Mesopotamia (Iraq) - Tigris

The Tigris is the eastern member of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of south-eastern Turkey through Iraq and empties itself into the Persian Gulf.

Baghdad, the capital of modern-day Iraq, stands on the banks of the Tigris. The port city of Basra straddles the Shatt al-Arab. In ancient times, many of the great cities of Mesopotamia stood on or near the Tigris, drawing water from it to irrigate the civilization of the Sumerians.  Notable Tigris-side cities included Nineveh, Ctesiphon, and Seleucia.

The Tigris has long been an important transport route in a largely desert country. Shallow-draft vessels can go as far as Baghdad, but rafts are needed for transport upstream to Mosul.

In the First World War, during the British conquest of Ottoman Mesopotamia, Indian and Thames River paddlers were used to supply General Townsend's Army.