to a half-dozen, spectacularly rich Chinese dynasties. Egypt and Mesopotamia developed great powers that endured for centuries along the Nile and the Euphrates. Later, networks of trade overlaid the Mediterranean, which became the heart of the wealthy Carthaginian, Roman and Byzantine empires. And the greate

On camera, the rebels displayed dozens of bombs racked in a warehouse, and other ammunition and spoils of war. eThe Thawra hydroelectric dam on the Euphrates, which is one of Syria’s biggest power-generating facilities. Rebel sources said the Syrian army gave up the strategic dam after army positions there

. On camera, the rebels displayed dozens of bombs racked in a warehouse, and other ammunition and spoils of war. •The Thawra hydroelectric dam on the Euphrates, which is one of Syria's biggest power-generating facilities. Rebel sources said the Syrian army gave up the strategic dam after army positions there

nce, internal tension and imperial ambition. Israeli Geography and Borderlands At its height, under King David, Israel extended from the Sinai to the Euphrates, encompassing Damascus. It occupied some, but relatively little, of the coastal region, an area beginning at what today is Haifa and running south to