DOCSLIB.ORG

The Mentioned Above Help to Describe and Identify the Quantity of Water a Contributed by Each Country Sharing the River Basin

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Mentioned Above Help to Describe and Identify the Quantity of Water a Contributed by Each Country Sharing the River Basin NATURAL FLOW AND HUMAN USE OF THE EUPHRATES RIVER Headwaters of the Khabur Tributary John Kolars Rival claims between Turkey, Syria and Iraq for use of the waters of the Euphrates (and Tigris) River will increase in intensity in the near future as more of the developmental plans of those countries are realized. Before such claims can be arbitrated there must be as complete knowledge as possible of the natural characteristics of the river and its basin made available to all concerned parties. Beyond the physical attributes of the river — some of which will be discussed below — additional information regarding the demography and ethnicity of the populations involved, the history of the area and of the use of its river(s), developments already in place or underway as well as those planned for the future, and the legal, political, and economic issues involved must also be readv at hand. This discussion does not intend to be definitive or complete. Its intent is to outline some critical aspects of one small section of the Euphrates River system. It is hoped by this to indicate the type of continuing research undertaken by the author for the MERI water project. The basic data needed for understanding developments in the basin are the amounts of water available both on the surface and in its aquifers, and on the various withdrawals from these amounts by natural and human subsystems. Such data are usually obtained by records kept at various gauging stations along the length of streams and by well logs. Such records vary in accuracy, timing, and number of years kept. Another important aspect of such records is whether or not the data represent pre- or post- damming periods of flow. Ancillary checks on the accuracy and amounts recorded can be computed — again with varying degrees of accuracy — from catchment areas and climatic records. Soils, underlying lithology (permeability and porousity), vegetative cover, and slope are also important. If amounts of flow can be assigned to specific tributaries this further enhances the overall picture. This last point is the focus of this particular presentation. The mentioned above help to describe and identify the quantity of water A contributed by each country sharing the river basin. In this case the riparian states in question are Turkey which provides most of the waters - 2 - of the Euphrates, Syria which contributes about ten percent of the river's flow, and Iraq which essentially uses but does not contribute to the Euphrates. It should be noted that Saudi Arabia technically shares a small portion of the downstream river basin, but that for all practical purposes neither gives water to nor receives water from the system. Country shares have little correlation with the amounts of water claimed and/or used by riparian states. There is a long record of international river use throughout the world although it is poorly codified. Nevertheless, the case for the legitimacy of downstream as well as upstream users' claims is well established. When water is used for irrigation, domestic use, and industry part of that water will be returned to the system. The amount and quality of the returned water can be significant factors in determining equitable river basin use. Hydroelectric production in theory should not effect downstream users since the water is returned to the system after being passed through the turbines. However, water ponded in reservoirs can be lost through evaporation and seepage and the silt content of rivers can be dramatically altered by settling out in upstream reservoirs. Another important feature of river bsin water use is the amount of water transported and stored in natural underground reservoirs (aquifers). This is of particular interest in the Middle East where surface water losses from evaporation are great. Water held underground remains uneffected by high temperatures and low humidities. On the other hand, the pumping of aquifers can change the flow of surface streams and the return of water to aquifers can pollute as well as restore such supplies. Far less is known about the characteristics, movements and amounts of underground waters then about those on the surface. This presentation will point out the significance of certain aquifers to the Euphrates system. Little will be said here about the legal, historic, and economic events which form the matrix of human use of Euphrates waters. However, in the final analysis, it is in those areas that the most critical decisions have been and will be made. The counties (kaza) in Turkey which fall within the Southeast Anatolia Project (SEAP) are shown on Map I (Figure I). This constitutes the major catchment area for precipitation supplying the Euphrates River. Counties farther east are also important sources of water for the Tigris River. - 3 - Several estimates of the flow of Euphrates waters attribute 88 percent to Turkey and 12 percent to Syria (Garbrecht as quoted in Beaumont, 1978). Al-Khasab using different techniques and sources of data assigns 100 percent of the flow to Turkey (Table 9, 1958). Al-Hadithi using other materials attributes 84 percent of the river's mean annual runoff to Turkey, 13 percent to Syria, and 3 percent to Iraq (1979). (Determining which of these sets of figures is correct will take additional analysis but is discussed below.) One element of importance is the question of the Syrian contribution to the Euphrates' flow into Iraq. This increment comes from three tributaries: the Sadjur which enters from the right bank near the Turkish border, the Balikh (Colap in Turkey) from the left bank farther downstream, and the Khabur midway between the Tabqa Dam and the Iraqi border. Water from these tributaries £omes in part from their catchment areas within Syria, but a major portion of their flow originates in Turkey. The upper reaches of the Khabur constitute a number of smaller streams in Turkey as well as a large aquifer which provides the Khabur in Syria with much of its flow. The materials in this presentation are limited to an examination of the role played by the Khabur and its sources. The "Mardin-Ceylanpinar Irrigation Area' within the Euphrates basin represents the area of Turkey which provides water to the Khabur and which is itself undergoing significant agricultural development within SEAP in Turkey. Such developments will have an important effect on downstream conditions of the Khabur. Put another way, it may well be that of the estimates quoted above, that of Al-Khasab is closest to actual conditions. This, in turn, would mean that Turkey's control over Euphrates waters is nearly total in so far as the geographical location of their sources is concerned. Map II (Figure II) shows the SEAP area in greater detail. The Euphrates River with its existing and proposed reservoirs occupies the western portion of this map. The Tigris River and its existing and proposed reservoirs is in the east. (A portion of Lake Van shows in the northeast. This lake is landlocked and saline and plays no part in the river basin system.) Proposed irrigation developments are shown with the Mardin-Ceylanpinar area found just north of the Syrian border in the central portion of the map. The Colap — and its downstream extension into Syria as the Balikh — is immediately to the west of the Mardin-Ceylanpinar area. A series of tunnels and canals will lead water from an arm of the Ataturk Reservoir in the northwest in a southeasterly direction to both the Colap and the Mardin-Ceylanpinar - 4 irrigation developments. Map III presents additional information about the Mardin-Ceylanpinar project. (It is important to remember that it is this area with its surface streams and underlying aquifers that provides the downstream flow of the Khabur.) The remainder of this discussion will present a review of just how much and in what way this water finds its way into Syria and the Khabur River. The focal point of this map is an area of some 60,000 hectares which will receive water from pumped wells rather than from surface canals. The aquifer tapped by these wells is also the source of water for springs in Syria which feed the Khabur. This irrigation development centers upon Ceylanpinar. Surrounding this area is a much larger one in Turkey in which between 300,000 and 448,000 additional hectares of land will be irrigated with water brought by canals from the Ataturk Reservoir. The impact of this imported water upon the flow and quality of both surface streams and aquifers is problematical. A further point of interest on this map are state farms where crop production from pumped wells is already a fact. Map IV (Figure IV) draws attention to the Syrian role in the physical and economic development of the Khabur River. An area in northeast Syria centering upon the province of Al-Hasakah contains the Syrian headwaters of the Khabur and its tributaries. To the west, the Euphrates River flows across the Turkish border into Syria where it is ponded behind the Tabqa Dam. To the east the Khabur joins the Euphrates near Deir ez Zor. The river then continues to and across the Iraqi-Syrian border. Little water, if any, enters the river downstream from Deir ez Zor with the exception of irregular • floods from usually dry wadis. The headwaters of the Khabur in that portion of Syria known as the Jezireh are shown on Map V. This region is an extension of the north Syrian steppe which is terminated north of the Syrian-Turkish border by the foothills of the Anti-Taurus mountains. The principal feature of this region is the valley of the Khabur which is divided into the High Jezireh just south of the Turkish border and the Low Jezireh which extends as far as the Euphrates River near Deir ez Zor by volcanic highlands to west and east.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Neo-Assyrian Treaties As a Source for the Historian: Bonds of Friendship, the Vigilant Subject and the Vengeful KingS Treaty
    WRITING NEO-ASSYRIAN HISTORY Sources, Problems, and Approaches Proceedings of an International Conference Held at the University of Helsinki on September 22-25, 2014 Edited by G.B. Lanfranchi, R. Mattila and R. Rollinger THE NEO-ASSYRIAN TEXT CORPUS PROJECT 2019 STATE ARCHIVES OF ASSYRIA STUDIES Published by the Neo-Assyrian Text Corpus Project, Helsinki in association with the Foundation for Finnish Assyriological Research Project Director Simo Parpola VOLUME XXX G.B. Lanfranchi, R. Mattila and R. Rollinger (eds.) WRITING NEO-ASSYRIAN HISTORY SOURCES, PROBLEMS, AND APPROACHES THE NEO- ASSYRIAN TEXT CORPUS PROJECT State Archives of Assyria Studies is a series of monographic studies relating to and supplementing the text editions published in the SAA series. Manuscripts are accepted in English, French and German. The responsibility for the contents of the volumes rests entirely with the authors. © 2019 by the Neo-Assyrian Text Corpus Project, Helsinki and the Foundation for Finnish Assyriological Research All Rights Reserved Published with the support of the Foundation for Finnish Assyriological Research Set in Times The Assyrian Royal Seal emblem drawn by Dominique Collon from original Seventh Century B.C. impressions (BM 84672 and 84677) in the British Museum Cover: Assyrian scribes recording spoils of war. Wall painting in the palace of Til-Barsip. After A. Parrot, Nineveh and Babylon (Paris, 1961), fig. 348. Typesetting by G.B. Lanfranchi Cover typography by Teemu Lipasti and Mikko Heikkinen Printed in the USA ISBN-13 978-952-10-9503-0 (Volume 30) ISSN 1235-1032 (SAAS) ISSN 1798-7431 (PFFAR) CONTENTS ABBREVIATIONS ............................................................................................................. vii Giovanni Battista Lanfranchi, Raija Mattila, Robert Rollinger, Introduction ..............................
    [Show full text]
  • From Small States to Universalism in the Pre-Islamic Near East
    REVOLUTIONIZING REVOLUTIONIZING Mark Altaweel and Andrea Squitieri and Andrea Mark Altaweel From Small States to Universalism in the Pre-Islamic Near East This book investigates the long-term continuity of large-scale states and empires, and its effect on the Near East’s social fabric, including the fundamental changes that occurred to major social institutions. Its geographical coverage spans, from east to west, modern- day Libya and Egypt to Central Asia, and from north to south, Anatolia to southern Arabia, incorporating modern-day Oman and Yemen. Its temporal coverage spans from the late eighth century BCE to the seventh century CE during the rise of Islam and collapse of the Sasanian Empire. The authors argue that the persistence of large states and empires starting in the eighth/ seventh centuries BCE, which continued for many centuries, led to new socio-political structures and institutions emerging in the Near East. The primary processes that enabled this emergence were large-scale and long-distance movements, or population migrations. These patterns of social developments are analysed under different aspects: settlement patterns, urban structure, material culture, trade, governance, language spread and religion, all pointing at population movement as the main catalyst for social change. This book’s argument Mark Altaweel is framed within a larger theoretical framework termed as ‘universalism’, a theory that explains WORLD A many of the social transformations that happened to societies in the Near East, starting from Andrea Squitieri the Neo-Assyrian period and continuing for centuries. Among other infl uences, the effects of these transformations are today manifested in modern languages, concepts of government, universal religions and monetized and globalized economies.
    [Show full text]
  • Aramaeans Outside of Syria 1. Assyria Martti Nissinen 1. Aramaeans
    CHAPTER NINE OUTLOOK: ARAMAEANS OUTSIDE OF SYRIA 1. Assyria Martti Nissinen 1. Aramaeans and the Neo-Assyrian Empire (934–609 B.C.)1 Encounters between the Aramaeans and the Assyrians are as old as is the occupation of these two ethnic entities in the area between the Tigris and the Khabur rivers and in northern Mesopotamia. The first occurrence of the word ar(a)māyu in the Assyrian records is to be found in the inscriptions of Tiglath-Pileser I (1114–1076 B.C.), who gives an account of his confronta- tion with the “Aramaean Aḫlamaeans” (aḫlamû armāya) along the Middle Euphrates;2 however, the presence of the Aramaean tribes in this area is considerably older.3 The Assyrians had governed the Khabur Valley in the 13th century already, but the movement of the Aramaean tribes from the west presented a constant threat to the Assyrian supremacy in the area. Tiglath-Pileser I and his follower, Aššur-bēl-kala (1073–1056 B.C.), fought successfully against the Aramaeans, but in the long run, the Assyrians were not able to maintain control over the Lower Khabur–Middle Euphrates region. Assur-dān (934–912 B.C.) and Adad-nirari II (911–891 B.C.) man- aged to regain the area between the Tigris and the Khabur occupied by the Aramaeans, but the Khabur Valley was never under one ruler, and even the campaigns of Assurnasirpal II (883–859 B.C.) did not consolidate the Assyrian dominion. Under Shalmaneser III (858–824 B.C.) the area east of the Euphrates came under Assyrian control, but it was not until the 1 I would like to thank the Institute for Advanced Study (Princeton, NJ, USA) for the opportunity of writing this article during a research visit in May–June, 2011.
    [Show full text]
  • The Euphrates River: an Analysis of a Shared River System in the Middle East
    /?2S THE EUPHRATES RIVER: AN ANALYSIS OF A SHARED RIVER SYSTEM IN THE MIDDLE EAST by ARNON MEDZINI THESIS SUBMITTED FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY SCHOOL OF ORIENTAL AND AFRICAN STUDIES UNIVERSITY OF LONDON September 1994 ProQuest Number: 11010336 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest ProQuest 11010336 Published by ProQuest LLC(2018). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States C ode Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 Abstract In a world where the amount of resources is constant and unchanging but where their use and exploitation is growing because of the rapid population growth, a rise in standards of living and the development of industrialization, the resource of water has become a critical issue in the foreign relations between different states. As a result of this many research scholars claim that, today, we are facing the beginning of the "Geopolitical era of water". The danger of conflict of water is especially severe in the Middle East which is characterized by the low level of precipitation and high temperatures. The Middle Eastern countries have been involved in a constant state of political tension and the gap between the growing number of inhabitants and the fixed supply of water and land has been a factor in contributing to this tension.
    [Show full text]
  • Euphrates-Tigris
    0 [Type here] Irrigation in Africa in figures - AQUASTAT Survey - 2016 Transboundary River Basin Overview – Euphrates-Tigris Version 2009 Recommended citation: FAO. 2009. AQUASTAT Transboundary River Basins – Euphrates-Tigris River Basin. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Rome, Italy The designations employed and the presentation of material in this information product do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) concerning the legal or development status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The mention of specific companies or products of manufacturers, whether or not these have been patented, does not imply that these have been endorsed or recommended by FAO in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned. The views expressed in this information product are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of FAO. FAO encourages the use, reproduction and dissemination of material in this information product. Except where otherwise indicated, material may be copied, downloaded and printed for private study, research and teaching purposes, or for use in non-commercial products or services, provided that appropriate acknowledgement of FAO as the source and copyright holder is given and that FAO’s endorsement of users’ views, products or services is not implied in any way. All requests for translation and adaptation rights, and for resale and other commercial use rights should be made via www.fao.org/contact-us/licencerequest or addressed to [email protected].
    [Show full text]
  • Chapter 2 Shared Tributaries of the Euphrates River
    Chapter 2 Shared Tributaries of the Euphrates River INVENTORY OF SHARED WATER RESOURCES IN WESTERN ASIA (ONLINE VERSION) How to cite UN-ESCWA and BGR (United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia; Bundesanstalt für Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe). 2013. Inventory of Shared Water Resources in Western Asia. Beirut. CHAPTER 2 - SHARED TRIBUTARIES OF THE EUPHRATES RIVER Shared Tributaries of the Euphrates River eXecutiVe suMMarY The Euphrates River has three main shared tributaries: the sajur and the Balikh/Jallab are shared between syria and Turkey, while the Khabour sub-basin is shared between Iraq, syria and Turkey. With an average annual discharge of 97 mcm, the sajur is the smallest of the three tributaries. Originally, the Balikh/Jallab was fed primarily by the karstic ain al arous spring, but it increasingly receives irrigation return flows from intensive agricultural projects, mainly in Turkey. The Khabour is the largest of the three shared Euphrates tributaries in terms of length and mean annual discharge. However, annual flow has decreased dramatically over recent decades from 2,120 Bcm before 1980 to 924 mcm around The sajur River in syria, 2009. source: andreas Renck. 2000, with values constantly decreasing since then. The Khabour river dries up seasonally atatürk dam reservoir to irrigate large areas of at several locations as a result of intensive land which have transformed the Jallab River irrigated agriculture in syria and Turkey. from an intermittent stream into a perennial river. In the Khabour sub-basin both riparians While the three Euphrates tributaries used to developed extensive irrigation schemes that make up around 8% of annual Euphrates flow, have transformed land use patterns and the today their contribution has dropped to 5% or natural flow regime of the river.
    [Show full text]
  • Interaction of Aramaeans and Assyrians on the Lower Khabur
    Syria Archéologie, art et histoire 86 | 2009 Dossier : Interaction entre Assyriens et Araméens Interaction of Aramaeans and Assyrians on the Lower Khabur Hartmut Kühne Electronic version URL: http://journals.openedition.org/syria/509 DOI: 10.4000/syria.509 ISSN: 2076-8435 Publisher IFPO - Institut français du Proche-Orient Printed version Date of publication: 1 November 2009 Number of pages: 43-54 ISBN: 9782351591512 ISSN: 0039-7946 Electronic reference Hartmut Kühne, « Interaction of Aramaeans and Assyrians on the Lower Khabur », Syria [Online], 86 | 2009, Online since 01 July 2016, connection on 22 May 2020. URL : http://journals.openedition.org/ syria/509 ; DOI : https://doi.org/10.4000/syria.509 © Presses IFPO INTERACTION OF ARAMAEANS AND ASSYRIANS ON THE LOWER KHABUR Hartmut KÜHNE Freie Universität Berlin Résumé – Le modèle centre/périphérie a souvent été utilisé pour expliquer les relations entre Assyriens et Araméens. Il est de plus en plus clair que ce modèle n’est pas apte à rendre compte de l’interaction entre ces deux groupes ethniques. Il convient de se défaire de l’idée de l’influence sur la périphérie et de chercher plutôt les signes des processus d’émulation qui ont lieu entre deux groupes équivalents culturellement et qui s’affrontent dans un territoire sans suprématie politique. Au cours du temps — environ 500 ans, entre 1100 et 600 av. J.-C. —, la situation politique change et avec elle les formes de l’interaction perceptibles au travers des différents traits culturels, illustrés par les objets découverts en fouille. De fait, on doit s’attendre à ce que ces objets reflètent différentes étapes d’émulation et deviennent potentiellement des hybrides, plus ou moins élaborés, ou des transferts plus ou moins profondément modifiés.
    [Show full text]
  • Water Scarcity and Conflict in the Euphrates-Tigris River Basin Samantha Glass SIT Study Abroad
    SIT Graduate Institute/SIT Study Abroad SIT Digital Collections Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection SIT Study Abroad Spring 2017 Twisting the Tap: Water Scarcity and Conflict in the Euphrates-Tigris River Basin Samantha Glass SIT Study Abroad Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/isp_collection Part of the International Relations Commons, Near and Middle Eastern Studies Commons, and the Other Political Science Commons Recommended Citation Glass, Samantha, "Twisting the Tap: Water Scarcity and Conflict in the Euphrates-Tigris River Basin" (2017). Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection. 2594. https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/isp_collection/2594 This Unpublished Paper is brought to you for free and open access by the SIT Study Abroad at SIT Digital Collections. It has been accepted for inclusion in Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection by an authorized administrator of SIT Digital Collections. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Twisting the Tap: Water Scarcity and Conflict in the Euphrates-Tigris River Basin Samantha Taylor Glass Spring 2017 SIT Study Abroad: International Studies and Multilateral Diplomacy Dr. Heikki S. Mattila Dr. Gyula Csurgai Yale University Global Affairs GLASS, Spring 2017 1 ABSTRACT Is water a target or an instrument of violence? Is it an amplifier of conflict or a means for cooperation, a source of growth or a force of destruction? The purpose of this report is to determine how threats of water shortage and the lack of a trans-boundary management plan has prompted states in the Euphrates-Tigris River Basin to leverage the shared resource as a political weapon to preserve national interests and ascertain regional authority.
    [Show full text]
  • Settlement of the Assyrians of Iraq
    J,?r— of % LÏÏS] ° ^ ‘ N°-C. 352. M. 179. , 935. VII. Geneva, September 12th, 1935. LEAGUE OF NATIONS SETTLEMENT OF THE ASSYRIANS OF IRAQ Report of the Committee of the Council on the Settlem ent of the A ssyrians of Iraq in the Region of the Ghab. (French Mandated Territories of the Levant) Series of League of Nations Publications VII. POLITICAL 1935. VII. 12. — 3 — CONTENTS. Page R eport b y th e Com m ittee of th e Co un c il .................................................................... 5 Annex i. — R e po r t b y t h e Ch airm a n of th e Com m ittee of th e Co unc il on h is M issio n to Sy r ia a n d I raq ............................................................................................................................................. 8 Annex 2. — D e t a il e d S t u d y of t h e P l a n for t h e S et t l e m en t of th e A ssy r ia n s in t h e P l a in o f th e G h a b : I. Note by the Secretary-G eneral..................................................................... n II. Letter from the French G overnm ent............................................................. n III. Report on the Settlement of the Assyrians in the Plain of the Ghab, prepared by the High Commission of the Territories of the Levant under French Mandate in Co-operation with Two Experts of the League of Nations . it Appendix I. — Position at June 30th, 1935, of the Accounts concerning the Cost of the Settlement on the Khabur of the Assyrians of Ira q .................
    [Show full text]
  • Archaeology of Mesopotamia Syllabus
    AE0037 Archaeology of Mesopotamia Fall 2006 Artemis A.W. and Martha Sharp Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology and the Ancient World Brown University Syllabus MWF 12:00-12:50 (The so-called E-hour) Salomon Center Room 203 Instructor: Ömür Harmansah (Visiting Assistant Professor) Office Hours: Tuesday 10-12 am. (Or by appointment) Office: Joukowsky Institute (70 Waterman St.) Room 202 E-mail: [email protected] Tel: 401-863-6411 Course website where the up-to-date syllabus can be downloaded: http://www.brown.edu/Departments/Joukowsky_Institute/Harmansah/teach.html Course Description This course offers an analytical survey of the social and cultural history of the Near East, tracing the variety of cultural developments in the region from prehistory to the end of the Iron age (ca. 300 BC). Both archaeological evidence and textual sources are examined as relevant. The material culture and social practices of Mesopotamian societies constitute the main focus of the course. Archaeological landscapes, urban and rural sites, excavated architectural remains and artifacts are critically investigated based on archaeological, anthropological and art-historical work carried out in the region. Relevant ancient texts (mostly in Sumerian, Akkadian, and Luwian in translation) are studied as part of the material culture. Geographically the course will cover Mesopotamia proper, Syria, Anatolia and the Levantine coast (mostly staying within the boundaries of modern-day Iraq, Syria, and Turkey). In order to study the material evidence from antiquity critically, scholars frequently involve interpretive theories in their work. Throughout the semester, along with the detailed reading of various bodies of archaeological evidence, we will investigate a variety of theoretical approaches and concepts used within the field of Near Eastern archaeology.
    [Show full text]
  • Settlement of the Assyrians of Iraq
    [Communicated to the Council Official No. : O. 387. M. 25Ô. 1937. VII. and the Members of the L < 6 d c U 6 .J Geneva, September 25th, 1937. LEAGUE OF NATIONS SETTLEMENT OF THE ASSYRIANS OF IRAQ REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE OF THE COUNCIL FOR THE SETTLEMENT OF THE ASSYRIANS OF IRAQ On July 4th, 1936, the Council of the League of Nations approved the Committee’s proposal for the definite abandonment of the plan for the settlement of the Assyrians of Iraq in the Ghab plain. It also instructed the Committee “ to continue its efforts and, in particular, to undertake a general study of the situation so as to be in a position to inform the Council definitely whether, and, if so, to what extent, the settlement elsewhere than in Iraq of the Assyrians of Iraq who still wished to leave that country was at present practicable ”. The Committee entered upon the study which the Council had entrusted to it with a very clear sense of the responsibilities incumbent upon it in virtue of its mission. It did not neglect any solution, however slight the prospects of its realisation, which seemed to it worthy of investigation. It re-examined the result of the previous approaches it had made on two occasions, in 1933 and 1934, to a number of Governments with a view to the settlement of the Assyrians of Iraq on their territory. It fully explored the suggestions made in regard to certain countries by persons outside their Governments. All these studies and investigations, however, proved fruitless. Among the possibilities which have been re-examined have been the various territories comprised in the British colonial Empire.
    [Show full text]
  • Trade, Merchants, and the Lost Cities of the Bronze Age
    NBER WORKING PAPER SERIES TRADE, MERCHANTS, AND THE LOST CITIES OF THE BRONZE AGE Gojko Barjamovic Thomas Chaney Kerem A. Coşar Ali Hortaçsu Working Paper 23992 http://www.nber.org/papers/w23992 NATIONAL BUREAU OF ECONOMIC RESEARCH 1050 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge, MA 02138 November 2017 This research is supported by the University of Chicago Neubauer Collegium for Culture and Society. Thomas Chaney acknowledges ERC grant N°337272–FiNet for financial support. Daniel Ehrlich, Simon Fuchs and Joonhwi Joo provided excellent research assistance. We are grateful to the Old Assyrian Text Project and its members for sharing the raw data (much of it still unpublished) behind this work. We thank Fikri Kulako lu for permission to use the photo of Kt 83/k 117. We thank Adam Anderson, Thomas Hertel, Michele Massa, Alessio Palmisano and Edward Stratford for valuable discussions and for sharing their research data, and to Dave Donaldson, Walker Hanlon, Sam Kortum, David Schloen and the participants at the Neubauer Collegium workshops, the Chicago Fed, the CEPR ERWIT 2016 conference, Harvard, Zurich, Brown, MIT, Yale, Georgia Tech and Georgetown, Hitotsubashi, CESifo, Dartmouth, Berkeley, the Princeton 2017 IES Summer conference, and the NBER Summer Institute 2017, for comments and suggestions. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Bureau of Economic Research. NBER working papers are circulated for discussion and comment purposes. They have not been peer-reviewed or been subject to the review by the NBER Board of Directors that accompanies official NBER publications. © 2017 by Gojko Barjamovic, Thomas Chaney, Kerem A.
    [Show full text]