Zab rivers

   The two main tributaries of the Tigris, one of the two major rivers (along with the Euphrates) that flow through the plains of Mesopotamia. The Zab waterways are usually referred to separately either as the Upper and Lower Zab or the Great and Little Zab. The Upper Zab rises in the mountains of southeastern Anatolia, today encompassed by Turkey, and flows for some 265 miles (426 km) to its junction with the Tigris near the important city of Mosul. The Lower Zab rises in the hills of northeastern Iran and flows for 250 miles (402 km) before meeting the Tigris just north of the modern town of Baiji in northern Iraq. Along with the Tigris itself, the Upper and Lower Zab and the regions along their banks were the principal focus of Assyrian civilization. The Assyrians used the rivers for transportation as well as for water for drinking, cooking, bathing, and watering crops. To facilitate the latter, they built canals that diverted water from the rivers.

   See also: Assyrian Empire; farming; Tigris and Euphrates