history, as in Tobit (vi, 1), Judith (i, 6), and Ecclesias- ticus (xxiv, 25). The meaning and various forms of the word have been considered under Hiudkkel (q. v.). It only remains, therefore, in the present article, to de- scribe more particularly the course, character, and his- torical relations of the stream.
1. The Tigris, like the Euphrates, rises from two principal sources. The most distant, and therefore the true, source is the western one, which is in lat. 38° 10', long. 39° 20' nearly, a little to the south of the high mountain lake called Giiljik, or Gcilenjik, in the penin- sula formed by the Euphrates, where it sweeps round between I'alou and Telek. The Tigris's source is near the south-western angle of the lake, and cannot be more than two or three miles from the channel of the lui- phrates. The course of the Tigris is somewhat north of east, but, after pursuing this direction for about twenty-five miles, it makes a sweep round to the soutVi and descends by Arghani Maden upon Diarbekr. Here it is already a river of considerable size, and is crossed by a bridge of ten arches a little below that city (Nie- buhr. Voyage en A ?7Y6(V,p. 32G). It then turns sudden- ly to the east and flows in this direction past Osman Kieui to Til, where it once more alters its course and takes that south-easterly direction which it pursues, with certain slight variations, to its final junction with the Euphrates. At Osman Kieui it receives the sec- ond, or Eastern, Tigris which descends from Niphates (the modern Ala-Tagh) with a course almost due south, and, collecting on its way the waters of a large number of streams, unites with the Tigris half-way between Diarbekr and Til, in long. 41° nearly. The courses of the two streams to the point of jiniction are respective- ly 150 and 100 miles. A little below the junction, and before any other tributary of importance is received, the Tigris is 150 yards wide and from three to four feet deep. Near Til a large stream flows into it from the north-east, bringing almost as much water as the main channel ordinarily holds (Layard. Nineveh and L'(dj//lon, p. 49). This branch rises near Billi, in northern Kur- distan, and rims at first to the north-east, but presently sweeps round to the north and proceeds through the districts of Shattak and Boktan with a general wester- ly course, crossing and recrossing the line of the o8th parallel, nearly to "Sert, whence it flows south-west and south to Til. From Til the Tigris nms southward for 20 miles through a long, narrow, and deep gorge, at the end of which it emerges upon the comparatively low, but still hilly, country of Mesopotamia, near Jezireh. Through this it flows with a course which is south- southeast to Mosul, thence nearly south to Kileh-Sher- ghat, and again south-southeast to Samara, where the hills end and the river enters on the great alluvium. The course is now more irregular. Between Samara and Baghdad a considerable bend is made to the east; and, after the Shat el-Hie is thrown off in lat. 32° 30', a second bend is made to the north, the regular south- easterly course being only resimied a little above the 32d parallel, from which point the Tigris runs in a tol- erably direct line to its junction with the EiLphrates at Kurnah. The length of the whole stream, exclusive of meanders, is reckoned at 1146 miles. It can be de- scended on rafts during the flood season from Diarbekr, which is only 150 miles from its source; and it has been navigated by steamers of small draught nearlv up to Mosul. From Diarbekr to Samara the navigation is much impeded by rapids, rocks, and shallows, as well as by artificial bunds, or dams, which in ancient times were thrown across the streafti, probably for pur- poses of irrigation. Below Samara there are no ob- structions; the river is deep, with a bottom of soft mud, the stream moderate, and tie course very mean- dering. The average width of the Tigris in this part of its course is 200 yards, while its depth is very con- siderable.
Besides the three head-streams of the Tigris which have already been described, the river receives, along
TIGRIS
404
TIKKUN SOPIIERIM
its middle and lower course, no fewer than five impor- tant tributaries. These are, tlic river of ZakUo, or East- ern Khabilr, the (Ireat Zab (Zab Ah\), the Lesser Zab (Zab Asfal), the Adheni, and the Diyaleh, or ancient (iyndes. All these rivers tiow from the high range of Zagros, whiili shuts in the Mesopotamiau valley on the east, and is able to sustain so large a number of great streams from its inexhaustible springs and abun- dant snows. From the west the Tigris obtains no trib- utary of the slighest importance, for the Tharlhar, which is said to have once reached it, now ends in a salt lake a little below Tekrit. Its volume, however, is continually increasing as it descends in consequence of the great bulk of water brought into it from the east, particularly by the Great Zab and the Diyaleh; and in its lower course it is said to be a larger stream and to carry a greater body than the Euphrates (Chesney, Euphi-ates Expedition, i, G2).
'2. The Tigris, like the Euphrates, has a flood sea- son. Early in the month of March, in consequence of the melting of the snows on the southern flank of Ni- phates, the river rises rajjidly. Its breadth gradually increases at Uiarbekr from 100 or 120 to 250 yards. The stream is swift and turbid. The rise continues through March and April, reaching its full height gen- erally in the first or second week of May. At this time the country about Baghdad is often extensively flooded, not, however, so much from the Tigris as from the overflow of the Euphrates, which is here poured into the eastern stream through a canal. Farther down the river, in the territory of the Beni-Lam Arabs, be- tween the 32d and 31st parallels, there is a great an- nual inundation on both banks. About the middle of May the Tigris begins to fall, and by midsummer it has reached its natural level. In October and Novem- ber there is another rise and fall in consequence of the autumnal rains; but, compared with the spring flood, tiiat of autumn is insignificant.