The Jaghjagh River ( ''Nahr Jaqjaq'', ''Nahr al-Jaghjagh'', or ''Nahr al-Hirmas'', , ''Nahro dJaqjaq'', ) is a tributary of the Khabur River in

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

and

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

. The river was known to the ancient Greeks as the ''Mygdonius'' (), and lent its name to the city of Antioch in Mygdonia.
NISIBIS
'' Encyclopaedia Iranica

Sources

The river has two sources. The longer branch, known as Siyahsu (meaning ''dark water'',

Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish language ** Northern Kurdish (Kurmanji) **Central Kurdish (Sorani) **Southern Kurdish ** Laki Kurdish *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern ...

''Av-e Resh''), rises near the village of Toptepe in

Mardin Province Mardin Province (; ; ; ) is a province and metropolitan municipality in Turkey. Its area is 8,780 km2, and its population is 870,374 (2022). The largest city in the province is Kızıltepe, while the capital Mardin is the second largest ci ...

, and flows 10 km to the confluence with the shorter branch, known as Beyazsu (meaning ''white water'', Kurdish ''Av-e Spi'').

Course

The river crosses into Syria near the cities of Nusaybin and

Qamishli Qamishli is a city in northeastern Syria on the Syria–Turkey border, adjoining the city of Nusaybin in Turkey. The Jaghjagh River flows through the city. With a 2004 census population of 184,231, it is the List of cities in Syria, ninth most-po ...

. The water is heavily used for

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering of plants) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has bee ...

, in both Turkey and Syria. The river flows into the Khabur River at

Al-Hasakah Al-Hasakah (; / ; ) is a city in northeastern Syria and the capital of the Al-Hasakah Governorate. With a 2023 estimated population of 422,445, Al-Hasakah is populated by Kurds, Arabs, Assyrians and a smaller number of Armenians and Chechens. A ...

Wildlife

Freshwater mussels and

turtle Turtles are reptiles of the order (biology), order Testudines, characterized by a special turtle shell, shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Crypt ...

s live in the river.

Trout Trout (: trout) is a generic common name for numerous species of carnivorous freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of which are members of the subfamily Salmoninae in the ...

are also raised commercially. Oil spills into the river caused by the repeated Turkish attacks on oil facilities nearby caused pollution of its watercourse.

References

External links

Confluence of Siyahsu and beyazsu, Google Maps

Source of Beyazsu, Google Maps

Source of Siyahsu, Google Maps
Rivers of Syria Rivers of Turkey Landforms of Mardin Province Tributaries of the Khabur (Euphrates) International rivers of Asia {{Turkey-river-stub