World History/Ancient Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia is land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. It has been home to many civilisations.
Geography
Mesopotamia of ancient times was located where Iraq is today. It also included land in eastern Syria, and southeastern Turkey. Its name means "land between the rivers" in Greek. It is sometimes known as "the cradle of civilization" because it was where civilization first developed. The rich farmland of the area is in the shape of a crescent on a map. Therefore, the area is also called the "fertile crescent."
Civilizations
Mesopotamia was home to many civilisations. It was a good place to start a civilisation because it had fertile farmland and water from the rivers to provide transportation and a water source.
Sumer
Sumer was one of the first civilisations in the world. It is famous for creating cuneiform script. People in Sumer also invented the wheel and sun-dried bricks. They lived in city-states. One famous Sumerian city state is Ur.
Babylonia
Babylonia was an important ancient Mesopotamian civilisation. Its name comes from the name of its capital, Babylon, located on the Euphrates river. A Babylonian ruler named Hammurabi created the first written set of laws called Hammurabi's code. Another Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar II, built the Hanging Gardens, which is one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.
Most scientist think Mesopotamia might be the earliest area where people lived in cities.