The Geographyof Mesopotamia

E.Q. Why did peoplesettle in Mesopotamiaand what weie advantagesand disadvantages did its geography provide to the peoplethat settled there?

The Tigris andEuphrates rivers startin southwestAsia. They begin in the mountainsof what are now Turkey andKurdistan. From therethey flow throughwhat is now Iraq to the PersianGulf.

It is in this areathat one of the first civilizationswas formed. The region aroundwhere the rivers flow is calledMesopotamia. In fact,the name means "land betweenthe rivers". This landis borderedby the PersianGulf to the southeast.The Syrianand Arabian Desertsstretch west to the Red Sea. The ZagrosMountains border this areato the eastand stretchnorthward. The MediterraneanSea is the largebody of waterto the west.

The Tigris andEuphrates rivers providedwater and ameansof transportationfor the peoplewho settledin the area.In ancienttimes, it was easierto travel by boatthan over land. Few roads existedduring this time.Also, becauseof the rivers,this areahad arich supplyof fish and waterfowlthat couldbe usedfor food.

The land in this areawas flat andfertile, rich in nutrients. This is causedby the flooding of the rivers. Almost yearly, rain andmelting snowin the mountainscaused the rivers to swell. As the water flowed down the mountains,it pickedup soil. When the rivers reachedthe plains,water overflowedonto the floodplain,the flat land borderingthe banks. As the water spreadover the floodplain,the soil it carriedsettled on the land. The fine soil depositedby riversis calledsilt. Silt is fertile andgood for growingcrops. Because of this,Mesopotamia is alsoknown as"The Fertile Crescenttt.

Usually,less than 10 inchesof rain fell in Mesopotamiaeach year. Summerswere hot. This type of climateis calledsemiarid. Althoughit washot anddry, ancientpeople could still grow crops becauseof the riversand fertile soil.

However,the flood patternsof the Tigris andEuphrates rivers were unpredictable.No oneknew whenthe flood would occur.It may occurin April or aslate as June. Also, the flood's size dependedon how much snowmelted in the mountainsand how much rain fell. If therewas too much,the flood might be violent andwash everything away. If therewas too little, the flood would not comeat all. A drought is a periodof time whennot enoughrain andsnow fall. In a semiarid region,drought is a constantdanger. During a drought,the river level dropsmaking it hard to waterthe crops. If cropsfail, peoplestarve.

Therefore,water was a very importantresource for the people. The peopleof the areawould fight with eachother over waterrights and leadersbegan to form armiesand build walls aroundtheir citiesto protecttheir waterrights. o Cd q)

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