First civilization
After the short-lived Roman annexation and occupation, the region was conquered by the Sassanid Persians (c. Alexander the Great invaded the area in 334 BCE and, after him, it was ruled by the Parthians until the coming of Rome in 116 CE. In 539 BCE Babylon fell to the Cyrus the Great after the Battle of Opis and the lands fell under the control of the Achaemenid Empire (also known as The First Persian Empire). By 600 BCE the Assyrians controlled the Fertile Crescent and, by 580, the Neo-Babylonian Chaldean Empire under Nebuchadnezzar II ruled the region.
The region changed hands many times through the ages. From 1900-1400 BCE trade with Europe, Egypt, Phoenicia, and the Indian sub-continent were flourishing, resulting in the spread of literacy, culture, and religion between these regions. By 2000 BCE, Babylon controlled the Fertile Crescent and the region saw advances in law ( Hammurabi ’s famous code) literature ( The Epic of Gilgamesh, among other works) religion (the development of the Babylonian pantheon of the gods) science and math. Attention to one’s person in terms of hygiene was stressed in that human beings were thought to have been created as help-mates to the gods and so should make themselves presentable in the performance of their duties (this was especially so for the Priestly Class). The unusually fertile soil of the region encouraged the cultivation of wheat as well as rye, barley and From 3400 BC, the priests (who were also the rulers of the cities) were responsible for the distribution of food and the careful monitoring of surplus for trade.īy 2300 BCE, soap was produced from tallow and ash and was in wide use. The first cities began around 4300 BCE and cultivation of wheat and grains was practiced.
By 4500 BCE the cultivation of wool-bearing sheep was practiced widely. Sumerian farmers grew wheat and barley around 10000 BCE. By 9,000 BCE the cultivation of wild grains and cereals was wide-spread and, by 5000 BCE, irrigation of agricultural crops was fully developed. The Fertile Crescent is regarded as the birthplace of agriculture, urbanization, writing, trade, science, history, and organized religion and was first populated circa 10,000 BCE ( Before Current Era) when agriculture and the domestication of animals began in the region.