Khabur (Euphrates)

The Khabur River (Kurdish: Çemê Xabûr, Arabic: نهر الخابور; also transliterated as Habor River or Habur River) is a river that begins in southeastern Turkey and flows south to Syria, where it eventually empties into the Euphrates River. The river, with its several branches, such as the Aweidj, Dara, Djirdjib, Jaghjagh, Radd and Zergan Rivers, is not a major water course, and during most of the year is represented by wadis (dry riverbeds).

Another river also named Khabur begins in Sirnak (Turkey), flows through Zakho (Iraq) and empties into the River Tigris at the tripoint between Turkey, Iraq and Syria.

History

In Sumerian Mythology, the Habur is equivalent to the River Styx in Greek myth. Important ancient sites such as Tell Halaf, Tell Brak, Tell Leilan and Urkesh, have been excavated in the Khabur river basin. It has given its name to a distinctive painted ware found in northern Mesopotamia and Syria in the early 2nd millennium BCE, called Khabur ware. The region of the Khabur River is also associated with the rise of the kingdom of the Mitanni that flourished c.1500-1300 BC. In classical times the river was known as Chaboras.

The Books of Kings in the Hebrew Bible describes Israelite captives from Samaria who settled near Guzana (Gozan) on the river's banks by Shalmaneser V, the King of Assyria (17:6, 18:11). The Book of Kings also describes Shalmaneser's predecessor, Tiglath-Pileser III, as having previously taken Israelite captives there from the half of biblical Israel located east of the Jordan.

Modern Khabur River Valley

The Khabur River project, begun in the 1960s, involved the construction of a series of dams and canals. The Khabur Valley, which now has about four million acres (16,000 km²) of farmland, is Syria's main wheat-cultivation area. The northeastern part is also the center for Syria's oil production.

External links

• Catholic Encyclopedia article