EUPHRATES, tlefra't•z( Lat., from GI:. Eliwpa Tv, flyers. Ufrrites, tick Proith, Pu ratiu, Ar. Furai, Turk. Fro, Sumerian Paro-inun, gloat water). A river of Asia, forming, with its tributary, the Tigris (41.V.), the principal river of the southwest ern part of the continent (Slap: Turkey in Asia, K 5). it has its source in the heart of Ar menia, in two branches, the Kara Su, or Western Euphrates, and the Murat] Su. orEaste•n Euphra tes, the former rising 25 miles northeast of the town of Erzerum and flowing southwest to a point below Seraijik, where it is met by the Murad tin, which rises on the southern slope of Ala-Dagh and flows west-southwest to the point of confluence. From Seraijik the Euphrates flows in a general southerly direction, at first to the east, but later with a ten deney westward toward the Alediterra neap. In this part of its course it breaks through the Anti-Taurus, and floWs among the mountains for 45 miles, emerging at Samsat, whence it con tinues uninterrupted by rapids to the sea, a dis tance of t•00 miles. Before reaching Bum Kaleh it changes its direction, and, flowing south, sepa rates for some distance 'Mesopotamia from Syria and the deserts of Syrian Arabia. Curving to the southeast, it flows on without receiving any important tributaries for about 700 miles, until it is joined at Kurna by the Tigris. From Klima the river takes the name of the Shat-el Arab, and continues to flow in a southeast direc tion until, after being united by a canal with the Karim from the east, it discharges its waters through several arms into the Persian fluff, 90 miles below Klima. The total length of the Eu phrates is over 1700 miles, while the area of its basin is estimated at 200.000 square miles.
Notwithstanding its size, the Euphrates is of little commercial importance, and has very little influence on the economic life of the region through which it flows. It is navigable for light vessels from Babylon to the sea, a distance of about 450 miles, but even the portion below the confluence of the Tigris is not always of sufficient depth for navigation. Aside from the Tigris,
the chief tributaries are the Kbalmr and Nahr Belik from the east: from the west are received the intermittent waters of a number of wady like streams. Originally the river emptied di rectly into the Persian Gulf: the accretions to the soil. the to deposits at the month, which, it is estimated. proceed at the rate of one mile in fifty years, have brought about the change and caused it to unite with the Tigris at Klima.
Historically the Euphrates is second in im po•tance to no river in the world. It flowed west of Assyria and through Babylonia. and is closely connected with the early Oriental world empires. In ancient times it carried considerable com merce and travel, being navigated by means of boats of wicker-work smeared with bitumen. The plains aloresr its lower course were intersected by an elaborate system of irrigation canals. and, fertilized by the annual overflow. which takes place from the beginning of :March to the end of May, were of great productiveness and supported a teeming population. In the Bible the Euphra tes is 'the river,' or 'the great river' (cf. Gen. xv. IS; Dent. i. 7). It was one of the four rivers of Eden, and the only one mentioned without description (Gen. ii. 14). In the dreams of the Hebrews concerning dominion it represented the eastern limit of their territory (cf. Dent. xi. 2-1; Joshua i. 4). In exilic times the 'Hebrews be •ame very familiar with the river. and there are many allusions to it in the prophets, particularly Jeremiah. For centuries the river was the east ern limit of the Roman power, and under the caliphs its banks were lined with prosperous towns, where the arts and literature flourished. Consult: Chesney, The Expedition for the Sur •ey of the Rivers Euphrates and Tigris (London, 1850) ; Peters, Nippur: or, Explorations and Ad •entures on the Euphrates (New York, 1897). See BABYLONIA.