In this essay I am going to write about some of the benefits the early settlers of Mesopotamia had while living near the two rivers.
From the North, Mesopotamia was surrounded by two rivers namely the Tigris and the Euphrates. Living between the two rivers generally meant dry climate with occasional rain storms but it also did have some great advantages.
There was a continous source of water from the rivers that flowed down from the North. Rivers give fresh water to drink. People can not live without water and being near a river was important because it meant survival. Due to yearly flooding of the rivers in spring when the snow melted from the mountains, the soil near the river banks became rich in nutrients that made it very fertile for growing crops and agriculture.
Even though the early settlers had water and fertile land for farming but the flooding caused major damage to the crops. To overcome this problem they dug canals to shape the path of the water and created a complex irrigation system. This helped the farmers to grow extra food such as wheat, barley, dates, flax, and grapes.
Apart from farming, the settlers also had fish and other water fowl like ducks and geese, that were abdundent in the marshes where stands of tall reeds wes harvested for housing materials and mats. Northern Mesopotamia was made up of hills and plains. Early settlers used wood, metals and stones from the mountains to make wheels, plow, sailing boats and copper tools.
The Tigris and Euphrates were not only used as a water source and for irrigation purposes but they were also important for transportation and trade. Mesopotamia was a cross roads for trade between Iran, Asia, Arabia, and India. They traded the wool and leather goods that they got from domisticating goats, sheeps and oxen (from the slopes and hills), barley, wood, copper tools, ivory, reeds, grains and wine to get the things they needed.
For transportation the settlers constructed variety of boats for carrying different types of goods. There were gulf boats that were very big and traveled long distances, rafts, coracles that were built from animal skins and then covered with bituman, and river boats that were constructed from bundles of reeds tied together with ropes.
The river banks also had deposits of clay and mud which were used to make bricks for building, constructing and also for making pottery.
All these factors helped the small settlements to grow into towns and big cities.