Arabic Dijlah Turkish Dicle biblical Hiddekel
River, Turkey and Iraq.
It originates in the Taurus Mountains at Lake Hazar and flows 1,180 mi (1,900 km) southeast through Turkey and past Baghdad to unite with the Euphrates River at Al-Qurnah in southeastern Iraq; there it forms the Shatt al-Arab . With the Euphrates it defined the ancient region of Mesopotamia . Important for its irrigation capacity, it gave rise to sustained civilization. The ruins of many ancient cities lie on its banks, including those of Nineveh , Calah , Ashur , Ctesiphon , and Seleucia .