| Diyala river | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| Location | |
| Country | Iran,Iraq |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | North of Iraq/Western Iran |
| Mouth | |
• location | Tigris River |
| Length | 445 km (277 mi) |
| Basin size | 32,600 km2 (12,600 sq mi)[1] |
| Discharge | |
| • average | 164 m3/s (5,800 cu ft/s) |
| Basin features | |
| Tributaries | |
| • left | Sirwan |
| • right | Tanjero |
TheDiyala (Arabic:نهر ديالىNahr Diyālā;Kurdish:Sîrwan;Farsi:دیالهDiyâlah,سيروانSīrvān) is ariver and tributary of theTigris. It is formed by the confluence of theSirwan andTanjaro rivers inDarbandikhan Dam in theSulaymaniyah Governorate of Northern Iraq. It covers a total distance of 445 km (277 mi).
It rises nearHamadan, in theZagros Mountains of Iran. It then descends through the mountains, where for some 32 km it forms theborder between the two countries. It finally flows into the Tigris belowBaghdad. Navigation of the upper reaches of the Diyala is not possible because of its narrowdefiles, but the river's valley provides an important trade route between Iran and Iraq.
The river flows southwest of theHamrin Mountains.
Its Aramaic origin is "Diyalas" and inKurdish it is called "Sirwan", meaning 'roaring sea' or 'shouting river'. In the early Islamic period, the lower course of the river formed part of theNahrawan Canal. TheDiyala Governorate in Iraq is named after the river.
It may be the ancient Tornas river.[2]
This area flourished already during theJemdet Nasr andEarly Dynastic periods, through to theAkkadian period.
InEshnunna (Tell Asmar), theTell Asmar Hoard is particularly notable. Twelve remarkable statues were found belonging to the Early Dynastic period (2900–2350 BC).
A type of pottery known as 'Scarlet Ware', a brightly coloured pottery with pictorial representations, was typical of sites along the Diyala River.[4] It developed around 2800 BC, and is related to theJemdet Nasr ware in central Mesopotamia of the same period. The red colour was achieved predominantly by usinghaematite paint.
Scarlet Ware is typical ofEarly Dynastic I and II periods.[5] Along the Diyala is located one of the most important trade routes linking south Mesopotamia with the Iranian plateau. Thus, Scarlet ware was also popular in Pusht-i Kuh,Luristan, and it was traded toSusa during Susa II period.
During theLarsa period,Eshnunna especially became prominent. TheDiyala river also bore the name "Shu-durul" at the time.[6]
In 693 BC, theBattle of Diyala River took place between the forces of the Assyrians and the Elamites of southern Iran.
The river is mentioned inHerodotus'sHistories under the name Gyndes, where it is stated that the kingCyrus the Great dispersed it by digging 360 channels as punishment after a sacred white horse perished there.[7] The river returned to its former proportions after the channels disappeared under the sand.[citation needed]. Reference to this story is a crucial archetypal image used byGeorge Eliot inMiddlemarch to describe the spirit of the book's central character, Dorothea Brooke.[8]
In March 1917 the British Empire defeated the Ottoman Empire at the confluence with the Tigris, leading to theFall of Baghdad, part of the Mesopotamian Campaign of World War I.
Major excavations were done in the lower Diyala river basin in the 1930s. They were conducted by theUniversity of Chicago Oriental Institute (1930–1937) and by theUniversity of Pennsylvania (1938–1939). The sites such asTell Agrab, Tell Asmar (ancientEshnunna),Ishchali (ancient Neribtum), and Khafaje (ancientTutub) were excavated.
At that time, the Diyala was relatively unexplored compared to southern and northern Mesopotamia. But looting of sites was already underway. As the result, the professional excavations were launched.
ArchaeologistsJames Breasted andHenri Frankfort were leading these projects.
These excavations provided very comprehensive data on Mesopotamian archaeology and chronology. They covered the time between the lateUruk period and the end of theOld Babylonian period (3000–1700 BC).
Subsequently, nine detailed monographs were published, but most of the objects, numbering 12,000, remained unpublished. Launched in 1992, the Diyala Database Project has been publishing a lot of this material.[9]
Other scholars who worked there wereThorkild Jacobsen as epigrapher,Seton Lloyd, andPinhas Delougaz.[10]
Around 1980, the Diyala region was also explored intensively as part of theHamrin Dam Salvage Project.[11] The following sites were excavated from 1977 to 1981:Tell Yelkhi, Tell Hassan, Tell Abu Husaini,Tell Kesaran, Tell Harbud, Tell al-Sarah, and Tell Mahmud.[12]
In Iran theDaryan Dam is constructed nearDaryan inKermanshah province. One of the goals of the dam is to divert a portion of the water to southwestern Iran for irrigation through the 48 km (30 mi) long Nosoud Water Conveyance Tunnel and to producehydroelectric power.[13][14][15] In Iraq, the river first reaches theDarbandikhan Dam which generates hydroelectric power and stores water for irrigation. It then flows down to theHemrin Dam for similar purposes. In the lower Diyala Valley near Baghdad the river is controlled by theDiyala Weir which controls floods and irrigates the area northeast of Baghdad.
| International | |
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| Geographic | |
33°13′15″N44°30′23″E / 33.2208°N 44.5064°E /33.2208; 44.5064
