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53-408: At the beginning of the 20th century, it reportedly had an area of 29,220 square miles (75,700 km), while the preliminary results of the first Ottoman census of 1885 (published in 1908) gave the population as 300,280. The accuracy of the population figures ranges from "approximate" to "merely conjectural" depending on the region from which they were gathered. The city of Mosul and the area south to

106-548: A tributary to the Great Zab. When the Mongols swept over Iraq in the 13th century and sacked Erbil, many survivors sought a refuge in the inaccessible valleys of the Great Zab. The Sapna Valley was home to both Christian and Muslim communities, as evidenced by Christian artefacts found at Zawi Chemi Shanidar. During the 19th century, the area was controlled by local Kurdish leaders. During World War I , heavy fighting took place in

159-511: Is 197.8 cubic metres (6,990 cu ft) per second, whereas the maximum recorded discharge is 3,420 cubic metres (121,000 cu ft) per second. Average annual discharge is 7.2 cubic kilometres (1.7 cu mi). Because of its torrential nature, Medieval Arab geographers have described the Little Zab, and the Great Zab as well, as "demoniacally possessed". The drainage basin of

212-559: Is a river that originates in Iran and joins the Tigris just south of Al Zab in the Kurdistan region of Iraq . The Little Zab is approximately 400 kilometres (250 mi) long and drains an area of about 22,000 square kilometres (8,500 sq mi). The river is fed by rainfall and snowmelt, resulting in a peak discharge in the spring and low water in the summer and early fall. Two dams built on

265-480: Is completed. Numerous mountain streams and wadis join the Great Zab on its right and left banks. The Great Zab receives most of its waters from the left-bank tributaries; the Rubar-i-Shin, Rukuchuk, Rubar-i-Ruwandiz, Rubat Mawaran and Bastura Chai. The length of the Great Zab has been variously estimated at 392 kilometres (244 mi) and 473 kilometres (294 mi). Approximately 300 kilometres (190 mi) of

318-475: Is listed as Noue aque fl. Great Zab The Great Zab or Upper Zab ( Arabic : الزَّاب الْكَبِيْر , romanized :  ez-Zâb el-Kebîr ; Kurdish : Zêy Badînan or Zêyê Mezin ; Turkish : Zap ; Syriac : ܙܒܐ ܥܠܝܐ , romanized :  zāba ʻalya ) is an approximately 400-kilometre (250 mi) long river flowing through Turkey and Iraq . It rises in Turkey near Lake Van and joins

371-509: Is the oldest evidence for anatomically modern human occupation of the Great Zab basin. The following Protoneolithic, or Natufian , occupation is contemporary with the oldest occupation of the nearby open-air site Zawi Chemi Shanidar. M'lefaat on the Khazir River (a tributary to the Great Zab) was a small village of hunter-gatherers dating to the 10th millennium BCE that was contemporary with

424-514: The Adhaim and Diyala rivers. The parallel mountain ranges of the Zagros consist of limestone folds rising to elevations over 3,000 metres (9,800 ft). Water erosion has filled the Little Zab valley and the foothill zone south-west of the Zagros with layers of gravel , conglomerate , and sandstone . The Ranya Plain is the largest valley in the Little Zab drainage basin, and the second-largest in

477-504: The Dibis Dam . The Dukan Dam was constructed between 1957 and 1961 as a multi-purpose arch dam upstream from the town of Dukan. The dam's crest is 116 metres (381 ft) above the riverbed (516 metres (1,693 ft) amsl) and 360 metres (1,180 ft) long. Its functions are to regulate the flow of the Little Zab, to store water for irrigation in its reservoir (Lake Dukan) and to provide hydroelectric power. The maximum storage capacity of

530-668: The Kurdistan Region . Together with the Tigris, the Great Zab forms the boundary between Erbil Governorate and Ninawa Governorate . In its upper reaches, the Great Zab flows through steep, rocky gorges. The stretch between Amadiya and the Bekhme Gorge, where the Bekhme Dam remains unfinished, has been called the Sapna valley and will have a large portion of it inundated with water if the project

583-735: The Little Zab was allocated to France in the 1916 Sykes-Picot Agreement of the First World War, and later transferred to Mandatory Iraq following the Mosul Question . Sanjaks of the vilayet and their capitals: According to early 20th-century British intelligence, the vilayet had a Kurdish majority and a Turkoman minority. Little Zab The Little Zab or Lower Zab ( Arabic : الزاب الاسفل , al-Zāb al-Asfal ; Kurdish : Zêy Koya or Zêyê Biçûk ; Persian : زاب کوچک , Zâb-e Kuchak ; Syriac : ܙܒܐ ܬܚܬܝܐ , Zāba Taḥtāya )

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636-457: The Little Zab – as "demoniacally possessed". Estimates of the drainage basin of the Great Zab vary widely – from a low 25,810 square kilometres (9,970 sq mi) to a high figure of 40,300 square kilometres (15,600 sq mi). Approximately 62 percent of the basin is located in Iraq; the remainder is in Turkey. To the south, the Great Zab basin borders on that of the Little Zab while on

689-733: The Pre-Pottery Neolithic A in the Levant . An archaeological survey of the Citadel of Erbil , in the plain south of the lower course of the Great Zab, has shown that this site was continuously occupied at least from the 6th millennium BCE upward. The earliest historical reference to the region dates to the Ur III dynasty , when king Shulgi mentioned the city of Urbilum – the ancient name of modern-day Erbil. The great Assyrian capitals of Assur , Nineveh , Nimrud and Dur-Sharrukin were all located in

742-404: The Tigris in Iraq south of Mosul . During its course, the river collects water from many tributaries and the drainage basin of the Great Zab covers approximately 40,300 square kilometres (15,600 sq mi). The river and its tributaries are primarily fed by rainfall and snowmelt – as a result of which discharge fluctuates highly throughout the year. At least six dams have been planned on

795-561: The Zarzian culture , which straddles the Upper and Epipalaeolithic periods. After the Zarzian, the focus of human occupation shifted from cave-sites, which continue to be used as secondary or seasonal occupation sites up to today, to open-air sites and it was in this period that the trend toward domestication of plants and animals set in. Domestication of the goat probably occurred first in this area of

848-409: The Bekhme Dam called for a 230-metre (750 ft) high rockfill dam and an underground hydroelectric power station housing six turbines with a total capacity of 1,560 MW. The reservoir that would have been created by the Bekhme Dam would have a storage capacity of 17 cubic kilometres (4.1 cu mi) and would have flooded numerous villages, the archaeological site of Zawi Chemi Shanidar and

901-565: The Great Zab and its tributaries, but construction of only one, the Bekhme Dam , has commenced but was halted after the Gulf War . The Zagros Mountains have been occupied since at least the Lower Palaeolithic , and Neanderthal occupation of the Great Zab basin has been testified at the archaeological site of Shanidar Cave . Historical records for the region are available from the end of

954-449: The Great Zab basin saw frequent uprisings of local Kurdish tribes striving for autonomy. The Great Zab rises in Turkey in the mountainous region east of Lake Van at an elevation of approximately 3,000 metres (9,800 ft) amsl and joins the Tigris on its left bank in Iraq. In Turkey, the Great Zab traverses the provinces of Van and Hakkâri , whereas in Iraq it flows through Duhok Governorate and Erbil Governorate , both part of

1007-595: The Great Zab to irrigate the land around Nimrud, and this canal was restored by his successors Tiglath-Pileser III and Esarhaddon . This canal ran along the right bank of the Great Zab and cut through a rock bluff by means of a tunnel and is still visible today. After the fall of the Neo-Assyrian empire, the Medes gained control of the area, followed by the Achaemenids in 550 BCE. The Battle of Gaugamela in 331 BCE – one of

1060-532: The Great Zab: Iraq's Bekhme Dam and Turkey's 24 MW weir -controlled run-of-the-river Bağışlı Hydroelectric Power Plant. Five others have been planned in the Great Zab basin by both Turkey and Iraq. Turkey's State Hydraulic Works plans to construct the Çukurca and Doğanlı Dams near Çukurca and the Hakkâri Dam near the city of Hakkâri . The Hakkâri Dam with a 245 MW power station is in final design and

1113-609: The Iraqi Zagros behind the Shahrazor . The Little Zab crosses very diverse climatic and ecological zones. Annual precipitation along the course of the river diminishes from over 1,000 millimetres (39 in) in the Iranian Zagros to less than 200 millimetres (7.9 in) at the confluence with the Tigris near Al Zab . Average temperatures follow a similar gradient, with the mountain valleys generally experiencing colder winters than

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1166-512: The Iraqi Zagros, after the Shahrazor and the Ranya Plain. The Great Zab rises in the highlands of the Zagros Mountains, where a climate with cold winter and annual precipitation in excess of 1,000 millimetres (39 in) prevails. From there, the river flows into the foothill zone of the Zagros, where rainfall drops to less than 300 millimetres (12 in) per year at the confluence with

1219-555: The Little Zab covers 21,475–22,250 square kilometres (8,292–8,591 sq mi); from the location where the Dukan Dam has been constructed, it measures 11,700 square kilometres (4,500 sq mi). The larger part of the basin (74%) is located within Iraqi borders; the remainder is in Iran. On the north, it is bordered by the Great Zab basin while on the south it is adjoined by the basins of

1272-409: The Little Zab forms the border between Iran and Iraq, and along its lower course it also constitutes the border between Erbil Governorate and Sulaymaniyah Governorate , and Erbil and Kirkuk Governorates . The river is fed by snowmelt and rainfall, resulting in a peak discharge in the period February–May. Low water levels are recorded for the period July–October. The average discharge of the Little Zab

1325-477: The Little Zab regulate the river flow, providing water for irrigation and generating hydroelectricity . The Zagros Mountains have been populated since at least the Lower Palaeolithic , but the earliest archaeological site in the Little Zab basin, Barda Balka, dates to the Middle Palaeolithic . Human occupation of the Little Zab basin has been attested for every period since then. The Little Zab rises in

1378-621: The Little Zab upstream from Dukan, with the largest being the Baneh River and the Qala Chulan. A number of smaller streams joined the Little Zab in the Ranya Plain, which is now partly inundated by Lake Dukan . Different estimates have been given for the length of the Little Zab: 380 kilometres (240 mi), 400 kilometres (250 mi) and 456 kilometres (283 mi). For a short distance,

1431-526: The Mountains in Iraq at an elevation of circa 3,000 metres (9,800 ft) amsl . In its upper reaches, the course of the Little Zab is determined by the alignment of the major mountain chains that make up the Zagros. Thus, the river flows through valleys that are predominantly aligned along a northwest–southeast axis, parallel to the major mountain chains of the Zagros, only to change its direction abruptly where it cuts through these chains in narrow gorges. Along

1484-522: The Sardasht Dam, Iran is planning to construct the Shivahan and Garjhal Dams with the primary purpose of power generation. Iran has diverted as much as 600,000,000 cubic metres (2.1 × 10  cu ft) of its water in efforts to restore Lake Urmia . This competes with need for the water in Kurdistan Region in Iraq. Although Iraqi Kurdistan is not well known from an archaeological point of view,

1537-423: The Tigris. Average summer temperature in the foothill zone are generally higher in the foothill zone than in the mountains. The high Zagros is characterized by three different biomes : the area above the treeline at 1,800 metres (5,900 ft) where shrubs and herbs dominate, the area between 1,800 and 610 metres (5,910 and 2,000 ft) that was in the past dominated by open oak forest ( Quercus aegilops ), and

1590-516: The Zagros confirms the importance of this area to early human hunter-gatherers – including groups of Neanderthals as evidenced by the finds in Shanidar Cave in the Great Zab basin. Mousterian stone tools that were used by either Neanderthals or anatomically modern humans have recently been excavated in Erbil , between the Little Zab and the Great Zab. Both open-air and cave sites are attested for

1643-411: The Zagros. Jarmo , a tell east of Kirkuk, was a Neolithic village community that practiced agriculture and animal husbandry. Pottery occurs from the early occupation levels onward; in its later phases it resembles pottery from Hassuna . The early occupation of Tell Shemshara, in the Ranya Plain, can also be dated to this period. The archaeological fieldwork in the Ranya Plain showed that this area

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1696-626: The access road to Shanidar Cave (although not the cave itself). Evidence for human occupation of the Zagros reaches back into the Lower Palaeolithic, as evidenced by the discovery of many cave-sites dating to that period in the Iranian part of the mountain range. Middle Palaeolithic stone tool assemblages are known from Barda Balka, a cave-site south of the Little Zab; and from the Iranian Zagros. A Mousterian stone tool assemblage – produced by either Neanderthals or anatomically modern humans –

1749-410: The affairs of the successive Mesopotamian empires that sought control over the Zagros Mountains. In the early second millennium BCE, king Shamshi-Adad of Upper Mesopotamia waged war to the land of Qabra , which was probably located along the lower course of the Little Zab, and installed garrisons in the conquered towns. The archive of clay tablets found at Tell Shemshara (ancient Shusharra) shows that

1802-568: The area, and Rowanduz was pillaged by Russian soldiers in 1916. Following World War I, episodes of heavy fighting took place between the Barzani tribe – striving for the establishment of an independent Kurdish polity – and several other Kurdish tribes, and between the Barzanis and the Iraqi Government. The last of these uprisings started in 1974 and led to heavy bombardments of towns and villages in

1855-422: The available evidence nevertheless shows that the relatively favourable ecological conditions of the Iraqi part of the Zagros attracted human groups from early prehistory onwards. Lower Palaeolithic archaeological sites have to date not been found in the Iraqi part of the Zagros Mountains, but they are known from the Iranian side where numerous cave sites have been found during archaeological surveys. Information on

1908-544: The confluence with the Tigris and was constructed between 1960 and 1965. The embankment dam is 376 metres (1,234 ft) long and 23.75 metres (77.9 ft) wide and provides water for the Kirkuk Irrigation Project. Currently under construction in Iran is the Sardasht Dam . Construction began in 2011 and when complete, the 116 m (381 ft) tall embankment dam will support a 120 MW power station. Above

1961-412: The dam's reservoir is 6.97 cubic kilometres (1.67 cu mi). Because the flooding of Lake Dukan would lead to the submersion of numerous archaeological sites, an archaeological survey and rescue excavations were carried out in the endangered region – notably at the sites of Tell Shemshara and Tell Bazmusian . The Dibis Dam is located approximately 130 kilometres (81 mi) upstream from

2014-772: The decisive battles leading to the fall of the Achaemenid empire at the hands of Alexander the Great – supposedly took place north of the Great Zab in the vicinity of Mosul. After Alexander’s death in 323 BCE, control of the area shifted to the Seleucids . In 750 CE, the last Umayyad caliph Marwan II was defeated by the Abbasid As-Saffah in the Battle of the Zab on the banks of the Khazir River,

2067-525: The early prehistory of the wider Little Zab region itself comes from the excavations carried out by the Oriental Institute at archaeological sites east of Kirkuk and south of the Little Zab. The earliest evidence for human occupation in this region comes from the Middle Palaeolithic site of Barda Balka , where Late Acheulean stone tools have been found. Archaeological research elsewhere in

2120-415: The east it adjoins the Tigris basin. The Zagros consists of parallel limestone folds rising to elevations of over 3,000 metres (9,800 ft) amsl. The valleys – including that of the Great Zab – and the south-western foothill zone are filled with gravel , conglomerate , and sandstone ; the result of water erosion . The Amadiya valley within the Great Zab drainage basin is the third-largest valley in

2173-670: The fall of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, control of the Zagros shifted first to the Medes and in 550 BCE to the Achaemenid Empire . The last Achaemenid ruler Darius III was defeated by Alexander the Great at the Battle of Gaugamela in northern Iraq and after Alexander's death in 323, the area fell to his Seleucid successors. On the Ortelius Theatrum Orbis Terrarum maps of Turkish Empire and Persian Kingdom it

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2226-481: The foothill zone where the Great Zab flows into the Tigris, and the Great Zab basin became increasingly integrated into the Middle Assyrian and Neo-Assyrian empires. Nimrud, the capital of the empire until 706 BCE, was located only 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) away from the confluence of the Great Zab with the Tigris. The Assyrian king Ashurnasirpal II constructed a canal called Patti-Hegalli that tapped water from

2279-495: The foothill zone, while summers in the latter are hotter. In the high Zagros, three different biomes can be distinguished. The tree line is at approximately 1,800 metres (5,900 ft); above which herbs and shrubs predominate. The dominant vegetation between 1,800 and 610 metres (5,910 and 2,000 ft) was an open oak forest ( Quercus aegilops ), but not much of this original vegetation remains. The river valleys are characterized by water-loving plants, and marshy areas were in

2332-486: The local governor switched allegiance and became a vassal of Shamshi-Adad. During the 14th century BCE, the region was part of the Mitannian kingdom, with sites like Nuzi and Tell al-Fakhar , south of the Little Zab, yielding clay tablet archives for this period. During the late second–early first millennia BCE, the lower Little Zab basin belonged to the heartland of the Middle Assyrian and Neo-Assyrian empires. After

2385-453: The past – in the absence of drainage – prone to malaria . Although the foothill zone, especially the plain of Erbil, is heavily cultivated, patches of natural vegetation remain, with herbs in the genus Phlomis being very common. Two dams have been constructed on the Little Zab in Iraq while Iran is currently constructing one with two others planned. The two in Iraq are the Dukan Dam and

2438-455: The plan was abandoned. In 1976, another study proposed three different locations on the Great Zab, including the site suggested in the earlier study. This site was eventually chosen in 1989, when work on the dam commenced. Construction of the Bekhme Dam was interrupted by the outbreak of the Gulf War in 1990 and the dam remains unfinished. After the war, the site of the dam was looted. The plans of

2491-427: The river's course is located within Iraq. The average discharge of the Great Zab is 419 cubic metres (14,800 cu ft) per second, but peak discharges of up to 1,320 cubic metres (47,000 cu ft) per second have been recorded. The average annual discharge is 13.2 cubic kilometres (3.2 cu mi). Because of its torrential nature, Medieval Arab geographers have described the Great Zab – together with

2544-561: The third millennium BCE onward. In the Neo-Assyrian period, the Great Zab provided water for irrigation for the lands around the capital city of Nimrud . The Battle of the Zab – which ended the Umayyad Caliphate – took place near a tributary of the Great Zab, and the valleys of the river provided shelter for refugees from the Mongol conquest of Iraq. During the 19th and 20th centuries,

2597-514: The way, it collects the waters coming down from the eastern face of the Qandil Mountains , which now form the border between Iran and Iraq. The Little Zab enters the Mesopotamian plain south of Dukan, where it first assumes a roughly westward course before turning to the southwest upstream from the town of Altun Kopru and uniting with the Tigris near the town of Al Zab . Most tributaries join

2650-476: The wetter and sometimes marshy river valleys. Other trees besides oak that can be found in the forested zone including juniper at higher elevations; ash, hawthorn, maple and walnut at intermediate elevations; and pistachio and olive trees in lower, drier areas. In the foothill zone, many areas are now cultivated, but there remain small patches of natural vegetation dominated by herbs of the genus Phlomis . To date, one large dam has been partially constructed on

2703-527: The Çukurca and Doğanlı Dams will support 245 MW and 462 MW power stations, respectively. Iraq has commenced construction of the Bekhme and Deralok Dams and planned two others – the Khazir-Gomel and Mandawa Dams. Plans to build a dam in the Great Zab at the Bekhme Gorge for flood control and irrigation were first proposed in 1937. A feasibility study determined that the site was not suited for dam construction and

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2756-463: Was occupied during the Ubaid , Uruk and Ninevite V periods – roughly from the middle 6th to the mid-3rd millennium BCE. Evidence for these periods comes from the Citadel of Erbil as well. The region enters history at the end of the 3rd millennium BCE, when Erbil is mentioned as Urbilum by king Shulgi of the Ur III dynasty . From that time onward, the Little Zab basin became increasingly entangled in

2809-575: Was recently excavated in Erbil . Neanderthals also occupied the site of Shanidar. This cave-site, located in the Sapna Valley, has yielded a settlement sequence stretching from the Middle Palaeolithic up to the Epipalaeolithic period. The site is particularly well known for its Neanderthal burials. The Epipalaeolithic occupation of Shanidar, contemporary with the use of the Kebaran stone tool assemblage,

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