Since ancient times, civilizations have been able to choose the location of their settlements, either because of the weather conditions, because of the ecosystem of the place or simply because of the convenience offered, and in this sense, both the Tigris River and the Euphrates River have certain characteristics what makes them stand out.
When you have very close bodies of water, it is easier to establish yourself, since you have a permanent source to harvest and, therefore, a means by which societies can subsist. It is not by chance that one of the first sedentary civilizations was among this system of rivers and although over the years many things have changed, it maintains its importance at present.
Both rivers are located in the Asian continent, more specifically where the countries of Turkey, Syria and Iraq are now. The reason why both are usually mentioned at the same time is because although they have different origins, their proximity allowed the emergence of places like Mesopotamia, whose inhabitants created settlements here and whose name described their state very well, since it means "the land between the rivers".
From the past they functioned as an irrigation system for the cultivation of food and through which many groups of people changed their lifestyles, becoming sedentary. The tribes that came here for the first time came from the mountainous areas or from places where food was lacking and the land was not fertile, for this reason there was movement towards the Tigris and Euphrates, since there was enough water, land where it was possible to grow and feed.
Taking into account that in the past people also moved to trade or travel, they took advantage of the flow to move from one place to another, so it was also an important means of transport. In addition, several species of fish inhabit them, so it also offers other forms of feeding.
Due to the nature of these places, in certain seasons they overflowed, causing floods that had to be controlled in some way. What people did at the time was to put a few barriers on the banks to prevent water from reaching them and from this a more complex irrigation system was created, since channels, small dams and ponds were created to store water in seasons of scarcity.
These innovations allowed the first large cities to be founded and from there the history of many civilizations began. At present, its use in agriculture is still maintained, but it is also used in the generation of energy by means of dams, which also control their flow, and as a water supply for the consumption of people.
