Dear Prof. Al-Niaeem,

The responses of the colleagues and the nice images of the surrounding area of Shatt Al-Arab River motivated me to proceed further with the question. Thus, I found the following aspect with regard to the history of the river.

1639: Treaty of Zohab, between the Persian and the Ottoman Empires, where the rights of Shatt al-Arab were disputed. This agreement did not manage to close the disagreements on the border issue between the two empires.

1847: Agreement of Ezerum, which was understood so that the Shatt al-Arab was to remain under the Ottomans, while the Persians had navigation rights. At this point Russia and Britain were involved in the conflict, Russia on Persian side and the British on Ottoman side.

1914: New agreements, establishing the border at some points along the middle of the river, but most of the time the border ran along the shores on Persian side, leaving the Ottomans as the strongest party.

1971-75: Iranian- Iraqi disagreements on the border, where Iran occupies a small group of Iraqi islands just at the outlet of Shatt al-Arab.

1980: With old disagreements on the border line in mind, Iraq attacks Iran, and the eight years of war between the two countries start.

1988: Peace between Iran and Iraq, without changes in the borders between the two countries.

1991: After the defeat in the Gulf War, Iraq starts planning for a canal system that will drain out the marshes on the Iraqi side of the Shatt al-Arab. While this is a measure that will bring southern Iraq back to the natural conditions that dominated in earlier and more prosperous times of the region's history, this is all planned without consideration of the interests of the Marsh Arabs. (http://looklex.com/e.o/shatt_al-arab.htm)

Regards   

Thank you for the invitation. Unfortunately, I know nothing about this beautiful place, as it can be seen by the attached images in the guestion. I consider that the discussion thread will be a good opportunity for me to start learning about this nice place and its history.

Regards

 Dear  Khalidah

Shaṭṭ Al-ʿArab, ( Arabic: “Stream of the Arabs”) Persian Arvand Rūd, river in southeastern Iraq, formed by the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers at the town of Al-Qurnah. It flows southeastward for 120 miles (193 km) and passes the Iraqi port of Basra and the Iranian port of Abadan before emptying into the Persian Gulf. For about the last half of its course the river forms the border between Iraq and Iran; it receives a tributary, the Kārūn River, from the eastern (Iranian) side. Its width increases from about 120 feet (37 m) at Basra to 0.5 mile (0.8 km) at its mouth. Along the settled banks there are date-palm groves, which are naturally irrigated by tidal action. The Kārūn empties large quantities of silt into the Shaṭṭ Al-ʿArab, necessitating continuous dredging to keep the channel navigable for shallow-draft oceangoing vessels. The present river pattern probably is relatively recent, but its mode of formation is uncertain. The Tigris and Euphrates possibly once flowed to the Persian Gulf by a more westerly channel, while the Shaṭṭ Al-ʿArab’s present lower course may have been part of the Kārūn. In the 1980s the Shaṭṭ Al-ʿArab was the scene of prolonged and intense fighting between Iraq and Iran; the former had invaded the latter in 1980 after asserting Iraqi sovereignty over both banks of the river.

 ٌRegards 

 dear 

i agree with Saeed Al Rashid

regards 

Dear Dr. Saeed Al Rashid,

Thanks for the description, along the settled banks there are date-palm groves.

regards 

Dear Dr. Khalidah,

It is a very good question and nice images. I think it will be a good opportunity to share information about this important and vital river for Basrah province, southern Iraq. I hope our colleagues will shed the light on the different aspects of this river and the problems which it faces because of pollution, abuse and shortage of resources.

Best regards

SM Najim

Dear Prof. Al-Niaeem,

The responses of the colleagues and the nice images of the surrounding area of Shatt Al-Arab River motivated me to proceed further with the question. Thus, I found the following aspect with regard to the history of the river.

1639: Treaty of Zohab, between the Persian and the Ottoman Empires, where the rights of Shatt al-Arab were disputed. This agreement did not manage to close the disagreements on the border issue between the two empires.

1847: Agreement of Ezerum, which was understood so that the Shatt al-Arab was to remain under the Ottomans, while the Persians had navigation rights. At this point Russia and Britain were involved in the conflict, Russia on Persian side and the British on Ottoman side.

1914: New agreements, establishing the border at some points along the middle of the river, but most of the time the border ran along the shores on Persian side, leaving the Ottomans as the strongest party.

1971-75: Iranian- Iraqi disagreements on the border, where Iran occupies a small group of Iraqi islands just at the outlet of Shatt al-Arab.

1980: With old disagreements on the border line in mind, Iraq attacks Iran, and the eight years of war between the two countries start.

1988: Peace between Iran and Iraq, without changes in the borders between the two countries.

1991: After the defeat in the Gulf War, Iraq starts planning for a canal system that will drain out the marshes on the Iraqi side of the Shatt al-Arab. While this is a measure that will bring southern Iraq back to the natural conditions that dominated in earlier and more prosperous times of the region's history, this is all planned without consideration of the interests of the Marsh Arabs. (http://looklex.com/e.o/shatt_al-arab.htm)

Regards   

Dear  Khalidah S. Al-Niaeem,

Wonderful place. Both of Aristidis Matsoukis and Saeed Al Rashid give a good information about the place.

The Shatt al-Arab River forms the boundaries between Iran and Iraq before flowing into the Persian Gulf.

https://library.ecc-platform.org/conflicts/iraq-iran-water-dispute-war

 The plains of lower Mesopotamia extend southward some 375 miles (600 km) from Balad on the Tigris and Al-Ramādī on the Euphrates to the Arab Gulf. They cover more than 51,000 square miles (132,000 square km), almost one-third of the country’s area, and are characterized by low elevation, below 300 feet (100 metres), and poor natural drainage. Large areas are subject to widespread seasonal flooding, and there are extensive marshlands, some of which dry up in the summer to become salty wastelands. Near Al-Qurnah, where the Tigris and Euphrates converge to form the Shatt al-Arab, there are still some inhabited marshes. The alluvial plains contain extensive lakes. The swampy Lake Al-Ḥammār (Hawr al-Ḥammār) extends 70 miles (110 km) from Al-Baṣrah (Basra) to Sūq al-Shuyūkh; its width varies from 8 to 15 miles (13 to 25 km). https://www.britannica.com/place/Iraq#ref63955

https://www.researchgate.net/project/Aquatic-Atlas-for-Shatt-Al-Arab-River-Southern-Iraq

In addition, the attached links may be helpful concerning the question.

Regards

https://wedocs.unep.org/rest/bitstreams/15337/retrieve

http://www.iasj.net/iasj?func=fulltext&aId=72314

http://biopublisher.ca/index.php/ijms/article/html/2644/

It is good project. Shatt Al-Arab River is very important and it is good idea to discuss this river in order to keep and maintain such important river. All the best