this effect. On 15 April 2014, Turkey began to reduce the flow of the Euphrates into Syria and Iraq. The flow was cut off completely on 16 May 2014 resulting in the Euphrates terminating at the Turkish–Syrian border. This was in violation of an agreement reached in 1987 in which Turkey committed to releasing a minimum of 500 cubic metres (18,000 cu ft) of water per second at

1116-510: A low 233,000 square kilometres (90,000 sq mi) to a high 766,000 square kilometres (296,000 sq mi). Recent estimates put the basin area at 388,000 square kilometres (150,000 sq mi), 444,000 square kilometres (171,000 sq mi) and 579,314 square kilometres (223,674 sq mi). The greater part of the Euphrates basin is located in Turkey, Syria, and Iraq. According to both Daoudy and Frenken, Turkey's share

1240-682: A low volume of 15.3 cubic kilometres (3.7 cu mi) in 1961 to a high of 42.7 cubic kilometres (10.2 cu mi) in 1963. The discharge regime of the Euphrates has changed dramatically since the construction of the first dams in the 1970s. Data on Euphrates discharge collected after 1990 show the impact of the construction of the numerous dams in the Euphrates and of the increased withdrawal of water for irrigation. Average discharge at Hīt after 1990 has dropped to 356 cubic metres (12,600 cu ft) per second (11.2 cubic kilometres (2.7 cu mi) per year). The seasonal variability has equally changed. The pre-1990 peak volume recorded at Hīt

1364-533: A palace inside the city walls with statues and reliefs. A palace was erected with monumental stone sculptures of lions and the ruler. Kammanu was a vassal state of Urartu between 804 and 743. According to Igor Diakonoff and John Greppin , there was likely an Armenian presence in Melid by 1200 BCE. The Neo-Assyrian king Tiglath-Pileser I (1115–1077 B.C.) forced the kingdom of Malidiya to pay tribute to Assyria. The Neo-Assyrian king Sargon II (722–705) sacked

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1488-448: A population of around 300,000 and covers 47 central neighbourhoods, three rural former municipalities and 28 villages. Yeşilyurt contains 36 central neighborhoods, three rural former municipalities and 16 villages, and has a population of around 250,000. The metropolitan municipality was won in 2014 by Ahmet Çakır of the ruling AK Party with 62.9% of the vote; the candidate of the CHP was in

1612-399: A variety of stuffed specialties, including stuffed mulberry leaves, cabbage, chard, lettuce wraps with olive oil, vine leaves, cherry leaves, bean leaves, grape leaves, beets, onions, and zucchini flowers . The Malatya region is known for its apricot orchards. About 50% of the fresh apricot production and 95% of the dried apricot production in Turkey, the world's leading apricot producer,

1736-646: Is Praš ( ࡐࡓࡀࡔ ), and is often mentioned as Praš Ziwa (pronounced Fraš Ziwa ) in Mandaean scriptures such as the Ginza Rabba . In Mandaean scriptures, the Euphrates is considered to be the earthly manifestation of the heavenly yardna or flowing river (similar to the Yazidi concept of Lalish being the earthly manifestation of its heavenly counterpart, or the ‘Sacred House’ Kaaba in Mecca being

1860-488: Is 28 percent, Syria's is 17 percent and that of Iraq is 40 percent. Isaev and Mikhailova estimate the percentages of the drainage basin lying within Turkey, Syria and Iraq at 33, 20 and 47 percent respectively. Some sources estimate that approximately 15 percent of the drainage basin is located within Saudi Arabia , while a small part falls inside the borders of Kuwait . Finally, some sources also include Jordan in

1984-532: Is a large city in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey and the capital of Malatya Province . The city has been a human settlement for thousands of years. In Hittite , melid or milit means "honey", offering a possible etymology for the name, which was mentioned in the contemporary sources of the time under several variations (e.g., Hittite : Malidiya and possibly also Midduwa ; Akkadian : Meliddu; Urar̩tian : Meliṭeia ). Strabo says that

2108-578: Is also identified as the Euphrates. The early occupation of the Euphrates basin was limited to its upper reaches; that is, the area that is popularly known as the Fertile Crescent . Acheulean stone artifacts have been found in the Sajur basin and in the El Kowm oasis in the central Syrian steppe ; the latter together with remains of Homo erectus that were dated to 450,000 years old. In

2232-520: Is an important source of irrigation and drinking water. It was planned that 640,000 hectares (2,500 sq mi) should be irrigated from Lake Assad, but in 2000 only 100,000–124,000 hectares (390–480 sq mi) had been realized. Syria also built three smaller dams on the Khabur and its tributaries. With the implementation of the Southeastern Anatolia Project ( Turkish : Güneydoğu Anadolu Projesi , or GAP ) in

2356-497: Is at a key junction in Turkey's road and rail network. By rail, it serves as the junction for Aleppo through Syria – Samsun line. The bus terminal is 5 km west of the city center; there are regular intercity services to and from Ankara , Istanbul and Gaziantep . The railway station is 3 km west of the city center, and daily express trains run to Elazığ , Diyarbakır , Istanbul and Ankara. These stations are easily reached by taxis and dolmuş services. Construction of

2480-487: Is in the eastern part of Malatya. There are 162 high schools and some of the well-known, national high school entrance examination-based high schools in Malatya are; Fethi Gemuhluoglu High School of Science , Private Turgut Özal Anatolian High School , Malatya Science High School and Malatya Anatolian High School. By its relative advance in industrial growth , Malatya is a pole of attraction for its surrounding regions, in commercial and inward immigration. The city

2604-455: Is intended to drain the area between the Euphrates and the Tigris south of Baghdad to prevent soil salinization from irrigation. It also allows large freight barges to navigate up to Baghdad. The construction of the dams and irrigation schemes on the Euphrates has had a significant impact on the environment and society of each riparian country. The dams constructed as part of GAP – in both

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2728-531: Is provided by Malatya, giving Malatya the name kayısı diyarı ("apricot realm"). In February 2023, the city suffered huge damage as a result of the Turkey–Syria earthquake . Arslantepe has been inhabited since the development of agriculture in the Fertile Crescent , nearly 6,000 years ago. From the Bronze Age , the site became an administrative center of a larger region in the kingdom of Isuwa . The city

2852-456: Is provided by Malatya. Overall, about 10–15% of the worldwide crop of fresh apricots, and about 65–80% of the worldwide production of dried apricots comes out of Malatya. Malatya apricots are often sun-dried by family-run orchards using traditional methods before export. Malatya Fair and Apricot Festivities has been held since 1978, every year in July, to promote Malatya and apricots and to convene

2976-766: Is said to be one of the future minor signs of the coming of Judgement Day : In the Christian Bible , the Euphrates River is mentioned in Revelation 16:12 , in the final book of the New Testament . Author, John of Patmos writes about the Euphrates river drying up as part of a series of events that foretell the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. The river Phrath mentioned in Genesis 2:14

3100-800: The Atatürk Dam was being constructed. Also, the Keban Dam flooded some sites. Especially the Murat River valleys, and the Altınova plain ( Elazığ Province ) had many early settlements. The excavations revealed settlements from the Paleolithic down into the Middle Ages. The sites of Ikizepe, Korucutepe, Norşuntepe and Pulur around the Murat (Arsanias) river, a tributary of the Euphrates to

3224-487: The Hamidian Massacres of 1895–1896, 7,500 Armenian civilians were massacred and Armenian villages in the rural countryside of Malatya were destroyed. In the aftermath, a Red Cross team sent to Malatya and led by Julian B. Hubbell concluded that 1,500 Armenian houses had been pillaged and 375 burned to the ground. According to the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia , Malatya city was inhabited by 30,000 people with

3348-727: The Mitanni ), Hurrian , and Kaskian personal names in Isuwa, as well as a number of anthronyms with unknown or unclear origins. To the west of Isuwa lay the hostile kingdom of the Hittites . The Hittite king Hattusili I (c. 1600 BC) is reported to have marched his army across the Euphrates river and destroyed the cities there. This corresponds with burnt destruction layers discovered by archaeologists at town sites in Isuwa at roughly this date. The Hittite king Suppiluliuma I records how in

3472-469: The November 2015 election to 74.7% and 66.2% respectively. In both elections, CHP had the second place in both districts with its votes remaining in the range of 10–18%. İnönü University , one of the largest universities in eastern Turkey, is in Malatya. It was established on 28 January 1975 and has three institutions and nine faculties, with more than 2,500 faculty and 20,000 students. Its larger campus

3596-521: The Ramadi Barrage and the nearby Abu Dibbis Regulator, which serve to regulate the flow regime of the Euphrates and to discharge excess flood water into the depression that is now Lake Habbaniyah . Iraq's largest dam on the Euphrates is the Haditha Dam ; a 9-kilometre-long (5.6 mi) earth-fill dam creating Lake Qadisiyah . Syria and Turkey built their first dams in the Euphrates in

3720-754: The Sajur , the Balikh and the Khabur . These rivers rise in the foothills of the Taurus Mountains along the Syro–Turkish border and add comparatively little water to the Euphrates. The Sajur is the smallest of these tributaries; emerging from two streams near Gaziantep and draining the plain around Manbij before emptying into the reservoir of the Tishrin Dam . The Balikh receives most of its water from

3844-585: The Sassanid Empire (226–638 AD), until the Islamic conquest of the mid 7th century AD. The Battle of Karbala took place near the banks of this river in 680 AD. In the north, the river served as a border between Greater Armenia (331 BC–428 AD) and Lesser Armenia (the latter became a Roman province in the 1st century BC). After World War I , the borders in Southwest Asia were redrawn in

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3968-576: The Sassanids in 575, but it recovered and was made in 591 the capital of Armenia Prima by emperor Maurice . The town contained many shrines to martyrs, including that of the widely venerated local saint Polyeuctus . The city was captured by the Rashidun forces under Iyad ibn Ghanm , but the Byzantines quickly retook it until Mu'awiya I established a garrison in the town. The Arab colony

4092-565: The Shatt al-Arab , which connects the Euphrates and the Tigris with the Persian Gulf , is given by various sources as 145–195 kilometres (90–121 mi). Both the Kara Su and the Murat Su rise northwest from Lake Van at elevations of 3,290 metres (10,790 ft) and 3,520 metres (11,550 ft) amsl , respectively. At the location of the Keban Dam , the two rivers, now combined into

4216-688: The Tigris , it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia ( lit.   ' the land between the rivers ' ). Originating in Turkey , the Euphrates flows through Syria and Iraq to join the Tigris in the Shatt al-Arab in Iraq , which empties into the Persian Gulf . The Euphrates is the fifteenth-longest river in Asia and the longest in Western Asia, at about 2,780 km (1,730 mi), with

4340-681: The Treaty of Lausanne (1923) , when the Ottoman Empire was partitioned . Clause 109 of the treaty stipulated that the three riparian states of the Euphrates (at that time Turkey, France for its Syrian mandate and the United Kingdom for its mandate of Iraq ) had to reach a mutual agreement on the use of its water and on the construction of any hydraulic installation. An agreement between Turkey and Iraq signed in 1946 required Turkey to report to Iraq on any hydraulic changes it made on

4464-476: The 1970s, Turkey launched an ambitious plan to harness the waters of the Tigris and the Euphrates for irrigation and hydroelectricity production and provide an economic stimulus to its southeastern provinces. GAP affects a total area of 75,000 square kilometres (29,000 sq mi) and approximately 7 million people; representing about 10 percent of Turkey's total surface area and population, respectively. When completed, GAP will consist of 22 dams – including

4588-702: The 1970s. The Tabqa Dam in Syria was completed in 1973 while Turkey finished the Keban Dam, a prelude to the immense Southeastern Anatolia Project , in 1974. Since then, Syria has built two more dams in the Euphrates, the Baath Dam and the Tishrin Dam, and plans to build a fourth dam – the Halabiye Dam – between Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor . The Tabqa Dam is Syria's largest dam and its reservoir ( Lake Assad )

4712-562: The 1st millennium BCE. In the centuries to come, control of the wider Euphrates basin shifted from the Neo-Assyrian Empire (which collapsed between 612 and 599 BC) to the short lived Median Empire (612–546 BC) and equally brief Neo-Babylonian Empire (612–539 BC) in the last years of the 7th century BC, and eventually to the Achaemenid Empire (539–333 BC). The Achaemenid Empire was in turn overrun by Alexander

4836-417: The 4th millennium BCE, saw the emergence of truly urban settlements across Mesopotamia. Cities like Tell Brak and Uruk grew to over 100 hectares (250 acres) in size and displayed monumental architecture. The spread of southern Mesopotamian pottery, architecture and sealings far into Turkey and Iran has generally been interpreted as the material reflection of a widespread trade system aimed at providing

4960-483: The 5th millennium BCE, or late Ubaid period , northeastern Syria was dotted by small villages, although some of them grew to a size of over 10 hectares (25 acres). In Iraq, sites like Eridu and Ur were already occupied during the Ubaid period. Clay boat models found at Tell Mashnaqa along the Khabur indicate that riverine transport was already practiced during this period. The Uruk period , roughly coinciding with

5084-471: The 6,935 registered Armenians in Malatya, 197 were left in the town as artisans. In the early Republican era, Malatya became the centre of Malatya Province and enjoyed a substantial growth in terms of population as well as covered area. This development was further accelerated by the construction of the Adana-Fevzipaşa-Malatya railroad in 1931, and a few years later in 1937, by the construction of

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5208-762: The 9th century, under its semi-independent emir Umar al-Aqta , Malatya rose to become a major opponent of the Byzantine Empire until Umar was defeated and killed at the Battle of Lalakaon in 863. The Byzantines attacked the city many times, but did not finally take it until the campaigns of John Kourkouas in 927–934. After successively accepting and renouncing vassal status, the city was finally taken in May 934, its Muslim inhabitants driven out or forced to convert, and replaced by Greek and Armenian settlers. The West Syrian diocese of Melitene has been established since

5332-630: The Assyrian king of Tiglath-Pileser I (1115–1077 BC) resulted in Kammanu being forced to pay tribute to Assyria. Kammanu continued to prosper however until the Assyrian king Sargon II (722–705 BC) sacked the city in 712 BC. At the same time the Cimmerians and Scythians invaded Anatolia from the Caucasus to the northeast. The movement of these nomadic people may have weakened Kammanu before

5456-542: The British to nickname it the "Tigris salmon." The Euphrates softshell turtle is an endangered soft-shelled turtle that is limited to the Tigris–Euphrates river system. The Neo-Assyrian palace reliefs from the 1st millennium BCE depict lion and bull hunts in fertile landscapes. Sixteenth to nineteenth century European travellers in the Syrian Euphrates basin reported on an abundance of animals living in

5580-684: The Euphrates Valley would have supported a riverine forest . Species characteristic of this type of forest include the Oriental plane , the Euphrates poplar , the tamarisk , the ash and various wetland plants. Among the fish species in the Tigris–Euphrates basin, the family of the Cyprinidae are the most common, with 34 species out of 52 in total. Among the Cyprinids, the mangar has good recreational fishing qualities, leading

5704-521: The Euphrates and entered the land of Isuwa with his troops. He claims to have made Isuwa his subject. Isuwa continued to be ruled by kings who were vassals of the Hittites. Few kings of Isuwa are known by names and documents. One Ehli-sharruma is mentioned as being king of Isuwa in a Hittite letter from the thirteenth century BC. Another king of Isuwa called Ari-sharruma is mentioned on a clay seal found at Korucutepe , an important site in Isuwa. After

5828-508: The Euphrates and the Tigris basins – have affected 382 villages and almost 200,000 people have been resettled elsewhere. The largest number of people was displaced by the building of the Atatürk Dam, which alone affected 55,300 people. A survey among those who were displaced showed that the majority were unhappy with their new situation and that the compensation they had received was considered insufficient. The flooding of Lake Assad led to

5952-413: The Euphrates and the Tigris that have since dried up, but that can still be identified from remote sensing imagery. A similar development took place in Upper Mesopotamia , Subartu and Assyria , although only from the mid 3rd millennium and on a smaller scale than in Lower Mesopotamia. Sites like Ebla , Mari and Tell Leilan grew to prominence for the first time during this period. Large parts of

6076-422: The Euphrates basin has significantly degraded the landscape, patches of original vegetation remain. The steady drop in annual rainfall from the sources of the Euphrates toward the Persian Gulf is a strong determinant for the vegetation that can be supported. In its upper reaches the Euphrates flows through the mountains of Southeast Turkey and their southern foothills which support a xeric woodland . Plant species in

6200-432: The Euphrates basin were for the first time united under a single ruler during the Akkadian Empire (2335–2154 BC) and Ur III empires, which controlled – either directly or indirectly through vassals – large parts of modern-day Iraq and northeastern Syria. Following their collapse, the Old Assyrian Empire (1975–1750 BCE) and Mari asserted their power over northeast Syria and northern Mesopotamia, while southern Mesopotamia

6324-427: The Euphrates enters Iraq, there are no more natural tributaries to the Euphrates, although canals connecting the Euphrates basin with the Tigris basin exist. The drainage basins of the Kara Su and the Murat River cover an area of 22,000 square kilometres (8,500 sq mi) and 40,000 square kilometres (15,000 sq mi), respectively. Estimates of the area of the Euphrates drainage basin vary widely; from

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6448-436: The Euphrates has been determined from early- and mid-twentieth century records as 20.9 cubic kilometres (5.0 cu mi) at Keban, 36.6 cubic kilometres (8.8 cu mi) at Hīt and 21.5 cubic kilometres (5.2 cu mi) at Hindiya . However, these averages mask the high inter-annual variability in discharge; at Birecik , just north of the Syro–Turkish border, annual discharges have been measured that ranged from

6572-412: The Euphrates valley, especially in Turkey and Syria, has led to the flooding of many archaeological sites and other places of cultural significance. Although concerted efforts have been made to record or save as much of the endangered cultural heritage as possible, many sites are probably lost forever. The combined GAP projects on the Turkish Euphrates have led to major international efforts to document

6696-422: The Euphrates, have dropped to an elevation of 693 metres (2,274 ft) amsl. From Keban to the Syrian–Turkish border, the river drops another 368 metres (1,207 ft) over a distance of less than 600 kilometres (370 mi). Once the Euphrates enters the Upper Mesopotamian plains, its grade drops significantly; within Syria the river falls 163 metres (535 ft) while over the last stretch between Hīt and

6820-402: The Great , who defeated the last king Darius III and died in Babylon in 323 BCE. Subsequent to this, the region came under the control of the Seleucid Empire (312–150 BC), Parthian Empire (150–226 AD) (during which several Neo-Assyrian states such as Adiabene came to rule certain regions of the Euphrates), and was fought over by the Roman Empire , its succeeding Byzantine Empire and

6944-403: The Hittites, Mitanni and Kassite Babylonians. Following the end of the Middle Assyrian Empire in the late 11th century BCE, struggles broke out between Babylonia and Assyria over the control of the Iraqi Euphrates basin. The Neo-Assyrian Empire (935–605 BC) eventually emerged victorious out of this conflict and also succeeded in gaining control of the northern Euphrates basin in the first half of

7068-469: The Keban Dam – and 19 power plants and provide irrigation water to 1,700,000 hectares (6,600 sq mi) of agricultural land, which is about 20 percent of the irrigable land in Turkey. C. 910,000 hectares (3,500 sq mi) of this irrigated land is located in the Euphrates basin. By far the largest dam in GAP is the Atatürk Dam , located c. 55 kilometres (34 mi) northwest of Şanlıurfa . This 184-and-1,820-metre-long (604 and 5,971 ft) dam

7192-400: The Kingdom's annexation by the Roman Empire in 17 AD, the settlement was re-established as Melitene in 72 AD on a different site, as the base camp of Legio XII Fulminata (which continued to be based there until at least the early 5th century according to Notitia Dignitatum ). The legionary base of Melitene controlled access to southern Armenia and the upper Tigris. It was the end point of

7316-470: The Mamluk army entered the city; this was followed by the looting of the city by the army. The Eretna Dynasty gained sovereignty over the city for some time, but from 1338 onwards the Mamluks secured its control. However, for the latter part of the 14th century, the control of the city fluctuated between the Mamluks and the Dulkadirids . The city was captured by the Ottoman army led by Yavuz Sultan Selim on 28 July 1516 and remained under Ottoman rule until

7440-557: The Mesopotamian cities with raw materials. Habuba Kabira on the Syrian Euphrates is a prominent example of a settlement that is interpreted as an Uruk colony. During the Jemdet Nasr (3600–3100 BCE) and Early Dynastic periods (3100–2350 BCE), southern Mesopotamia experienced a growth in the number and size of settlements, suggesting strong population growth. These settlements, including Sumero-Akkadian sites like Sippar , Uruk, Adab and Kish , were organized in competing city-states . Many of these cities were located along canals of

7564-452: The Seljuks did not gain full control until 1177. Under Danishmend and Seljuk rule, Malatya became a centre of knowledge as many Persian and Arabic scholars took residence in the city. The Seljuk Sultanate also undertook an extensive development of the city. After being ruled by the Ilkhanids for around 50 years at the end of the 13th century, the Muslim population of the city invited the Mamluk Sultanate to Malatya in 1315. On 28 April 1315,

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7688-447: The Shatt al-Arab the river drops only 55 metres (180 ft). The Euphrates receives most of its water in the form of rainfall and melting snow, resulting in peak volumes during the months April through May. Discharge in these two months accounts for 36 percent of the total annual discharge of the Euphrates, or even 60–70 percent according to one source, while low runoff occurs in summer and autumn. The average natural annual flow of

7812-411: The Sivas-Malatya railroad. Until recently the city was home to departments of the Turkish Aeronautical Association , Turkish Hearths , and Turkish Red Crescent . In 2014 Malatya became a metropolitan municipality in Turkey , alongside 12 other cities, by a Turkish governmental law that was passed in 2012. Following the 2014 Turkish local elections the new municipality officially took office. Today

7936-562: The Syro–Iraqi border the Euphrates flows through a steppe landscape. This steppe is characterised by white wormwood ( Artemisia herba-alba ) and Amaranthaceae . Throughout history, this zone has been heavily overgrazed due to the practicing of sheep and goat pastoralism by its inhabitants. Southeast of the border between Syria and Iraq starts true desert . This zone supports either no vegetation at all or small pockets of Chenopodiaceae or Poa sinaica . Although today nothing of it survives due to human interference, research suggests that

8060-417: The Taurus Mountains and the upper part of the Syrian Euphrates valley, early permanent villages such as Abu Hureyra – at first occupied by hunter-gatherers but later by some of the earliest farmers , Jerf el Ahmar, Mureybet and Nevalı Çori became established from the eleventh millennium BCE onward. In the absence of irrigation, these early farming communities were limited to areas where rainfed agriculture

8184-408: The Tigris–Euphrates river system, and allowed Iraq to construct dams on Turkish territory to manage the flow of the Euphrates. The river featured on the coat of arms of Iraq from 1932 to 1959. Turkey and Syria completed their first dams on the Euphrates – the Keban Dam and the Tabqa Dam, respectively – within one year of each other and filling of the reservoirs commenced in 1975. At the same time,

8308-454: The Turkish–Syrian border. During the Syrian civil war and the Iraqi Civil War , much of the Euphrates was controlled by the Islamic State from 2014 until 2017, when the terrorist group began losing land and was eventually defeated territorially in Syria at the Battle of Baghouz and in Iraq in the Western Iraq offensive respectively. Throughout history, the Euphrates has been of vital importance to those living along its course. With

8432-432: The aid of the Beylik of the Danishmends . After 1100, he sought to gain the favour of the commanders of the First Crusade , especially Bohemond I of Antioch and Baldwin of Boulogne . The Danishmends took over Malatya one year later in 1101 (see Battle of Melitene ). The Danishmends then fought repeatedly with the Anatolian Seljuk Sultanate about the possession of the city and were able to hold it until 1152, though

8556-422: The archaeological and cultural heritage of the endangered parts of the valley. Especially the flooding of Zeugma with its unique Roman mosaics by the reservoir of the Birecik Dam has generated much controversy in both the Turkish and international press. The construction of the Tabqa Dam in Syria led to a large international campaign coordinated by UNESCO to document the heritage that would disappear under

8680-438: The area was hit by severe drought and river flow toward Iraq was reduced from 15.3 cubic kilometres (3.7 cu mi) in 1973 to 9.4 cubic kilometres (2.3 cu mi) in 1975. This led to an international crisis during which Iraq threatened to bomb the Tabqa Dam. An agreement was eventually reached between Syria and Iraq after intervention by Saudi Arabia and the Soviet Union . A similar crisis, although not escalating to

8804-467: The area, many of which have become rare or even extinct. Species like gazelle , onager and the now-extinct Arabian ostrich lived in the steppe bordering the Euphrates valley, while the valley itself was home to the wild boar . Carnivorous species include the wolf , the golden jackal , the red fox , the leopard and the lion. The Syrian brown bear can be found in the mountains of Southeast Turkey. The presence of Eurasian beaver has been attested in

8928-472: The bone assemblage of the prehistoric site of Tell Abu Hureyra in Syria, but the beaver has never been sighted in historical times. The Hindiya Barrage on the Iraqi Euphrates, based on plans by British civil engineer William Willcocks and finished in 1913, was the first modern water diversion structure built in the Tigris–Euphrates river system. The Hindiya Barrage was followed in the 1950s by

9052-540: The city in 712 BC. At the same time, the Cimmerians and Scythians invaded Anatolia and the city declined. Some occupation continued on the site into the Hellenistic and Roman periods—a smithy with four ovens has been excavated from the Roman period. There was a long gap in occupation between the mid-7th century and renewed use of the site in the late 12th or early 13th century. Archeologists first began to excavate

9176-428: The city is generally considered to be a notable trade and industrial hub, as well as a cultural centre point thanks to the İnönü University that was established on 28 January 1975. According to German geographers Georg Hassel and Adam Christian Gaspari, Malatya was composed of 1,200 to 1,500 houses in the early 19th century, inhabited by Ottomans, Turkmens, Armenians, and Greeks. William Harrison Ainsworth visited

9300-491: The city of Malatya in 1837, noting a population of 8,000 Muslims, chiefly Turkomans, and 3,000 Armenians. Malatya has a cold semi-arid climate ( Köppen climate classification : BSk ) or a temperate continental climate ( Trewartha climate classification : Dca ), with hot, dry summers and cold, snowy winters. Highest recorded temperature:42.7 °C (108.9 °F) on 14 August 2019 Lowest recorded temperature:−22.2 °C (−8.0 °F) on 28 December 1953 The economy of

9424-409: The city of Malatya is dominated by agriculture , textile manufacturing , and construction. As with the general province, apricot production is important for subsistence in the central district. Malatya is the world leader in apricot production. The city has two organized industrial zones, where the chief industry is textile. Historically, Malatya produced opium . The British , in 1920, described

9548-463: The city was known "to the ancients" as Melitene ( Ancient Greek Μελιτηνή ), a name adopted by the Romans following Roman expansion into the east. According to Strabo, the inhabitants of Melitene shared with the nearby Cappadocians and Cataonians the same language and culture. The site of ancient Melitene lies a few kilometres from the modern city in what is now the village of Arslantepe and near

9672-492: The city's center. Malatya's other team is Yeni Malatyaspor (formerly Malatya Belediyespor) whose colors are black and yellow (formerly green and orange). They compete in Süper Lig . Malatya is administered by a metropolitan municipality , which covers the whole province. There are two central districts, each with their own municipalities, that make up the city of Malatya: these are Battalgazi and Yeşilyurt . Battalgazi has

9796-428: The construction of large hydropower stations, irrigation schemes, and pipelines capable of transporting water over large distances, many more people now depend on the river for basic amenities such as electricity and drinking water than in the past. Syria's Lake Assad is the most important source of drinking water for the city of Aleppo , 75 kilometres (47 mi) to the west of the river valley. The lake also supports

9920-483: The district center of Battalgazi ( Byzantine to Ottoman Empire ). Present-day Battalgazi was the location of the city of Malatya until the 19th century, when a gradual move of the city to the present third location began. Battalgazi's official name was Eskimalatya ( Old Malatya ); until recently, it was a name used locally. In Turkey the city is renowned for its apricots , as up to 80% of the Turkish apricot production

10044-588: The downstream states on the Euphrates and the Tigris. Apart from barrages and dams, Iraq has also created an intricate network of canals connecting the Euphrates with Lake Habbaniyah, Lake Tharthar , and Abu Dibbis reservoir; all of which can be used to store excess floodwater. Via the Shatt al-Hayy , the Euphrates is connected with the Tigris. The largest canal in this network is the Main Outfall Drain or so-called "Third River;" constructed between 1953 and 1992. This 565-kilometre-long (351 mi) canal

10168-501: The drainage basin of the Euphrates; a small part of the eastern desert (220 square kilometres (85 sq mi)) drains toward the east rather than to the west. In 2021, the Iraqi Ministry of Water Resources reported that the Euphrates river could dry out by 2040 due to climate change and droughts. The Euphrates flows through a number of distinct vegetation zones. Although millennia-long human occupation in most parts of

10292-475: The early Mesopotamian Uruk period culture. The people of Isuwa were also skilled in metallurgy and they reached the Bronze Age in the fourth millennium BC. Copper was first mixed with arsenic, later with tin. The Early Bronze Age culture was linked with the Caucasus in the northeast. In the Hittite period the culture of Isuwa shows great parallels to the Central Anatolian and Hurrian cultures to

10416-517: The earthly manifestation of the heavenly Al-Bayt Al-Mamur). The earliest references to the Euphrates come from cuneiform texts found in Shuruppak and pre- Sargonic Nippur in southern Iraq and date to the mid- 3rd millennium BCE . In these texts, written in Sumerian, the Euphrates is called Buranuna ( logographic : UD.KIB.NUN). The name could also be written KIB.NUN.(NA) or KIB.NUN, with

10540-456: The east, revealed large Bronze Age settlements from the fourth to the second millennium BC. The center of the kingdom Isuwa may have lain in this region which would equate well with the Hittite statements of crossing the Euphrates in reaching the kingdom. The important site of Arslantepe near the modern city of Malatya luckily remained safe from the rising water. Today an Italian team of archaeologists led by Marcella Frangipane are working at

10664-524: The establishment of the Republic of Turkey. Under the Ottomans, the city lost the quality of being on the frontiers, as well as the allure it held in the Middle Ages. It was plagued between the 16th and 18th centuries by successive rebellions. The current city of Malatya was founded in 1838, with the old site of Militene now designated as Old Malatya. The reason behind the displacement of the city center

10788-456: The fall of the Hittite empire in the early twelfth century BC a new state emerged in Isuwa. The city of Melid became the center of a Luwian state, Kammanu , one of the so-called Neo-Hittite states. With the demise of the Hittites the Phrygians settled to the west, and to the east the kingdom of Urartu was founded. The most powerful neighbour was Assyria to the south. The encounter with

10912-470: The fields. The salinity of Euphrates water in Iraq has increased as a result of upstream dam construction, leading to lower suitability as drinking water. The many dams and irrigation schemes, and the associated large-scale water abstraction, have also had a detrimental effect on the ecologically already fragile Mesopotamian Marshes and on freshwater fish habitats in Iraq. The inundation of large parts of

11036-472: The final Assyrian invasion, which probably caused the decline of settlements and culture in this area from the seventh century BC until the Roman period. The ancient land of Isuwa has today virtually disappeared beneath the water from several dams in the Euphrates river. The Turkish Southeastern Anatolia Project which started in the 1960s resulted in the Keban, Karakaya and Atatürk Dam which entirely flooded

11160-496: The forced displacement of c. 4,000 families, who were resettled in other parts of northern Syria as part of a now abandoned plan to create an " Arab belt " along the borders with Turkey and Iraq. Apart from the changes in the discharge regime of the river, the numerous dams and irrigation projects have also had other effects on the environment. The creation of reservoirs with large surfaces in countries with high average temperatures has led to increased evaporation ; thereby reducing

11284-442: The important highway running east from Caesarea (modern Kayseri ). The camp attracted a civilian population and was probably granted city status by Trajan in the early 2nd century AD, with the rank of Municipium. It is known for being a prolific source of imperial coins minted from the 3rd to the early 5th centuries. Procopius wrote admiringly of the temples, agoras and theatres of Melitene, but no evidence of them now remains. It

11408-402: The moister parts of this zone include various oaks , pistachio trees , and Rosaceae (rose/plum family). The drier parts of the xeric woodland zone supports less dense oak forest and Rosaceae . Here can also be found the wild variants of many cereals, including einkorn wheat , emmer , oat and rye . South of this zone lies a zone of mixed woodland- steppe vegetation. Between Raqqa and

11532-407: The opium from Malatya as having "the highest percentage of morphia ". Köfte (meatballs) are used in many meals from kebabs (meat broiled or roasted in small pieces) to desserts. There are over 70 kinds of köfte, usually made with wheat and other ingredients. Kağıt kebabı is a local specialty – a dish made of lamb and vegetables broiled in a wrapper, usually oily paper. Other important dishes are

11656-402: The point of military threats, occurred in 1981 when the Keban Dam reservoir had to be refilled after it had been almost emptied to temporarily increase Turkey's hydroelectricity production. In 1984, Turkey unilaterally declared that it would ensure a flow of at least 500 cubic metres (18,000 cu ft) per second, or 16 cubic kilometres (3.8 cu mi) per year, into Syria, and in 1987

11780-609: The prefix " " indicating that the river was a divinity . In Sumerian, the name of the city of Sippar in modern-day Iraq was also written UD.KIB.NUN, indicating a historically strong relationship between the city and the river. The Euphrates is the longest river of Western Asia . It emerges from the confluence of the Kara Su or Western Euphrates (450 kilometres (280 mi)) and the Murat Su or Eastern Euphrates (650 kilometres (400 mi)) 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) upstream from

11904-665: The producers to meet one another. During the festivities, sports activities, concerts and apricot contests are organized. Near the Apricot Festivities, there are other annual activities in summer. Cherry Festivities at Yeşilyurt District of Malatya and Grape Festivities at Arapgir District are organized annually. Malatya's initial team is Malatyaspor whose colors are red and yellow. Malatyaspor competes in Malatya First Amateur League. Malatyaspor plays their home games in Malatya İnönü Stadium in

12028-515: The proto-Sumerian *burudu "copper" (Sumerian urudu ) as an origin, with an explanation that Euphrates was the river by which copper ore was transported in rafts, since Mesopotamia was the center of copper metallurgy during the period. The Euphrates is called Yeprat in Armenian ( Եփրատ ), Perat in modern Hebrew ( פרת ), Fırat in Turkish and Firat in Kurdish . The Mandaic name

12152-445: The river valley when completed in the 1970s. A fourth dam, Bireçik, was completed further south in 2000 and flooded the remainder of the Euphrates river valley in Turkey . A great salvage campaign was undertaken in the upper Euphrates river valley at instigation of the president of the dam project Kemal Kurdaş. A Turkish, US and Dutch team of archaeologists headed by Maurits van Loon began the survey. Work then continued downstream where

12276-686: The second place with 16.7% of the vote. Battalgazi was won by Selahattin Gürkan of the AK Party with 63.1% of the vote and Yeşilyurt was won Hacı Uğur Polat of the AK Party with 62.4% of the vote. The two central districts voted overwhelmingly in favour of the AK Party in the June 2015 election with AK Party winning 66.2% of the vote in Battalgazi and 56.9% in Yeşilyurt. These percentages further increased in

12400-471: The site and studying the surrounding area. The site of Arslantepe was settled from the fifth millennium BC until the Roman period. It was the capital of the Neo-Hittite kingdom of Malatya . The earliest settlements in Isuwa show cultural contacts with Tell Brak to the south, though not being the same culture. Agriculture began early due to favorable climatic conditions. Isuwa was at the outer fringe of

12524-483: The site of Arslantepe in the 1930s, led by French archaeologist Louis Delaporte . Since 1961 an Italian team of archaeologists, led by Marcella Frangipane in the early 21st century, has been working at the site. From the 6th century BC, Melid was ruled by the Armenian Orontid Dynasty , who were subjects of the Achaemenid Empire . After periods of Achaemenid and Macedonian rule, Melid (Malatya)

12648-647: The sixth century and was as well surrounded by other bishoprics belonging to nearby towns. In the tenth century the Emperor Nikephoros II Phokas convinced the Jacobite Patriarch of Antioch to move the head of the patriarchate into the region of Melitene. The city was attacked and devastated by the Seljuks in 1058. Around 1061/62 the city was refortified by Constantine X Doukas and enclosed an area of 35 ha, which means that it

12772-488: The south. The monumental architecture was of Hittite influence. The Neo-Hittite state show influences both from Phrygia , Assyria and the eastern kingdom of Urartu . After the Scythian people migrated to the region, some Scythian burials appear in the area. Malatya Malatya ( Armenian : Մալաթիա , romanized :  Malat'ia ; Syriac ܡܠܝܛܝܢܐ Malīṭīná; Kurdish : Meletî ; Ancient Greek : Μελιτηνή)

12896-468: The summer months. These flights are especially from German cities to Malatya, and most of the passengers are Turkish citizens or their descendants who are living and working in Germany. Euphrates The Euphrates ( / juː ˈ f r eɪ t iː z / yoo- FRAY -teez ; see below ) is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia . Together with

13020-595: The third millennium BC. The name Isuwa is not known until the literate Hittite period of the second millennium BC. Few literate sources from within Isuwa have been discovered and the primary source material comes from Hittite texts. The Isuwans left no written record of their own, and it is not clear which of the Anatolian peoples inhabited the land of Isuwa prior to the Luwians. Aram Kosyan identified etymologically Hittite , Luwian , Indo-Iranian (possibly connected to

13144-526: The time his father, Tudhaliya II (c. 1400 BC), the land of Isuwa became hostile. The enmity was probably aggravated by the Hurrian kingdom of Mitanni to the south. Mitanni tried to form an alliance against the Hittites. According to a fragmentary Hittite letter, the king of Mitanni, Shaushtatar , seems to have waged war against the Hittite king Arnuwanda I with support from Isuwa. These hostilities lasted into Suppiluliuma's own reign when c. 1350 BC he crossed

13268-449: The total amount of water that is available for human use. Annual evaporation from reservoirs has been estimated at 2 cubic kilometres (0.48 cu mi) in Turkey, 1 cubic kilometre (0.24 cu mi) in Syria and 5 cubic kilometres (1.2 cu mi) in Iraq. Water quality in the Iraqi Euphrates is low because irrigation water tapped in Turkey and Syria flows back into the river, together with dissolved fertilizer chemicals used on

13392-523: The town of Keban in southeastern Turkey. Daoudy and Frenken put the length of the Euphrates from the source of the Murat River to the confluence with the Tigris at 3,000 kilometres (1,900 mi), of which 1,230 kilometres (760 mi) is in Turkey , 710 kilometres (440 mi) in Syria and 1,060 kilometres (660 mi) in Iraq. The same figures are given by Isaev and Mikhailova. The length of

13516-399: The wake of the 2003 invasion . In Islam, hadiths say Muhammad said "The Last Hour would not come before the Euphrates uncovers a mountain of gold, for which people would fight. Ninety-nine out of each one hundred would die but every man amongst them would say that perhaps he would be the one who would be saved" and that "he who finds it [the gold] should not take anything out of that." This

13640-511: The waters of Lake Assad. Archaeologists from numerous countries excavated sites ranging in date from the Natufian to the Abbasid period, and two minarets were dismantled and rebuilt outside the flood zone. Important sites that have been flooded or affected by the rising waters of Lake Assad include Mureybet , Emar and Abu Hureyra. A similar international effort was made when the Tishrin Dam

13764-402: Was 7,510 cubic metres (265,000 cu ft) per second, while after 1990 it is only 2,514 cubic metres (88,800 cu ft) per second. The minimum volume at Hīt remained relatively unchanged, rising from 55 cubic metres (1,900 cu ft) per second before 1990 to 58 cubic metres (2,000 cu ft) per second afterward. In Syria, three rivers add their water to the Euphrates;

13888-589: Was a major center in the province of Armenia Minor ( Armenian : Փոքր Հայք Pokr Hayk , ) created by Diocletian from territory separated from the province of Cappadocia . In 392 A.D., emperor Theodosius I divided Armenia Minor into two new provinces: First Armenia , with its capital at Sebasteia (modern Sivas ); and Second Armenia , with its capital at Melitene. During the reign of the Emperor Justinian I (527–565), administrative reforms were carried out in this region: The province of Second Armenia

14012-542: Was abandoned at some point during the reign of Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan until Hisham restored it, though it was destroyed by emperor Constantine V . The Abbasid al-Mansur then established it as a substantial outpost from which raids deep into the Byzantine Empire were conducted. Throughout the Dark Ages, the area between Melitene and Caeserea became a no-man's land of independent lords and villages. In

14136-506: Was completed in 1992; thereby creating a reservoir that is the third-largest lake in Turkey. With a maximum capacity of 48.7 cubic kilometres (11.7 cu mi), the Atatürk Dam reservoir is large enough to hold the entire annual discharge of the Euphrates. Completion of GAP was scheduled for 2010 but has been delayed because the World Bank has withheld funding due to the lack of an official agreement on water sharing between Turkey and

14260-517: Was constructed, which led, among others, to the flooding of the important Pre-Pottery Neolithic B site of Jerf el Ahmar . An archaeological survey and rescue excavations were also carried out in the area flooded by Lake Qadisiya in Iraq. Parts of the flooded area have recently become accessible again due to the drying up of the lake, resulting not only in new possibilities for archaeologists to do more research, but also providing opportunities for looting , which has been rampant elsewhere in Iraq in

14384-587: Was controlled by city-states like Isin , Kish and Larsa before their territories were absorbed by the newly emerged state of Babylonia under Hammurabi in the early to mid 18th century BCE. In the second half of the 2nd millennium BCE, the Euphrates basin was divided between Kassite Babylon in the south and Mitanni , Assyria and the Hittite Empire in the north, with the Middle Assyrian Empire (1365–1020 BC) eventually eclipsing

14508-694: Was heavily fortified. The Hittites conquered the city in the fourteenth century B.C. In the Hittite language , melid or milit means "honey." The name was mentioned in the contemporary sources under several variations (e.g., Hittite: Malidiya and possibly also Midduwa ; Akkadian : Meliddu; Urartian : Meliṭeia ). After the end of the Hittite Empire, the city became the center of the Neo-Hittite state of Kammanu . The city continued old Hittite traditions and styles. Researchers have discovered

14632-574: Was part of the Kingdom of Lesser Armenia . Diodorus Siculus wrote that Ptolemaeus of Commagene attacked and captured Melitene from the Kingdom of Cappadocia , but couldn't keep it for long since Ariarathes V of Cappadocia marched against him with a strong army, and Ptolemaeus withdrew. The Kingdom of Cappadocia, ruled by the House of Ariobarzanes (95–36 BC), became a Roman client in 63 BC. After

14756-517: Was possible without the need to build complex canals. The river valley was well suited for intensive agriculture, while livestock could be kept at the higher altitudes. The mountains possessed rich deposits of copper which were mined in antiquity. The area was one of the places where agriculture developed very early in the Neolithic period. Urban centres emerged in the upper Euphrates river valley around 3000 BC. The first states may have followed in

14880-524: Was possible, that is, the upper parts of the Syrian Euphrates as well as Turkey. Late Neolithic villages, characterized by the introduction of pottery in the early 7th millennium BCE, are known throughout this area. Occupation of lower Mesopotamia started in the 6th millennium and is generally associated with the introduction of irrigation, as rainfall in this area is insufficient for dry agriculture. Evidence for irrigation has been found at several sites dating to this period, including Tell es-Sawwan . During

15004-464: Was possibly home to 10-12,000 people and had possibly a territorial population of an additional 80,000. In the period that followed the Turkish advance into the Byzantine Empire after the defeat at the Battle of Manzikert , Gabriel of Melitene , a Greek Orthodox Armenian who had risen from the ranks of the Byzantine army, governed the city. From 1086 to 1100 he preserved his independence with

15128-453: Was renamed Third Armenia ( Armenia Tertia ), with its territory unchanged and its capital still at Melitene. Melitene's city walls were constructed in the 6th century by the emperors Anastasius and Justinian. Those that still stand mostly date from the Arab period, perhaps of the 8th century, though retaining the layout of and some remnants from earlier building phases. The city was sacked by

15252-417: Was struck by two large fires that destroyed thousands of shops. The city was then hit by the 1893 Malatya earthquake , which killed 1300, destroying 1200 houses and four mosques. A cholera outbreak that subsequently took place in 1893 killed 896 people. The destroyed buildings were rebuilt in 1894. Malatya was the scene of anti-Armenian violence during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. During

15376-596: Was that the Ottoman army settled and stayed, probably by seizing from its settlers, in the previous city center, in the winter of 1838–39, before taking the road for Battle of Nezib in 1849. Because of this, citizens of the Malatya established the new city based on a near town called Aspuzu. The city saw rapid expansion in the 19th century, and by the end of the century it had around 5000 households, 50 mosques, six madrasas , nine inns and five Turkish baths . Ottoman sources also recorded ten churches. In 1889 and 1890, Malatya

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