50 ASIA 



indeed raised to a sort of religion: they were among 

 the first users, if they have not been, as they claim, the 

 actual inventors, of the plough and of the windmill : their 

 skill in discovering and utilizing water was famous. 

 The empires which successively arose and declined there 

 exercised their influence far eastward on China and 

 India, westward on Europe, and made the most valuable 

 contributions to civilization. 



Mesopotamia. Under this term is here included the 

 region which extends along the foot of the Zagros from 

 the Straits of Ormuz to the highlands of the Euphrates : 

 bounded on the west by the escarpment of the Syrian 

 desert, it includes the middle and lower valleys of 

 the Euphrates and Tigris. The climate may be bed 

 compared to that of the Mediterranean, but with accen- 

 tuated heat and drought; the winter is comparatively 

 milder, but not so rainy as in the Mediterranean ; the 

 summers are dry and scorching. 



The great feature of this region, however, is the back- 

 ground of limestone highlands, which prove to be the 

 source of its fertility. The relatively abundant water, 

 which falls on the northern and north-eastern moun- 

 tains, sinks rapidly to a lower level, and feeds the two 

 main rivers, Euphrates and Tigris. It further washes 

 down from the mountains a rich calcareous silt, wdiich 

 is deposited in the plain, and renders its soil extremely 

 fertile, while, at the same time, these alluvia are periodi- 

 cally flooded by the water from the melting snow. Vast 

 marshes are thus created on the level tracts, but the 

 ground-water is never very deep. 



All these circumstances compensate for the dryness 

 of the climate : the rainfall which remains under ten 

 inches, is irregular and limited to the winter months. 

 In these plains, vegetation naturally depends on the 



