The Fertile Crescent stretched from the Mediterranean coast through the Tigris-Euphrates River Valley to the Arabian Sea.
Mesopotamia consisted of the lands of the Tigris-Euphrates River Valley. It means "the land between the rivers."
A later Mesopotamian civilization, Babylon, developed Hammurabi's Code, which was a thorough set of written laws.
Though they shared cultural beliefs and values, each Mesopotamian city-state was ruled by its own monarchy.
Ancient Sumer was an advanced society that consisted of large city-states, fortified cities, and strong armies.
Each Sumerian city-state had a ziggurat at its center. These large pyramids housed the priests and were the location for many important religious celebrations.
Sumerians are credited with many advancements, including the first writing system called cuneiform(scribes wrote works on history, law, grammar, math, and literature), the wheel (used for vehicles and for making pottery), the plow & irrigation (which increased farm production), the clock, sewer systems, and the use of bronze to strengthen tools and weapons.
Ancient Mesopotamians and ancient Egyptians both used irrigation and canals to help capture silt and water crops during the dry season. Their geographic differences, however, had a profound impact on the development of their cultures.