(Geography)

 Located in western Asia  Present- day countries of: Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Israel  This land is in the shape of a crescent  Called “Fertile Crescent”  Much of the land was either rocky mountains or desert  Part of the land was lush and green

 Two rivers:  Tigris  Euphrates  Made life in these areas possible  The region between the 2 rives is known as Mesopotamia (“Land Between Two Rivers”)

 Both the Tigris and Euphrates rivers begin in the snow- capped Taurus Mountains (located in Turkey)  The two rivers empties out into the Persian Gulf

 Mesopotamia depended on river deposits of silt  Silt makes the region a good place for farming  Early Years- flooding did not take place during planting season  Floods would burst through fields just as crops were about to be harvested  Floods cost not only crops, but lives and homes as well

SOUTHERNNORTHERN  Droughts - long periods of dry weather  Constant threat to farming in the south  More silt  Rocky land, only pockets of fertile land  Not much silt

 Fall- Tigris and Euphrates were at their lowest (No Flooding)  Farmers needed water to plant crops  Spring- harvest time  Rives flooded- farmers often got more water than they wanted  Problem solved- farmers learned to build water- control and irrigation systems

 Farmers grew-  wheat and barley (most important crop)  Beans  Onions  Lettuce  Cucumbers  Apple and pomegranate trees  Farmers other planted along the canal banks

 Shepherds cared for sheep and goat  Ward off attacks from lions and jackals  Sheep were important for their milk and wool  Mesopotamians valued cattle