Ancient civilizations around the world were born along the rivers, because the regular floods of the rivers made the soil fertile around the banks and the supply of fresh river water also made it possible to irrigate the resulting crops. Agriculture in its turn allowed for denser populations in the region, resulting in the development of early civilizations in those particular areas.

Thus, the ancient Egyptian Civilization was born along River Nile, ancient Chinese along the Yellow and Yangtze rivers, Indus Valley along the Indus, and Mesopotamia, between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Although all those early civilizations were separated by quite a distance, they had certain common features in common, they invented forms of writing, learnt to make shelters, pottery, use metals, domesticated animals, and they created fairly complex social structures with specific norms.

Mesopotamia, which means between two rivers, and known as the Cradle of Civilization, is nestled between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, and is located in the eastern Mediterranean, bounded by the Zagros Mountains in the northeast and by the Arabian Plateau in the southeast, covering present-day Iraq, as well as, parts of Iran, Syria, Kuwait and Turkey.

Historically known as the fertile crescent, the region was known to the Arabs as Al-Jazirah, or the island, a fertile land surrounded by water, where many aspects of modern society first took shape. About 6,000 years ago, these agricultural settlements in Mesopotamia blossomed into some of the world’s first City States, which at one point were unified under the Akkadian Empire, but subsequently broke apart forming the empires of Assyria and Babylon. Nevertheless, despite the radical changes, innovation and development thrived in ancient Mesopotamia, although unlike the unified civilizations of Egypt, China or Greece, Mesopotamia gave birth to several different civilizations with dissimilar cultures. It is therefore necessary that, Mesopotamia should be properly implied as a region that produced multiple empires and civilizations rather than any single civilization.

Archaeological excavations have revealed that, around 10, 000 BC, the ancient nomadic hunters started to settle in the fertile land between the two rivers, domesticated animals and turned their attention to agriculture, as well as to the development of irrigation.

Trade soon followed, as a result of the continuous increase of agricultural products, which in turn brought prosperity, and the consequent urbanisation and finally, the birth of cities. The invention of the wheel, in around 3,500 BC, is also credited to the Mesopotamians, which revolutionised the transport system of agricultural products for trading. As members of  fundamentally an agrarian society, people in Mesopotamia were mostly engaged in growing crops and raising livestock, while other occupations included those of the artisan, weaver, potter, shoemaker, fisherman, teacher, and priest or priestess. Women enjoyed nearly equal rights in the society and could own land, file for divorce, own their own businesses, and make contracts in the trading business.

It is generally maintained that writing was primarily invented as a necessity to keep track of trade, and for keeping careful track of the trading accounts. Other important developments or inventions credited to the Mesopotamians include common tools, sophisticated weaponry, the chariot, wine, religious rites, the sailboats, and above all, demarcation of time in hours, minutes and seconds. Academic pursuits were highly appreciated in Mesopotamian society, and there were several institutions devoted primarily to the priestly class, where reading, writing, medicine, law, religion and astrology were taught. However, religion played the most vital role in the Mesopotamian society, influencing every aspect of life, from politics to daily activities. There were more than 1,000 deities in the pantheon of the gods of the Mesopotamian cultures, each associated with natural forces and aspects of life, such as Anu, the god of sky, Enlil, the god of air, and Inanna, the goddess of love and war. The Mesopotamians believed that they were co-workers with the gods, and it is generally accepted that several biblical tales, like the Fall of Man, the Great Flood and many more, were originated in Mesopotamian myths, and first appeared in Mesopotamian works, like  The Myth of Adapa, depicting the  story of the Fall of Man, and explaining why human beings are mortal.

Mesopotamia gave birth to the world's first cities in history which were built of sun-dried brick, complete with paints, while common houses were constructed with bundles of reeds lashed together and inserted in the ground. The temples, located in the centres of every city, resembling step-pyramid structures and known as the Ziggurats, symbolised the importance of the city's patron deity. Prior to the concept of a king, the priests ruled the day and dictated the law according to religious precepts and divine messages, received through signs and omens. But the scene changed at some point after 3600 BC,  when the role of the king was established and unlike the priest-rulers who apparently ruled on behalf of the god, the king dealt directly with the people and made his will clear through the laws promulgated by him. However, reverence for the divine characterised the lives of both the field worker and the king.

Ancient Mesopotamia was the home of many different civilizations with different languages and cultures, spanning thousands of years, and its history is broken up into many periods and eras. It had no real geographic unity, nor any permanent capital city, but it stands out from other civilizations with greater uniformity by its very variety. During the long span of its duration, several other cultural civilizations flourished in different parts of Mesopotamia, which include the Sumerians, Assyrians, Akkadians, and Babylonians, associated with separate city-states, languages, religions, or empires, which interacted with each other over the course of several thousand years.