Earliest
Historical Reference
“Hence they say it is called
‘Tigris’ after the animal. But before it descends to the sea, it
divides into two great rivers, and then it empties into the Persian
Gulf from these two mouths at its end, which are divided from
each other. It thus cuts off a considerable area of ground in
between, making of it an island that is both of the river and
of the sea; it is inhabited by a people called the Mesenes. As
for the Euphrates River, it appears to take its rise in Armenia,
where Mount Ararat is. The mountain is still called by that name by
the Armenians. It is where, according to scripture, the ark
came to rest, and they say that considerable remnants of its
wood and nails are still preserved there. From there the
Euphrates starts as a small stream at first, growing ever larger as
it advances…”ArcImaging - The Search For Noah's Ark