Mesopotamia – The Birth of Modern Civilization
The Modern World Began Near the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers
Sep 18, 2009
Modern day Iraq has to overcome many challenges such as struggling to maintain a stable democracy, as well as building a strong army that can deal with foreign and domestic threats. When most people in the West turn on their TVs, they see nothing but death and suffering in Iraq, not knowing that Western Civilization owes a great deal to that part of the world.
This series of articles will explore the history of Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq), starting with the geographic advantages that allowed communities of hunters and gatherers to give up their nomadic lifestyle, followed by the creation of writing, law, and statehood that would drive future civilizations in both the east and west.
The Fertile Crescent
After the Ice Age, the globe was sparsely populated by an estimated 10 million humans, all of who lived a hunter/gatherer lifestyle on small swathes of land. It put a tremendous amount of strain on the land, plus competition was fierce for the areas with the most game and edible vegetation. The onset of farming changed all of that.
What is known as the Fertile Crescent is a stretch of land that goes around the Arabian Desert, and encompasses the modern-day nations of Iraq, parts of Iran, Syria, Lebanon, and Israel (see map). The main features of the Fertile Crescent are the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers; the ancient Greeks referred to the area between the two rivers as Mesopotamia, or appropriately enough, “the land between the rivers.” Two other great ancient civilizations would get their start near great rivers as well.
The Birth of Civilization
Farming was difficult, back-breaking work, especially in those days when tools were very primitive, but whereas large stretches of land were needed for hunting and foraging to feed about 30 people, in the Fertile Crescent only 5 square miles of fertile land could support a village of 150 – well worth the hard work needed in cultivating crops.
Farming reached northern Mesopotamia in 6500 B.C., originally it had begun in the hilly regions of Syria, Palestine, and eastern Anatolia (modern-day Turkey). It would take about 1,500 years for it to spread to the entire region. The first crops were barley and wheat, which needed humans to gather and plant the seeds, resulting in an abundance of food that allowed the hunters and gatherers to finally settle in one area.
The Tigris and Euphrates Rivers
The rivers were a mixed blessing. On one hand, they tended to flood, leading to disastrous effects with crops drowning and entire villages being destroyed, in addition to them acting as a convenient route for invaders. On the other hand, the flooding deposited layers of silt that rejuvenated the soil time and time again, leading to land that did not exhaust its fertility. Furthermore, despite the rivers acting as an invasion route, they also acted as a channel for trade since they emptied into the Persian Gulf, connecting the people to the Indus valley further east. Finally, the river had an abundance of fish, and irrigation allowed civilization to grow further away from the banks of the rivers.
With a stable food supply and the start of communities that traded with outsiders, bringing prosperity to the region, it was only a matter of time before the people would evolve from simple hunters/gatherers to philosophers, lawmakers, and leaders.
Sources:
Woolf, Greg. Ancient Civilizations. London: Duncan Baird Publishers, 2005
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