It is a good deal of a climb.
The casing of fine stones which in the beginning covered the rough
granite blocks which were used to construct this artificial mountain,
has long since worn off or has been stolen to help build new Roman
cities. A goat would have a fine time scaling this strange peak. But
with the help of a few Arab boys, we can get to the top after a few
hours of hard work, and there we can rest and look far into the next
chapter of the history of the human race.
Way, way off, in the distance, far beyond the yellow sands of the vast
desert, through which the old Nile had cut herself a way to the sea, you
will (if you have the eyes of a hawk), see something shimmering
and green.
It is a valley situated between two big rivers.
It is the most interesting spot of the ancient map.
It is the Paradise of the Old Testament.
It is the old land of mystery and wonder which the Greeks called
Mesopotamia.
The word "Mesos" means "middle" or "in between" and "potomos" is the
Greek expression for river. (Just think of the Hippopotamus, the horse
or "hippos" that lives in the rivers.) Mesopotamia, therefore, meant a
stretch of land "between the rivers." The two rivers in this case were
the Euphrates which the Babylonians called the "Purattu" and the Tigris,
which the Babylonians called the "Diklat." You will see them both upon
the map. They begin their course amidst the snows of the northern
mountains of Armenia and slowly they flow through the southern plain
until they reach the muddy banks of the Persian Gulf. But before they
have lost themselves amidst the waves of this branch of the Indian
Ocean, they have performed a great and useful task.
They have turned an otherwise arid and dry region into the only fertile
spot of western Asia.
That fact will explain to you why Mesopotamia was so very popular with
the inhabitants of the northern mountains and the southern desert.
It is a well-known fact that all living beings like to be comfortable.
When it rains, the cat hastens to a place of shelter.
When it is cold, the dog finds a spot in front of the stove. When a
certain part of the sea becomes more salty than it has been before (or
less, for that matter) myriads of little fishes swim hastily to another
part of the wide ocean. As for the birds, a great many of them move from
one place to another regularly once a year. When the cold weather sets
in, the geese depart, and when the first swallow returns, we know that
summer is about to smile upon us.
Man is no exception to this rule. He likes the warm stove much better
than the cold wind. Whenever he has the choice between a good dinner and
a crust of bread, he prefers the dinner. He will live in the desert or
in the snow of the arctic zone if it is absolutely necessary. But offer
him a more agreeable place of residence and he will accept without a
moment's hesitation. This desire to improve his condition, which really
means a desire to make life more comfortable and less wearisome, has
been a very good thing for the progress of the world.
It has driven the white people of Europe to the ends of the earth.
It has populated the mountains and the plains of our own country.
It has made many millions of men travel ceaselessly from east to west
and from south to north until they have found the climate and the living
conditions which suit them best.
In the western part of Asia this instinct which compels living beings to
seek the greatest amount of comfort possible with the smallest
expenditure of labor forced both the inhabitants of the cold and
inhospitable mountains and the people of the parched desert to look for
a new dwelling place in the happy valley of Mesopotamia.
It caused them to fight for the sole possession of this Paradise upon
Earth.
It forced them to exercise their highest power of inventiveness and
their noblest courage to defend their homes and farms and their wives
and children against the newcomers, who century after century were
attracted by the fame of this pleasant spot.
This constant rivalry was the cause of an everlasting struggle between
the old and established tribes and the others who clamored for their
share of the soil.
Those who were weak and those who did not have a great deal of energy
had little chance of success.
Only the most intelligent and the bravest survived. That will explain to
you why Mesopotamia became the home of a strong race of men, capable of
creating that state of civilization which was to be of such enormous
benefit to all later generations.