The Tigris River flows through Baghdad before joining the Euphrates in the Shatt al-Arab waterway.
The Tigris rises in the Taurus Mountains of eastern Turkey and travels southeast through Turkey and Iraq. Baghdad, Iraq’s capital, stands on its banks. Near al-Qurnah in southern Iraq, the Tigris meets the Euphrates, forming the Shatt al-Arab, which then flows into the Persian Gulf.
Together, the Tigris and Euphrates define much of Mesopotamia, a region whose name means “land between rivers.” Irrigation from these rivers supported some of the world’s earliest urban societies, including Sumerian, Akkadian, Babylonian, and Assyrian states. Ancient cities such as Nineveh and Babylon developed within the broader river system.
The Tigris is often confused with the Euphrates because both rivers cross Iraq and merge near the Gulf. Baghdad’s location provides a precise clue: the Tigris runs directly through the city, while the Euphrates passes west of it before continuing southward.