Mesopotamia

Hammurabi (1792-1750 BC) was king of Babylonia, and the greatest ruler in the first Babylonian dynasty. He extended his empire northward from the Persian Gulf through the Tigris and Euphrates river valleys and westward to the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. After consolidating his gains under a central government at Babylon, he devoted his energies to protecting his frontiers and fostering the internal prosperity of the empire.

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Hammurabi ruled, Mesopotamia, the land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, what is today known as Iraq. He is credited with uniting most of this area under one extensive empire for the first time since Sargon of Akkad did so in about 2300 BC. To do this, Hammurabi waged several military campaigns. The purpose of most of his operations was to gain control of the Tigris and Euphrates waters, on which agricultural productivity depended. Other campaigns were over control of trade routes or access to mines in Iran.

The king began his military campaigns in 1787 BC by conquering the cities of Uruk and Isin to the south. He then turned his attention to the northwest and east. The power of Assyria prevented him from achieving any significant results, and for 20 years no major warlike activity was reported. He used the time to fortify cities on his northern borders.

The last 14 years of Hammurabi's reign were overshadowed by war. In 1763 he fought against a coalition east of the Tigris that threatened to block access to metal-producing areas in Iran. The same year he conquered the city of Larsa, which enabled him to take over the older Sumerian cities in the south. He followed this victory with the conquest of Mari, 250 miles (400 kilometers) upstream on the Euphrates. During his last two years the king concentrated on building defensive fortifications. By this time he was a sick man, and the government was in the hands of his son, Samsuiluna.

Hammurabi effected great changes in all spheres of life, mostly from the transformation of a small city-state into a large empire. Most of his rule was given to the establishment of law and order, religious buildings, irrigation projects, and defense works. He personally oversaw the administration of government. In doing so he failed to create a permanent bureaucratic system. This failure was a primary reason for the rapid deterioration of his empire after his death. Hammurabi's accomplishments are believed by historians to be exaggerated. This is partly because of the fame he gained when his law code was discovered. His lasting achievement was to shift the main theater of Mesopotamian history northward, where it remained for 1,000 years.

Throughout his long reign, he personally supervised navigation, irrigation, agriculture, tax collection, and the erection of many temples and other buildings. Although he was a successful military leader and administrator, Hammurabi is primarily remembered for his codification of the laws governing Babylonian life called the Code of Hammurabi.

Gadd, Cyril J. "Hammurabi and the End of His Dynasty," Cambridge Ancient History, rev. ed., vol. 2, ch. 5 (1965)

It is called that because it is the place that nomadic tribes began building villages, becoming civilized with a language and rules, and starting modern society.

The lands between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers supported some of the earliest organized human settlements, which eventually evolved into a complex of towns and cities.

In other words people there built stationary dwellings that were meant to survive beyond a human generation, if not several generations, as opposed to a temporary dwelling meant only to last no more than a season. Generally, this was the main difference being from hunter-gatherer/nomadic and agrarian or "civilized" societies. The arguments are based on archaeological remains of buildings and artifacts that have been recognized as supporting these theories. Evidence supports such settlements from at least 5000 BC, giving rise to the Sumerian, Akkadian, Babylonian, and Assyrian civilizations. These were some of the earliest known civilizations in which human habitation takes on an a highly complex and organized state of affairs, akin to modern cities, as opposed to mere villages or towns.

However, sites of similar ages are found around the Indus valley, and in Egypt.

(see the related links section for information regarding the Indus Vally and the Mehrgarh Period I -- both of which were located in the same region.)

Egypt

Ostensibly, Mesopotamia is not the "cradle of civilization."

The Nile Valley Civilization, present day Egypt and Ethiopia, is recognized by the scientific communities of egyptologists, anthropologists, and archaeologists as the cradle of civilization. The concept of social order and the concept of an organized society came out of the Nile Valley Civilization before there was any other society known to man functioning any other place in the world.

The significance of the Nile Valley Civilization is that it was that civilization that set a standard of performance untouched by the other civilizations of the world. The Nile valley stretches 4000 miles into the physical body of Africa and the Nile River was the first cultural highway.
Ostensibly, Mesopotamia is not the "cradle of civilization."

The Nile Valley Civilization, present day Egypt and Ethiopia, is recognized by the scientific communities of egyptologists, anthropologists, and archaeologists as the cradle of civilization. The concept of social order and the concept of an organized society came out of the Nile Valley Civilization before there was any other society known to man functioning any other place in the world.

The significance of the Nile Valley Civilization is that it was that civilization that set a standard of performance untouched by the other civilizations of the world. The nile valley stretches 4000 miles into the physical body of Africa and The Nile Valley River was the first cultural highway.
The lands between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers supported some of the earliest organized human settlements, which eventually evolved into a complex of towns and cities.

In other words people there built stationary dwellings that were meant to survive beyond a human generation, if not several generations, as opposed to a temporary dwelling meant only to last no more than a season. Generally, this was the main difference being from hunter-gatherer/nomadic and agrarian or "civilized" societies. The arguments are based on archaeological remains of buildings and artifacts that have been recognized as supporting these theories. Evidence supports such settlements from at least 5000 BC, giving rise to the Sumerian, Akkadian, Babylonian, and Assyrian civilizations. These were some of the earliest known civilizations in which human habitation takes on an a highly complex and organized state of affairs, akin to modern cities, as opposed to mere villages or towns.

However, sites of similar ages are found around the Indus valley.

(see the related links section for information regarding the Indus Vally and the Mehrgarh Period I -- both of which were located in the same region.)
it is called that because it is the place that nomads came out and started building villages, becoming civilized with a language and rules, and started being more sophisticated like they invented stuff