south-east to its junction with the Murad Su. The Frāt, separated
by the easy pass of Deve-boyūn from the valley of the
Araxes (Aras), marks the natural line of communication between
northern Persia and the West—a route followed by the nomad
Turks, Mongols and Tatars on their way to the rich lands of Asia
Minor. It is a rapid river of considerable volume, and below
Erzingan is navigable, down stream, for rafts. The southern
or eastern and longer arm, called by the Turks Murad Su (Arsanias
Fl.; Armenian, Aradzani; Arab. Nahr Arsanas), rises
south-west of Diadin, in the northern flank of the Ala Dagh
(11,500 ft.), and flows west to the Alashgerd plain. Here it is
joined by the Sharian Su from the west, and the two valleys
form a great trough through which the caravan road from
Erzerum to Persia runs. The united stream breaks through the
mountains to the south, and, receiving on its way the Patnotz
Su (left) and the Khinis Su (right), flows south-west, west and
south, through the rich plain of Bulanik to the plain of Mūsh.
Here it is joined by the Kara Su (Teleboas), which, rising near
Lake Van, runs past Mūsh and waters the plain. The river now
runs W.S.W. through a deep rocky gorge, in which it receives
the Gunig Su (right), to Palu (where there are cuneiform inscriptions);
and continues through more open country to its junction
with the Frāt Su. About 10 m. E.N.E. of Kharpūt the Murad is
joined by its principal tributary, the Peri Su, which drains the
wild mountain district, Dersim, that lies in the loop between the
two arms. The Murad Su is of greater volume than the Frāt,
but its valley below Mūsh is contracted and followed by no great
road. Below the junction of the two arms the Euphrates flows
south-west past the lead mines of Keban Maden, where it is 120
yds. wide, and is crossed by a ferry (altitude, 2425 ft.), on the
Sivas-Kharpūt road. It then runs west, south and east round
the rock-mass of Musher Dagh, and receives (right) the Kuru
Chai, down which the Sivas-Malatia road runs, and the Tokhma
Su, from Gorun (Gauraina) and Darende. At the ferry on the
Malatia-Kharpūt road (cuneiform inscription) it flows eastwards
in a valley about a quarter of a mile wide, but soon afterwards
enters a remarkable gorge, and forces its way through Mount
Taurus in a succession of rapids and cataracts. After running
south-east through the grandest scenery, and closely approaching
the source of the western Tigris, it turns south-west and leaves
the mountains a few miles above Samsāt (Samosata; altitude,
1500 ft.). The general direction of the great gorges of the
Euphrates, Pyramus (Jihun) and Sarus (Sihun) seems to indicate
that their formation was primarily due to the same terrestrial
movements that produced the Jordan-ʽAraba depression to the
south. The length of the Frāt is about 275 m.; of the Murad,
415 m.; and of the Euphrates from the junction to Samsāt,
115 m.
Middle Division.—The middle division, which extends from Samsāt to Hit, is about 720 m. long. In this part of its course the Euphrates runs through an open, treeless and sparsely peopled country, in a valley a few miles wide, which it has eroded in the rocky surface. The valley bed is more or less covered with alluvial soil, and cultivated in places by artificial irrigation. The method of this irrigation is peculiar. Three or four piers or sometimes bridges of masonry are run out into the bed of the river, frequently from both sides at once, raising the level of the stream and thus giving a water power sufficient to turn the gigantic wheel or wheels, sometimes almost 40 ft. in diameter, which lift the water to a trough at the top of the dam, whence it is distributed among the gardens and melon patches, rice, cotton, tobacco, liquorice and durra fields, between the immediate bed of the river and the rocky banks which shut it out from the desert. The wheels, called naoura, are of the most primitive construction, made of rough branches of trees, with palm leaf paddles, rude clay vessels being slung on the outer edge to catch the water, of which they raise a prodigious amount, only a comparatively small part of which, however, is poured into the aqueducts on top of the dams. These latter are exceedingly picturesque, often consisting of a series of well-built Gothic arches, and give a peculiar character to the scenery; but they are also great impediments to navigation. In some parts of the river 300 naouras have been counted within a space of 130 m., but of late years many have fallen into decay. By far the larger part of the valley is quite uncultivated, and much of it is occupied by tamarisk jungles, the home of countless wild pigs. Where the valley is still cultivated, the jerd, a skin raised by oxen, is gradually being substituted for the naoura, no more of the latter being constructed to take the place of those which fall into decay.
In this part of its course the rocky sides of the valley, which sometimes closely approach the river, are composed of marls and gypsum, with occasional selenite, overlaid with sandstone, with a topping of breccia or conglomerate, and rise at places to a height of 200 ft. or more. At one point, however, 26 m. above Deir, where lie the ruins of Halebiya, the river breaks through a basaltic dike, el-Ḥamme, some 300 to 500 ft. high. On either side of the river valley a steppe-like desert, covered in the spring with verdure, the rest of the year barren and brown, stretches away as far as the eye can see. Anciently the country on both sides of the Euphrates was habitable as far as the river Khabur; at the present time it is all desert from Birejik downward, the camping ground of Bedouin Arabs, the great tribe of Anazeh occupying esh-Shām, the right bank, and the Shammar the left bank, Mesopotamia of the Romans, now called el-Jezīreh or the island. To these the semi-sedentary Arabs who sparsely cultivate the river valley, dwelling sometimes in huts, sometimes in caves, pay a tribute, called kubbe, or brotherhood, as do also the riverain towns and villages, except perhaps the very largest. The Turkish government also levies taxes on the inhabitants of the river valley, and for this purpose, and to maintain a caravan route from the Mediterranean coast to Bagdad, maintains stations of a few zaptiehs or gens d’armes, at intervals of about 8 hours (caravan time), occupying in general the stations of the old Persian post road. The only riverain towns of any importance on this stretch of the river to-day are Samsāt, Birejik, Deir, ʽAna and Hit.
In early times the Euphrates was important as a boundary. It was the theoretical eastern limit of the Jewish kingdom; for a long time it separated Assyria from the Khita or Hittites; it divided the eastern from the western satrapies of Persia (Ezra iv. 17; Neh. ii. 7); and it was at several periods the boundary of the Roman empire. Until the advent of the nomads from central Asia, and the devastation of Mesopotamia and the opposite Syrian shore of the river, there were many flourishing cities along its course, the ruins of which, representing all periods, still dot its banks. Samsāt itself represents the ancient Samosata, the capital of the Seleucid kings of Commagene (Kumukh of the Assyrian inscriptions), and here the Persian Royal Road from Sardis to Susa is supposed to have crossed the river. Below Samsāt the river runs S.W. to Rum-Kaleh, or “castle of the Romans” (Armenian, Hrhomgla). At this point was another passage of the river, defended by the castle which gives its name to the spot, and which stands on a high hill overhanging the right bank, its base washed by an abundant stream, the Sanjeh (Gr. Σίγγας), which enters the Euphrates on the west. From this point the river runs rather east of south for about 25 m. past Khalfat (ferry) to Birejik or Bir, the ancient Birtha, where it is only 110 m. from the Mediterranean, the bed of the river being 62812 ft. above that sea. This was the Apamea-Zeugma, where the high road from east to west crossed the river, and it is still one of the most frequented of all the passages into Mesopotamia, being the regular caravan route from Iskanderun and Aleppo to Urfa, Diarbekr and Mosul. From Birejik the river runs sluggishly, first a little to the east, then a little to the west of south, over a sandy or pebbly bed, past Jerablus (? Europus, Carchemish, the ancient Hittite capital), near which the Sajur (Sagura; Sangar of the Assyrian inscriptions) enters from the west, to Meskene, 2 m. southward of which are the ruins of Barbalissus (Arab. Balis), the former port of Aleppo, now, owing to changes in the bed, some distance from the water. Six miles below this the ruins of Kalʽat Dibse mark the site of the ancient Thapsacus (Tiphsah of 1 Kings iv. 24), the most important passage of the middle Euphrates, where both Cyrus, on his expedition against his brother, and Alexander the Great crossed
