The Rise of Civilization in the Middle East and Africa
The first full civilization emerged by 3500 B.C. in the Tigris-Euphrates
valley in the Middle East. Relatively soon thereafter civilization developed
along the Nile in Egypt, and later spread to other parts of the Middle East
and one region in Africa. The advent of civilization provided a framework for
most of the developments in world history. Additionally, the specific early
civilizations that arose in the Middle East and Africa had several distinctive
features, in political structure and cultural tone, for example. These
features secured the evolution of these societies until the partial eclipse of
the river-valley civilizations after about 1000 B.C. The early civilizations
in the Middle East and North Africa served as generators of a number of
separate and durable civilization traditions, which can still be found in
civilizations around the Mediterranean, in parts of Europe, and even across
the Atlantic.
Both of these early civilizations formed around major rivers - the Tigris
and Euphrates in Mesopotamia and the Nile in northeastern Africa. Explaining
how civilizations emerged in the Middle East and then Africa requires a
reminder of the conditions that contributed to change after 4000 B.C. and a
more precise definition of civilization. Once that is done, we can turn to the
characteristics of Mesopotamian civilization, from its origins around 3500
B.C. until it experienced an important period of disunity around 1000 B.C.
Next comes Egypt, the world's second civilization in time, which again can be
traced until about 1000 B.C. The two early civilizations had very different
cultures and political structures reflecting their very separate origins. By
1000 B.C. both of these two early civilizations produced offshoots in eastern
Africa, southern Europe, and additional centers in the Middle East. These
smaller centers of civilization made important contributions of their own, for
valley in the Middle East. Relatively soon thereafter civilization developed
along the Nile in Egypt, and later spread to other parts of the Middle East
and one region in Africa. The advent of civilization provided a framework for
most of the developments in world history. Additionally, the specific early
civilizations that arose in the Middle East and Africa had several distinctive
features, in political structure and cultural tone, for example. These
features secured the evolution of these societies until the partial eclipse of
the river-valley civilizations after about 1000 B.C. The early civilizations
in the Middle East and North Africa served as generators of a number of
separate and durable civilization traditions, which can still be found in
civilizations around the Mediterranean, in parts of Europe, and even across
the Atlantic.
Both of these early civilizations formed around major rivers - the Tigris
and Euphrates in Mesopotamia and the Nile in northeastern Africa. Explaining
how civilizations emerged in the Middle East and then Africa requires a
reminder of the conditions that contributed to change after 4000 B.C. and a
more precise definition of civilization. Once that is done, we can turn to the
characteristics of Mesopotamian civilization, from its origins around 3500
B.C. until it experienced an important period of disunity around 1000 B.C.
Next comes Egypt, the world's second civilization in time, which again can be
traced until about 1000 B.C. The two early civilizations had very different
cultures and political structures reflecting their very separate origins. By
1000 B.C. both of these two early civilizations produced offshoots in eastern
Africa, southern Europe, and additional centers in the Middle East. These
smaller centers of civilization made important contributions of their own, for