While Egyptian civilization was developing in northeastern Africa, other civilizations were evolving in nearby southeastern Asia, chiefly in the Fertile Crescent.  This region was named the Fertile Crescent because of its rich soil and half-moon shape.  The Fertile Crescent was divided into 1) the eastern portion, consisting of the Tigris and Euphrates river valleys, called Mesopotamia (land between the the rivers), and 2) the western, or Mediterranean, portion

Geographic Factors Influencing the Fertile Crescent     

1.  The Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.  The waters of these rivers enriched the land in Mesopotamia, thereby encouraging nomads to settle and farm.  As in Egypt, the need for dikes to control floods and for canals to irrigate farms led to the establishment of governments.

2.  Mediterranean Coastline.  As seaports developed along the Mediterranean coast, the people  became seafarers.  They built ships and traded throughout the Mediterranean area.

3.  Lack of Stone.  Lacking stone, the people used sun-dried clay bricks for construction and clay tablets for writing..

4.  Low, Level Plains.  The Mesopotamian plain and the Mediterranean coastal  plain afforded no natural barrier against invasion.  The inhabitants were therefore conquered repeatedly by invaders from the adjoining mountains and deserts.  These newcomers remained in the region, adapting and contributing to its civilization.

5. Mesopotamia was located in modern-day Iraq!!

All information on this page has been taken directly from:

Ellis, Elisabeth Gaynor & Esler, Anthony. World History Connections to Today . Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1997.

Gordon, Irving L. World History, Second Edition. New York: Amsco School Publications, Inc., 1986.