Syrian–Turkish border at Carchemish down to the confluence of the Balikh and the
Euphrates just below the site of Tell Bi’a (ancient Tuttul). The remaining section of
the middle Euphrates, which continues to flow in a southeasterly direction towards the
Syrian/Iraqi border, includes much of the territory belonging to the kingdom of Mari
and will be treated in a separate chapter of this book (Margueron, this volume). The
middle Euphrates includes the deeply cut trough of the river itself and a narrow valley
of the flood plain and terraces on either side. Beyond the river valley, limestone bluffs
rising over 100 metres give way to the upland steppe that stretches for many kilometres
in either direction. The Syrian steppe lies to the west, while to the east, the uplands
comprise the Jezireh, a vast undulating plain receiving adequate levels of precipitation
and bisected by the Balikh and Khabur Rivers, two of the Euphrates’ tributaries.
All of the regions of western Syria and the middle Euphrates Valley differ con-
siderably from the environment of the Sumerian heartland of southern Mesopotamia,
where the flat alluvial plains of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and successful irrigation
–– Cultural developments in western Syria ––0 100 kmCarchemishJerablus TahtaniAhmar
Qara Quzaq
Kabir
Sweyhat
Munbaqa
Halawa Bi’aMariHabuba
KabiraUmm
el-MarraRas
Shamra
SukasSianuQarqur EblaAfisHamaMishrifehal-RawdaChueraBrakMozanLeilan
HamoukarHoms
Nebi MendAleppoHadidiBanatSYRI AJORDANIRAQTURKEYLEBANONSyrian SteppeKhabur RiverAmuqPlain Jezireh
Oron
tes
RiverBalik
h R
iverEuph
rates
Rive
r൹Figure 25.1Map of Syria, showing the location of sites discussed in the chapter, most of which
were occupied in the third millennium BC