Norwich bulletin., 1916-05-04
THE WAR PRIMER By National Geographic Society

The Tieris River-Along the flood ed banks of the Tigris River the Eng fish campaign in Mesopotamia has been waged with exceptional vigor during the last few weeks. It has brought into the limelight this great water course of Western Asia which has almost as many historical associ- ations as the Euphrates. which flowed through the Garden of Eden. A bull lEtin issued today by the National Geogra phic Society, from it's head quarters in Washington, gives an m- ancient oiv:liZation, which seems to have assumed once more the role of history maker.
 "Ihe great Tigris, upon whose banks there dourished the magnificent city of Lagash and the great Baby loaian empire more than three thous- and years before the Christian era, today has fallen to such lowly estate that even the Turks and Arabs, whom it sustains, scorn to do it honor. AL most contemptuously they have given it the sobriquet, the cheap cameleer, because it is used by the natives of its upper reaches to bring down rafts where the wood is sold while the in- Hated skins. used as floats, are de- fl:tted and transported back to the hiH country by caravan.
 "On irs tuTbid coursA through Mes opotamia the Tigris, Wsaich is trav- ersed by sraH boats for distance na2rly four times as great as he aavigable reaches of the Hudson River, flows T'lst many ruins Which nave proved zn almost inexhaustible mine of information for archaeologists. Opposite MesuJ, from which we have derived the cord muslin. applied to tha fabric first imported into Eu- rope from this town in the 12th cel tury, there are to be found the ex- tensive remains of what was once naughty Nineveh. ever associated in tEe pf,pular mind with the Bihli, al account of Jonah. the great fish end courd vine
 ''Sjx:y miles down the river from Ninevah, which was the last capital of Assyria, there squats the mean little Arab village of Kal- -'at- Shergat, on the buried ruins of Assur, the first great city Of the ASSyrian empire. It was in honor of their god Assur that high priests founded the city of the same name. These priestly builders and ad- ministrators were at first under the suzerainty of Baybylonia, but when that empire fell into decay they suc- ceeded in establishing themselves as independent kings, founding a dynas- ty which held ruthless sway over this section of the world for centuries.
 Another historic place on the banks of the T4griS is Nimrud, which legend tells us was built by the Biblical hero who in addition to being a mighty hunter is credited with having beer the protector of the Tower of Babel and also with having cast Abraham in- to the fire because the father of the Israelites refused to worship idols.
 "Only a few weeks ago British sol diers were contending with the Turks in the environs of the ancient capita Of the Parthian kings, Ctesiphon, 2 few miles south of Bagdad Here one finds the ruins of the great palace known as the throne of Khosrau', the most remarkable example of Sassaniax l architecture extant.
 The Tigris has two main sources
 in the Taurus mountains, at an eleva, 1 ton of 5000 feet. The head waters of the Western branch are only two ol three miles from one of the source. of the Euphrates. After the twt
 branches join the river flows in { .southeasterly direction for 800 mile until it unites with the EITphrate
 seventy miles above the Persian Gul1 and forms the Shatt-e1-Arab. Tn,
 two principal towns on this waterwac of ancient glory are Bagdad, who's l importance, it Is expected, win b greatly enhanced by the completion Q 1 the Bagdad Railway, and BaSra, tn export city for the worlds fines