AnswerOman that were rich in copper and hard stone. Arab culture first appears in the historical record after the introduction of the camel in about 1200 BCE, which allowed more extensive use of arid zones of Saudi Arabia, and Islam first developed in the oasis towns of Mecca and Medina before spreading over much of the Middle East by 700 CE
East of the Levant and south of the Taurus Mountains is the area defined by the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers that has sometimes been called Mesopotamia (the “land between the rivers”), now encompassing eastern Syria, Iraq, and a small area of southwestern Iran. In many ways, what we call Mesopotamian civilization is a series of diverse languages and cultures bound together by a common script and written tradition. Ancient languages in the area included Sumerian, Akkadian, Amorite, Babylonian, Assyrian, and Aramaic.
Mesopotamia is a particularly fertile agricultural zone with vast areas available for cultivation. Northern Mesopotamia receives enough rainfall to grow grain crops, while southern Mesopotamia receives virtually no rain, so agriculture there depended on extensive networks of irrigation canals. At the southern end of the Tigris-Euphrates course, a series of marshes has maintained a distinctive environment and culture for millennia. Apart from water and fertile soil (and later oil), Mesopotamia contains few natural resources, and has depended on trade with people in the mountainous regions to the north and east for stone, copper, and timber.
Zagros Mountains
Mesopotamia is bordered on the east by the Zagros Mountains of western Iran and eastern Turkey (elevation up to 15,000 feet), whose highland valleys were home to Elamite and Persian civilizations as well as later powerful nomadic confederations including the Bakhtiari. The Zagros are a rich source of stone and timber.
The climate of the Middle East ranges from the warm summers and cold winters of highland Turkey and Iran, through hotter summers and cool winters of northern Mesopotamia and the Mediterranean coast, to the extreme temperatures of the Arabian desert. Most, but not all, of the region is arid
As this outline suggests, geography plays a significant role in the formation and maintenance of cultures. The earliest civilizations with large population centers developed near abundant sources of water and agricultural land, rather than in areas of other valuable raw materials, like metals, semi-precious stones, building stone, or timber. Geography also provides a basis for distinctive attributes of regional cultures, like the importance of olive oil and wine in the cuisine of the eastern Mediterranean region (where grapes and olives can easily be cultivated), or the extensive use of incense in daily life, ritual practice, and in economic exchange in the cultures of south Arabia.
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