Western Asia

On his way from Sardis to defeat Nabonidus at Babylon, Cyrus faces a powerful tributary of the Tigris, probably the Diyalah. According to Herodotus’ account, the river drowns his royal white horse and presents a formidable obstacle to his march. Cyrus, angered by the “insolence” of the river, halts his army and orders them to cut 360 canals to divert the river’s flow. Other historians argue that Cyrus needed the water to maintain his troops on their southward journey, while…

According to Herodotus, Cyrus invades Babylon by diverting the Euphrates above the city and marching troops along the dry riverbed. This popular account describes a midnight attack that coincided with a Babylonian feast.

Returning from the razing of Persepolis, Alexander proceeds to India. After the Indian campaigns, he heads back to Babylon via the Persian Gulf and the Tigris, where he tears down defensive weirs that the Persians had constructed along the river. The Greek historian Arrian describes Alexander’s disdain for the Persians’ attempt to block navigation, which he saw as “unbecoming to men who are victorious in battle.”

Pipelines are destroyed in Yemen by locals protesting the extraction of water in Abyan for piping to Aden.

Ancient Sumerian legend recounts the deeds of the deity Ea, who punished humanity for its sins by inflicting the Earth with a six-day storm. The Sumerian myth parallels the Biblical account of Noah and the deluge, although some details differ.

The dispute over the Gu’edena (edge of paradise) region begins. Urlama, King of Lagash from 2450 to 2400 BC, diverts water from this region to boundary canals, drying up boundary ditches to deprive Umma of water. His son Il cuts off the water supply to Girsu, a city in Umma.

A grandson of Hammurabi, Abish or Abi-Eshuh, dams the Tigris to prevent the retreat of rebels led by Iluma-Ilum, who declares the independence of Babylon. This failed attempt marks the decline of the Sumerians who had reached their apex under Hammurabi.

The flow of the Euphrates is interrupted for a month as Turkey finishes construction of the Atatürk Dam, part of the Grand Anatolia Project. Syria and Iraq protest that Turkey now has a weapon of war. In mid-1990 Turkish president Turgut Özal threatens to restrict water flow to Syria to force it to withdraw support for Kurdish rebels operating in southern Turkey.

To quell opposition to his government, Saddam Hussein reportedly poisons and drains the water supplies of southern Shiite Muslims, the Marsh Arabs, or Maʻdān. The marshes of southern Iraq are intentionally targeted. The European Parliament and UN Human Rights Commission deplore use of water as weapon in region.

Israel destroys the Arab diversion works on the Jordan River headwaters. During Arab-Israeli War Israel occupies Golan Heights, with Banias tributary to the Jordan; Israel occupies West Bank.