Fertile Crescent, often called the “cradle of civilization,” is found in the Middle East. Because of this region’s relatively abundant access to water, the earliest civilizations were established in the Fertile Crescent, including the Sumerians. Its area covers what are now southern Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, Israel, Egypt, and parts of Turkey and Iran. Two rivers, the Tigris and the Euphrates, regularly flooded the region, and the Nile River also runs through part of it. Once considered the “cradle of civilization,” the Fertile Crescent’s place among the Tigris, Euphrates, and Nile rivers once led to an abundance of riches. Now the depletion of those resources has led to strife in the Middle East.
