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The civilization of the cities of the Euphrates Valley from Al-Qaim to Falluja is one of the pillars of development (an introductory overview)
2022-12-24
By Dr. Ahmed Taha Yasseen Al-Ma'adadi
Upper Euphrates Basin Developing Centre– University of Anbar
We must feel proud when we find ourselves belonging to a region that is considered one of the most ancient regions that wrote a great history for mankind. I am talking here about "Anbar Governorate" or the so-called "Upper Euphrates" or "Euphrates Valley". In all its cities and villages, with its history and its men from Falluja, which wrote epics, to Al-Qaim in the far west of Iraq, which is washed by the Euphrates River as it knocks on the gates of Mesopotamia.
The natural characteristics of the (Tigris and Euphrates) rivers have controlled the history of the distribution of human settlements and their focus primarily on the Euphrates River banks, especially in the first stages of settlement in the sedimentary plain between the fifth and third millennia BC, and that one of the most prominent factors confirming this is that the Euphrates River is less disturbance and volatile in its flooding with respect to the Tigris River, and the quantities of flood waters (from March to the end of May) are more in the Tigris than in the Euphrates, and it is likely that the natural depressions adjacent to the banks of the Euphrates are from the northwest region of the city of Ramadi, such as: (Habbaniya depression and Abu Dibs marsh) had a significant impact on reducing the intensity of the Euphrates River flood, in addition to another characteristic, which is the rise of the Euphrates Valley in the sedimentary plain, starting from the city of Falluja and its gradual decline eastward towards the Tigris River.
The Euphrates River passes when it enters Iraqi borders at the village of "Al-Husaybah" (the centre of the city of Al-Qaim, which Abu Al-Faraj Al-Asfahani mentions in the name of Deir Al-Qaim Al-Aqsa.and it is said there is a high observatory tower in it between Persians and Romans, where there are extensive archaeological remains on the West Bank called "Tal El Jabriya" Or (Sheikh Jaber due to the presence of a shrine with this name), as the high rise is called “Al-Tama”, and it is possible that these hills are the remains of the ancient city mentioned in the news of the Assyrian kings as “Khandano” or “Khandana”. After it, the Euphrates passes after passing through Al-Rifdha and Al-Nahiya (they are places on the road between Baghdad and Al-Raqqa) to the city of “Anah” (which is mentioned in the Babylonian and Assyrian writings)."A-na-ti, A-na-at, An-at "and in the Babylonian era "a-na-at, Ha-na") On the right bank, and the city of "Rawa" (a recent town in which Midhat Pasha established a luxurious castle in 1869) on the eastern bank, and the course of the river from Ana to Heet is almost in a basin in which there are plenty of gondolas and rocks, and there are also many small islands, including: (Talbis Koro, Alos, Jubba, Nilousa, etc.), the region of Anh was famous in history as being one of the important centres of the Amorite Semites. Through its passage through these areas, it flows into the Euphrates from the West Bank, the Horan Valley, south of the town of Haditha (its Aramaic name, which is a translation of the Sassanid name for the city, is "Nokerd", meaning the modern city. The Greece called it "Kai ne" and it has the same meaning, Haditha has many trees and water wheels. It was known in the past as "Hadith al-Furat" or "Hadith al-Nurah", and perhaps the word Al-Nurah was distorted from its Persian name "Nu Kurd") by about 6 km, after it comes from the desert of Sham and passes through the area of ??al-Rutba. After that, the Euphrates enters the city of Heet (Ees or Etto or Deldolo) the ancient city which is renowned in the ancient Mesopotamian civilization era an important source of tar and asphalt and its name was mentioned in cuneiform sources as "del - delli" which means wells, and in the Akkadian language it was called "Ato", meaning tar, and in classical sources as "AS", and in the history of Herodotus "Az", "Ad" and "Aeopolis").
After that, the river continues to flow until it enters the natural depressions in the city of Ramadi (which is a recent city) such as Habbaniyah (3.2 billion cubic meters) and Abu Debs, which were likely used in the ancient times to store flood waters. Large reservoirs have recently been constructed, the most important of which is the Dam in the north of Al-Ramadi is about (20 km) to hold the flood waters and divert them by means of a canal or a creek to the Lake of Habbaniyah, which is lower than the level of the Euphrates River by about 11 meters. In the past, the “Abu Debs” depression was used to take the surplus water from Habbaniyah through the “Al-Majarra” stream to “Abu Debs”. And the water is returned at the time of its scarcity through a channel called “Al-Dhuban” near Falluja (the name “Falluja” expresses an old name that was mentioned in the cuneiform sources in the form “Blu Keto” and was also mentioned in the Aramaic sources as “Bloktha”).Geological investigations have shown that the Euphrates River was connected, in distant prehistoric times, to the Habbaniya depression, Abu Debs, and Bahr al-Najaf, and that these depressions were connected to each other, forming a long continuous valley from north to south, but with "tectonic" movements divided that connected valley into separate parts, which are the depressions that have been mentioned.
This great cultural heritage, where the Euphrates River is the mainstay in it, can play an important and pivotal role in the economic development of the region through tourism investment and publicizing this rich and eventful history, which calls for decision makers, academic institutions and civil society organizations to shed light and media and service interest on this important region.
Sources//
1. Ahmed Sousa, Arab civilization and its stages of development through the ages.
2. Taha Baqer, Introduction to the History of Ancient Civilizations.
3. Taha Baqer,Guide to the citizens of antiquities and civilization.
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