KHABUR RIVER

Arabic Nahr al-Khabur, Turkish Habur Nehri, Sumerian Khubur, Akkadian Khabur river, an important tributary of the Euphrates River. It rises in the mountains of southeastern Turkey near Diyarbakir and flows southeastward to Al-Hasakah, Syria, where it receives its main affluent, the Jaghjaghah; it then meanders south to join the Euphrates downstream from Dayr az-Zawr. The Khabur (Source of Fertility) has a total length of about 200 miles (320 km). The river has long been important for irrigating the fertile Al-Jazirah region of northeastern Syria. Following World War II, the construction of new dams and an improved canal network increased the total cultivated area to more than 4,000,000 acres (1,600,000 hectares). The Khabur River valley is now Syria's leading wheat-producing district and an important source of cotton, barley, rice, sesame, and vegetables.