Mesopotamia: The Cradle of Civilization

      The earliest of all civilizations arose in a lad the Greeks would later call Mesopotamia. Mesopotamia means :land between the rivers." and refers to the area between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers (in present-day Iraq). It was in this region that humans first abandoned their nomadic lifestyle and began to form permanent settlements. The changes that occurred in the river valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates were revolutionary. Codified laws, the concept of kingship, the building of places to worship the gods, writing, and even the wheel were all first developed by the Mesopotamians.
      In ancient times, the southern part of Mesopotamia was known as Sumer and the northern area was called Akkad. Eventually, the two regions were unified under Babylonian leadership and became known as Babylonia.
      The land of Mesopotamia is essentially a bleak alluvial plain that receives too little rainfall for crops to mature. The climate is hot and dry, and the soil is arid and sterile if not cared for properly. The land contains no minerals and almost no stone or timber for building. The soil is baked by the long, hot summers, causing vegetation to wither and die. During the winter, stormy south winds brought unpredictable downpours that turned the river valleys to slippery mud. Spring was the most dangerous time for those living in Mesopotamia. Spring rains combined with the melting snows from the neighboring Zagros Mountains and made the Tigris and Euphrates rivers swell, often causing catastrophic flooding.
      So, what attracted settlers to this seemingly inhospitable region? The answer lies in the natural levees along the course of the Euphrates River. Natural levees are embankments produced by the built-up of sediment over thousands of years of flooding. The levee surface sloped gently downward away from the river. The highest and safest ground on a flood plain is along the portion of the levee adjacent to the river. Aside from the protection it provided, the silty sediment of the levees was fertile and easily drained, planted, irrigated, and cultivated. Adding to the richness of the area around the levees were the swamps that teemed with fish and waterfowl and produced an abundance of reeds. in the spring, the reeds provided excellent food for sheep and goats, and when mature, were an important building material. It was around these natural levees that the first settlers in Mesopotamia was promise, and established permanent settlements.
      While the natural levees did hold promise, this could only be realized with irrigation and better drainage. The land between the rivers and streams was desert and swampland, and this proved to be a great hindrance to the unity of Mesopotamia.
      Communication was difficult and dangerous. Unlike the predictable Nile River in Egypt, the Tigris and Euphrates were givers of both life and death. Sudden floods often ravaged Mesopotamia villages without warning.

Mesopotamia's Lasting Legacy

There are many reasons why Mesopotamia has been called the cradle of civilization. It was in the river valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates that people first abandoned their nomadic way of life and began to build permanent homes and villages. This settlement led to an increasingly complex society that developed the concept of kingship and the city-state. Mesopotamia was also the birthplace of writing, astronomy (including the seasonal equinoxes), and a written legal code. Even the wheel, one of the most revolutionary technological advancements in history, was a product of the ingenuity of the ancient Mesopotamians. We are the inheritors of all this and much more. Later civilizations would borrow heavily from the Mesopotamians, taking their ideas and building upon them. 

Writing: ECHOES from the Past published by McGraw-Hill Ryderson Ltd.