Which river flows through Baghdad before reaching the Shatt al-Arab?

The Tigris flows through Baghdad before joining the Euphrates in the Shatt al-Arab.

The Tigris rises in the Taurus Mountains of eastern Turkey and runs southeast through Turkey and Iraq. Baghdad, Iraq’s capital, developed on or near its banks and has long depended on the river for water, transport and agriculture.

Near Al-Qurnah in southern Iraq, the Tigris meets the Euphrates. Their combined waters form the Shatt al-Arab, which flows into the Persian Gulf. The region between the two rivers is often called Mesopotamia, a name derived from Greek words meaning “between rivers.”

The Tigris and Euphrates supported some of the world’s earliest urban societies, including Sumerian, Akkadian, Babylonian and Assyrian states. Modern dams, irrigation and climate pressures have changed their flow and contributed to serious water-management challenges.