View source for Syr Darya

{{short description|River in Central Asia}}
{{Infobox river
| name               = Syr Darya
| native_name        = {{native name list |tag1=kk|name1=Syrdaria |tag2=ky|name2=Сырдарыя |tag3=uz-Latn|name3=Sirdaryo |tag4=tg|name4=Сирдарё}}
| name_other         = Jaxartes
| name_etymology     = 
<!---------------------- IMAGE & MAP -->
| image              = Syr Darya.jpg
| image_size         = 250px
| image_caption      = Syr Darya at [[Kyzylorda]], [[Kazakhstan]]
| map                = Aral_Sea_watershed.png
| map_size           = 
| map_caption        =  Map of area around the Aral Sea. Aral Sea boundaries are c. 2008. The Syr Darya drainage basin is in yellow, and the Amu Darya basin in orange.
| pushpin_map        = 
| pushpin_map_size   = 
| pushpin_map_caption = 
| mapframe           = yes
| mapframe-zoom      = 4
<!---------------------- LOCATION -->
| subdivision_type1  = Country
| subdivision_name1  = [[Kyrgyzstan]], [[Uzbekistan]], [[Tajikistan]], [[Kazakhstan]]
| subdivision_type2  = 
| subdivision_name2  = 
| subdivision_type3  = 
| subdivision_name3  = 
| subdivision_type4  = 
| subdivision_name4  = 
| subdivision_type5  = Cities
| subdivision_name5  = [[Khujand|Khujand, TJ]], [[Tashkent|Tashkent, UZ]], [[Turkestan (city)|Turkestan, KZ]], [[Kyzylorda|Kyzylorda, KZ]], [[Baikonur|Baikonur, KZ]]
<!---------------------- PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS -->
| length             = {{convert|2256.25|km|mi|abbr=on}} 
| width_min          = 
| width_avg          = 
| width_max          = 
| depth_min          = 
| depth_avg          = 
| depth_max          = 
| discharge1_location= 
| discharge1_min     = {{convert|170|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}
| discharge1_avg     = {{convert|1180|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite web|url=http://www.ce.utexas.edu/prof/mckinney/papers/aral/CentralAsiaWater-McKinney.pdf |title=Cooperative Management of Transboundary Water Resources in Central Asia |author=Daene C. McKinney |publisher=Ce.utexas.edu |access-date=2014-02-07}}</ref>
| discharge1_max     = {{convert|3,900|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}
<!---------------------- BASIN FEATURES -->
| source1            = Confluence of [[Naryn River|Naryn]] and [[Kara Darya]]
| source1_location   = [[Fergana Valley]], [[Uzbekistan]]
| source1_coordinates= {{coord|40|54|03|N|71|45|27|E|display=inline}}
| source1_elevation  = {{convert|400|m|abbr=on}}
| mouth              = [[North Aral Sea]]
| mouth_location     = [[Kazaly]], [[Kazakhstan]]
| mouth_coordinates  = {{coord|46|09|15|N|60|52|25|E|display=inline,title}}
| mouth_elevation    = {{convert|42|m|abbr=on}}
| progression        = 
| river_system       = 
| basin_size         = {{convert|402760|km2|abbr=on}}
| tributaries_left   = [[Kara Darya|Kara]]
| tributaries_right  = [[Naryn River|Naryn]], [[Chirciq River|Chirciq]], [[Arys River|Arys]], [[Sarysu River|Sarysu]]
| custom_label       = Protection status
| custom_data        = {{Designation list
| embed = yes
| designation1 = Ramsar
| designation1_offname = Lesser Aral Sea and Delta of the Syrdarya River
| designation1_date = 2 February 2012
| designation1_number = 2083<ref>{{Cite web|title=Lesser Aral Sea and Delta of the Syrdarya River|website=[[Ramsar Convention|Ramsar]] Sites Information Service|url=https://rsis.ramsar.org/ris/2083|access-date=25 April 2018}}</ref>}}
| extra      = 
}}

[[Image:Syr Darya River Floodplain, Kazakhstan, Central Asia.JPG|thumb|Astronaut photograph of the Syr Darya River floodplain]]

The '''Syr Darya''',{{efn|{{bulletedlist|{{IPAc-en|lang|ˌ|s|ɪər|_|ˈ|d|ɑr|i|ə}} {{respell|seer DAR|ee|ə}}|{{langx|kk|Сырдария|Syrdaria}}, {{small|[[Kazakh alphabets#Arabic script|arabized]]:}} {{lang|kk-Arab|سىردارٸيا}}|{{langx|ru|Сырдарья|Syrdaria}}, {{IPA|ru|sɨrdɐˈrʲja|pron}}|{{langx|fa|سيردريا|Sirdaryâ}}, {{IPA|fa|ˌsiːɹ‿dæɹˈjɒː|pron}}|{{langx|tg|Сирдарё|Sirdaryo}}, {{small|[[Tajik alphabet#Persian alphabet|arabized]]:}} {{lang|tg-Arab|سيردريا}}, {{small|[[Tajik alphabet#Hebrew alphabet|hebraized]]:}} {{lang|tg-Hebr|סירדריא}}|{{langx|tr|Seyhun}}|{{langx|ar|سيحون|Sayḥūn}}, {{small|[[Cyrillization of Arabic|cyrillized]]:}} {{lang|ar-Cyrl|Сэйхьун}}|{{langx|uz|Сирдарё|Sirdaryo}}, {{IPA|uz|sɪrdarˈjɒ|pron}}}}}} historically known as the '''Jaxartes''' ({{IPAc-en|dZ|ae|k|ˈ|s|ɑr|t|i:|z}} {{Respell|jak|SAR|teez}}; {{langx|grc|Ἰαξάρτης}}), is a river in [[Central Asia]]. The name, which is [[Persian language|Persian]], literally means ''Syr Sea'' or ''Syr River''. It originates in the [[Tian Shan]] mountains in [[Kyrgyzstan]] and eastern [[Uzbekistan]], and flows for {{convert|2256.25|km|mi}} west and north-west through Uzbekistan, Sughd province of [[Tajikistan]], and southern [[Kazakhstan]] to the [[North Aral Sea|northern remnants]] of the [[Aral Sea]]. It is the northern and eastern of the two main rivers in the [[endorheic basin]] of the Aral Sea, the other being the [[Amu Darya]].

During the Soviet era, extensive irrigation projects were constructed around both rivers, diverting their water into farmland and causing, during the post-Soviet era, the virtual disappearance of the Aral Sea, once the world's fourth-largest lake. The point at which the river flows from Tajikistan into Uzbekistan is, at {{convert|300|m|ft|abbr=on}} above sea level, the lowest elevation in Tajikistan.<ref name="factbook">{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/tajikistan/ |title=Tajikistan |website=[[The World Factbook]]|access-date=30 January 2020 |quote=lowest point: Syr Darya (Sirdaryo) 300 m }}</ref><ref name="mfa">{{cite web |url=https://mfa.tj/en/main/foreign-policy/territorial-and-border-issues |title=Territorial and border issues |website=[[Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Tajikistan]] |date=1 March 2010 |access-date=31 January 2020 |quote=The lowest spot of the country is on the height of 300 meters and the highest spot is on the height of 7495 meters above sea level. }}</ref><ref name="cica">{{cite web |url=http://www.cicasummit2019.tj/about-tajikistan/general-information-about-tajikistan |title=General information about Tajikistan |access-date=31 January 2020 |quote=Tajikistan is a typical mountainous country with absolute heights from 300 to 7495 m. |website=[[Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia]] }}</ref>

==Name==
The second part of the name ({{lang|fa-Latn|darya}}, {{wikt-lang|fa|دریا}}) means "lake" or "sea" in [[Persian language|Persian]] and "river" in the [[Tajik language|Central Asian Persian]]. The current name dates only from the '''18th century'''.

The earliest recorded name was ''Jaxartes'' or ''Iaxartes'' ({{lang|grc|Ἰαξάρτης}}) in [[Ancient Greek]], consist of two morpheme ''Iaxa'' and ''artes'', found in several sources, including those relating to [[Alexander the Great]]. This variant of the Greek name hearkens back to the [[Old Persian]] name ''Yakhsha Arta'' ("True Pearl"), perhaps a reference to the color of its glacially-fed water.<ref name="Encyclopedia of Islam">"Sïr Daryā." Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, W.P. Heinrichs. Brill Online, 2014.</ref>  However there is also usage of the name ''Tanais'' river in certain sources, such as those of Arrian, a possible usage of the actual Tanais River's name to represent a furthest east river by distance.<ref name="Nearchus, Guides, and Place Names on Alexander’s Expedition">{{Cite journal|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/26989155|title=Arrian?s Indica 27.1 (FGrH 133 F 1 III)|author=James, Dylan|year=2020|journal=Mnemosyne|volume=73|issue=4|pages=553-576|via=JSTOR}}</ref> More evidence for the Persian [[etymology]] comes from the river's Turkic name up to the time of the Arab conquest, the ''Yinçü'', or "Pearl river", from [[Middle Chinese]] {{lang|ltc|眞珠}} *''t͡ɕiɪn-t͡ɕɨo''.<ref name="В. В. Бартольд. К истории орошения Туркестана.">В. В. Бартольд. К истории орошения Туркестана. (On the history of Irrigation in Turkestan) in Работы по исторической географии (Works on Historical Geography). Moscow: Vostochnaia Literatura, 2002. Pages 210-231</ref><ref name="Tekin1997">{{cite journal|last = Tekin|first= Talat|title= Notes on Some Chinese Loanwords in Old Turkic|journal= Türk Dilleri Araştırmaları|issue= 7|year= 1997|pages= 165–173|url= http://www.turkdilleri.org/turkdilleri/sayilar/tda7/TTekinChinese.pdf}}</ref> [[Tang dynasty|Tang Chinese]] also recorded this name as Yaosha River {{lang|ltc|藥殺水}} ([[Middle Chinese|MC]]: *''jɨɐk-ʃˠɛt'') and later Ye River {{lang|ltc|葉河}} (MC: *''jiɛp'').

The current local name of the river, ''Syr'' (''Sïr''), does not appear before the 16th century. In the 17th century, [[Abu al-Ghazi Bahadur]] Khan, historian and ruler of [[Khiva]], called the [[Aral Sea]] the "Sea of Sïr," or ''Sïr Tengizi''.

The important evidence is the etymology of the name of the Syr-Darya River mentioned by the ancient authors – <nowiki>'''</nowiki>Yaksart<nowiki>'''</nowiki>, established by V. A. Livshits (2003: 10). It means '<nowiki>'''</nowiki>flowing' or 'streaming'.<nowiki>'''</nowiki> The word belongs to the [[Sogdia|Sogdian]] dialect that had emerged from the [[Saka]] language group.<ref>{{Cite journal |author=Koryakova, Ludmila |date=2008-06-01 |title=Review at Cambridge Core- Elena E. Kuzmina (edited by J.P. Mallory): The Origins of the Indo-Iranians. xviii+762 pages, 132 figures. 2007. Leiden: Brill; 978-90-04-16054-5 hardback. |journal=Antiquity Publications |volume=82 |issue=316 |page=457 |doi=10.1017/s0003598x00097076 |issn=0003-598X}}</ref>

==History==
[[Image:Bridges in Khujand.jpg|thumb|Syr Darya River at Khujand]]
When the Macedonian army of [[Alexander the Great]] reached the Jaxartes in 329 BC, after travelling through [[Bactria]] and [[Sogdia]] without encountering any opposition, they met with the first instances of native resistance to their presence. In October 329 BC the Macedonians fought the [[Battle of Jaxartes]] against the [[Saka]], killing some 1,200 combatants including the leader of the nomads. Alexander was forced to retire south to deal with a revolt in [[Sogdia]]. Alexander was wounded in the fighting that ensued and the native tribes took to attacking the Macedonian garrisons stationed in their towns. As the revolt against Alexander intensified it spread through Sogdia, plunging it into two years of warfare, the intensity of which surpassed any other conflict of the ''[[Anabasis Alexandri]]''.<ref>{{cite book |last1= Holt |first1= Frank Lee |title= Alexander the Great and Bactria: The Formation of a Greek Frontier in Central Asia |date= 1989 |publisher= Brill |page= 53 |isbn= 90-04-08612-9 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=VSA4AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA53 |access-date= 31 March 2019}}</ref>  

On the shores of the Syr Darya, Alexander placed a garrison in the City of [[Cyrus the Great|Cyrus]] ([[Cyropolis]] in Greek), which he then renamed after himself [[Alexandria Eschate]]—"Alexandria the furthest"—in 329&nbsp;BC. For most of its history since at least the [[Muslim conquest of Transoxiana|Muslim conquest of Central Asia]] in the 7th to 8th centuries AD, the name of this city (in present-day [[Tajikistan]]) has been [[Khujand]].

In the mid-19th century, during the [[Russian conquest of Turkestan]], the [[Russian Empire]] introduced steam navigation to the Syr Darya, initially from [[Fort Raim]]<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gucheval-Claugny |first1=M. |title=l'Asie Centrale Et Le Réveil De La Question D'Orient |journal=Revue des Deux Mondes (1829-1971) |date=1877 |volume=21 |issue=2 |page=409 |jstor=44751873  |issn=0035-1962}}</ref> but with an important river port at Kazalinsk ([[Kazaly]]) from 1847 to 1882, when service ceased.

During the [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] era, a resource-sharing system was instituted in which Kyrgyzstan and [[Tajikistan]] shared water originating from the [[Amu Darya]] and Syr Darya rivers with [[Kazakhstan]], [[Turkmenistan]], and [[Uzbekistan]] in summer. In return, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan received Kazakh, Turkmen, and Uzbek coal, gas, and electricity in winter. After the 1991 [[Dissolution of the Soviet Union |fall of the Soviet Union]], this system disintegrated and the [[Central Asia]]n nations have failed to reinstate it. Inadequate infrastructure, poor water-management, and outdated irrigation methods all exacerbate the issue.<ref>
International Crisis Group. "[http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/europe/central-asia/233-water-pressures-in-central-asia.pdf Water Pressures in Central Asia]", [http://www.crisisgroup.org CrisisGroup.org]. 11 September 2014. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
</ref>

In 2012, the [[Syrdarya–Turkestan State Regional Natural Park]] was opened in  Kazakhstan, in hopes of protecting the river plain ecosystems, archaeological sites, and historical-cultural monuments, as well as plants and animal species, some of which are rare or endangered.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Сырдарья-Туркестанский государственный региональный природный парк |trans-title=Syrdarya-Turkestan State Regional Natural Park, The History of the Creation of the Regional Park |url=http://bio.tsu.ru/node/6298 |access-date=2022-11-01 |website=Биологический Институт |publisher=[[Tomsk State University]] |language=ru}}</ref>

==Geography==
The river rises in two [[headstream]]s in the [[Tian Shan|Tian Shan Mountains]] in [[Kyrgyzstan]] and eastern [[Uzbekistan]]—the [[Naryn River]] and the [[Kara Darya]] which come together in the Uzbek part of the [[Fergana Valley]]—and flows for some {{convert|2212|km|mi}} west and north-west through Uzbekistan and southern [[Kazakhstan]] to the remains of the Aral Sea. The Syr Darya drains an area of over {{convert|800000|km2|sqmi}}, but no more than {{convert|200000|km2|sqmi}} actually contribute significant flow to the river: indeed, two of the largest rivers in its basin, the [[Talas River|Talas]] and the [[Chu River|Chu]], dry up before reaching it. Its annual flow is a very modest<ref name="autogenerated1" /> {{convert|37|km3|acre.ft|lk=out}} per year—half that of its sister river, the [[Amu Darya]].

Along its course, the Syr Darya irrigates the most productive agricultural regions in [[Central Asia]]. After crossing the [[Kazakhstan–Uzbekistan border]], Syr Darya meets the [[Shardara Dam]], which is connected to the [[Aydar Lake]]. Syr Darya then flows north, before turning west and emptying into the [[North Aral Sea]].

Various local governments throughout history have built and maintained an extensive system of [[canal]]s.<ref name="В. В. Бартольд. К истории орошения Туркестана."/> These canals are of central importance in this arid region. Many fell into disuse in the 17th and early 18th century, but the [[Khanate of Kokand]] rebuilt many in the 19th century, primarily along the Upper and Middle Syr Darya.

==Ecological damage==
Massive expansion of [[irrigation canal]]s in Middle and Lower Syr Darya during the [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] period to water cotton and [[rice]] fields caused [[Environmental degradation|ecological damage]] to the area. The amount of water taken from the river was such that in some periods of the year, no water at all reached the Aral Sea. The Amu Darya in Uzbekistan and [[Turkmenistan]] faced a similar situation.

{{Main|Northern river reversal}}

The uranium concentration of the stream water is increased in Tajikistan with values of 43 μg/L and 12 μg/L;{{clarify |reason=where/when does each of these values apply? |date=April 2024}} the WHO guideline value for drinking water of 30 μg/L is partly exceeded. The main input of uranium occurs upstream in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan.<ref>{{cite journal |first1=P. |last1=Zoriy |first2=M. |last2=Schläger |first3=K. |last3=Murtazaev |first4=J. |last4=Pillath |first5=M. |last5=Zoriy |first6=B. |last6=Heuel-Fabianek |year=2018 |title=Monitoring of uranium concentrations in water samples collected near potentially hazardous objects in North-West Tajikistan |journal=Journal of Environmental Radioactivity |volume=181 |issue= |pages=109–117 |doi=10.1016/j.jenvrad.2017.11.010 |pmid=29136519 }}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Extreme points of Tajikistan]]
*[[History of the central steppe]]
*[[Great Fergana Canal]]
*[[Daryalyktakyr]]
*[[Jaxartosaurus]]

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Syr Darya river}}
* [http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9070767/Syr-Darya Britannica.com]
* {{Cite EB1911|wstitle= Syr-darya (river) | volume= 26 |last1= Kropotkin |first1= Peter Alexeivitch |author1-link= Peter Kropotkin| last2= Bealby |first2= John Thomas| pages = 303&ndash;304 |short= 1}}
* [https://www.livius.org/ja-jn/jaxartes/jaxartes.html Livius.org: Jaxartes] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140319081824/http://www.livius.org/ja-jn/jaxartes/jaxartes.html |date=2014-03-19 }}
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk./2/hi/asia-pacific/8516200.stm BBC News: Syn Darya in pictures]

{{Kazakhstan topics}}
{{Rivers of Kazakhstan}}
{{List of rivers of Tajikistan}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Syr Darya| ]]
[[Category:Sites along the Silk Road]]
[[Category:Ramsar sites in Kazakhstan]]
[[Category:Lowest points of countries]]