While the Ancient Egyptians were busy developing their civilization in Northern Africa, people in nearby south western Asia were busy also developing a civilization in the Fertile Crescent. The area was fertile because the waters of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers brought in sediments which made the land and soil along their valleys rich. The shape of the land was like a half moon (crescent). It was in this region of Mesopotamia (the land between the two rivers) that many people developed a rich civilization just like that of the Ancient Egyptians. These peoples included the Sumerians, the Babylonians and the Persians. The features of their rich civilization, the decline of the civilization and what these peoples taught mankind constitute the subjects of this chapter. But to begin, it is necessary to know the conditions that paved the way for the development of this rich

Civilization.