The Ancient Near East

The Ancient Near East is where the first great civilizations of humanity emerged. We have the first evidence of farming during the Neolithic Period, and later were built the first cities in Sumer and Egypt — not to mention the numerous civilizations that blossomed in their wake.

The Ancient Near East begins with Sumer around 3000 BCE, writing being invented shortly before, towards the end of the 4th millennium BCE. The end of the history of the Ancient Near East is not so exact. It can be considered as the conquest of the Achaemenid Empire in the 7th century BCE, the Macedonian Empire in the 4th century BCE, or the Early Muslim Conquests of the 7th century CE. [1]

Contents

1. The Cradle of Civilization
2. Geography of the Ancient Near East
3. History of the Ancient Near East