Geography of Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia refers to the land between the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers, both of which flow down from the Taurus Mountains.
The climate of the region is semi-arid with a vast desert in the north which gives way to a 5,800 square mile region of marshes, lagoons, mud flats, and reed banks in the south. In the extreme south, the Euphrates and the Tigris unite and empty into the Persian Gulf.
In ancient times, the annual flooding of the rivers was unpredictable. This level of unpredictability could cause flooding that could destroy crops or even cause a drought that could dry the crops out.
By 6000 BCE, irrigation canals brought water from rivers to the fields where workers unclogged canals and built dams to hold back flood water.
The irrigation is aided by the melting snow from the high peaks of the northern Zagros Mountains and from the Armenian Highlands.
The usefulness of irrigation depends upon the ability to organize a sufficient labor force for the construction and maintenance of the canals. Since the earliest periods, this has assisted in the development of urban settlements and centralized systems of government.
The arid climate means that there are not large areas of wooded forests or jungle. This means that wooded structures could not be constructed. In place of wood, buildings were made of clay and rock. Long-distance trade from outlying areas has helped to provide resources that were not available.
Agriculture throughout the region had been supplemented by nomadic pastoralism. This is the process in which tent-dwelling nomads herd sheep and goats from the river pastures in the dry summer months, out into the seasonal grazing lands on the desert fringe in the wet winter season.
In the marshlands to the south of the area, a complex water-borne fishing culture had existed since prehistoric times, and has also added to the cultural mix.
Mesopotamia has also been called the Fertile Crescent and the "cradle of civilization." Through clearing and modification of vegetation, it is here where settled farming first emerged helping to create urban centers and cities.
Early human civilizations such as Sumer in Mesopotamia were able to flourish as a result. Technological advances in the Mesopotamia region included the development of agriculture and the use of irrigation, writing, the wheel, and glass.