The Tigris flows through Baghdad before joining the Euphrates system toward the Persian Gulf.
The Tigris rises in the Taurus Mountains of eastern Turkey and runs southeast through Iraq. Baghdad, Iraq’s capital, stands on its banks, making the river central to the city’s history, agriculture, transport, and water supply. Near Al-Qurnah in southern Iraq, the Tigris meets the Euphrates to form the Shatt al-Arab waterway, which reaches the Persian Gulf.
The Tigris and Euphrates gave Mesopotamia its name, meaning “land between rivers,” and supported some of the world’s earliest urban civilizations. The Tigris is generally shorter and faster-flowing than the Euphrates. Confusing the two is common because both rivers cross Iraq and share the same lower drainage system.