Mesopotamia Use Of Rivers Essay

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Rivers were a very important part of the development in the earliest of civilizations, as it provided their lively hood and opened them to trade with different civilizations expanding their culture by offering those goods that they needed or were not able to produce on their own. Rivers were also vital to the success of the earliest civilizations agriculture, health and transportation. In some areas if there were no rivers they would not be able to grow crops which dictated the main food source, therefore, the entire life of those people and their decedents the effects of which are still visible in many areas today.
Early Mesopotamia “The Land between the Rivers” location was special because the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers brought large amounts of freshwater to the area. Even, though it hardly rained they were able to utilize the river’s provisions. They built reservoirs and dug canals, to create and maintain small-scale irrigation systems. This happened around 6000 B.C.E. and is only one of the many examples of early civilizations that depended on rivers for their agriculture, and life needs. …show more content…

They used these routes to trade for all the goods that they were not able to produce themselves or to and to make money. For example early Greek civilizations were on an island that did not have enough fertile land to grown food for the population. But, they were able to grow grapes to produce wine which they were able to trade for grains and wheat. If they did not find these trade routes through the sea and rivers they would not have been able to grow the way that they did. The river system along with land and sea routes made empires. These routes are known as the Silk Roads. Without these, all the great empires would not have been as successful as they were. “The overland silk roads took caravan trade from China to the Roman Empire, thus linking the extreme ends of the Eurasian landmass.” (Bentley

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