Persia’s climate was and is characterized by extremes
of temperature. Some of the world’s highest modern tem-
peratures have been recorded in the central plateau, reach-
ing highs of 132 degrees Fahrenheit. Winter temperatures are
below freezing; mountainous areas have the coldest tempera-
tures. Most of the country is quite dry; the central plateau
receives almost no rainfall. Some parts of Persia have long
been subjected to periodic violent windstorms.
Th e most fertile area of Persia in ancient times was
along the coast of the Caspian Sea. Th is part of the country
received by far the most rain and has always had the high-
est human population of the region. Th e Caspian lowlands
were heavily forested with many kinds of trees, including
orange, lemon, date, fi g, pomegranate, willow, and oak.
Animals native to the area included Persian gazelles, ona-
gers (wild donkeys), many types of goats and sheep, porcu-
pines, badgers, partridges, and pheasants. Th e Caspian Sea
itself was a rich source of food, such as white fi sh, herring,
and the valuable sturgeon.
Persia was located at a crossroads between Asia and Eu-
rope. By the fi ft h century b.c.e. Persians were regularly trading
with their neighbors in India, Mesopotamia, Greece, and Egypt.
Th ey built and maintained a road from Susa, on the Tigris in
Mesopotamia, all the way to Smyrna, the modern Aegean city
of İzmir, Turkey, principally to facilitate royal communication
throughout the empire but also to permit easy trade with the
We st. Th is road was called the Persian Royal Road.
On the other side of Persia, traders from China and India
frequently appeared with silks, jade, and other Asian goods.
Alexander the Great opened a route through Persia and
brought eastern traders all the way to Europe. By the fi rst cen-
tury b.c.e. there was an established trade route running from
China to Rome; this trade route is known as the Silk Road.
Th e Silk Road ran through Persia just south of the Caspian
Sea and followed the Persian Royal Road to the Mediterra-
nean. From there traders could take ship or walk overland to
the Aegean coast of Turkey, Egypt, northern Black Sea ports,
Rome, North Africa, and Spain. Traders carried goods in car-
avans of carts and pack animals, such as camels and donkeys,
selling Chinese and Central Asian goods to people in the West
and bringing Western goods back to Asia. By the fi rst century
c.e. Romans were regularly trading with merchants in China,
Sri Lanka, India, and Southeast Asia, all of whom transported
their goods through Persia and the Near East.
ARABIA
South of Mesopotamia and the Levant lies the Arabian Pen-
insula. It has coasts on the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf, and the
Indian Ocean. Almost all of this vast expanse of land is desert.
Th e climate is extremely dry and excessively hot, and very few
people lived in it in ancient times. Th e few who did were ex-
perts at water conservation. Th e Arabians of the ancient world
clustered on the coasts of the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf.
Arabia was of interest to ancient Greeks and Romans
chiefl y because its coasts provided convenient ports for trade
with India. Greeks and Macedonians traded with Arabs who
brought goods from India and the southern Arabian Penin-
sula (modern Yemen and Oman) overland by camels; major
trade routes ran from Yemen to Medina and from Petra to
Syria. During the early empire sailors mastered the weather
patterns caused by the monsoons in the Indian Ocean, and
from then on most trade with India was done by sea.ANATOLIA
Anatolia is the region that today forms the large Asian por-
tion of the nation of Turkey. Th e western parts of Anatolia are
very close to Europe, and during ancient times these regions
were the main point of cultural exchange between Asia and
Europe. People traveling from Mesopotamia, Persia, the Le-
vant, or Egypt went either overland through Anatolia or in
ships, hugging the southern Anatolian coast.
Anatolia is a giant peninsula with coastlines on the Black
Sea, the Sea of Marmara, the Aegean Sea, and the Mediterra-
nean Sea. Th e Mediterranean coastline is pocked with coves
and bays that are virtually indistinguishable from one anoth-
er and hence diffi cult to navigate. In ancient times these coves
and bays made ideal hideouts for notorious pirates, such as
the pirates who kidnapped Julius Caesar in 75 b.c.e. Th e is-
land of Cyprus lies in the northeast corner of the Mediter-
ranean, in the angle formed where the Anatolian peninsula
meets the Levant. Th e Aegean coastline is also rocky and full
of islands just off shore. Both the mainland coast and the is-
lands attracted large numbers of human inhabitants in an-
cient times; Lesbos, Kos, Smyrna, and Ephesus are all in this
area. Th e area was not good for growing grain, but residents
took advantage of other opportunities, such as shipbuilding,
marble quarrying, and trade.
Th e Dardanelles form a strait between the Aegean and
the Sea of Marmara. Th ey were a prime strategic location
in ancient times; the ancient city of Troy was built on a hill
overlooking the southern entry to the straits. Th e Bosphorus
was another strategic strait, running between the Sea of Mar-
mara and the Black Sea. Th e ancient city of Constantinople
was built on the southern point of the Bosphorus. Th e area
south of the Sea of Marmara was fertile and proved an ideal
location for agriculture. Th is fertile plain included the area
east of the Bosphorus and the western Anatolian Black Sea
coast; the ancient kingdom of Bithynia occupied these areas.
Th e eastern part of the Black Sea coast was somewhat isolated
from the rest of Anatolia by its steep coastlines.
Th e Anatolian plateau itself is high and surrounded
by mountains. Th e northern mountains, called the Pontus
Mountains, parallel the Black Sea coast. Th e Taurus Moun-
tains parallel the Mediterranean coast. Central Anatolia is
situated between these two mountain ranges. To the east of
the plateau the Taurus and Pontus ranges meet, creating the
highest peaks in the region; Mount Ararat is the highest point
in Anatolia. Th e Tigris and the Euphrates both originate in
this region and are fed by snowmelt from the mountains.
Southeast of the mountains the terrain slopes down to Syria.246 climate and geography: The Middle East