Intriguingly, there seems to have been some communication and trade between the people of Harappa and Mesopotamia. The Indus valley in south Asia, for instance, became increasingly urbanised between 60 years ago, with the formation of cities such as Harappa, home to tens of thousands of people. However, we now know that complex societies were developing independently elsewhere, too. The urban settlements in Mesopotamia and Egypt were long considered to be first cities. The ancient ruins of the city can still be seen near the modern town of Mit Rahina, just south of the Egyptian city Giza. This “first kingdom” used the waters of the Nile to irrigate the surrounding land, had elaborate tombs – although not yet as ambitious as the famous pyramids – and a rudimentary writing system based on hieroglyphics. Farming communities in Egypt also became increasingly urbanised and, by 5100 years ago, they had coalesced into a society ruled from the city of Memphis by the first pharaoh, Narmer. Uruk’s inhabitants invented the first known form of writing, cuneiform, and their texts include the earliest surviving great work of literature, The Epic of Gilgamesh, about a legendary king of the ancient city.Īt the western end of the Fertile Crescent, another civilisation was emerging at about the same time as the Mesopotamian cities.
Its communal works included temples and canals for irrigation. Covering much of the Middle East, the so-called Fertile Crescent east of the Mediterranean Sea has often been called “the cradle of civilisation” thanks to the emergence of city-states such as Uruk in ancient Mesopotamia, which became increasingly urbanised from around 6000 years ago.Įstimates of Uruk’s population vary wildly, but, by around 4900 years ago, it is thought to have housed more than 60,000 people, making it one of the oldest cities in the world.