The foundations of western civilization were laid by the ancient societies which flourished in Mesopotamia, a land known as the "fertile crescent", through which flow the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. This area saw some of the earliest experiments in agriculture and irrigation, the invention of writing, the birth of mathematics and the development of urban life. Using the evidence of archaeology and ancient texts, the author of this text explores the history of ancient Mesopotamia from Pehistoric times to the rise of Babylon before 1500BC.