Euphrates and Tigris, Mesopotamian Ecology and Destiny

I. The land and its life.- 1. Panorama of Mesopotamian Iraq.- Geology, morphology, climate and soils.- 2. Response of the living world to present conditions.- Vegetation. Crops and plants used by man. Remarks on the land fauna.- 3. Palaeo-ecology.- 'Geologic' aspects of the archaeology of Iraq. Prehistoric man in Mesopotamia. Historic man. The era of written evidence. The tumult of history..- II. Mesopotamian Waters, Regime and Hydrobiology.- 4. Near East waters as wider background.- Lake Kinneret. The Dead Sea. Azraq Oasis. The waters of Iran..- 5. Rivers of Mesopotamia as dominating factor.- Origin, length, slope. Standing waters. The Shatt al Arab. Hydrology, Currents, Sediments and their deposition. The Delta, advance and retreat. The Mesopotamian rivers as life arteries for man..- 6. Water characteristics, by J. F. Tailing.- 1. The regional factors. 2. Temperature. 3. Turbidity and transparency. 4. Salinity. 5. Major ions. 6. Dissolved gases. 7. Plant nutrients: nitrogen, phosphorus and silica..- 6a. Phytoplankton, by J. F. Tailing.- References.- 7. General biology of Iraq waters.- Water vegetation. Animal life in the marshes and waters. Benthos. Anopheles and Malaria in the Near East..- 8. The fishes of the Euphrates and Tigris, by K. E. Banister.- References.- Epilogue.- Summary. Reflections general and personal.- Annexe. The Mesopotamian past as seen by eyewitnesses.- References to chapters 1-5 and 7.- Remark. Chapters 6, 6a and 8 have their own references, as they will be available as reprints..