Hadley Library
Mesopotamia - The British Museum. History Facts/Science Facts - Quatr.us. Ancient Iraq (Mesopotamia) - Ancient Civilizations for Kids. Around 3500 BCE, people were growing more food than they needed, which allowed the division of labor.
People were living in multiple cities with governments and religions. A written language developed around 3300 BCE—civilization is official! The first civilization to develop was called Sumer in southern Mesopotamia. World History Timeline Ancient Mesopotamian civilization timeline and overview. Mesopotamia. Mesopotamia (from the Greek, meaning 'between two rivers’) was an ancient region in the eastern Mediterranean bounded in the northeast by the Zagros Mountains and in the southeast by the Arabian Plateau, corresponding to today’s Iraq, mostly, but also parts of modern-day Iran, Syria and Turkey.
The 'two rivers' of the name referred to the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers and the land was known as 'Al-Jazirah' (the island) by the Arabs referencing what Egyptologist J.H. Breasted would later call the Fertile Crescent, where Mesopotamian civilization began. The Cradle of Civilization Unlike the more unified civilizations of Egypt or Greece, Mesopotamia was a collection of varied cultures whose only real bonds were their script, their gods, and their attitude toward women. Women enjoyed nearly equal rights and could own land, file for divorce, own their own businesses, and make contracts in trade. Ancient Mesopotamia: This History, Our History.