write an essay on the growth of early cities in iraq
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Ancient Iraq (Mesopotamia)
Southwest Asia (Middle East) Geography
Most of Southwest Asia has an Arid climate today. An Arid climate receives less than 10 inches of precipitation (rain, sleet, or snow). Arid areas are usually covered in desert and often experience very high temperatures. This region was not always covered in desert. Ancient Mesopotamia was a green land where many plants grew due to the rich soil and occasional rain. The rich plant life allowed many animals to live in this region. People living here hunted and gathered the animals and plants. Ancient Mesopotamia and the surrounding area is often called the Fertile Crescent or the Cradle of Civilization. The Tigris and Euphrates rivers supplied fresh water for humans, plants, and animals. Eventually these rivers would provide irrigation for the farms of the first civilization in human history. The word Mesopotamia is Greek for 'land between rivers'.
Around 8,000 BCE (BC), people began to slowly discover that planting a seed would make a new plant grow—the beginning of farming! The main reason farming probably began in this region is because Southwest Asia had several types of wild grain that can be farmed—we still use them today! The slow process of taking a plant from the wild and turning it into a farm crop is called domestication. For example, corn was domesticated in Mexico around 7000 BCE (BC). Farmers in Mesopotamia grew barley, wheat, lentils, chickpeas, onions, garlic, dates, and lettuce. Not every plant can be domesticated. Southwest Asia had more wild plants that could be domesticated than any other region, and they had the same advantage when it came to animals. 13 out of the 14 main domesticated animals today were native to Southwest Asia. Native means originally from a particular area. People in Mesopotamia domesticated sheep, goats, cows, donkey, oxen, and pigs.