ern desert. Aside from gold, Nubia also supplied Egypt’s hard
stone: pink and black granite, diorite, and porphyry, all of
which were much desired by the Egyptians. From the natural
resources, the Egyptians were able to produce and trade fa-
ience, glass, gold, jewelry, precious and semiprecious stones,
linen, papyrus, and stone vessels. Th ey used these natural re-
sources to trade with their neighbors for other commodities
that they lacked, like timber from Lebanon, lapis lazuli from
Afghanistan, and ebony, ivory, various spices, and incense
from Africa. Furthermore, the Nile itself provided the ma-
terial for making pottery and mud-bricks, two essentials for
everyday life.
In ancient times Egypt’s culture prospered in relative
isolation. To the north was the Mediterranean Sea; to the west
were mountains with the desert running almost all the way to
the Atlantic Ocean; to the south was Lower Nubia, where six
cataracts blocking the Nile from Aswān to Khartoum made
it impossible to navigate; and to the east rocky cliff s and des-
ert gave way to the Red Sea. Th e only area that was left vul-
nerable was the corridor in the northeastern delta that met
with the Sinai and led to the Near East. Th e Egyptians made
great attempts at securing this defenseless point. Although
this seclusion allowed an independent culture to fl ourish and
postponed the invasion of Egypt, it was through this north-
eastern corridor that the Assyrians, Persians, and Macedo-
nians would eventually enter Egypt.
THE MIDDLE EAST
BY AMY HACKNEY BLACKWELL
Historical events in ancient times were greatly infl uenced
by climate and proximity. People who lived in areas with
good climates and fertile soil had a much easier time thriv-
ing than those who lived in areas in which daily living was
more diffi cult. People who lived close to centers of civiliza-
tion were more likely to come in contact with that civili-
zation, exchanging learning and trading goods, than those
who lived on mountaintops or on distant islands where no
visitors ever came. In the ancient Near East a combination
of water sources and drought forced people to master agri-
culture and band together in cities; these activities in turn
resulted in the creation of some of humanity’s fi rst centers
of civilization.
Th e world’s very fi rst agricultural societies appeared
between 6000 and 8000 b.c.e. in an area called the Fertile
Crescent, which stretches 1,200 miles from the Mediterra-
nean coast of Israel and Lebanon to the Zagros Mountains
in Iraq and Iran. Climate change made agriculture possible.
At the end of the last ice age, about 11,000 b.c.e., the climate
in the Fertile Crescent grew warmer and wetter. Th is change
improved growing conditions for many local grains and oth-
er plants. Grasslands and forests expanded, increasing the
available habitats for both animals and humans. Good living
conditions allowed human populations to grow and fi ll the
ancient Near East.
MESOPOTAMIA
Th e Tigris and Euphrates rivers defi ne the area known as
Mesopotamia, which has long attracted human settlers. Both
rivers originate in Turkey. Th e Euphrates, south of the Tigris,
fl ows through Syria before entering Iraq’s northwest corner.
Several large tributaries fl ow into the Tigris from the eastern
mountains, including the Khabar, the Great Zab, the Little
Zab, and the ‘Uzaym. Th e Tigris and the Euphrates meet 115
miles before they jointly reach the Persian Gulf. Both the Ti-
gris and the Euphrates are prone to fl ooding and changing
their courses. Th e upper reaches of both rivers are rough, un-
predictable, and diffi cult to travel by boat. People living in the
area never adopted either river as a major trade route, though
some intrepid merchants did transport goods on wooden
raft s from Anatolia to the cities in lower Mesopotamia.
Th e area southeast of the modern city of Baghdad is a
broad, fl at delta. Just above the point where the Tigris and
Euphrates meet is a large marshland. Northeast of Mesopo-
tamia are the high Zagros Mountains. Th ese form a physical
boundary between fertile Mesopotamia and points east. Th e
Zagros Mountains were home to forests of oak, maple, pis-
tachio, and hawthorn trees. Many wild animals lived there,
including sheep, goats, and gazelles. To the south and west
of Mesopotamia are deserts. Th ere is also a sizable desert be-
tween the Tigris and Euphrates north of the modern cities of
Hīt and Sāmarrā.
Mesopotamia has always been dry and prone to vio-
lent extremes of weather. Rain falls between December and
March, but even then only a few inches fall each year. More
rain falls in the mountains. Th e prevailing winds in this area
are a dry cool wind blowing from the north and the warmer
sirocco from the southeast. Summers are very hot, reaching
temperatures of 120 degrees Fahrenheit, and winter tempera-
tures are cold but not devastatingly so. Th is pattern has var-
ied slightly over the past 10,000 years, with some periods in
the ancient world being slightly wetter than others, but lack
of water and unpredictable weather have always defi ned life
in the region.
Th e population of the area fi rst started to grow around
5800 b.c.e., when the climate suddenly improved aft er a brief
“mini ice age” that affl icted all of Europe and Mesopotamia
and lasted for about 400 years, starting in 6200 b.c.e.. Scien-
tists believe that Mesopotamia may have received about 25
percent more rain then than it does in modern times, and
more of the year’s rain may have fallen in the summer, mak-
ing it more useful to farmers. Th e annual fl oods of the Ti-
gris and Euphrates were higher then, too, providing farmers
even more water. Th e climate changed, however, around 3800
b.c.e. For the next thousand years Mesopotamia and the en-
tire eastern Mediterranean region were affl icted by a severe
drought. Rain stopped falling in the summer, and when it did
fall, it arrived too late to water crops.
From that time onward Mesopotamians relied almost en-
tirely on their two rivers to provide water for their crops. Th e244 climate and geography: The Middle East