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The '''“Fertile Crescent”''' is a term referring to those parts of the ancient world that form a crescent extending from the head of the [[Persian Gulf]] (modern [[Iraq]]) up the [[Tigris]] and [[Euphrates]] Rivers, ([[Mesopotamia]]) across modern [[Syria]] and [[Lebanon]] to the [[Mediterranean Sea]], then down the coast to [[Egypt]]. It was a strip of generally arable land surrounded by desert or sea. The first great civilisations (in [[Mesopotamia]] and Egypt]] formed at either end in the late 4th millennium B.C.- it has been referred to as "the Cradle of Civilisation".

The '''“Fertile Crescent”''' is a term referring to those parts of the ancient world that form a crescent extending from the head of the [[Persian Gulf]] (modern [[Iraq]]) up the [[Tigris]] and [[Euphrates]] Rivers, ([[Mesopotamia]]) across modern [[Syria]] and [[Lebanon]] to the [[Mediterranean Sea]], then down the coast to [[Egypt]]. It was a strip of generally arable land surrounded by desert or sea. The first great civilisations (in [[Mesopotamia]] and Egypt formed at either end in the late 4th millennium B.C.- it has been referred to as "the Cradle of Civilisation".

The term was coined by [[American]] archaeologist J.H. Breasted and published in his book, ''“Ancient Times. A History of the Early World”'' in 1916.   

The term was coined by [[American]] archaeologist J.H. Breasted and published in his book, ''“Ancient Times. A History of the Early World”'' in 1916.