Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1921-11-04

prepared by the National Geographic 3d.
ciety. Washington. d. CO
Irak, the new Arab state. of which
Emir Feisal recently was proclaimed
provisional king, under British man.
date, strikes a new note to many ears
but despite Its unfamiliar name It
is a land whose influence upon the
history of the human race 1t would
scarcely be possible to Overestimate.
For Irak is none other than Mesopo-
tamia, that between-the-rive strip
of land which is believed by many to
have been the original home of the
human race-the Garden Of Eden.
There in the dim and misty ages be-
fore history began, men first attempted
to form themselves into organized
communities, there the Hebrew race
found its origin, and thence their
first leader Abraham, went out in
search of the land which he should
afterward receive for an inheritance.
1t is long and comparatively mar
row stretch of country, running up
from the Persian Gulf toward the
Taurus mountains and that lofty table
lend which we now know as Armenia.
On Its northern and northeastern side
1t is bordered by fringe of noun
tains, gradually sloping up toward the
great northern ranges. On the south
ern and southwestern side 1t fades
away into the great Arabian desert
Its Two Famous Rivers.
Far up in the tableland of Armenia,
about 800 miles in a straight line from
the gulf, rise two great rivers-the
Tigris and the Euphrates. The former
breaks through the mountain wall OF
the tableland on its eastern flank
and flows In a southeasterly direction
throughout almost its entire course.
The latter breaks through on the
western flank and flows at first west
ward, as though making for the
Mediterranean. 1t then turns south
and flows directly southwark for
awhile; then sweeps around in a great
bend to the southeast and follows a
course gradually converging upon that
of its sister stream. Finally near
the sea, the two unite and issue as
one river into the Persian Gulf.
The land traversed by these two
rivers has, like the sister overland OF
Egypt, been from time immemorial
one of the great historic centers OF
human development. 1t divides into
two portions Of fairly equal length
For the first 400 miles the country
gradually descends in gentle Slope
from the mountains. forming an ir
regular triangle between the two
rivers, within which the land become:
less and less billy, as it sinks south
ward, till, as it nears the Euphrates
it becomes broad steppe, which
beyond the river, rolls off into thu
desert. This portion is strictly tn
land called by the Greeks "Mesopo
tamia."
The second division is totally diff
ferent In character. 1t is simply
great delta, like that Of the Nile
fat, alluvial plain, which has bee
entirely formed of the silt brough
down from the mountains by the tw
great rivers.
The process of land making is sti
going on, and the waters of the Pei
sian Gulf are. being pushed back at tn
rate of about II feet per annun
What this slow process may achiey
In many centuries is evidenced by til
fact that we know that the ancier
town of Eridu was, about 1000 B. c
an important seaport on the Persia
Gulf 1t is now 125 miles from tt
sea.
Control Of Waters Necessary.
Both lands were entirely dependel
for their Availability and fertility {
the rivers which traversed them.
Mesopotamia the Tigris and the K
pirates have for long stretches cha
peled deep into the soil and flow b
low the level Of the land. In the To-
er ct--Babylonia-the ordlna
, level Of the rivers Is frequently abo
that Of the surrounding plain; so tn
foundations are of frequent occr
renee, and large tracts of the count
are now unhealthy marshland.
! In both cases. therefore. though I
! opposite reasons. the hand Of man v
; ussdsd to make the rivers helpful.
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